Highlight of the Week
US Removes China’s Currency Manipulator Label
- The US has ended its designation of China as a currency manipulator ahead of trade deal negotiations
- The deal includes commitment from China to not depress its exchange rate and make additional disclosures about foreign-exchange practices
Rate Curves
Rapid Report:
Visa nears deal to buy FinTech
- Plaid, valued at roughly $2.65b in 2018, would give Visa access to customers’ bank-account data and allow it to aggregate information for financial-service proviers
- An acquisition would create a platform that allows money to move between bank accounts and compete against the likes of Zelle and Venmo
- Visa acquired Earthport in 2019, a FinTech that provides cross-border payment services to banks and businesses
Alphabet inches towards $1 trillion
- Share in Alphabet, the tech giant that owns google, rose to an all-time closing high of $1,440.03, pulling within 1% of $1 trillion of market capitalization
- Three other tech companies have crossed the $1 trillion mark, including Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon
Georgia considers offering gambling expansion
Gov. Brian Kemp has said he will not try to block a gambling expansion, and lawmakers are considering some combo of sports betting, horse racing, and casino gambling
