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Jack Dorsey said Twitter’s board ‘has always been a problem’ and that he plotted his exit from the firm because of its activist investor
Jack Dorsey creator, co-founder, and Chairman of Twitter and co-founder & CEO of Square, speaks during the crypto-currency conference Bitcoin 2021 Convention at the Mana Convention Center in Miami, Florida, on June 4, 2021.

MARCO BELLO/AFP via Getty Images
- Jack Dorsey said Twitter's board — and its activist investor — prompted him to plan an exit from the firm.
- "I was happy to see it end," Dorsey said of the board when Elon Musk took Twitter private.
- Before leaving Twitter in 2021, Dorsey faced pressure from investors looking to replace him as CEO.
Jack Dorsey, the cofounder of Twitter, slammed the board that oversaw the social media firm during his tenure at its helm, saying the group had "always been a problem."

"I was extremely challenged by my board," Dorsey said during an interview published Thursday by Mike Solana, the head of marketing for VC firm Founders Fund and editor of digital media brand Pirate Wires.

"The board has always been a problem at that company, and I was happy to see it end," Dorsey continued. "But there was only one way for it to end, which is going private. And I think that's the greatest act."

Twitter was sold for $44 billion in October 2022 to Elon Musk, who took the platform private, radically changed its approach, and rebranded it to X. By then, Dorsey had already stepped down from the company, leaving it in 2021 to its new CEO, Parag Agrawal.

Dorsey told Solana that earlier on, he'd tried to bring Musk onto Twitter's board but was stopped twice. That was partially why he decided to ditch the platform, he said.

In April 2022, Musk joined Twitter's board of directors after taking a 9.2% stake in the company.

But Dorsey said he was also unhappy with the board because of an activist investor seeking to boot him, he said.

"I didn't want to be on a board with an activist," he said. I didn't want to run a company like that. It's just a Wall Street mess. It's not creative, it's diminishing."

That investor was Elliott Management, an investment firm led by Paul Singer that wanted to replace Dorsey because he was spending time on his other venture, Square, while running Twitter as CEO.

Dorsey said he offered to step down, an offer that was rejected by the board. Still, he said Elliot Management's presence took a toll on his relationship with the firm.

"So at that point, I'm like, okay, I have to plan an exit," Dorsey told Solana. "It's not going to be right now, but it has to be over the next two years, because I just don't want to live this way."

His comments align with reports that a fed-up Dorsey was receptive to Musk buying Twitter and revamping the platform.

During the interview, Dorsey didn't address allegations that he was practically an "absentee" at both Twitter and Square because he was split between companies. He was accused of being more of an advisor at either firm than the decision-maker and CEO he needed to be.

Dorsey made his recent remarks just after quitting Bluesky, a social media platform he helped create with an open-source protocol. He then urged users to use X, calling it "freedom technology."

Since taking over, Musk has pushed for X to become an ideal "digital town square" free of censorship, reversing prior bans on controversial figures such as former President Donald Trump and white supremacist Nick Fuentes.

The billionaire's repeated controversial remarks eventually led to major advertisers leaving X, though Dorsey has also said he believes that the path forward for the platform is to ditch advertising as a main revenue stream.

Read the original article on Business Insider
10 May 2024
More companies would move to Miami if there were more private schools, says billionaire Miami convert Barry Sternlicht
Barry Sternlicht moved Starwood Capital to Miami.

Craig Barritt/Getty Images
- More companies would move to Miami if there were more private schools, said Barry Sternlicht.
- Miami's business-friendly environment and tax savings have attracted companies like Citadel.
- However, the city faces a private school shortage due to the recent population boom.
One hiccup prevents Miami from attracting more money and talent, according to billionaire real estate fund manager and Miami transplant Barry Sternlicht.

The city doesn't have enough private schools, he said in an interview on Thursday with Bloomberg Television.

"There are a lot of companies that would move down if they could get their employees' kids into schools, which is impossible," said Sternlicht, the CEO of Starwood Capital Group.

Sternlicht announced in 2018 that he would move Starwood from Connecticut to Miami, and the firm relocated during the pandemic. The company managed $115 billion of assets and has 5,000 employees globally, according to its website.

While he expected better weather and tax savings, Sternlicht was pleasantly surprised by how welcoming Florida is to business, he said in the interview.

Sternlicht is one of several real estate moguls and billionaires who moved their company from the northeast to Miami in recent years.

In 2022, Citadel and Citadel Securities founder Ken Griffin moved the headquarters of both of his companies from Chicago to Miami after complaining about Illinois taxes and politics. Late last year, former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced he was relocating from Seattle to Miami, a move that could save him $600 million in taxes.

Florida is one of only nine US states with no state income tax, and high-earners moving to the state are often called "tax refugees."

The shortage of private schools in the area is due to a recent population boom in Miami and the state overall.

Florida's population jumped by 1.9% from 2021 to 2022, with a net gain of 417,000 new residents, more than any other state in the country. Miami saw the number of millionaires rise 78% in the last decade, to 35,300, per a report released Tuesday by immigration consultancy Henley & Partners.

The spike is in part due to employees of Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, D1 Capital Partners, and other firms that have moved in. High-earning employees want to send their children to elite schools that match the quality of New York area's schools, BI previously reported.

Newcomers to the city face long waitlists to get into elite schools because of the small number of such schools in the city and developers dropping plans to build new ones.

Despite the school challenge, Sternlicht said that Miami's growth story is not over.

"I don't think Miami has peaked. I think Miami and Florida have cycles because they get overbuilt, but they're ever-higher cycles," he told Bloomberg. "You just have to have stamina to stay with it."

Read the original article on Business Insider
10 May 2024
Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now
It has been another busy week for Australia’s top brokers. This has led to the release of a number of broker notes.

Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU)

According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have retained their buy rating on this pharmaceutical company’s shares with a slightly trimmed price target of $26.50. This follows the release of an update on Daybue sales in the United States. While those sales were just short of guidance, this was driven by pre-flagged seasonality impacts. The good news is that FY 2024 guidance remains unchanged. In light of this, Bell Potter is expecting another standout year for Neuren. In addition, the broker is eagerly awaiting phase 2 clinical readouts from the company’s second drug candidate, NNZ-2591. It notes that Pitt Hopkins Phase 2 results are due in the current quarter, followed by Angelman results in the third quarter. The Neuren share price is trading at $19.00 on Friday.

REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA)

A note out of Morgan Stanley reveals that its analysts have reaffirmed their overweight rating and $210.00 price target on this property listings company’s shares. This follows the release of a quarterly update which revealed very strong sales and earnings growth from the realestate.com.au operator. The broker notes that REA Group slightly outperformed analyst expectations. It also significantly outperformed its closest rival, which is cementing its market leadership position further. This bodes well for the future and supports the broker’s forecast for further solid growth in the near term. The REA share price is fetching $187.43 this afternoon.

TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE)

Analysts at Goldman Sachs have retained their buy rating on this enterprise technology company’s shares with an improved price target of $18.10. The broker has been looking ahead to TechnologyOne’s half year results release later this month. It is expecting the company to report annual recurring revenue growth of 35%, which will be a touch ahead of consensus estimates. All in all, the broker believes the company is performing above expectations for ARR and earnings growth and that this is not being fully reflected in its valuation. As a result, Goldman believes that now would be a good time for investors to snap up its shares. The TechnologyOne share price is trading at $16.36 on Friday afternoon.

The post Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Technology One. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Goldman Sachs Group, REA Group, and Technology One. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group and Technology One. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
10 May 2024
Should you buy ANZ shares before they trade ex-dividend next week?
It’s been a promising start to the month of May for the ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price. This ASX 200 bank stock began this month at $28.16 a share. But today, those same shares are trading for $29.20 each. That’s up a healthy 1.41% today alone and means that ANZ shares have enjoyed a 3.6% rise since the end of April.

It appears investors have given their tick of approval to the half-year earnings report that ANZ delivered earlier this week.

As we covered at the time, these earnings revealed that ANZ suffered a 4% drop in statutory profits after tax to $3.41 billion for the six months to 31 March.

Cash profits also fell by 1%, down to $3.55 billion. However, the capital returns that ANZ announced seemed to give investors their biggest confidence boost.

ANZ revealed that its shareholders would enjoy the benefits of an additional $2 billion share buyback program going forward. The bank also declared an interim dividend of 83 cents per share, which was up 2.5% over last year’s interim dividend of 81 cents per share. This fresh dividend will only come partially franked at 65%.

ANZ wasn’t messing around, though. The ex-dividend cutoff date for this upcoming payout was set for less than one week later, on 13 May, to be precise. That’s next Monday.

Should you buy ANZ shares before next week’s ex-dividend cutoff?

This means that anyone who doesn’t already own ANZ shares but wants to enjoy this latest dividend has until the close of trading today to buy ANZ shares. Anyone who buys them from Monday onwards (or sells out before today’s closing bell) will miss out this time.

Eligible investors will then get the cash from this dividend (or the additional shares if the optional dividend reinvestment plan is utilised) on 1 July.

So those are the rules. But should investors buy ANZ before this dividend disappears forever?

Just to get this straight, there are no free lunches in the investing world. If you buy ANZ shares today as opposed to next Monday, you won’t get this dividend ‘for free’. Whenever a share goes ex-dividend, you can expect to see its shares fall by roughly the same value as what said dividend was worth.

This latest ANZ dividend is worth 83 cents per share. This effectively means that when ANZ opens on Monday, its share price will be approximately 83 cents lower than where it would have been without the ex-dividend factor.

So you can either buy ANZ shares at a higher price today and bag this dividend, or you can wait until they are cheaper on Monday, but don’t come with the rights to the dividend attached. It’s fairly close to a zero-sum game, and if any investors try to chase the arbitrage between the two, they will probably come out disappointed.

No free ASX lunches, even for bank stocks

For a long-term investor, it won’t make too much difference if you buy today or Monday. Your overall returns probably won’t differ by much at all.

So if you were already keen on buying ANZ shares for dividend income, you might want to seize your chance this Friday. But if you are just building out a position in ANZ as a long-term investment, don’t let this tricky situation throw you off your game.

At the current ANZ share price, this ASX 200 bank stock sports a dividend yield of 6.08%.

The post Should you buy ANZ shares before they trade ex-dividend next week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
10 May 2024
Jack Dorsey defends Musk’s Twitter leadership, saying the billionaire slashed the ‘critical sin’ of its business model
Jack Dorsey, who is now defending Elon Musk, in 2021.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images
- In a new interview, Jack Dorsey explained Elon Musk's seemingly chaotic decisions at X.
- The mass layoffs, advertiser exodus, and blue-check revamp fit into a push for free speech, Dorsey said.
- It's all part of ditching Twitter's "core, critical sin" of advertiser control, he said.
Elon Musk's handling of Twitter has been panned as erratic. But the platform's cofounder, Jack Dorsey, is defending his fellow billionaire's approach, saying Musk's sweeping job cuts and ditching of advertisers made sense for a shift toward free speech.

Dorsey spoke with Mike Solana, the head of marketing for VC firm Founders Fund and editor of digital media brand Pirate Wires, in an interview published Thursday. Dorsey said he shared Musk's goal of creating an internet bastion for free speech. But Dorsey said Twitter had been weighed down by its revenue model.

Twitter chose brand advertising as its main source of income, a "core, critical sin" that exposed the platform's moderation to the whims of corporations effectively financing the social-media platform, Dorsey said.

"And when you're entirely dependent on that, if a brand like P&G or Unilever doesn't like what's happening on the platform, and they threaten to pull the budget, which accounts for like 20% of your revenue? You have no choice," Dorsey told Solana.

Musk, who rebranded Twitter to X, triggered an advertiser exodus late in 2023 when he appeared to endorse an antisemitic post — the tipping point for many organizations after months of Musk's controversial and confusing remarks.

The Tesla and SpaceX owner appeared nonchalant when big players such as Disney, IBM, and Apple left his platform, publicly telling advertisers to "go fuck yourself" and calling them the "greatest oppressors of free speech."

Pundits were shocked. But Dorsey said Musk made the right choice to stick by his vision for a censorship-free "digital town square" and reduce the emphasis on advertisers.

"You have to build up a lot more than advertising to make that model work. You have to build subscriptions, which Elon is doing. You have to build commerce," Dorsey said.

That addresses another sore point for fans of old Twitter. Shortly after taking over, Musk revamped its subscription service by giving blue-check verification to paid users and aggressively promoting monthly memberships.

Building a different business model

To many, Musk seemed to be axing Twitter's entire business model. But Dorsey said the bleeding is part of decoupling from big advertisers' control and finding new revenue streams.

"Twitter was a $5 billion a year business," Dorsey said. "I don't know what it is now, but it's obviously nowhere near that, right? These are choices that can be made, but it doesn't mean that it's going to be the same level of business for quite some time, until you figure out a completely different model around it."

The mass layoffs at Twitter, in which Musk slashed global headcount by 80%, also made sense to Dorsey, who said the majority of employees were in sales.

Dorsey's comments come as he quit Bluesky, a platform he helped create after leaving Twitter, and told users to use Musk's X instead.

He then scrapped his entire Twitter follow list except for Musk, Edward Snowden, and the wife of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The Twitter cofounder has generally spoken approvingly of Musk, though he's previously said he felt Musk lacked finesse in handling big changes at X, like the messy, abrupt layoffs that led to lawsuits from former employees.

"It all looked fairly reckless," Dorsey said in June of Musk's moves.

Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022, taking the company private. Less than six months later — after imposing wide-scale changes — he reportedly said that it was worth less than half of what he bought it for.

Read the original article on Business Insider
10 May 2024
Why Comet Ridge, Kingsgate, News Corp, and St Barbara shares are rising today
In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned to form on Friday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.45% to 7,757.1 points.

Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are climbing:

Comet Ridge Ltd (ASX: COI)

The Comet Ridge share price is up over 5% to 20 cents. This morning, this energy explorer revealed that it has been awarded a $5 million grant from the Queensland Government to undertake a pilot test in Comet Ridge’s 100% held Mahalo East block. The company’s managing director, Tor McCaul, said: “Comet Ridge is very pleased to be the recipient of a Frontier Gas Exploration Grant, a further endorsement of the significant position that Comet Ridge has established in the Mahalo Gas Hub area within the Bowen Basin.”

Kingsgate Consolidated Limited (ASX: KCN)

The Kingsgate Consolidated share price is up 10% to $1.74. This has been driven by the release of an update on the company’s Chatree gold mine in Thailand. That update reveals that Plant 1 at the gold mine has now been permitted to operate. This follows a successful inspection by the Department of Primary Industries and Mines. As a result, full commissioning of Plant 1 will commence immediately, followed by a ramp up to full operations.

News Corporation (ASX: NWS)

The News Corporation share price is up almost 4% to $38.72. This morning, analysts at Goldman Sachs responded positively to the media giant’s quarterly update. The broker said: “Earnings were largely in-line with our prior expectations (EBITDA +1% vs. GSe), with strength in Digital Real Estate, books and News Media offsetting a softer Dow Jones & Other.” In light of this, the broker has reiterated its buy rating with a $44.70 price target. This implies potential upside of over 15% for investors from current levels.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price is up 12.5% to 27 cents. Investors have been buying this gold miner’s shares following the release of an update on its Simberi operation. St Barbara advised that its concept study supports 10+ years of production at Simberi. It estimates average annual gold production rising from 70,000 ounces to 75,000 ounces by FY 2027 and then to 230,000 ounces through to FY 2034. This will lead to total gold production of 2 million ounces. CEO Andrew Strelein said “We now have a road map we can pursue that can take us to increased, more profitable production at Simberi into the mid-2030s.”

The post Why Comet Ridge, Kingsgate, News Corp, and St Barbara shares are rising today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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- 2 under-the-radar ASX gold shares shining 11% brighter on Friday
- Why Cettire, DroneShield, St Barbara, and Star shares are dropping today
Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
10 May 2024
How this ASX mining stock more than doubled investors’ money in 1 month
ASX mining stock Base Resources Ltd (ASX: BSE) has made shareholders very happy over the past month.

How happy?

Well, one month ago, you could have bought shares in the Australian-owned African mineral sands producer for 12 cents apiece.

Today, those same shares are trading for 26 cents, up 117%.

Investors who bought the ASX mining stock three weeks ago on 19 April, when Base Resources shares were trading for 11 cents, will be sitting even prettier. The stock is up 134% since then.

Here’s what’s been piquing investor interest.

What’s been sending the ASX mining stock through the roof?

The vast majority of the Base Resources share price gains were delivered on a single day.

On Monday, 22 April, the ASX mining stock closed the day up an eye-watering 123.8%.

Investors were snapping up shares after Base Resources reported it had entered into a binding scheme implementation deed with United States-based uranium and critical minerals producer Energy Fuels Inc. (TSE: EFR).

The deal would see Energy Fuels acquire all of Base Resources’ shares for an offer price of 30.2 cents per share, some 16% above current levels and a whopping 188% higher than the share price the day before the takeover offer announcement.

Absent a superior proposal, the ASX mining stock’s board unanimously recommended shareholders vote in favour of the acquisition.

Commenting on the potential benefits for its Toliara Project, Base Resources managing director Tim Carstens said:

The combined group will have the financial and technical capability to not only build Toliara into one of the best critical mineral projects in the world, but also to develop an integrated value chain for the rare earth elements that are essential to the global energy transition.

Carstens noted that the proposed transaction was “the culmination of 12 months of discussions between Base Resources and Energy Fuels”.

Base Resources quarterly update

The ASX mining stock gained another 2% on 30 April following the release of its quarterly update for the three months to 31 March.

Base Resources said the challenging market conditions over the past few quarters stabilised over the previous three months as demand improved and “some downstream re-stocking supported flat pricing across all products”.

Turning to the balance sheet, the company held cash of US$83 million and no debt at the end of the quarter.

As for the transaction with Energy Fuels, the ASX mining stock said its independent expert, PwC, has commenced work, as has the independent technical specialist, AMC Consultants.

The post How this ASX mining stock more than doubled investors’ money in 1 month appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

When investing expert Scott Phillips has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the flagship Motley Fool Share Advisor newsletter he has run for over ten years has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

Scott just revealed what he believes could be the ‘five best ASX stocks’ for investors to buy right now. We believe these stocks are trading at attractive prices and Scott thinks they could be great buys right now…

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- Why 29Metals, Base Resources, Qantas, and South32 shares are storming higher
- Guess which ASX mining stock is rocketing 109% on big news
Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
10 May 2024
Why Cettire, De Grey Mining, Life360, and Neuren shares are falling today
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned to form on Friday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.5% to 7,759.5 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are falling:

Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT)

The Cettire share price is down 2% to $3.12. This is despite there being no news out the online luxury retailer. However, this decline could have been driven by concerns over consumer spending following a series of subdued updates from retailers this week. The team at Bell Potter is likely to see this as a buying opportunity. Earlier this week, the broker retained its buy rating and $4.00 price target on the company’s shares.

De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG)

The De Grey Mining share price is down 2% to $1.24. Investors have been selling this gold developer’s shares following the completion of an institutional entitlement offer and placement. De Grey Mining has raised approximately $514.3 million at a discount of $1.10 per new share. Proceeds from the equity raising, together with existing cash, are expected to fully fund the equity component of the project financing for the Hemi Gold Project in Western Australia. Managing Director, Glenn Jardine, believes the support from existing and new shareholders “reflects the high quality of the Hemi Gold Project at a global level.”

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

The Life360 share price is down 3% to $15.00. This follows the release of the location technology company’s first quarter update. Although Life360 delivered very strong growth across the board, the market appears to have been expecting management to lift its guidance for the full year. However, this has only been reiterated despite its impressive start to the financial year. It continues to expect to report consolidated revenue of US$365 million to US$375 million and adjusted EBITDA of US$30 million to US$35 million. The Life360 share price was down as much as 9% at one stage on Friday before rebounding strongly off its lows.

Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU)

The Neuren Pharmaceuticals share price is down almost 2% to $18.98. Investors have been selling this pharmaceuticals company’s shares since the release of its quarterly sales update on Thursday. That update revealed that its partner, Acadia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ACAD) achieved net sales of Daybue in the United States of US$75.9 million. This was a touch short of its guidance of US$76 million to US$82 million. Nevertheless, Acadia reiterated its FY 2024 guidance for net sales of between US$370 million and US$420 million.

The post Why Cettire, De Grey Mining, Life360, and Neuren shares are falling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Wondering where you should invest $1,000 right now?

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Life360. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Life360. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cettire. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
10 May 2024
Sam Bankman-Fried has a new currency to trade in prison: rice
Sam Bankman-Fried gave his first in-person interview from prison to Puck. He said his rice has become a prison commodity.

Left: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer Right: Godong/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images
- FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted on seven counts, gave an interview from prison to Puck.
- SBF told Puck he spends his days in a large dormitory room with 35 other men.
- He said he lives off beans and rice purchased from the commissary, and his rice is now prison currency.
Sam Bankman-Fried has a new currency to trade in prison at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

The disgraced FTX founder and cofounder of Alameda Research was convicted of wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy in November.

He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March and gave his first in-person interview from MDC to Puck News' William D. Cohan.

In the interview, published on Thursday, Bankman-Fried discussed his conditions in the federal prison. He also said he did not do anything wrong and is planning to appeal his conviction.

Cohan was not permitted a pen, pad, recorder, phone, or watch during the interview, so his observations were subsequently written down.

The former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange told Puck that he subsists off beans and bags of rice purchased from the commissary and that his rice "has become one of the currencies of the realm inside MDC."

Bankman-Fried, Cohan estimates, has lost 25 pounds and looks fitter, which may be in part because he says the vegan food he is served is inedible and his fellow inmates told him it smells like "shit."

The former crypto mogul, who is known by his initials SBF, told Puck he is in a section of the prison that mainly houses female prisoners but that his ward is a large room with bunk beds that holds 35 men. He said that maybe half of the men had been convicted of murder and became cooperating witnesses.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider about Bankman-Fried's prison quarters, nor did his attorneys.

He told Puck his days consist of sitting in the room with the other men while four televisions play different channels. He said he doesn't watch much TV but uses a tablet to play games or watch movies.

He told Puck that he has not been abused and does not "fear for his safety." And the only time he is pestered is at night "about those bags of rice, which they intend to use to barter," he said.

SBF was found guilty of stealing $8 billion from FTX customers. Following his conviction, US Attorney Damian Williams said SBF "perpetrated one of the biggest financial frauds in American history — a multibillion-dollar scheme designed to make him the King of Crypto." He was found guilty of commingling FTX customer money with that of Alameda Research, money that prosecutors said went to enriching executives.

FTX said this week that it plans to pay back customers.

Read the original article on Business Insider
10 May 2024
Buying BHP shares for the Anglo takeover? Here’s why it might be a ‘crazy’ move
BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) shares have been getting even more attention than usual in recent weeks.

As the largest company listed in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 IndexÂ (ASX: XJO) mining giant is already a frequent headline leader.

But investor and media interest in BHP shares ramped up to the next level on 26 April. That’s when the miner announced it had made a non-binding offer to acquireÂ Anglo AmericanÂ (LSE: AAL).

The all scrip offer amounted to 31.1 billion British pounds, or roughly AU$60 billion.

As you’re likely aware, BHP is eyeing Anglo American with an eye on its copper assets.

Copper represents 30% of Anglo American’s total production. Should BHP’s takeover succeed, the ASX 200 miner would become the world’s top copper producer, producing around 10% of global output.

Amid growing demand and limited new supplies, the copper price has surged 16% year to date to US$9,905. And most analysts expect copper prices to continue trending higher from here.

It’s a markedly different story for iron ore, the top revenue earner for BHP shares. The iron ore price is down 16% in 2024 at US$116 per tonne, with many analysts forecasting it will trend lower from here.

Take two?

Now, as you’re also likely aware, Anglo American’s board rejected BHP’s offer on 29 April.

Anglo American chair, Stuart Chambers said the offer significantly undervalued the company and its future growth prospects.

Rumour has it that BHP is likely to come back with an improved offer. The company has until 22 May to place a formal offer under UK acquisition regulations.

But if you’re buying BHP shares for the takeover potential, Aitken Mount Capital Partners stockbroker Angus Aitken cautioned the result could be a “complete mess”.

Why BHP shares could get walloped by the Anglo American takeover

According to Aitken (courtesy of The Australian Financial Review), BHP is primarily interested in Anglo American’s copper and coal assets. Meaning that it could look at selling numerous other projects, including the Barro Alto nickel mine in Brazil.

And that could throw up some longer-term headwinds for BHP shares.

According to Aitken:

In our view, this deal really does have the potential to be a complete mess for BHP long-term. This is like BHP is trying to buy a six-bedroom house, just to get the garage. There are multiple large risks in BHP long-term in trying to sell off the assets they don’t want.

He added that this strategy “seems crazy to us”.

And the takeover proposal is far from simple.

“If you are a BHP shareholder and think this is a simple transaction, you have rocks in your head,” he said.

Aitken continued:

BHP are the single worst sellers of assets in the world with Rio Tinto a close second, and yet a lot of this potential deal involves BHP on-selling assets for good prices, and we are cautious on that. How are you going to get a full price for the assets they want to divest when everyone knows you are a non-natural owner of them?”

Certainly, not everyone agrees with Aitken’s bearish take on the proposed acquisition.

Both Argo Investments and Wilson Asset Management believe the takeover can add value to BHP shares over time.

The post Buying BHP shares for the Anglo takeover? Here’s why it might be a ‘crazy’ move appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
10 May 2024