Welcome to The Free Press Report’s Weekly Digest. This week a lot has happened – Georgia heads to a runoff, Elon Musk plans to drill through people’s skulls, and Putin reportedly fell down the stairs. Read on for more of the stories you might have missed.
Market Recap
U.S. Politics
Politician praises “candid” Sam Bankman Fried ahead of House committee investigation into FTX’s multi-billion dollar collapse. Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters had a “heartening” discussion with SBF about the future of cryptocurrency last December. Waters, as a member of the House Financial Services Committee, has invited SBF to Washington to testify about the demise of his company, FTX. SBF – a former billionaire – has previously donated over $40 million to Democrat groups and lawmakers. [WFB]
Biden says Herschel Walker “doesn’t deserve” Senate seat ahead of runoff. A runoff was called after neither Republican Walker nor his Democrat opponent, Raphael Warnock, were able to secure 50% of the vote at the midterm election. Biden, in an attempt to boost Warnock’s chances of victory, described the Democrat as “a decent man”, and said the race was “critical” to solidifying his party’s control of the Senate. The runoff vote will be held on Tuesday. [BBG]
Dems strip Iowa from pole position in presidential election calendar. For five years, Iowa has been the leadoff state in the vote for Democrat’s presidential nominee. But after a technical chaos in 2020, the Democratic National Committee voted to push Iowa down the calendar. The vote will now be led by South Carolina on Feb 3, shortly followed by Nevada and New Hampshire. [Yahoo]
Wildlife officials spy on Tennessee property without warrant. Farmer Hunter Hollingsworth was arrested after confronting a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who was on his property without permission or a warrant. Hollingsworth had found federal agents on his land at least seven times, and once discovered that they had secretly set up a surveillance camera on his property. After removing the camera, Hollingsworth’s home was raided by armed officers, and he was stripped of his hunting license. [Reason]
Social & Business
Elon Musk will put microchips in your brain in the next six months, Neuralink claims. The startup is waiting for approval to implant a computing device into a human brain, which would be drilled into the patient’s skull and used to treat brain injuries. But Musk has already announced plans to develop new implants to treat spinal cord injuries and cure blindness. The company claims that the US Food and Drug Administration will authorize human trials in the first half of 2023. [BBG]
IPO proceeds fell 93% this year, according to NYSE president. 2021 was the most successful year on record of IPOs, but thanks to collapsing valuations, rampant inflation and extreme volatility, most companies have been unwilling to go public. Exchange president Lynn Martin said “our pipeline is tremendous,” with many companies that “very much want to go public” but are waiting for less uncertain conditions. In contrast, the ETF market has continued to boom, with about 250 new funds launched this year. [Reuters]
Volume slumps as stock traders watch soccer World Cup. The world cup in Qatar began on Nov 20 and will continue until Dec 18, although the USA team has been knocked out by the Netherlands, after beating Iran to reach the round of 16. But historic data shows that US equity trading volumes can fall by up to 43% while traders are busy watching the soccer. [BBG]
World View
Car thief accidentally sets off security alert at Israeli airport. The Palestinian suspect reportedly took a wrong turn on the highway and rammed his stolen car through a checkpoint towards the main terminal of Ben Gurion Airport. He was shot and arrested by police, who criticized his “poor navigation.” [Reuters]
Brazil hits highest credit default ratio since pre-Covid levels. Consumer and business credit default ratios rose to 4.2% in September, with bank lending spreads reaching 30.3%. [Reuters]
Putin reportedly fell down stairs, according to rumors from Kremlin insiders. Since the 70 year old Russian dictator’s failed invasion of Ukraine, reports have circulated about his deteriorating health, particularly his alleged gastrointestinal cancer. The former KGB agent reportedly tumbled down a staircase at his personal residence, and had to be helped to his sofa by bodyguards. [News.com]
Crypto
Italy threatens 26% crypto tax. The beleaguered European nation looks to impose a windfall tax on all crypto gains larger than €2,000 ($2,062) in its 2023 budget. This year, the world’s biggest crypto exchange Binance registered in Italy, marking crypto’s aggressive expansion into Europe. [Decrypt]