Description: Elon Musk tweeted Tesla may get into the lithium mining and refining business directly and at scale because the cost of the metal, a key component in manufacturing batteries, has gotten so high. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Apr 08, 2022 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/08/elon-musk-telsa-may-have-get-into-mining-refining-lithium-directly.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.Mail Questions for discussion: What are the pros and cons to this investment decision?… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Financial Planning
Russia pays dollar-denominated debt in rubles, risking default, after U.S. blocks payment.
Description: Credit rating agencies have indicated that payments in a currency different from the one the debt was sold in would count as a default once the grace period expired. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Apr 06, 2022 Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/business/russia-eurobonds-rubles.html Questions for discussion: What is the issue about paying in an alternative currency? How should this settlement… Read more »
The Huge Endeavor to Produce a Tiny Microchip
Description: As the global chip shortage continues, we take an inside look at how semiconductors are fabricated. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Apr 08, 2022 Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/technology/intel-chip-shortage.html? Questions for discussion: What are the direct economic benefits due to investments in these plants? What are the factors of production needed in order to set up these plants? Given… Read more »
Nord Stream 2 cost $11 billion to build. Now, the Russia-Europe gas pipeline is unused and abandoned
Description: One of the early casualties of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and its continuing geopolitical and economic fallout — has been the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, a massive energy project that took several years to build and cost $11 billion. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Mar 31, 2022 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/31/the-nord-stream-2-pipeline-lies-abandoned-after-russia-invaded-ukraine.html Questions for… Read more »
Warehouses Transform N.Y.C. Neighborhoods as E-Commerce Booms
Description: The region is home to the largest concentration of online shoppers in the country. The facilities, key to delivering packages on time, are reshaping neighborhoods. Source: NYTimes.com Date: Mar 16, 2022 Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/nyregion/ecommerce-warehouses-nyc.html? Questions for discussion: What is happening in the NYC area and why? What are the benefits and drawbacks? Are there alternatives… Read more »
Tesla bull says approval of Berlin Gigafactory removes major overhang on the stock
Description: A “major overhang” on Tesla’s stock has been removed after German authorities said the carmaker could start production at a new factory in Berlin, according to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. Source: CNBC.com – video report Date: Mar 07, 2022 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/07/tesla-berlin-gigafactory-approval-removes-major-overhang-on-the-stock.html Questions for discussion: What is so significant about this announcement for the company production plans and the… Read more »
Feds seek to fast-track LNG project amid Ukraine attack: Pieridae CEO
Description: The head of Calgary-based natural gas producer Pieridae Energy Ltd. said he’s fielding inquiries from the federal government over how the company’s proposed Goldboro liquefied natural gas (LNG) project could be completed quicker than anticipated. Source: BNNBloomberg.ca – video report Date: Feb 25, 2022 Link: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/feds-seek-to-fast-track-lng-project-amid-ukraine-attack-pieridae-ceo-1.1728976 Questions for discussion: What caused the project to… Read more »
What the blockbuster Microsoft and Sony deals mean for the future of gaming
Description: Big moves are happening in the video game industry. Microsoft, the tech giant behind the Xbox console, announced plans in early 2022 to buy Activision Blizzard, the force behind “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft,” among other major titles. This $68.7 billion all-cash acquisition is expected to close in 2023. If approved by regulators… Read more »
5 years ago, these women launched a side hustle for Black figure skaters — now Olympians are wearing their tights
Description: Today, their start-up Aurora Tights says it’s the country’s most inclusive hosiery brand, designing tights for hundreds of figure skaters, dancers, cheerleaders and gymnasts. That includes Team USA pairs skater Ashley Cain-Gribble, who is competing in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Source: CNBC.com Date: Feb 17, 2022 Link: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/17/aurora-tights-how-side-hustle-for-black-ice-skaters-got-to-olympics.html Questions for discussion: What… Read more »
Investors have subsidized our Uber rides, Spotify tunes and Netflix binging — but maybe not for much longer
Description: Is the era of capital market subsidies nearing an end? I’m not referring to governments bending over to investment firms (which happens too often), but investors subsidizing customers. Source: FinancialPost.com Date: Feb 04, 2022 Link: https://financialpost.com/investing/investing-pro/investors-have-subsidized-our-uber-rides-spotify-tunes-and-netflix-bingeing-but-maybe-not-for-much-longer Questions for discussion: Summarize the key points made about how investors “subsidized” customers while the firm was scaling… Read more »
