Crypto Regulations Might Be Good?

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Today is Monday, September 13, 2021.

Cryptocurrency Regulations Might Be Positive, Says Analyst

Regulations on cryptocurrency might be positive because it could open up several aspects of the financial markets, says Quantum Economics analyst and The Latest Block Founder/Editor-in-Chief Alexandre Lores in a new episode of the Early Bird podcast.

Across Party Lines: Lores also says that support for crypto can be found across both political parties in the U.S.

Crackdown: Although global crackdowns against crypto might create some short-term shock, Lores says that Bitcoin still has room to run in the long term.

Stock Market Connection: There is also a correlation between crypto and the stock market, Lores says, with an influx of new retail investors entering the space.

Final Thoughts: Lores also shares advice for new crypto investors, so listen to the latest episode of the Early Bird podcast.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), Mission Produce (Nasdaq: AVO), NAPCO Security Technologies (Nasdaq: NSSC), Evolution Petroleum (NYSE: EPM).

Notable IPOs Today: Belong Acquisition Corp. Class A Common Stock (Nasdaq: BLNG), Coca-Cola Europacific Partners plc Ordinary Shares (Nasdaq: CCEP), Sigma Lithium Corporation Common Shares (Nasdaq: SGML).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Cheap Chick Trading Company (MainVest), SoFusion Cafe (MainVest), Genius Juice (Republic), Brothers Taphouse (MainVest), NYCE (Wefunder), SkillSoniq (StartEngine), First Crop (MicroVentures), TmrO App (StartEngine), Octivity Fitness Collective (StartEngine).

Notable Economic Events Today: Federal Budget Balance (2:00 p.m. ET).

Kansas City Southern Accepts Canadian Pacific Deal

Railroad company Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) announced Sunday it is accepting a merger offer from Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP).

Details: The offer says that each share of Kansas City Southern common stock would be exchanged for 2.884 common shares of Canadian Pacific stock and $90 in cash. Overall, it amounts to about $300 per share.

Missing Out: Kansas City Southern also said that it will reject a larger bid from Canadian National (NYSE: CNI) due to regulatory issues. However, Canadian National has five business days to negotiate the merger agreement.

Bigger Picture: Merging Canadian Pacific with Kansas City Southen would result in one of the largest rail networks in North America.

Stocks: Among the three stocks, Kansas City Southern has seen the largest growth for the year with a 39% increase in share price. Canadian National is up 8% for the year and Canadian Pacific is down 0.60%.

Final Thoughts: Keep an eye on Kansas City Southern’s stock on Monday.

Buy Now, Pay Later Companies: An Overview

Buy now, pay later (or BNPL, in which a consumer can purchase a product or service and split the payments up into short-term future installments) has taken the financial sector by storm recently, and investors should be aware of this trend.

Recent Acquisitions: Some of the largest fintech companies have recently swooped in and acquired leading BNPL upstarts. This includes Square (NYSE: SQ) acquiring Afterpay and PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL) acquiring Paidy.

Recent Partnership: Tech giant Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) also recently began a partnership with Affirm (Nasdaq: AFRM), another leader in the BNPL space. Since the partnership was announced, Affirm’s stock is up 82%.

Bigger Picture: During the pandemic, there was very little consolidation in this nascent space. But now, fintech giants recognize the potential. There is likely to be further consolidation.

Next Big Upstarts: Keep an eye on other players in this space, such as Perpay, Klarna, Sezzle, and Splitit.

Final Thoughts: Financial company Stripe offers BNPL services. The company is likely to go public next year.

Trends to Watch

Bridging the Gap: Chip Shortage Drives Tech Companies and Car Makers Closer (The Wall Street Journal)

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