Deribit FZE, an entity owned by crypto derivatives platform Deribit, has secured a conditional virtual asset service provider from the Dubai virtual assets regulator. The license, which covers spot and derivative trading, will remain non-operational until Deribit meets the regulator’s localization requirements. Meeting Dubai’s Localization Requirements Deribit FZE, a wholly owned entity of the crypto […]
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Ford Motor Co., CEO Jim Farley gives the thumbs up sign before announcing Ford Motor will partner with Chinese-based, Amperex Technology, to build an all-electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, during a press conference in Romulus, Michigan February 13, 2023.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
DETROIT – Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley on Thursday urged Wall Street to forget about Tesla and its FSD driver-assistance systems as the future of the auto industry, contending investors should instead focus on the Detroit automaker’s “Pro” fleet business.
Farley compared the unit, which roughly doubled pretax earnings last year to $7.2 billion, to where Deere & Co. was seven years ago. The farm equipment maker’s stock has increased by about 235% since then.
“If you’re looking for the future of the automotive industry, stop looking at FSD and Tesla. Look at Ford Pro. It’s got half a million subscribers with 50% gross margin,” Farley said during a Wolfe Research conference.
Ford Pro is made up of the automaker’s traditional fleet and commercial businesses as well as emerging telematics, logistics and other connective operations for business customers – ranging from local plumbers and electricians to massive corporations. It also includes parts and services for businesses.
Ford expects the Pro unit’s pretax earnings to increase to between $8 billion and $9 billion this year, the automaker said earlier this month. That compares with earnings expectations for the company’s “Blue” traditional business of about $7 billion to $7.5 billion and projected losses in its Model e EV business of $5 billion to $5.5 billion.
Tesla does not break out revenue or earnings from its premium driver-assistance software, marketed as its Full Self-Driving Beta, FSD or FSD Beta. Many Wall Street analysts have speculated that such software could bring in tens of billions of dollars per year by 2030.
Ford Motor, Tesla and Deere & Co. stocks over the last seven years
Ford has said it expects revenue from telematics and other nontraditional subscription services to increase to $2,000 per vehicle annually, or about $167 a month, for Ford Pro in the years ahead. Farley reiterated Thursday that 20% of Pro’s overall revenue is expected to come from such services by 2026.
Farley reiterated that Ford Pro is undervalued within the automaker. Some on Wall Street agree.
Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas last week called Ford Pro the company’s “Ferrari,” referring to the extremely profitable luxury sportscar manufacturer that was significantly undervalued before being spun out of Fiat Chrysler in 2016.
“I remember a time when Fiat owned Ferrari, and I had a valuation of about $4 billion on it. Now Ferrari is worth $80 billion today, and the business was totally ignored by investors when it was part of Fiat,” Jonas said during Ford’s quarterly earnings call earlier this month. “Now Ford has a Ferrari, it’s called Ford Pro. And I think we agree, people are ignoring the cash cow.”
Jonas, a longtime Tesla bull, contended the business is being overlooked because profits from it are being siphoned to fund Ford’s “EV science project.”
Some investors may be skeptical of Farley’s comments. The Ford executive has previously discussed Ford being a growing competitor to Tesla with its vehicles and technologies, but that, in general, has largely not occurred yet.
Ford is delaying or cutting spending by billions of dollars on EVs, including domestic battery production, amid slower-than-expected adoption of its current models as well as significant losses on its electric vehicles. The company is in the middle of developing its next-generation EVs that it promises will be profitable within a year of going on sale.
Farley said Thursday that while EV demand is slower than expected for consumers, fleet customers are actually adopting all-electric vehicles faster than the company had anticipated.
The Pro operations are a major part of Farley’s “Ford+” restructuring and growth plan. The unit is led by Ted Cannis, who is considered a successful utility man within the company.
“We always had a super successful pro-business … but there was no focus on it,” Farley said. “I think people are just starting to see [it].”
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By Mehnaz Yasmin
(Reuters) -Investment banking giant Morgan Stanley is planning to cut hundreds of jobs in its wealth management unit, according to a person familiar with the matter, the latest in a string of layoffs that Wall Street firms have undertaken since last year.
The cuts will impact less than 1% of the division’s employees, the person said, requesting anonymity.
While hopes of a soft landing for the economy have grown in recent months, companies are still looking to trim costs amid uncertainty around the trajectory of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
In the last quarter, revenue from Morgan Stanley’s wealth management unit was flat compared to a year earlier, and the medium-term margin forecast for the business was below what some analysts had expected.
The wealth management unit became an important moneymaker for the bank after it clinched major acquisitions, including Eaton Vance and E*Trade, under former CEO James Gorman.
The unit has helped make Morgan Stanley less dependent on its traditional mainstays of trading and investment banking, revenues from which can be volatile.
Last month, the bank’s new CEO Ted Pick reiterated the target, set by Gorman, of reaching $10 trillion in assets under management.
The workforce reduction would be one of the first significant moves by Pick, who took over the helm at the beginning of this year.
The bank had nearly 80,000 employees as of the end of last year, its latest quarterly report showed.
Morgan Stanley’s job cut plans were first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The bank declined to comment.
(Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin and Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Shinjini Ganguli)
Bitcoin may now be used to determine the market value of goods and services in the region.
Bitcoin (BTC) has scored yet another big win in a special economic zone in Roatan, Honduras. Barely two years after adopting the cryptocurrency as legal tender, it has now also officially recognized it as a unit of account. That is, Bitcoin may now be used to determine the market value of goods and services.
According to the acting manager of Próspera’s ZEDE (Zone for Employment and Economic Development), Jorge Colindres, the move is an attempt to bring more financial freedom to residents of the region. Colindres, who is also a tax commissioner, shared this in a recent X post. He also mentioned that businesses within the Próspera zone stand to benefit from the development as well. The post reads:
“At @ProsperaZEDE we believe in the right to financial freedom and monetary freedom. People should be free to carry out transactions, do their accounting and report taxes in the currency of their free choice.”
Colindres also addressed the issue of tax liabilities of entities that choose Bitcoin as their unit of account. According to the commissioner, a “Final BTC Tax Payment Procedure” is not yet available. He noted that there are technicalities with its eGovernance system, at the time, that need taking care of. That is not to mention other issues bordering on external regulations.
However, pending the time those issues will be resolved, Colindres says that such entities that have made BTC their preference will see their tax liabilities determined using BTC. He added that this will be for internal accounting purposes only, but will be escalated to Próspera ZEDE in United States dollars or the Honduras lempira. Once resolved, entities may then report tax liabilities and even pay the corresponding tax dues to Próspera ZEDE in BTC.
Furthermore, Colindres has advised those interested in making BTC their unit of account to file a notice with the commission. They must do so within 30 days of the relevant tax period. The notice must also include a reference to any approved cryptocurrency exchange, such as Coinbase or Kraken.
It might be worth noting that the Central Bank of Honduras denied reports of Bitcoin being approved as legal tender.
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European digital asset manager CoinShares secured the exclusive option to acquire Valkyrie Funds, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) unit of its United States competitor, Valkyrie Investments, which includes the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund awaiting U.S. approval.
CoinShares said on Nov. 17 that the move helps it expand to the U.S., which could soon become the epicenter for ETF offerings. The firm’s CEO, Jean-Marie Mognetti, added that he hopes the Valkyrie acquisition will help it capitalize on what is currently a fragmented global ETF market.
“The establishment of crypto spot ETPs in Europe since 2015, a development about to be mirrored in the U.S., is the perfect illustration,” said Mognetti. “This disparity in market evolution presents both challenges and significant opportunities.”
Exciting update! @CoinSharesCo secures an option to acquire @ValkyrieFunds, uniting our strengths to create a global one-stop-shop in digital asset investments. This marks a strategic leap towards market leadership and bolsters our strong presence in the U.S.!… pic.twitter.com/0BPNGC518P
— CoinShares (@CoinSharesCo) November 16, 2023
The option will remain active until March 31, 2024. For now, Valkyrie Funds will continue to operate as an independent entity until an acquisition by CoinShares is finalized.
Big News! Valkyrie is set to join the @CoinSharesCo family! We’re thrilled about this partnership, uniting our U.S. market insights with CoinShares’ global expertise. Together, we’re redefining digital asset investment in the U.S. and beyond! pic.twitter.com/s5URikl8Ci
— Valkyrie (@ValkyrieFunds) November 16, 2023
The two crypto-centric firms also agreed on a brand licensing term where the CoinShares name would be used in future S-1 filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — used to register a securities offering with the regulator when companies plan to go public.
Related: Bitcoin ETFs will drive institutional adoption in 2024 — Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz
If the SEC approves the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund, Valkyrie plans to incorporate the CoinShares name into the ETF.
Valkyrie filed for the spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF on June 21, along with BlackRock and a host of other financial firms.
CoinShares, which oversees over $3.2 billion in assets under management, expressed its optimism toward the U.S. cryptocurrency ETF market in September and iterated that the economic powerhouse isn’t lagging on digital asset regulation.
Magazine: Bitcoin ETF optimist and Worldcoin skeptic Gracy Chen: Hall of Flame
Japan’s largest investment bank, Nomura Holdings, is launching an Ethereum-based fund for institutional investors through its digital assets subsidiary Laser Digital Asset Management, according to a Nov. 9 press release.
The “Laser Digital Ethereum Adoption Fund SP” fund marks the second installment in a series of digital adoption investment solutions introduced by Laser Digital following the launch of the Laser Digital Bitcoin Adoption Fund in September.
The new fund will primarily target long-only spot positions in Ethereum. It enhances yield through an innovative strategy that involves staking the ETH held by the fund. The fund is managed as a segregated portfolio within Laser Digital Funds SPC, a segregated portfolio company registered in the Cayman Islands.
Laser Digital has partnered with Komainu as custodian for the fund’s assets. The company also serves as the custodian for Laser Digital’s Bitcoin fund. Komainu is regulated under the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority and the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority in Dubai.
Laser Digital Asset Management head and former Nomura Chief Scientist Officer Sebastian Guglietta said the company views Ethereum as the technological catalyst that will digitize the economy. He added that in the long run, exposure to Ethereum is crucial to capturing the structural technology trend of the web 3 economy.
Meanwhile, Laser Digital Asset Management head of distribution Fiona King said the fund will simplify investing in digital assets and provide a secure way for institutional investors to gain exposure to the industry as it is fully regulated.
Beyond the Nomura announcement, documents surfaced on Nov. 9 showing that BlackRock has registered an Ethereum-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the state of Delaware on the same day.
The ETF was registered under the name iShares Ethereum Trust. BlackRock similarly filed its Bitcoin ETF a week before applying with the SEC.
News of large traditional financial institutions diving into Ethereum has caused the token to rally and break past the $2000 resistance level. ETH was trading at $2,007 at press time — more than 5.8% over 24 hours, according to CryptoSlate data.
Investing in real estate often seems straightforward: Purchase a house, lease it and receive monthly rent from the tenant.
But reality doesn’t always follow the script, as Jason Roth of Seattle can attest.
Roth rented out his home in Rainier Valley but the tenant stopped paying rent. Roth is now owed $29,000 in unpaid rent plus utilities.
Roth is living in a van with his dog Wally, KIRO 7 News reported.
“It’s frustrating, extremely frustrating. It’s something I can’t fully wrap my head around,” Roth told the station.
The delinquent tenant also has listed the downstairs unit for $434 per night on the short-term rental platform Airbnb.
“At the very least he’s generating $2,000 a month, and it’s more than likely that he’s generating close to $3,000, possibly even $4,000, depending on the month,” Roth said.
“So, not only is he not paying me, but he’s generating an income through the basement Airbnb unit, and meanwhile, I’m having to pay the utilities for that unit.”
Roth is waiting for an eviction hearing. In King County, it takes about 12 months to go through the eviction process. According to KIRO 7 News, Roth will be looking at $50,000 in losses “before all is said and done.”
The city, which gave the tenant a short-term rental license, said that the license is not valid “because it was obtained using inaccurate information about ownership of the property.” And Airbnb has taken down the listing.
Roth’s situation shows that being a landlord is not just about collecting rent and enjoying passive income. If you don’t want to deal with the hassles of being a landlord, here are two hands-off strategies to tap into real estate.
You can think of real estate investment trusts (REITs) as giant landlords — they own income-producing real estate and collect rent from tenants.
REITs are required by law to distribute at least 90% of their taxable income to shareholders as dividends. This requirement makes them appealing to investors looking to earn a passive income.
These days, there are plenty of REITs trading on the stock market, so it’s easy to invest in them. You can purchase shares of a REIT much like you would buy stocks of a company.
REITs can center their investment strategies around various kinds of real estate. Some may concentrate their portfolio on residential properties while others might hold assets such as shopping malls or office buildings.
Like any investment, REITs come with risks, so always conduct comprehensive research and due diligence before diving in.
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people. It can be an excellent match for real estate investing.
Real estate crowdfunding platforms provide opportunities for people to invest in a wide array of properties across different geographical locations and property types. They typically have lower minimum investment requirements compared to traditional real estate investments. This means people can gain access to properties and portfolios that are typically off limits to retail investors.
Other than making the sector more accessible to the general public, some platforms also allow investors to select specific properties and projects to invest in.
For instance, if you are interested in single-family rentals, there are options to invest in rental properties with as little as $100 while staying completely hands-off.
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This article ‘Extremely Frustrating’: Homeowner Lives In Van While Deadbeat Tenant Lists Unit On Airbnb — Here Are 2 Hassle-Free Ways To Invest In Real Estate originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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