Nintendo Shares Boom on Pokeman GO Craze – global hysteria reigns among gamers over Nintendo’s Pokemon GO game – just about everyone, it seems, has caught the bug. We will not attempt to explain the game, but we are interested in recent Pokemon GO economics…and those economics are big.
Nintendo’s shares have essentially doubled since the game rolled out, and the company is worth at least $10 billion more as a result. McDonald’s is in the game (figuratively and literally), as McDonald’s Holdings Japan will announce an initiative to make its more than 3,000 restaurants “gyms,” or places where gamers can train and strengthen their Pokemon abilities. Expect the phenomenon to grow as glitches are fixed and roll-outs in other major markets occur.
Life after Brexit – to be clear, everything you read about Brexit updates is largely in the abstract; until Article 50 is invoked and new treaties are signed, it’s all little more than political posturing and hopeful promises (but not real ones). This week, Britain’s International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, said that Britain is aiming for a Brexit date of January 1, 2019, but it could potentially be sooner. With immigration as one of the sticking points for voters, the Brexit Tsar, David Davis, said that Britain may look to curb immigration from the European Union before it invokes Article 50, which could gain traction given the recent terror attack in Nice, France. And, speaking of France, President Francois Hollande had tough words for Britain’s new Prime Minister, Theresa May, when he gave her an ultimatum to allow free movement of people or expect zero access to the single European market. As we’ve said before, Theresa May has landed herself in a lose/lose leadership position. On the economic front, the Bank of England reported that it has seen some pressure on investment and hiring, but that there is little evidence of a significant economic impact so far. Additionally, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since 2005, at 4.9%.
Mergers and Acquisitions – there were some noteworthy mergers and acquisitions this week, as corporations increasingly use cheap financing to repurchase shares or buy other companies to boost equity. Two noteworthy acquisitions were Unilever’s (ticker: UL) $1 billion purchase of Dollar Shave Club and Softbank’s $32 billion purchase of chip designer ARM Holdings, in the biggest ever acquisition of a European technology company. To think that starting a monthly subscription service for men’s razors could fetch $1 billion – makes it feel like we’re all in the wrong business!
Amazon knows no Boundaries – no business or market seems out of reach for Seattle behemoth Amazon (ticker: AMZN). Most know Amazon is venturing into space – and now a plan is being hatched to venture into the huge market of student loans. Amazon has formed a strategic partnership with Wells Fargo (ticker: WFC) in which the combined bank will offer interest rate discounts to select “Prime Students.” Amazon’s plan is to undercut the current marketplace by offering to refinance existing loans, or offer new ones, at a 50 basis point discount to the prevailing bank rate. We knew this already, but Amazon is simply a fascinating company to watch.
Disclosure