Elon Musk is getting cold feet about buying Twitter

This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a questioning quorum of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. Sign up here.Today’s Agenda Will Elon Musk actually b [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a questioning quorum of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Will Elon Musk actually buy Twitter? [Who can say](? - Think you’ve spotted the Amazon of crypto? [Think again.]( - Think tech stocks are cheap? [Not so fast](. - Think New York is the best place to list a tech company? [Not always](. Follow the Money How does the world’s richest man and suitor of Twitter Inc. inform shareholders of Twitter about the current status of his planned acquisition of Twitter? Why, with a Friday morning tweet on Twitter, natch ... Spare a thought for the poor soul at the Securities & Exchange Commission responsible for patrolling the Elon beat: Musk being Musk, he followed up with a second tweet a few hours later saying he’s still committed to the purchase. Timothy O’Brien argues that, rather than being concerned about the number of bots on the social media service, [Musk may just be struggling to find the $43 billion](. Tesla Inc. shares, which are the basis of Musk’s wealth, have dropped by more than a third since he launched his bid, knocking $215 billion off his net worth. “I have to imagine that market realities, disgruntled Tesla investors and an emptying wallet were wake-up calls,” Tim writes. “I suspect Musk’s jitters about buying Twitter are all about the money.” With Twitter’s shares oscillating between $40 and $41 in the first hour of trading on Friday, well below Musk’s $54.20 offer, traders and investors seem mightily — and rightly — skeptical about the chances of the deal closing. What Goes Down Can Go Down Further In July of last year, when Bitcoin had just started the run that would see it gain more than 80% to peak at almost $70,000 in November, luminaries of the hedge fund world started tossing a few percentage points of their net worth at crypto platforms. Derivatives exchange FTX raised $900 million from a crowd including Paul Tudor Jones, Alan Howard and Izzy Englander. Howard, along with market titans Peter Thiel and Louis Bacon, also bought into Block.One, the blockchain software company behind the Bullish exchange. And Paul Marshall’s hedge fund backed Circle, a digital payments firm that’s part of the consortium behind the USDC stablecoin. “During a gold rush, [invest in shovel makers](,” I wrote at the time. With Bitcoin down 50% from that November high, investors are still seeking the Amazon.com of cryptoland — but they run the risk of buying into [the digital equivalent of Pets.com]( instead, says Jonathan Levin. Given the macroeconomic backdrop of surging inflation and tightening central bank policy, virtual currencies are doing about as badly as you’d expect for high-beta risk assets. Jonathan reckons that while the slump undermines any claim that Bitcoin is a gold-like haven, “it’s hard to conclude that there is something uniquely terrible going on with the largest cryptos.” The market rout that’s driven the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index down by 30% from its November peak is[still not enough](to make tech stocks a bargain, argues Nir Kaissar. Sure, the Nasdaq’s forward price-earnings ratio, using analyst estimates for the current fiscal year, has declined, but that downshift only takes it back to its average since 2001. And John Authers points out that [the major US indexes are still higher]( than they were prior to the pandemic blowing the global economy off course. For investors seeking a market bottom, “it’s very hard to see anything cathartic in markets at present,” John says. “Investors who are buying tech believing that the lows are in should take another hard look at the numbers,” cautions Nir. Jonathan is similarly wary about the outlook: “A bubble fanned by easy money is popping, and the selloff is likely to deepen.” Maybe [cash isn’t trash after all](. London Calling Softbank Group Corp. is seeking a home for Arm Ltd., the UK chipmaker it bought in 2016 and now plans to list after regulators sank Nvidia Corp.’s planned $40 billion purchase. New York is the front-runner; everybody knows US tech companies get more love from investors, trade at higher valuations than elsewhere, and benefit from having dollar-denominated stock to use as currency in M&A transactions. [But what if everybody is wrong?]( Chris Hughes argues that Arm’s status as one of the biggest players in the world semiconductor market means its shareholder roster will be global no matter where it lists. Its scarcity value in the UK, where tech giants are few and far between, plus its previous role in the portfolios of British fund managers make it both a rare and familiar investment opportunity in its home market. And with about half of its workforce based in the UK, staff would probably prefer to be granted domestic stock options. “The question shouldn’t be why London, but why not?” says Chris. Alleviating the Aftershocks of Overturning Roe V. Wade Some 26 US states look poised to make abortions illegal if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, as seems likely. As the biggest purveyors of health care in the nation, [employers need to step up]( and guarantee their workers have access to reproductive care, and at the same time enforce their right to privacy and ignore any “political grandstanding” around the issue, says Sarah Green Carmichael. “Workers tend to remember when an employer had their back,” Sarah argues. Further Reading: A discussion between Lisa Jarvis and Greer Donley, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, about [whether states can block the use of abortion pills]( even though they are fully approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Telltale Charts Food prices are soaring to records around the world. But protectionism will only make things worse, argues Bloomberg’s editorial board. Further Reading How to beat the tax collectors and benefit the charity of your choice [in the afterlife](. — Stuart Trow It’s advantage Tesco as [the UK grocery wars]( heat up. — Andrea Felsted [Kamala Harris]( is breaking a lot of Senate ties. — Jonathan Bernstein Republicans can take advantage of [anger about inflation](. — Ramesh Ponnuru Saving the planet is [more important]( than saving birds. — Tyler Cowen ICYMI China says Beijing is not locked down. But boy, [it sure looks quiet](. Black bankers fight to hold finance [accountable for its promises](. Russian billionaire’s [$150 million superyacht goes dark]( on its way to the Bahamas. [Global diamond trade fractures]( under the weight of Russian sanctions. Kickers [Moon soil used to grow plants]( for first time. (h/t Paul J. Davies) Eurovision fans love Ukraine. Its folk-rap song entry? [Not so much.]( Is an unknown, [extraordinarily ancient civilization](buried under eastern Turkey? Notes: Please send folk-rap tunes and complaints to Mark Gilbert at magilbert@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022