Mouse Trap: Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) has had talks to acquire most of 21st Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOX). Such a deal would turn the media conglomerate into an even larger leviathan to take on Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). The two companies own a wide swath of production studios, media outlets, and intellectual property. By law, Disney cannot own two broadcast networks, so it could not absorb all of Fox. But it could still take on most, leaving only news and sports behind. It’s believed Disney could pay as much as $30 billion.
Electric Metals: Copper and nickel continue to rise on demand from electric vehicles. Nickel jumped nearly 10% last week to more than $13,000 per tonne. That’s its highest level since June 2015. Copper also recently hit a years-long high above $7,000 per tonne. For weeks now, we’ve been turning investors on to a copper investment that’s set to profit from the surge. You can find out more about that here.
Crude Comes Back: North American shale output will soar to 7.5 million barrels a day in 2021, according to OPEC’s latest report. That’s 56% higher than it forecast a year ago. This is in part because the once-powerful cartel lost a battle to keep oil prices low while flooding the market.
Seniors, Students, & The Sick: These would be three constituencies hurt by the Republican tax plan proposed by the House. The bill would eliminate the nursing home tax deduction, the student loan deduction, and the deduction for medical expenses. The first benefits retired seniors who pay for long-term care costs not covered by Medicare or private insurance. The second provides a tax deduction of up to $2,000 for tuition. And the third goes to taxpayers whose medical expenses are above 10% of their adjusted gross income.
