Janice R. Andrews
Bitcoin-USD (BTC)
Monday saw a spike in Bitcoin to its greatest level in six weeks as a result of former US President Donald Trump’s reaffirmed support for cryptocurrencies over the weekend. Bitcoin is now close to $10,000,000. The biggest cryptocurrency in the world at the time of writing was worth $69,495 (£54,254), a 2.9% gain.
Speaking as the keynote speaker at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee, Trump made use of the occasion to woo voters and ask the IT industry for money to his campaign. If elected again, he stated that he would turn the US into the “cryptocurrency capital of the world” and suggested setting up a “national bitcoin stockpile.” In addition, Trump declared his intention to “immediately appoint a bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory council,” reaffirming his commitment to dismiss SEC Chair Gary Gensler should he be elected and demonstrating his support for the sector.
“I think you’re just in your infancy,” Trump remarked to the leaders of the cryptocurrency scene. “In just 15 years, bitcoin has gone from merely an idea posted anonymously on an internet message board to being the ninth most valuable asset anywhere in the world.” This is a big change from his remarks from 2021, when he called bitcoin a “scam” that would devalue the US currency.
Alibaba (BABA)
Alibaba’s stock had its biggest increase in two months as investors embraced the company’s new approach to increase service fees from retailers. Following the news that Alibaba will impose a basic software service charge of 0.6% on verified transactions for sellers on its Tmall and Taobao platforms, the e-commerce behemoth’s shares surged to 5.8% in Hong Kong.
An source cited by Bloomberg claims that merchants were informed of the policy change on Friday, with possible exceptions for smaller retailers. The new move, according to Jefferies Financial Group, is anticipated to increase Alibaba’s core merchant income in addition to other favorable catalysts for the company. Alibaba’s primary source of income from Taobao and Tmall is customer management fees, which are paid by merchants to advertise and enhance their product offers.
Thomas Chong and other Jefferies analysts were upbeat in a research note they wrote, saying, “We view the 0.6% software service fees starting in September as positive to core merchant revenue considering the new arrangement applies to both Taobao and Tmall.” Alibaba has become the final major e-commerce platform to switch to a percentage-based pricing system. This change was first announced by the local media portal LatePost. While JD.com and ByteDance introduced a 0.6% charge rate last year, PDD Holdings has been charging merchants a technical support fee of around 0.6%-1% of gross product value since 2020.
HEIA.AS (Heineken)
Monday morning saw a sharp decline in Heineken shares as the massive brewer missed forecasts for earnings growth in the first half of the year. A year before, the firm had made a profit of €1.16 billion; however, it had to write down the value of its investment in China Resources Beer, a significant impairment, which caused it to swing to a first-half net loss of €95 million (£80.3 million, $103.1 million).
A one-time impairment charge of €874 million (£737.5 million) was disclosed by Heineken as a result of worries regarding mainland China’s demand levels. The second-largest brewer in the world, Heineken, has reduced its full-year operating profit expectation to a range of 4% to 8% due to this considerable impairment.
Operating profit grew organically by 12.5%, less than the 13.2% company-compiled average estimate. Beer sales increased by just 2.1% compared to an estimated 3.4% growth. Analysts at Barclays stated, “Heineken gained traction after upbeat remarks made at a recent conference, which helped the market and ourselves to raise expectations. These results, however, fell short of projections, indicating a discrepancy between the company’s message and analyst expectations. This must end.
Pearson (PSON.L)
Pearson, an educational publisher, revealed a decline in revenue over the previous six months, but they also stated that they want to use artificial intelligence (AI) advancements to fuel future development. The FTSE 100 firm reported a modest rise in earnings for the quarter, noting “operational progress” across its business sectors and a “solid” performance in the first half of 2024.
According to Pearson, revenues decreased to £1.75 billion for the half-year that ended on June 30 from £1.88 billion for the same period the previous year. Nonetheless, sales for the company’s assessment and qualifications segment increased by 2% during the first half of the year. In contrast, sales of higher education fell by 2%, and its virtual schools division saw a 1% reduction as a result of contract losses. Positively, sales of English language learning increased by 11% for Pearson.
The company also said that throughout the quarter, adjusted operating earnings increased by 4% to £250 million. Pearson kept its year projections for sales and profit in place despite the drop in sales. According to Chief Executive Omar Abbosh, “Pearson’s strengths as a trusted provider of learning and assessment services are highlighted by the significant demographic shifts and rapid advancements in AI that will be important drivers of growth in education and work over the coming years.”
Across all of its businesses, Pearson is putting plans into action to provide better goods and services more effectively. With an emphasis on enterprise skilling and early careers in particular, the firm is looking for chances to gradually increase its footprint in areas that are both substantially larger and growing faster.
