No dispute about this—election day was good for Uber, Lyft, and other businesses in California dependent on the gig economy, thanks to passage of Prop. 22, the ballot measure that exempts such companies from “having to treat workers as employees.” With state-court battles over employee status still raging in non-CA locales around the country, expect to see Uber and Lyft pushing for similar measures in the near future - NYTimes and MarketWatch
As expected, pent-up demand and lots of special perks helped Alibaba to its best Singles’ Day ever, raking in “the equivalent of a record $75.1 billion” when all was said and done - WSJ and MarketWatch
The good news? A strong Wednesday for tech stocks helped the Nasdaq close up nearly 2% The bad news? The jump was driven more than a little by soaring coronavirus figures, which traders have linked to good fortunes for tech and stay-at-home companies - NYTimes and WSJ
Now that Beijing has thrown a wrench in Jack Ma’s Ant Financial IPO plans, “[f]unds that touted access to [the company’s] blockbuster share sale will let investors cash out early, following a social-media outcry” - WSJ
Ant’s not alone, either. For the first time “since new rules were adopted to quicken the share sale process,” the Shenzhen Stock Exchange turned down a ChiNext application from Jiangsu Netin Technologies, a software developer, based on an alleged failure “to meet all requirements” - Bloomberg
The Journal considers Masa Son’s work in recent months to pull his SoftBank empire back from the brink of “financial ruin” after a disastrous start to 2020. Son implemented a “sharp and surprising strategy shift, selling off holdings that have been central to his investment and operating blueprint, and buying back shares.” Turns out he had some help along the way, too, thanks to some timely counseling from Elliott Management Corp. and its scion, Gordon Singer - WSJ
Wells Fargo is reportedly shopping around its private-label credit card unit, joining Wells’ corporate-trust unit and student-loan portfolio in a series of potential spinoffs in recent weeks under CEO Charlie Scharf - Bloomberg
Kodak revealed this week that “five former executives were able to collect millions of dollars by selling stock options they didn’t own” amidst news that the company would pivot to producing key drug components thanks to a massive infusion of government cash. The admission “is set to add to the scrutiny the company faces over the circumstances surrounding [the] halted U.S. loan” - WSJ
Because it might just be a bourbon Thursday for you, here’s that deep dive on Pappy Van Winkle for which you’ve be clamoring - NYTimes
Stay safe,
MDR
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