Morning Brief: Top Stories Dominating Financial Media on Friday, April 8

Reuters

Blockchain-Based Online Games Like Axie Infinity Continue To Hook Users Despite Risks

• Blockchain-based online games like Axie Infinity, dubbed “play-to-earn,” offer lucrative businesses amid the hype around NFTs and virtual worlds
• Players spent $4.9 billion on NFTs in games in 2021 and attracted projects worth $4 billion of venture capital funding.
• Axie Infinity users formed a “guild” to make more money, turning it into a full-time job. They also acknowledged the risks associated with crypto with a lack of safety net for players.

KPMG Says Woodside Investors To Benefit From $40B Merger With BHP Petroleum Arm

• Accounting firm KPMG assessed the value of the combined group at between $37.2 billion and $42.3 billion, equivalent to A$26.25 - A$29.81 in per-share valuation.
• “Based on these measures, the proposed transaction is, in our opinion, fair to Woodside shareholders,” KPMG said in a report commissioned by Woodside.
• KPMG’s valuation of the combined group was below estimates by UBS and Credit Suisse, at about A$34.60 a share and A$33 a share, respectively, based on the banks’ current oil price outlooks.

Walmart Raises US Trucker Annual Pay To $110,000

• Walmart Inc WMT has raised the starting pay for the drivers of Walmart Private Fleet to $110,000 a year.
• The retail giant employs about 12,000 long-haul truck drivers under its fleet.
• The move comes amid a shortage of drivers that threatens to prolong supply chain snarls and merchandise shortages, Reuters reported.

EV Maker VinFast Files for US IPO

• Vietnam-based electric vehicle maker VinFast’s Singapore-based holding company had filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with U.S. securities regulators, Reuters reported.
• VinFast looks to raise about $2 billion from the offering.
• The company first launched in 2017 and became Vietnam’s first domestic car manufacturer when its gas-powered models reached consumers in 2019.

WSJ

Amazon To Appeal Its Defeat To New York Union

• Amazon.com Inc AMZN looks to appeal its loss to New York union organizers NLRB.
• Amazon accused the NLRB of influencing its employees and suppressing voter turnout.
• The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, leading the Alabama facility campaign, alleged Amazon of threatening and avenging supporters and sought a review of the election.
• Amazon had also filed objections against the RWDSU, questioning its integrity.

Bloomberg

US Sanctions Russian State-Controlled Diamond Miner That Controls 30% Of Global Supply

• The U.S. Treasury has extended sanctions to Russian diamond miner Alrosa PJSC, potentially cutting off about 30% of the world’s supply of rough stones, writes Bloomberg.
• The U.S. restrictions tighten the screws on Alrosa as the risk of cross-sanctions threatens to deter buyers in other regions. The European Union and the U.K. previously imposed sanctions on the miner following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Financial Times

Toshiba To Weigh Deals To Go Private

• Toshiba Corp TOSYY looks to assess potential bids from private equity and other investors to take the Japanese conglomerate private.
• The new committee assessing the bids will include the group’s six existing independent directors, Tiga Investments founder Raymond Zage and the former Noble Group executive chair Paul Brough.
• Toshiba will likely receive its first proposal from Bain Capital.

Are SPAC Deals Going Out of Flavor?

• Nineteen blank-cheque company (SPAC) mergers have been canceled in 2022 compared to three in the identical interval in 2021, with many failing resulting from a mix of excessive investor redemptions and insufficient money from non-public traders through construction, often known as a Pipe.
• According to Dealogic, SPAC investor redemptions reached 81% in March. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recommended substantial revisions for SPAC last week, adding to market uncertainty.

Benzinga

Warren Buffett Is ‘Bitcoin Enemy No.1,’ A ‘Sociopathic Grandpa From Omaha,’ Says Peter Thiel

• Billionaire investor Peter Thiel took aim at Bitcoin’s BTC/USD “enemies” in a speech on Thursday.
• Speaking at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, the PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL co-founder listed out Bitcoin’s most well-known enemies stating that they were standing in the way of the digital asset’s success.
• Thiel declared Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class A (NYSE: BRK-A) CEO Warren Buffett to be “enemy number one” and went on to call him “the sociopathic grandpa from Omaha.”
• He also called out JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM CEO Jamie Dimon for his negative stance on Bitcoin, calling his views part of the “New York city banker bias.”

Microsoft Says Disrupted Hacking Attempts By Russian Spies Targeting Ukraine, US And EU

• On Thursday, technology giant Microsoft Corporation MSFT said it had disrupted cyberattacks from Russian military spies targeting Ukrainian media. The spies were purportedly attempting to break into Ukrainian, European and American entities.
• In a blog post — Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President, Customer Security & Trust — Tom Burt said that a group named “Strontium” was using seven internet domains to conduct attacks on Ukrainian institutions as well as government bodies and think tanks in the U.S. and the European Union involved in foreign policy.

Elon Musk To Do ‘Unusual’ AMA With Twitter Staff To Quell Worries: Report

• Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk will be part of an “ask me anything” (AMA) session with Twitter Inc TWTR employees, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing internal messages at the microblogging site.
• Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal informed employees of the “highly unusual” internal AMA meant to “assuage anxious workers” after “internal outcries” over Musk’s appointment as a board member at the social media company.
• “Following our board announcement, many of you have had different types of questions about Elon Musk, and I want to welcome you to ask those questions to him,” the report said, citing Agrawal’s company-wide email.

Spirit Airlines Plans To Initiate Discussions With JetBlue On $3.6B Bid

• Spirit Airlines Inc SAVE Board has agreed to engage in discussions with JetBlue Airways JBLU concerning an all-cash transaction for $33/share.
• Spirit remains bound by the terms of the merger agreement with Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. ULCC. Spirit’s Board has not determined that JetBlue’s proposal constitutes a Superior Proposal.

‘It’s All Being Led By Bitcoin:’ Serena Williams Partners With Cash App

• Tennis superstar Serena Williams has partnered with Block Inc’s SQ Cash App to help build financial access to Bitcoin BTC/USD
• What Happened: The Jack Dorsey-led company announced the partnership at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami on Thursday.
• “It’s important to expand Bitcoin to women and people of color,” said Williams, speaking at the Cash App panel.

Boeing 757 Operated By DHL Splits Into Two During Emergency Landing

• A 757 cargo jet manufactured by The Boeing Company BA and operated by Deutsche Post AG’s DPSGY DPSTF DHL split into two upon making an emergency landing in Costa Rica’s capital San Jose.
• The incident, involving a DHL 757, took place at the San Jose Juan Santamaria Airport, tweeted Breaking Aviation News & Video. In a video shared by the handle, rescue services appear to be pouring water on the beleaguered jet.

Nio Down 6%, Xpeng Falls 5.8% In Hong Kong Today: What’s Driving The EV Stocks Down?

• Shares of U.S.-listed Chinese electric automakers and Tesla, Inc TSLA rivals Nio Inc NIO, Xpeng Inc XPEV, and Li Auto Inc LI fell for the third day in a row in Hong Kong on Friday.
• Amid rising COVID-19 cases and a subdued outlook for auto manufacturers in China, the Chinese EV–makers’ shares echoed similar notes on US exchanges.

Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug Aduhelm Medicare Coverage Restricted To Just Clinical Trials, CMS Finalizes

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized its decision to restrict coverage for Biogen Inc’s BIIB Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm and other amyloid-targeted drugs to just patients participating in clinical trials.
• For drugs similar to Aduhelm, the CMS said it would allow coverage if the medication is approved after a standard review by the FDA.
• Part of that modification means that CMS will not require a separate randomized controlled trial that duplicates an RCT conducted for the FDA’s accelerated approval. Biogen already agreed on a protocol.

BREAKING: Elon Musk Gives Cybertruck Update At’ Cyber Rodeo’ Event

• Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk on Thursday said the automaker will begin making the hotly anticipated electric light-duty truck Cybertruck at the Giga Texas next year and follow up with more launches.
• The billionaire entrepreneur was speaking at the Cyber Rodeo event being held in Austin, Texas, to celebrate the opening of its newest factory.
• “Cybertruck is coming next year and will be made in Texas,” Musk told a cheering crowd.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons