#7. China allows US rice imports
Quite a big breakthrough in the relations between the world’s two biggest economies this week it seems. China has opened the door to imports of rice from the United States for the first time ever, Reuters reports. Analysts consider this a positive signal in what’s been a year marked by tensions and tit-for-tat tariffs.
China allows first-ever U.S. rice imports ahead of trade talks https://t.co/BsjNNq5HdT pic.twitter.com/bmCNs5O1gR
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) December 28, 2018
#6. Tesla’s new board members
Tesla added two independent directors to its board this week. The appointment of Oracle founder, chairman and CTO Larry Ellison and Walgreens executive Kathleen Wilson-Thompson is part of a settlement with the US securities regulators over CEO Elon Musk’s infamous tweets about taking the company private, TechCrunch reports.
The pair joined the board as of December 27, their appointment comes after what has been quite a dramatic year for Tesla and Musk. The latter reached a settlement with the SEC in September meaning he had to step down as chairman of the board and pay a $20 million fine, according to the same TechCrunch article.
Tesla names Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Walgreens executive to board as part of SEC settlement https://t.co/0lrYaOC8Vc by @kirstenkorosec
— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) December 28, 2018
#5. US Treasury yield drops to 10-year low
On Friday, the yield on the benchmark 10-year notes fell to 2.71%, a level unseen since February, Bloomberg reports. With trading being thin, the 10-year rate has gained or lost more than five basis points every trading day this week on an intraday basis.
Treasury yield drops to 10-month low at the end of volatile week https://t.co/4vnbiJjhwU
— Bloomberg (@business) December 28, 2018
#4. Is it all over for Sears?
It hasn’t just been a tough year for Tesla, it was a difficult one for Sears too. The iconic American chain of department stores seems to have reached the end of its road. If no bid comes for Sears’ assets and save the company, it will face liquidation and eventually cease to exist, Yahoo Finance reports.
Highlight: "It’s all over for Sears," @briansozzi says as Sears fights for survival. "Nobody is stepping up for this company. They were a zombie 10 years ago and they’re even more of a zombie right now, except they’re minus two arms and two legs." https://t.co/ObzMOMFjVy pic.twitter.com/pNFBqM1Ni8
— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) December 28, 2018
#3. Dell returns to stock market
For Dell, the year ended well. PC pioneer Michael Dell made his return to the stock market after leaving it in 2013 and Wall Street put a value of $34 billion on newly traded shares in his company, the Financial Times reports.
The listing on the New York Stock Exchange marks the end of a 5-year period of private ownership during which Mr. Dell and his private equity partner Silver Lake used financial engineering and heavy borrowing to revamp the company.
Michael Dell turned his back on Wall Street in 2013 with a $24bn buyout of his company — now the PC pioneer has returned https://t.co/yvWIrj383d
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) December 28, 2018
#2. No alien invasion in New York
Granted, this isn’t exactly a financial tweet. But since this is the last week of 2018 and things like this don’t happen a lot we listed it anyway. On Thursday night, a strange blue glow appeared over the New York skyline.
An alien invasion, some thought.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t. Instead, it turned out an electric transformer blew up in Queens, causing the New York sky to light up blue.
Despite the eerie blue glow over the New York skyline on Thursday night, there was no alien invasion. Instead, the light came as part of an electrical fault that caused an "arc flash," a Con Edison spokesman said. https://t.co/zUarhKpBpK pic.twitter.com/MYW400NqV5
— CNN (@CNN) December 28, 2018
#1. Yen jumps
Despite soft domestic data and a decline in benchmark Japanese bond yields, the Yen jumped on Friday as investors sought protection against volatile stock moves, Reuters reports. The dollar dipped, following a dramatic week capped by big price swings.
The Japanese currency was up 0.56% against the dollar at 110.37 yen and the Swiss franc - another safe-haven currency, gained 0.25% at 0.9849, according to the same Reuters article.
Yen jumps as investors stay cautious amid volatile stock moves https://t.co/qsg9QV1ABJ pic.twitter.com/RL4Vb9gg7P
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) December 28, 2018
There you have it, the last week of 2018 all captured in Tweets. As always, we’ll continue to track Twitter and bring you the top financial micro-messages from the web. See you back here next Friday. In the meantime, have a lovely New Year's eve!
Source: www.scoopnest.com.