morning w
>>101017, >>101018, >>101019 pb Lira Crashes To Record Low After Turkey's Erdogan Fires Three More Central Bankers
Turkey cuts interest rate despite soaring inflation
The bank cut its policy rate to 16 from 18 percent despite soaring inflation and a depreciating currency.
The lira extended its fall into record-low territory against the dollar and euro after the announcement. Erdogan has been pushing the policy-setting bank to cut interests rates in order to boost lending and promote investment and economic growth. This expansionist policy has helped Turkey's economy grow throughout the coronavirus pandemic and perform far better than its emerging market peers. But the drawbacks have also been dire.
The lira has lost one fifth of its value against the dollar since the start of the year and the annual inflation rate has reached nearly 20 percent quadruple the government target. Turks are converting their liras into foreign currencies and gold to try and preserve their dwindling savings as a result. Thursday's cut reaffirms "that monetary policy is firmly under Erdogan's influence," Eurasia Group said in a research note. The research institute noted that a growing number of business leaders including Turkey's largest industry association -- have been calling on the bank to regain its independence and focus on stabilising the exchange rate.
Erdogan is in danger of "dragging the Turkish economy into a president-made crisis," Eurasia Group said.
https://www.rfi.fr/en/business-and-tech/20211021-turkey-cuts-interest-rate-despite-soaring-inflation
NATO to agree master plan to deter growing Russian threat
Prepares for simultaneous attacks including nuclear and cyber. Officials and diplomats say no such attack is imminent. Russia denies any war-like intentions.
NATO defence ministers are set to agree a new master plan on Thursday to defend against any potential Russian attack on multiple fronts, reaffirming the alliance's core goal of deterring Moscow despite a growing focus on China. The confidential strategy aims to prepare for any simultaneous attack in the Baltic and Black Sea regions that could include nuclear weapons, hacking of computer networks and assaults from space. "It recognises a more 21st century threat and how to deal with it," British defence minister Ben Wallace told reporters.
Officials stress that they do not believe any Russian attack is imminent. Moscow denies any aggressive intentions and says it is NATO that risks destabilising Europe with such preparations. But diplomats say the "Concept for Deterrence and Defence in the Euro-Atlantic Area" - and its strategic implementation plan - is needed as Russia develops advanced weapon systems and deploys troops and equipment closer to the allies' borders. "This is the way of deterrence," German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said of the plan. "And this is being adapted to the current behaviour of Russia – and we are seeing violations particularly of the air space over the Baltic states, but also increasing incursions over the Black Sea," she told German radio Deutschlandfunk.
Approval will allow for more detailed regional plans by the end of 2022, a U.S. official said, allowing NATO to decide what additional weapons it needs and how to position its forces.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/nato-agree-master-plan-deter-growing-russian-threat-diplomats-say-2021-10-21/
>>102452 pb
Digital World Acquisition Corp. jumps on plans to merge with Donald Trump's media company
Digital World Acquisition stock soared Thursday on its deal to take former US President Donald Trump's new media company public, with the venture centered on his plan to launch a social media platform.
Digital World Acquisition's Class A shares jumped as much as 74% to $17.32 in premarket trade, then later pared the rise to 7%. The SPAC was incorporated in December 2020, and shares began trading in September. The agreement puts an $875 million enterprise value on Trump Media & Technology Group. A potential earnout of $825 million in additional shares could bring the cumulative valuation to $1.7 billion, depending upon the performance of the stock after the merger is completed, Trump Media said in a press release. "I created TRUTH Social and TMTG to stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech," Trump said in the press statement. The social network's app is available for pre-order in Apple's App Store and will open to invitees in November, followed by a nationwide rollout in the first quarter of 2022.
Trump's new venture comes as he mulls another run at the White House. It also follows speculation that he would create his own social media site after he was banned or suspended from nearly every major platform, including Facebook, Twitter, and Alphabet's YouTube, after the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol.
On January 8, Twitter cited "the risk of further incitement of violence" from Trump's tweets.
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/digital-world-acquisition-stock-price-merger-spac-donald-trump-tech-2021-10
Fed’s Quarles Warns Additional Government Spending Could Lead to Extended Period of Transitory Inflation
Federal Reserve Gov. Randal Quarles on Wednesday warned that additional government spending being contemplated by the Biden administration could lead to “transitory” inflation continuing for too long.
Speaking at a Milken Institute conference in Los Angeles, Quarles noted that the central bank has been increasing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency mortgage-backed securities by $120 billion a month since the middle of last year in an effort to support the economy.
Fed officials are reportedly preparing to start cutting back on monthly bond purchases as early as the middle of next month or mid-December, and will start withdrawing the extraordinary support unleashed after pandemic lockdowns paralyzed the economy, Bloomberg reported.
On Wednesday, Quarles said that he agrees with his colleagues at the central bank and other economists that “inflation likely will decline considerably next year from its currently very elevated rate,” noting that inflation has been worse and lasted longer than expected due to supply and distribution constraints bought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a demand for reopening the economy, as well as labor shortages.
The Labor Department reported that the consumer price index, a key inflation gauge that measures how much Americans pay for goods and services, rose about 0.4 percent in September. The year-over-year prices increased 5.4 percent, which some noted is the largest yearly increase since January 1991.
Quarles acknowledged that inflation is currently running at more than twice the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC’s) longer-run goal, yet he said he was, “not quite ready to conclude that this ‘transitory’ period is already ‘too long.'”
Quarles said he would support a decision to move to reduce the pace of asset purchases soon, which would be “entirely consistent with the FOMC’s plan to pursue our longer-run maximum-employment and price-stability goals, and our new monetary policy strategy.”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/feds-quarles-warns-additional-government-spending-could-lead-to-extended-period-of-transitory-inflation_4060697.html
Blacklisted Chinese tech giant Huawei paid Tony Podesta $500,000 to lobby the White House
Huawei, the Chinese tech giant that is on a U.S. trade blacklist, paid veteran Democratic lobbyist and donor Tony Podesta $500,000 to lobby the White House during the third quarter.
The disclosure comes as the Biden administration is facing pressure to keep Huawei on the blacklist, which restricts the company’s access to semiconductors. The lobbying took place between July and September. The specifics of Podesta’s lobbying campaign for Huawei were not clear. Podesta and Huawei did not return requests for comment before publication. The White House, in a response Thursday, criticized Huawei and said the company is still subject to trade restrictions.
“President Biden and this administration believe digital infrastructure equipment made by untrustworthy vendors, like Huawei, pose a threat to the security of the U.S., our allies, and our partners. Export controls against Huawei remain in place,” a White House official said, when asked about Podesta’s lobbying. “We are committed to using the full range of our tools to keep us and our allies secure,” the official added. “We are engaging with all of our partners and allies on the risks posed by Huawei and dozens of countries and carriers have made the decision to exclude Huawei from their 5G networks. And we expect this trend to continue.”
Huawei’s hiring of Podesta was previously reported, but the disclosure sheds new light on the longtime lobbyist’s dealings, including his hefty fee. Podesta, who is known to have ties in the White House, registered to lobby for Huawei in July, according to a registration form. It marked his return to lobbying after he left the business in 2017 as his firm came under heavy scrutiny in special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. Podesta, according to the third quarter disclosure, targeted only the White House Office for Huawei last quarter. The disclosure form says it was for “issues related to telecommunication services and impacted trade issues.” The White House Office is run by the president’s chief of staff, who, in this case, is Ron Klain, another veteran Democratic power player. A source familiar with the Podesta’s lobbying efforts for Huawei told CNBC that Klain was not contacted. This person declined to be identified in order to discuss a private matter.
For years, Huawei has sought to curry favor with American officials as it faces accusations that it is a threat to American national security. China’s government is known to exert a great deal of influence over the nation’s companies, although Huawei has denied that it would give data to Beijing. Podesta was also paid another $500,000 last quarter by a Bulgarian energy company titled Protos Energy SSC. That payment came after “no lobbying issue activity,” according to the disclosure report.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/21/huawei-paid-tony-podesta-500000-to-lobby-white-house.html
(((They))) don't shut off the other equitys when they go parabolic..
Dis is funny.
Don't habs any active accounts so can't see real-time Level 2 data but I imagine its pretty off the ropes
Digital World Acquisition Corp.
Our management team is led by Patrick Orlando, our chairman and CEO, who has served many executive roles in Finance over a 25-year career. He has been involved in special purpose acquisition corporations (“SPACs”) at several levels – as an executive, a sponsor and a director – in several SPACs, including Yunhong International (Nasdaq: ZGYH), Benessere Capital Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq: BENE) and Maquia Capital Acquisition Corporation (Nasdaq: MAQC).
Our CFO, Luis Orleans-Braganza is a businessman and a member of Brazil’s National Congress, originally elected in 2018, representing the state of São Paulo. He founded Zap Tech in February 2012 and remained there until 2015, during which time Zap Tech developed a mobile payment platform. As the CEO, he was responsible for all aspects of product design, geo localization and payment protocols. In August 2005, he founded IKAT do Brasil, an automobile and motorcycle company that developed new automotive technology in ignitions. He began his career in the United States, where he acquired experience in planning, finance and mergers and acquisitions.
(Note: Digital World Acquisition Corp. downsized its SPAC IPO at pricing to 25 million units, down from 30 million, at $10 each to raise $250 million. In an S-1/A filing dated July 8, 2021, Digital World Acquisition had tripled the deal’s size to 30 million units from 10 million in its initial filing.)
https://www.iposcoop.com/ipo/digital-world-acquisition-corp/
SAM549 USAF G5 KAF AC of interdast departed JBA to the west after arrivnig last night
This AC departed JBA on 1016 (late) and was last seen on the outbound flight just west of Canary Islands and reappeared yesterday off Senegal heading back to JBA as XA475
Here is who owns DWAC on the initial acquisition:
Highbridge Capital Management
Founded in 1992, Highbridge Capital Management is a global alternative investment firm offering credit and volatility focused solutions across a range of liquidity and investment profiles, including hedge funds, drawdown vehicles and co-investments. The firm seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for sophisticated investors, which include financial institutions, public and corporate pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and family offices. Highbridge is headquartered in New York, with a research presence in London. In 2004 Highbridge established a strategic partnership with J.P. Morgan.
https://www.highbridge.com/#about
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1849635/000090266421004328/0000902664-21-004328-index.htm
D. E. SHAW & CO, L.P
Founded in 1988 over a small bookstore in downtown New York City, the D. E. Shaw group began with six employees and $28 million in capital and quickly became a pioneer in computational finance. In the early days of exposed pipes and extension cords, tripping on a cable could take out our whole trading system. Today, the firm has more than 1,900 people around the globe and an institutional-grade (and trip-proof) infrastructure, but we still value creativity, entrepreneurship, and the spirit of discovery.
https://www.deshaw.com/who-we-are/leadership
David E. Shaw.
While Dr. Shaw remains involved in certain higher-level strategic decisions affecting the investment management businesses of the D. E. Shaw group, the firm’s day-to-day operations are overseen by the firm’s Executive Committee. The vast majority of his time is now devoted to his role as chief scientist of D. E. Shaw Research, LLC, in which capacity he leads an interdisciplinary research group in the field of computational biochemistry and personally engages in hands-on scientific research in that field. He also holds appointments as a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics at Columbia University and as an Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia’s medical school. Dr. Shaw received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1980 and served on the faculty of the Computer Science Department at Columbia University until 1986, when he left to pursue the emerging field of computational finance. He initiated his work on computational biochemistry in 2001, began building the scientific team at D. E. Shaw Research in 2002, and resumed his affiliation with Columbia in 2005. Dr. Shaw was appointed to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology by President Clinton in 1994, and again by President Obama in 2009. He is a two-time winner of the ACM Gordon Bell Prize, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007, to the National Academy of Engineering in 2012, and to the National Academy of Sciences in 2014.
https://www.deshaw.com/who-we-are/founder
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1849635/000110465921117331/0001104659-21-117331-index.htm
Saba Capital Management, L.P
Saba Capital Management, L.P. (“Saba”) is an Investment Adviser launched in 2009. Saba is a spin-out of one of the largest proprietary groups in the industry, ‘Saba Principal Strategies’, founded by Boaz Weinstein at Deutsche Bank in 1998. Saba’s senior investment team began working together at Deutsche Bank in the early 2000s, and is best known for having pioneered credit relative value and capital structure trading strategies. Saba currently manages four core strategies: Credit Relative Value, Tail Hedge, SPACs and Closed-End Funds. Saba’s investors are predominately institutions and include corporate pensions, public pensions, foundations, fund of funds, endowments, and family offices. Saba is 100% self-owned. Saba is headquartered in the historic Chrysler Building in New York and is registered with the SEC and CFTC.
https://www.sabacapital.com/our-firm/
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1849635/000106299321008502/0001062993-21-008502-index.htm
ATW SPAC Management LLC
ATW Partners is a New York-based hybrid venture capital/private equity firm that focuses on investing in high quality companies at various stages. Investors choose ATW for our unique and disciplined investment process targeting high risk-adjusted returns. We invest in debt and equity and offer investment flexibility to our portfolio companies with tailored investment structure solutions. ATW seeks to both capture high growth and mitigate risk for our investors, while offering investment flexibility to our portfolio companies through a hybrid strategy of venture investment and structured finance.
https://www.atwpartners.com/
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1849635/000149315221022303/0001493152-21-022303-index.htm
continued
Boothbay Fund Management LLC
Boothbay Fund Management, LLC is an institutional investment firm established by Ari Glass in late 2011. We manage two global multi-strategy multi-manager funds, and seek to generate repeatable absolute returns with minimal volatility and correlation to traditional asset classes through all market conditions. We combine our team’s knowledge and expertise across strategies, regions, structures and markets to discover investment ideas and deliver value to our clients.
https://www.bbaymgmt.com/company/
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1849635/000149315221022225/0001493152-21-022225-index.htm
The K2 Principal Fund L.P.
Founded in December of 2000 as the flagship fund out of K2 & Associates Investment Management Inc. is a broadly diversified Canadian and U.S. portfolio that employs a variety of strategies including event driven opportunities, structured products arbitrage, distressed securities, long/short equities and other opportunities.
https://k2.ca/k2/products.php
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1849635/000146179021000048/0001461790-21-000048-index.htm
Radcliffe Capital Management, L.P
Radcliffe Group, Inc. was founded in 1996. Radcliffe Capital Management, LP is an SEC registered investment adviser that manages over $3.4 billion across defensive credit related strategies. Its clients include a cross section of institutions and high-net-worth individuals.
https://www.radcliffefunds.com/our-firm/overview
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1849635/000110465921112832/0001104659-21-112832-index.htm
ARC Global Investments II LLC
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1849635/000110465921119357/0001104659-21-119357-index.htm
https://arcglobal.fund/
Lighthouse Investment Partners
The founder of Lighthouse Investment Partners, Sean McGould is responsible for overall portfolio construction and day‑to‑day operations of the firm. He is the chairman of the Lighthouse Executive Committee and of the Lighthouse Investment Research Committee; he is also a member of the Lighthouse Relative Value Committee and a member of the board of directors of Navigator Global Investments, the firm’s parent company.
https://www.lighthousepartners.com/our-team/
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1849635/000117266121001991/0001172661-21-001991-index.htm
Fed bans stock trading, restricts other investing activities by top officials
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday banned individual stock purchases by top officials at the central bank and unveiled a broad set of other restrictions on their investing activities roughly six weeks after reports of active trading by some senior policymakers triggered an ethics uproar.
The new rules will limit the types of financial securities the Fed’s top officials can own, including an outright ban on purchases of individual stocks or holding individual bonds. It also requires advance notice and approval of any transactions, and stipulates investments be held for at least a year. “These tough new rules raise the bar high in order to assure the public we serve that all of our senior officials maintain a single-minded focus on the public mission of the Federal Reserve,” Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell said a statement. In a press release the Fed said the new rules were meant to “help guard against even the appearance of any conflict of interest in the timing of investment decisions.”
The new rules come after two of the 12 regional Federal Reserve bank presidents resigned after reports of their active trading during 2020, when the Fed launched a massive effort to fight the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-ethics-rules/fed-bans-stock-trading-restricts-other-investing-activities-by-top-officials-idUSW1N2PU054