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Today we are watching…
1. Squareย (#square)
This is philanthropy on steroids. Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Twitter and digital payments start-up Square, has given away 28% of his net worth to โdisarmโ the widespread coronavirus. Shares in Square dropped 6% when investors realized that a billion dollars of equity was going out the door, but itโs an amazing commitment that should quell the pitchforked revolt against billionaires for some time. Heโs sure setting an incredible example for other big earners. Mark Zuckerberg has personally donated $30 million, Jeff Bezos has personally donated $100 million, and while Tim Cook isnโt as wealthy, he has also used the Apple company to donate an unspecified sum. The onus is on these guys to kick it up a level!
2. TAL Education Group (#tal-adr)
As Superinvestor Warren Buffett likes to say, โthereโs rarely only one cockroach in the kitchen.โ Last week, the investing world shrugged in disappointment as Luckin Coffee admitted to fraud. Yesterday, another Chinese blue-chip fessed up. TAL Education, on a flyer thanks to a recent spike in home schooling interest, admitted to the same โemployee wrongdoing;โ sales fraud. The stock fell twenty percent and masses of Western investors threw in the towel on other Chinese stocks. You just canโt trust them. The firms arenโt audited and under the watchful eye of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), so itโs up to President Xi to find a way to stamp out the corruption. Until then, Chinese stocks will trade cheap!