Breakdown – npr.org
Major items: $350 billion in loans to small businesses, $500 billion for loans, loan guarantees or other aid to corporates, unemployment insurance, direct payments, etc.
An introductory video for one of the fundamental pillars of the financial market’s liquidity – repo market. The video also explains the Sep 16, 2019 repo rate spike.
Amazon has been steadily growing its logistics operation over the last decade, and it now delivers more than half of all Amazon packages in the US. “Our AlphaWise analysis shows that Amazon Logistics already delivers ~50% of Amazon US volumes, focused on urban areas,” Morgan Stanley said.
Amazon needs to deliver about 5 billion packages per year. Amazon Logistics delivers about 20% of its U.S. package volumes from a year ago and is now shipping at a rate of 2.5 billion per year.
MS estimates UPS and FedEx have U.S. shipping volumes of 4.7 billion and 3 billion packages per year, respectively.
By 2022, Amazon Logistics will reach a volume of 6.5 billion packages per year , far exceeding its estimate for UPS at 5 billion packages per year and FedEx at 3.4 billion packages per year.
In its 2018 annual report, published in Feb 2019, Amazon counted companies in “transportation and logistics services” among its rivals. “They had never done that before that day,” Mr. Smith (Founder, Chairman & CEO of FedEx) said. “So we took it seriously.”
In August 2019, FexEx said it decided not to renew the contract when it expires at the end of August, not delivering Amazon packages through its ground network. In June, FedEx said it was ending its air-shipping contract with Amazon in the U.S.
While FedEx is walking away from the largest e-commerce player in the U.S., FedEx is positioning itself as a go-to carrier for Target Corp., Walmart Inc. and the world of retailers that aim to compete with Amazon. [WSJ]
Meanwhile, UPS has been investing heavily to expand its capacity to handle more packages for Amazon and other shippers. UPS reported a surge in the volume of packages going through its air network in the June quarter. [WSJ]
Further, in the 2019 holiday season, Amazon blocked its third-party sellers from using FedEx’s ground delivery network for Prime shipments, citing a decline in performance heading into the final stretch of the holiday shopping season.
What is more concerning for other shipping & logistics companies is the new “Shipping with Amazon” program, reported by WSJ in Feb 2018.
Amazon expects to roll out the delivery service in Los Angeles in coming weeks with third-party merchants that sell goods via its website.
While the program is being piloted with the company’s third-party sellers, it is envisioned as eventually accommodating other businesses as well.
Park Hotels & Resorts (PK)
Starwood Property Trust (STWD)
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (ARI)
TPG Real Estate Finance Trust (TRTX)
KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (KREF)
McDonald’s (MCD)
Update: MCD 1-month chart as of March 27
Starbucks (SBUX)
Update: SBUX 1-month chart as of March 27
Sales in China dropped 20.5% for January and February due to COVID-19 and the lockdown. Restaurant sales dropped 43.1%. // Xinhua
Tencent (HKG: 0700) reported its 2019 financial results, growing the top-line at 21% and adjusted EBITDA at 30%. Its fintech services revenue has surpassed ¥100 billion in 2019. There are over 50 million monthly active merchants in 2019Q4 and LiCaiTong 理财通, increased its aggregate customer assets over 50% year-on-year, while its number of customers more than doubled year-on-year. // Press Release | Annual Report
Lilium raised $240M in a recent financing round led by Tencent, with participation from other previous backers that included Atomico, Freigeist and LGT. Lilium, a Munich-based startup that is designing and building vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft with speeds of up to 100 km/h, eventually plans to run in its own taxi fleet. // TechCrunch | Press Release
The worst week for Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 since 2008 financial crisis (Oct 2008).
Fed cut rates to near-zero the weekend before, lowering federal-funds rate to a range between 0% and 0.25%.
Dots to connect: QE, easing from central banks around the world, inflation on the way, bond issuing in low-interest-rate environment, another round of asset bubble(?) when recover, etc.
On March 19, President Donald Trump declared an anti-malaria drug a “game changer”.
Here is a video for how it works.
The United States Post Office Department created the nation’s commercial aviation industry. From 1918 to 1927, the Post Office Department built and operated the nation’s airmail service, establishing routes, testing aircraft and training pilots.
The year 1952 brought a separation of airline subsidies from airmail. The Post Office Department paid airmail compensation and the Civil Aeronautics Board made all airline subsidy payments, based on national interests aside from airmail.
The needs of passenger traffic overtook those of mail cargo in the second half of the 20th century. Airline companies organized their routes to maximize passenger needs. By 1975, airmail had become a fundamental part of the U.S. Postal Service’s transportation plan. That October, first class mailers no longer had to pay an extra fee for airmail service.
In 1971, Smith incorporated Federal Express with his college idea of an integrated delivery system specifically designed to accommodate time-sensitive shipments with airfreight as the core.
By the end of the 20th century, FedEx operated the world’s largest all-cargo air fleet. And it still is the largest now with over 650 aircrafts.
The average age of its aircrafts is 22 (in 2017) as many cargo aircraft are decommissioned passenger jets, stripped and repurposed for carrying freight.
Nowadays, FedEx is still the busiest cargo airline in the world with volumes improving by 3.8% year on year to 17.5bn freight tonne kms (FTK) in 2018.