Friday, October 23, 2020

☕️ Goldman sacked

Goldman pays up for the 1MDB scandal...
October 23, 2020 View Online | Sign Up

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But it ends on Sunday, so secure your joggers today.

MARKETS

NASDAQ

11,506.01

+ 0.19%

S&P

3,453.59

+ 0.52%

DJIA

28,365.18

+ 0.55%

GOLD

1,906.80

- 1.18%

10-YR

0.860%

+ 3.60 bps

OIL

40.69

+ 1.65%

*As of market close

  • Stimulus: "It's close. It's close," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday about a new coronavirus relief package. Senate Republicans did not appear to agree.

LEGAL

Goldman Will Pay a Sach of Cash For 1MDB Scandal

The text

Francis Scialabba

No, this isn't about the site you go to when you want to see if that guy from that movie was also in that other thing. 

Yesterday, Goldman Sachs's Malaysian subsidiary pleaded guilty to breaking U.S. anti-corruption laws when it paid bribes to officials in the Southeast Asian country. The bank will pay almost $3 billion to resolve the case. 

The backstory: In 2012–2013, Goldman helped Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (aka 1MDB), raise $6.5 billion in bond offerings, pocketing a cool $600 million in fees in the process. Authorities say a lot of that $6.5 billion was pilfered and used to buy, uh, non-essential items, such as a clear acrylic piano and a boutique hotel in Beverly Hills.

  • The scandal was one of the largest in financial history and led to the political demise of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
  • In the plea deal, Goldman admitted that its employees worked with financier and international fugitive Jho Low to pay bribes of over $1 billion to Malaysian authorities in connection with the allegedly swiped funds. 

In July, Goldman settled with the Malaysian government for $3.9 billion. Prosecutors have brought charges against two individual Goldman bankers, Tim Leissner and Roger Ng. Leissner has pleaded guilty, but Ng maintains his innocence. 

The fallout will hit DJ D-Sol's piggy bank 

Goldman plans to seize or withhold $174 million from current and former execs, including CEO David Solomon, and claw back some of former CEO Lloyd Blankfein's past bonuses to help cover the bill. 

  • Otherwise, the payout would have to be solely covered by shareholders and current employees' bonuses. 

Looking ahead...analysts said placing the scandal in the rearview mirror gives Solomon the opportunity to execute his plans to make Goldman a more "conventional" bank. 

        

COVID

Some Good Covid News

Yesterday, Gilead drug remdesivir became the first and only Covid-19 treatment to be fully approved by the FDA.  

  • The agency had granted the drug emergency use authorization in May, but now it has a more official stamp of approval. 
  • Gilead shares bounced more than 3% after hours. 

Since it was greenlit for emergency use, remdesivir has been administered via IV to patients hospitalized with Covid-19. Studies have found that it modestly shortens recovery times for some of those patients, and it took a star turn as one of the drugs used to treat President Trump after he tested positive. 

Looking ahead...in August, Gilead said it planned to produce more than 2 million treatment courses by the end of the year, plus several million more in 2021.

        

POLITICS

Biden and Trump Have a Nice Long Chat

Joe Biden and Donald Trump onstage at the last 2020 presidential debate

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Congratulations, you don't have to feign interest in another debate until 2024. Last night in Nashville, NBC News's Kristen Welker wielded the mute button in the final—and more civil—presidential debate.

Covid-19: Trump doubled down on the optimistic timeline a vaccine will be ready by year's end, name-dropping promising candidates from J&J, Moderna, and Pfizer. No pressure.

  • The president also pressed for school and business reopenings, but Biden didn't rule out further lockdowns in areas with spiking infections, keying in on projections that 200,000+ more Americans could die from Covid-19 this year.

On the topic of healthcare…the candidates agreed to disagree. With the Affordable Care Act up before the Supreme Court next month, Trump still hasn't released a plan to replace it. Biden distanced himself from the Democratic Party's progressive vision with promises his plan would support existing private health insurance.

Small businesses: Biden pledged support for a $15 minimum wage, while Trump said he'd consider it "to an extent." 

Climate: Biden said his plan would transition to cleaner industries, create millions of jobs, and get the U.S. to zero emissions. Trump said Biden would "destroy the oil industry." 

Zoom out: For the 45+ million Americans who already voted, this debate didn't change much. T-minus 11 days for everyone else. 

        

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TRENDING

What's Up, What's Down

A gif of a dog wearing glasses and a bandana climbing up behind its owner on a motorcycle

Giphy

What's up 

Two-wheelers: The pandemic has boosted sales of motorcycles and scooters in cities around the world, Bloomberg reports.  

Restaurants: Nearly 6,500 new restaurants and food businesses opened last month, according to Yelp. New openings are nearing or outpacing levels from the last four years.

Million-dollar homes: Nice flex. Home purchases worth $1+ million have more than doubled since last year. Median home prices hit a record $311,800 in September as home sales rose 20% annually. 

Christmas toys: Mattel sales jumped 10% last quarter, the toymaker's biggest increase in a decade. Sales in its Barbie line rose 29%.

What's down 

Airlines: The four biggest U.S. carriers reported $10.8 billion in Q3 losses. While bookings are picking up, air travel volume is still down over 60% and execs are anticipating a subdued holiday season.

Jobless claims: First-time applications for unemployment benefits fell to 787,000 last week—an improvement from two weeks ago, but still more than triple the pre-pandemic levels. 

Christmas spirit: Macy's won't bring Santa to its flagship NYC store this year. Mr. Claus typically attracts 250k visitors each year.

        

SPORTS

The Road to the Rose Bowl Is Lined With Thorns

COLUMBUS, OH - OCTOBER 01: General view of the Big Ten logo on a yard ma...

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

In the Big Ten, which resumes playing football tonight, not even having a Big House can save you from coronavirus anxieties. 

11 mayors of Big Ten cities (there are 14 schools overall, it's confusing) wrote a letter to conference officials this week highlighting their concerns that football games, even without fans in the stadiums, could lead to coronavirus outbreaks. 

  • The tl;dr: The mayors said they recognize the importance of Big Ten football to local businesses, but urged the conference to use caution and keep the coronavirus from spiking in their communities. 

They also requested that games not be scheduled in the late afternoon or evening, which would lead to more people hanging out to watch on TV and increase the risk of infection. 

Case study: the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. On Tuesday, county officials issued a stay-at-home order for undergrads following a rising number of student cases. The order applies through Nov. 3, crucially after the big Michigan/Michigan State matchup on Halloween night that could be party central. 

        

QUIZ

Quizi

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It's that satisfying. Ace the quiz.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

  • The Facebook Oversight Board began to solicit appeals for content moderation cases yesterday.
  • Gap shares gained 13.7% after it unveiled a new strategy: fewer mall locations, more e-commerce. You can read more in Retail Brew later today.
  • Jony Ive, the legendary Apple designer, will now be a consultant for Airbnb.
  • Coke's latest earnings were a big improvement from Q2, but the beverage maker is still working on reorganizing around its more profitable business units.
  • Office toilet paper sales have been hit by the remote work revolution, Kimberly-Clark said.

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GAMES

Friday Puzzle

Name a major world city. Take one letter in its name and move it two spots earlier in the alphabet. Reading backward, you now have the name of a major restaurant chain. What is it?

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FRIDAY PUZZLE ANSWER

Sydney → Wendy's

Source: NPR

              

Written by Eliza Carter, Alex Hickey, Neal Freyman, and Jamie Wilde

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