—— Squid Game 2 promises to save Netflix stock; big owners sit on cash for properties; Celsius freezes withdrawals as cryptocurrency plunges; last-mile trolley delivery company goes bankrupt; Prologis acquires Duke Realty to expand territory; U.S. pardons Russian fertilizer imports; Jack Daniel and Coca-Cola co-launch cocktails
1. Squid Game 2 may save Netflix’s stock price
Last year, “Squid Game” landed on the Netflix platform and was well received. Today, the show’s director and executive producer Hwang Dong-hyuk announced on Netflix’s official website that the crew is ready to launch a second sequel.
As soon as the news came out, the stock price of Bucket Studio Co., the brokerage company of Lee Jung-Jae, the actor in the squid game, soared 24% and was not “pulled down” by the overall sell-off of Asian stocks.
“Squid Game,” tells the story of 456 players of various backgrounds, all deeply in debt, who participate in a series of deadly children’s games in order to win 45.6 billion won in prize money.
This step of Korean dramas once brought fire to the Korean film and television market – major streaming media platforms began to rush to introduce Korean domestic movies and TV series. As the platform for “Squid Game 2,” Netflix hopes the show can save the company’s 70% stock price.
Squid Game boosts a wave of buying copyrights of Korean movies and TV series among streaming media platforms
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2. Large owners sit on cash-packed properties
David Singelyn, CEO of American Homes 4 Rent, the nation’s top three single-family homeowners, said at an industry conference that the company receives daily calls from builders and other sellers to sell properties. During the phone call, the builder said that he could not compromise on price, but was willing to offer other concessions.
However, David believes that prices will start to fall soon, and the company is currently sitting on a lot of cash, and when the time is right, it will start to buy on a large scale.
Rising mortgage rates have helped house prices gradually recover, but that’s bad news for builders. On the one hand, construction cost inflation will squeeze profits, and a slowdown in home sales poses greater risks.
In this regard, builders are more willing to lock the deal with the owner company in advance. Builders sometimes package properties and sell them to institutional investors for more profit than selling to retail investors.
Builders sell homes in packages to owner companies, speeding up sales and reducing uncertainty in transactions
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3. Celsius freezes withdrawals
Last week, Celsius, a well-known cryptocurrency lending platform, announced a freeze on user withdrawals, which sparked investor concerns about systemic risks in the cryptocurrency market and a severe sell-off in the cryptocurrency market.
Today, the price of bitcoin plunged as much as 17% to $22,603, the lowest price since December 2020. The MVIS CryptoCompare 100 index, which tracks the top 100 cryptocurrencies, also fell 17%.
Steven McClurg, the founder of cryptocurrency fund Valkyrie Investments, said the market is showing no signs of stabilizing and recovering, and the fundamentals are a mess.
‘Bank Run’ on Celsius Lending Platform Causes Crypto Market Panic and Plunge
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4. Last-mile delivery company goes bankrupt
Last-mile trolley delivery company Electric Last Mile Solutions said in a statement on Sunday that the company’s board of directors and interim CEO Shauna McIntyre decided to initiate Chapter 7 bankruptcy after discussions.
The company went public less than a year ago, but four months after the IPO, the company’s CEO and chairman resigned.
The company said in a statement that the board reviewed current products and strategies, but believes liquidation is the best option for shareholders and creditors.
Shares of the company tumbled 55% to $0.55 a share in premarket trading today, bringing the company’s losses this year to 93%. On May 27, the company warned the outside world that the cash on the account was likely to be “squeezed dry” by the end of June.
In June 2021, the company went public through a SPAC reverse merger, with a market value of $380 million
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5. Prologis acquires Duke Realty
Today, Prologis Inc., the world’s largest warehouse operator, announced that it will acquire Duke Realty Corp. for $26 billion.
Last month, Duke Realty rejected a $24 billion offer from Prologis. After the latter raised the price, the two parties finally reached a consensus after several months, and the transaction is expected to be concluded by the end of the year. Duke Realty’s assets could further expand Prologis’ warehouses and distribution centers.
Prologis has a total of 1 billion square feet of industrial facilities around the world, helping companies like Amazon and FedEx run their logistics networks. After the acquisition, Prologis can obtain a total of 160 million square feet of properties in 19 important logistics locations in the United States.
Prologis said the transaction could bring immediate $310 million in accretion to both parties, mainly from cost reductions and operational interoperability.
Prologis, the world’s largest industrial facility owner, will grow even bigger after the deal
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6. US pardons Russian fertilizer imports
The U.S. government has recently started encouraging agricultural and logistics companies to buy and ship as much Russian fertilizer as possible in an attempt to ease the rise in global food prices, according to people familiar with the matter.
At present, the United Nations (UN) is also trying to formulate complex agreements to increase the export of pesticides, grains, and agricultural products in Russia. The U.S. sent representatives to a U.N. meeting in Moscow, the people said.
Russia is one of the world’s most important suppliers of fertilizers, for which the European Union and the United States exempted Russian pesticide imports under a previous sanctions agreement. Russian fertilizer exports have fallen by 24 percent this year, and this year’s fertilizer shortage is likely to affect next year’s grain production.
To boost food production and lower food prices, U.S. and U.N. officials need to make difficult and conflicting decisions.
Russia and Ukraine export a quarter of the global supply
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7. Jack Daniel and Coca-Cola co-launch cocktails
Jack Daniel’s and Coca-Cola announced today that they will collaborate on a 5% alcohol cocktail drink that will be launched in Mexico by the end of the year.
In order to expand the market, Coca-Cola and rival PepsiCo (PepsiCo) began to set foot in the alcoholic beverage market. The two companies cooperated with other wineries to launch beverages containing alcohol.
Consumer demand for low-calorie alcoholic seltzers has grown in recent years. Industry experts say consumers are also seeking stronger-tasting beverages.
The canned cocktail market is small but growing fast. Industry research firm IWSR estimates that sales of the beverage category last year were 53% higher than in 2020.
The co-launch may expand and realize the new soft drink market for cocktails
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The content of this article comes from various financial news media such as The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Bloomberg.