imacoconut/iStock via Getty Images By Min Joo Kang | Chris Turner | Padhraic Garvey, CFA Why did Takaichi call a snap election so early? Takaichi has called a snap election just three months into the job, taking a high-risk move. It is all about securing a public mandate for her policy. She inherited a troubled party and a minority government in October after Ishiba Shigeru, who lost both parliame...
imacoconut/iStock via Getty Images By Min Joo Kang | Chris Turner | Padhraic Garvey, CFA Why did Takaichi call a snap election so early? Takaichi has called a snap election just three months into the job, taking a high-risk move. It is all about securing a public mandate for her policy. She inherited a troubled party and a minority government in October after Ishiba Shigeru, who lost both parliamentary elections, was nearly forced to resign. The LDP lost public support with a cost-of-living crisis and several political funding scandals. Despite only narrowly becoming prime minister, her approval ratings during the first three months were surprisingly strong at around 70%. Now, she seeks to leverage her popularity to secure a sole majority for the LDP and thereby advance her policy agenda later with greater consistency. She supports former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policies, advocating pro-stimulus macro policies and a Japan-focused foreign policy. Opposition parties may not fully agree with her policy perspectives. Should the minority government situation persist, she will have to negotiate with other parties on each policy issue. However, if she wins this election, she will interpret it as Japanese voters' endorsement of her pledges and will push her policy agenda much more forcefully. Recent polls suggested a landslide victory by the LDP According to recent local polls, the LDP leads the campaign for sure. The LDP is expected to well exceed a simple majority of 233 seats (vs. its current 198 seats), and the alliance may reach near 300. In contrast, the main opposition, the Centrist Reform Alliance, could lose almost half of its current seats. If the LDP coalition secures a supermajority, the government would gain significantly more power. This would allow Takaichi to pass legislation even without having sufficient support in the Upper House. The LDP is likely to secure a sole majority in the lower house Source: various news papers and ING estimates The tone rega...
Key Points The Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF is filled with crypto miners that are pivoting to AI infrastructure. Unfortunately, this fund has a 0.85% expense ratio, which is quite excessive compared to index funds. Investors may want to cherry-pick this fund's 30 stocks rather than invest in it, given its high fees and viable alternatives like the S&P 500. 10 stocks we like better than B...
Key Points The Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF is filled with crypto miners that are pivoting to AI infrastructure. Unfortunately, this fund has a 0.85% expense ratio, which is quite excessive compared to index funds. Investors may want to cherry-pick this fund's 30 stocks rather than invest in it, given its high fees and viable alternatives like the S&P 500. 10 stocks we like better than Bitwise Funds Trust - Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF › The Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (NYSEMKT: BITQ) gives investors exposure to growth stocks that derive most of their revenue from cryptocurrency-related businesses. However, with Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) down 20% over the past year, some investors may be feeling the jitters, especially with most of those losses happening over the past week. Despite Bitcoin's rocky start, Bitwise's ETF is actually flat year to date and almost tripled from trough to peak last year. Even with Bitcoin's weaknesses to start the year, this ETF looks promising. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » It's actually an AI ETF Although the Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF touts itself as a crypto fund, it's actually an AI ETF. Eight of its top 10 holdings are crypto mining companies that are pivoting to AI infrastructure for long-term revenue growth. Iren is the largest position, making up almost 15% of the fund's total assets. Applied Digital and Cipher Mining make up more than 12% of the fund's assets combined. These three companies have already secured multiple deals with tech companies that want to scale their AI ambitions, and they have the infrastructure to support additional deals. Coinbase Global and Strategy are the only two crypto stocks on the list that aren't crypto miners undergoing AI pivots. Five of the top 10 positions have more than doubled over the past year, and all of those top 1...
Turkey hired Ernst & Young LLP to lead a multibillion-dollar privatization of two landmark Istanbul bridges and a string of highways, according to people familiar with the matter. The London-based firm will advise the government on the sale of operating rights to the 15 July Martyrs and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges — which connect Istanbul’s European and Asian halves — as well as at least nine toll...
Turkey hired Ernst & Young LLP to lead a multibillion-dollar privatization of two landmark Istanbul bridges and a string of highways, according to people familiar with the matter. The London-based firm will advise the government on the sale of operating rights to the 15 July Martyrs and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges — which connect Istanbul’s European and Asian halves — as well as at least nine toll roads, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the details of the deal are private. Turkey also appointed Canada-based BTY Group as a technical adviser to the sale and plans to launch a formal tender process later this year, the people added. Read More: Turkey Said to Weigh Multibillion-Dollar Deal for Iconic Bridges A 2012 attempt to privatize both bridges and 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) of highways drew a winning bid of $5.7 billion. The process later collapsed after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , then the country’s prime minister, said a sale below $7 billion would amount to “treason.” The government expects new bids in excess of that figure, the people said. EY and BTY didn’t respond to requests for comment. Turkey’s Treasury & Finance Ministry couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Some of the details around the advisers were reported earlier by Mergermarket. Around 430,000 vehicles cross the two bridges every day, Turkey’s Transport Minister said in July, with a standard car paying a toll of 59 liras ($1.36) each way, according to the latest fares . EY, one of the so-called Big Four accounting and auditing firms alongside Deloitte LLP , PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and KPMG LLP , has previously advised on bridge, highway and hospital projects in Turkey, according to its website .
TAIPEI, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn on Thursday flagged strong expectations for its first quarter performance, after reporting a 35.5% year-on-year rise in January revenue. "Shipments of AI racks continue to increase, and Smart Consumer Electronics are also better than expected," it said in a statement. "The seasonal performance for the current quarter is expected to be better tha...
TAIPEI, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn on Thursday flagged strong expectations for its first quarter performance, after reporting a 35.5% year-on-year rise in January revenue. "Shipments of AI racks continue to increase, and Smart Consumer Electronics are also better than expected," it said in a statement. "The seasonal performance for the current quarter is expected to be better than the range of the past five years," the company, Nvidia's biggest server maker, added, without elaborating. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)