Apple Wants Manchester United?

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Today is Friday, November 25, 2022.

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Apple Wants Manchester United?

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is interested in buying the popular sports club (soccer in the U.S., football around the world) Manchester United (NYSE: MANU), according to a report from The Daily Star on Thursday.

Background: The Glazer Family, the owners of Manchester United, announced on Wednesday that they were “commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives” to grow the club. This included a new investment or selling the club altogether to a new owner.

Reality Check: Apple has not commented on the details of The Daily Star report. The website MacRumors said on Thursday that the report about Apple buying the club is not true.

Stock Price: Shares of Apple are down 17% this year, but are about even in the past 30 days. Most tech stocks have been pulverized in 2022, although Apple is doing better than most. Meanwhile, shares of Manchester United are up 28% this year, including 48% in the past month. That entire jump in share price was due to Wednesday's news about Manchester United’s owners seeking to sell the club.

Final Thoughts: Technically, Apple buying Manchester United would not be the first time that the tech company made a play into soccer. Apple recently announced that it was teaming up with Major League Soccer for a new subscription service to fans.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: N/A.

Notable IPOs Today: Qomolangma Acquisition Corp. Common Stock (Nasdaq: QOMO).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Mesilla Valley Cannabis (Mainvest).

Notable Economic Events Today: N/A.

Binance's Industry Recovery Plan

Photo by Kanchanara / Unsplash

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance introduced an Industry Recovery Initiative (IRI) on Thursday to help Web3 companies and projects in the wake of recent volatility.

Details: The new effort is meant to support those in Web3 who, through no fault of their own, are facing financial difficulties. Binance will commit $1 billion to the IRI and could ramp it up to $2 billion if that need arises. The IRI will last about six months.

Participants: While the IRI is not an investment fund, participants in the IRI are required to set aside committed capital within public addresses. Several crypto and Web3 organizations have already committed some funds to the IRI.

Background: 2022 was already a bad year for crypto prices but things have taken a turn for the worse with the collapse of FTX and other issues of instability in the industry. It’s made many investors question the long-term viability of betting on crypto.

Final Thoughts: Some crypto prices were up on Thursday and some were down. This may suggest that Binance’s announcement didn’t have much of an immediate impact on crypto, but long-term it could help out. Still, crypto is viewed as a risky investment asset.

What Black Friday Means for Retail Stocks

Today is Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, and a major opportunity for retail stores to grow sales.

Data: Holiday retail sales during November and December are expected to grow 8% year-over-year to $960.4 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.

Final Thoughts: Of course, most of the increase is expected to be attributed to online sales, but big box retailers still need strong in-store sales. Some of these retail stocks have struggled this year. Inflation and higher prices might slow down some consumer spending, but if Black Friday sales are strong, then that could help these retail stocks.

Trends to Watch

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