Frank Curzio
By Frank CurzioAugust 15, 2017

August 13, 2017

Buffett nears a milestone he doesn’t want… Berkshire Hathaway reported Friday that it held just shy of $100 billion in cash at the end of the second quarter. While that figure highlights the staggering money-making ability of the business, it’s also a burden… – Bloomberg

Major rental-home companies set to merge… After the housing market collapsed more than a decade ago, new investors poured in to buy foreclosed homes and rent them out. Now, a $4.3 billion deal suggests that the bargain-hunting binge in housing is finally over… – New York Times

Amazon owns a whole collection of secret brands... After decades of selling products – and knowing exactly what people are buying, and when they are buying it – Amazon has started cutting out the middle-man by selling self-produced items… a tactic that is beginning to worry vendors… – Quartz
McDonald’s plans to nearly double restaurants in China… The company (MCD) expects to have 4,500 restaurants in China by 2022, up from 2,500. With fewer people eating at U.S. locations, it hopes to grow sales in China by double digits in each of the next five years… – CNBC
“FIRE AND FURY”
Global stocks selloff… Donald Turmp’s apocalyptic threats against North Korea from his New Jersey golf club have wiped $1 trillion off global stocksthis week... – Reuters
Ray Dalio’s latest: Get in gold now… On Thursday, Chairman and CIO at Bridgewater Associates urged investors to hedge their risks with gold amid rising geopolitical tensions. In his view, the dangers lurking under the surface appear to be far more political than economic. Here’s more from the prominent Wall Street investor… – LinkedIn
CONTENT KINGS
Disney’s big shift… It’s a big deal to hear the CEO of a giant, publicly traded media company say he’s going to fundamentally shift his business model. Disney (DIS) is now going to go its own way when it comes to streaming, announcing Tuesday that it will be ending its distribution deal with Netflix. The company plans to launch its own branded streaming service in 2019 and will also debut an ESPN service early next year… – Recode
Netflix’s first acquisition: A comic book studio... Ditched By Disney, Netflix (NFLX) continues the race to become the king of content. Earlier this week, the company bought comics publisher Millarworld, bringing on board a host of character franchises it can mine for TV shows and movies… – Forbes
PATH OF PROGRESS
Hormone improves cognitive and motor functions… Scientists at the UC San Francisco have found that administering a fragment of the klotho protein, a life-extending hormone produced in both the kidney and the brain, to mice quickly improved their cognitive and physical performance… – UCSF News Center
Investing in private cannabis companies… There is a distinct correlation of great leadership and success. And when you combine early venture capital investing with excellent leadership and an explosive new cannabis industry, your chance at massive gains significantly increases… – Cody Shirk
SMOKING HOT BONDS

BAT plans one of 2017’s biggest bond deals… In the latest sign that big corporations are borrowing record sums of cash this year, tobacco giant British American Tobacco (BAT) has raised $17 billion dollars from investors in the second biggest bond offering of the year. But there’s a much bigger picture involved... – Finimize

Tesla is making risky move by issuing $1.5 billion in debt… The critical issue for investors to consider here is the effect that adding another $1.5 billion will have on Tesla’s (TSLA) already increased debt levels. With the offering, the carmaker will have tacked on an extra $4.5 billion in liabilities in less than a year… – Business Insider
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