Will trade Oil for Rubles

March 24, 2022 Good morning traders, Welcome back to The Daily Setup. Markets were down yesterday. Here’s what’s on the docket today: - ZTE gets good and bad news - Oil jumps and Vlad demands Rubles - Gamestop and Loopring launch their NFT beta Grab a coffee, give us a read, and let’s make today a good one. Nick How'd the markets look? Market Outlook You down with ZTE? Biggest Mover [Activision Blizzard, Inc. ]() [ZTCOY $4.83 (▲21.97%) Zte ADR | Google Finance](=) It was the classic [good news/bad news situation for ZTE](=) on Wednesday. First the bad news, a U.S. court found that the Chinese networking company had committed fraud to get its employees into the country, which doesn’t sound fantastic. The good news however is that the court is allowing the company to exit probation, which has been on for five years, sending the stock up almost 22% on the day. - A former ZTE research director, who was also a professor at Georgia Tech, allegedly conspired to commit visa fraud to get six Chinese nationals into the country… not a great look for the ACC. At least when the SEC commits fraud it’s to get a 5 star quarterback eligible. - Some of the company’s [other bad behavior](=) includes violating sanctions related to illegal shipping to Iran and North Korea causing the U.S. to outlaw exporting American technology to the company. - The judge in the case allowed the company to exit probation, noting that new leadership had implemented a compliance program where there was none before, stating that “the company has made strides”. Where was this guy when I took calculus my junior year of college? I certainly would have benefited from such a lenient attitude. This situation sounds like it’s a mini Huawei with a splash of Luckin Coffee thrown in. It looks more and more like the analysts at JPMorgan got it right when they [downgraded 28 Chinese stocks]( and referred to the country’s equities as “uninvestable”. Finding myself in agreement with Jamie’s kids means I now have to go see if I can get the shower hot enough to scrub off the shame. Will trade Oil for Rubles Biggest Mover [Cycling Downhill] Russian President Putin’s latest tantrum is demanding payment for oil and natural gas exports be made in [rubles rather than Dollars or Euros](), thus making him the first person in recorded history with that preference. Vlad’s willingness to weaponize his gas is an attempt to prop up the Russian currency, which has been beaten down more than Cleveland Browns fans. As an aside, they really think that DeShaun Watson is going to work out for them. Bless their hearts. - Germany is the biggest buyer of Russian gas and views payments in currency other than Euro as a breach of contract. - If Gazprom refuses to deliver when presented payment in the contract specified currency, the matter could head to arbitration, which should give investors comfort since Putin has shown a rich history of adhering to international behavioral conventions. - Oil gained 5.3% yesterday during trading to close [above $121 per barrel](. Remember oil prices were in the $70s last December? Yeah, me too. Germany and the rest of the developed world are realizing that taking energy policy advice from annoying Swedish teenagers isn’t a sound strategy and they are going to have to revisit nuclear. That means it’s time to tell Greta Thunberg to shut up and put some uranium producers on the watch list. A few to research are Uranium Energy Corporation ([UEC](=)), Cameco ([CCJ]()), and Energy Fuels ([UUUU](=)). GameOn Token Talk [Token Talk] While AMC was busy digging into the past and buying gold mines, another meme-stock is looking to the future. GameStop [announced]() that the beta for its NFT marketplace is live and powered by Loopring. The official marketplace is “launching soon” (whatever soon means to you), but users can now sign up for the beta to set up usernames and profiles, as well as make deposits. What they’ll do with your money between now and the full launch is between $GME and God. - Loopring, which was tied to $GME NFT rumors from the start, operates on the Ethereum blockchain, and saw its [LRC token]( jump 34% on the news. - Loopring is using ZkRollups to create “the most secure scaling mechanism the industry knows of, whereby users can access their assets in all circumstances.” - $GME also followed up yesterday’s meteoric rise with a nice 10% bump upon the announcement. GameStop has been on a tear as of late, led by former Chewy CEO Ryan Cohen. While dogs and video games have very little in common, Cohen’s shown that he knows his way around an industry that is desperate for disruption. We’ll be honest, when he came onboard and said he wanted to focus less on GME’s brick-and-mortar bread-and-butter, we didn’t think this was what he meant. Though, to be fair, no one knew what NFTs were back then either. High Stakes Deals and Rumors [Deals and Rumors] Cresco Labs is looking to move more supply, as it’s reported that the cannabis producer is scooping up NY Based Columbia Care [for a cool $2B](. That’s a 16% premium based on Columbia Care’s Tuesday closing price for those keeping track at home (CCHWF shareholders). The combined business will be run by Charles Bachtell, the current CEO of Cresco Labs. Upon completion of the deal, Cresco will operate in 17 states, up from the 10 that it currently resides in. - Cresco’s brands, combined with Columbia’s retail locations, would make the company the largest cannabis multistate operation in the US. - A finalized deal gives Cresco the [largest annual revenue]() in the game, at $1.4B. - “This is how you turn brands like High Supply, Cresco and FloraCal into Miller High Life, Coca-Cola and Johnnie Walker Blue Label,” according to Bachtell Cannabis is on the up and up, not that that’s any surprise to investors. In the US alone, cannabis sales are projected to hit $46B by 2026. As more states continue to legalize the ganj, keep an eye out for deals like these to continue to pop up. Shareholders of both companies are hoping that this is the catalyst needed to head in the right direction, as Columbia Care shares are down 70% since it started trading, while Cresco’s are down 63% from its 2021 high-water mark. Link Roundup Other News Other News Link Roundup + Somebody should get McFired for such a dumb idea - The McPlant sandwich made with Beyond Meat is underperforming ([link](=)) + NYC realtors, jewelers, and cocaine dealers rejoice - Wall Street bonuses hit a record of $257K per employee last year ([link](=)) + Icarus also thought his wing wax was heat proof - Petco CEO says company’s growth is inflation proof ([link](=)) + Maybe you can get that Miami 1BA/1BR for less than $2MM now - Fast rising mortgage rates may cause housing sale slowdown ([link](=)) + I’m still not doing the Windows 11 update - Microsoft confirms some source code hacked ([link]()) Meme of the day A fraction* of one share, [via @wallstmemes](=) [other news] 62 Calef Hwy #233 Lee, New Hampshire 03861 United States Questions or concerns about our products? 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