Today's big stories

Microsoft’s thinking about buying TikTok’s US business
... and our analysts worked out how much it might actually have to pay – Read Now
Manufacturing data around the world is steadily improving

1/3

The Emancipation Of TikTok

What’s Going On Here?

TikTok, the world’s fastest-growing social media app, has until September 15th to get rid of its US segment – and on Sunday, Microsoft told the company, “we belong together”.

What Does This Mean?

The US government has been making life difficult for TikTok since June, and has even threatened to ban the app citing national security concerns. And while Chinese parent company ByteDance would prefer not to lose the platform at all, it’d rather it gets to live on – even if that means a new majority owner.

Enter Microsoft: all it wants for August is to buy TikTok’s US, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand segments from ByteDance, though they’re yet to agree on a price. And the tech giant’s likely hoping it can get a deal approved quickly: it wasn’t involved in last week’s tech hearings, has said it’s willing to work with the US government on this, and has promised to bring back American users’ data – which is currently being exported to China.

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: Heartbreaker.
Microsoft has been benefiting from corporate customers that spend big on its cloud products recently, but its purchase of TikTok could represent a shift towards consumer-facing products. The move could also spell more competition for Facebook and Snapchat, though the latter’s probably hoping the new music feature it’s just integrated into its app will keep it safe and sound. Plus, TikTok’s still not the advertising powerhouse that those rivals are – but optimistic investors who sent the stock up 5% on Monday will be watching closely to see if Microsoft can change that.

Zooming out: Make it happen.
Big companies were striking deals left and right on Monday: Siemens Healthineers agreed to buy rival medical tech company Varian for $16 billion, 7-Eleven’s owner agreed to the $21 billion purchase of Marathon’s Speedway gas stations, and Google announced a $450 million investment in security firm ADT, whose stock jumped about 60% (tweet this).

Copy to share story: https://www.finimize.com/wp/news/the-emancipation-of-tiktok/

🙋 Ask a question

2/3 Premium

The Price Of Emancipation

What’s Going On Here?

So Microsoft wants to buy TikTok: our analysts crunched some numbers to work out how much it might pay to prise its prize from ByteDance’s grasp.

Get the full story with Finimize Premium

💰 Earn some real interest

When you hold cryptocurrencies with Crypto.com, you can earn up to 8% interest per annum. That’s a lot of interest – and you’ll earn even more if you hold stablecoins or Crypto.com’s native token.

You’ll receive the interest on a weekly basis, which means you get to enjoy a constant stream of income. You’re not tying up your money either: you can withdraw it at any time. And with 27 coins to choose from – including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin – you won’t be short on choice of which cryptocurrency you hold.

You can even review everything you own on the Crypto.com app: download the app today, enter promo code FINIMIZE2020, and enjoy the bonus to help you get started.

Find Out More

3/3

The Neverending Story

What’s Going On Here?

Fresh survey data out on Monday showed that the manufacturing industries in the US, UK, and eurozone were on the up, but that wasn’t exactly the whole story…

What Does This Mean?

These monthly surveys ask purchasing managers in the manufacturing industry how busy they’ve been, and they give investors a feel for economic activity as a whole. Last month, US and eurozone managers were busier than economists had predicted, and while the UK’s weren’t quite as busy as forecast, all three readings pointed to growing economies – a nice change of pace from the dramatic shrinkage we saw last quarter.

Still, consumer spending is the biggest contributor to the US, UK, and eurozone economies, and that predominantly affects the “services industry”, whose data isn’t released until later this week. Investors, then, will probably want to take manufacturers’ early updates with a pinch of salt…

Why Should I Care?

The bigger picture: The government’s coming. Look busy.
Survey data – or “soft data” – can help economists make forecasts about “hard” data, like economic growth figures. But seeing as it may be in respondents’ interests to sound busy, some investors have started to doubt how meaningful the surveys are. And going by hard data alone, debt rating agency Fitch reckons the US’s finances are in so much disarray that it might soon declare the purchase of American debt a riskier proposition.

For markets: Deals, deals, deals.
While US lawmakers are still trying to decide what the next phase of economic support looks like and how much to spend, the eurozone’s agreement now has the bloc on the right course. As for the UK, that’s a whole can of worms: the country needs to strike trade deals around the world before its European Union-affiliated deal expires next year. The most important among them appears to be with the US: the UK banned Huawei, and now it might soon do the same to TikTok to maintain its special relationship.

Copy to share story: https://www.finimize.com/wp/news/the-neverending-story/

🙋 Ask a question

💬 Quote of the day

“Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes clean to the bone.”

– Dorothy Parker (an American poet, writer, critic, and satirist)

Tweet this

🤓 Become a Finimize editor

We’re looking for a new editor to join the Finimize team. That’s the person who comes up with sensational puns and makes our analysts’ brain juice read all good like.

You don’t need to be a financial expert, but you do need to be creative, witty, and good with all the words: table, shoe, onomatopoeia – you know, words.

There’s more information on what we’re looking for and how you can apply here.

Find Out More

🌎 Finimize Community

💪 By the power of ETFs

Exchange-traded funds might not sound dramatic, but they really are one of the most powerful tools in any investor’s arsenal. And this Saturday, Finimize hosts Bola Sol and Debodun Osekita will only be too happy to show you why.

🇿🇦 South Africa: The Impact of COVID-19 on Cryptocurrency – 7pm South Africa Time, August 6th
🇬🇧 UK: The Power of ETFs – 12pm UK Time, August 8th
🇭🇰 Hong Kong: Is Fashion Going Out Of Style? – 9pm Hong Kong Time, August 11th
🇬🇧 UK: The Pathway to Homeownership – 5.30pm UK Time, August 15th

📚 What we're reading

Who says wheelchair users can’t dive? (Narratively)
The NBA’s COVID plan needs work (The Verge)
The Dragon has landed (National Geographic)

Finimize - 📱 Microsoft wants to buy TikTok

Today's big stories

The Emancipation Of TikTok

What’s Going On Here?

What Does This Mean?

Why Should I Care?

The Price Of Emancipation

💰 Earn some real interest

The Neverending Story

What’s Going On Here?

What Does This Mean?

Why Should I Care?

🤓 Become a Finimize editor

💪 By the power of ETFs

Older messages

☠️ Oil is dead

😎 Shopify steals Amazon's business

😨 US investors fear China

🎟️ New Events: Financial Stability, Finimize AMA, & What's Next For The Global Economy?

😭 Twitter desperately needs ads

You Might Also Like

🦃 Chipmakers give thanks

John's Take 11-28-24 Puttin’ it on Plastic

Staying afloat: the impact of flooding on UK firms

🇺🇸 US inflation rose

Don’t think you can afford life insurance?

What are you hiding Elon?? (Tesla’s secret 69% dividend)

Giving thanks for inflation, Paul Mescal and more

💚 Holding space for career pivots

Harry's Take 11-27-24 Michael Saylor Has Seen an Impressive Learning Curve Playing Bitcoin at MicroStrategy!

The heterogenous effects of carbon pricing: macro and micro evidence