PayPal still charting its next course
As arguably the first FinTech disruptor of the internet era, PayPal has been around long enough to see other “revolutionary” companies come and go. The company has pushed to evolve in recent years as evidenced by the launch of Venmo, which has been a hit with younger consumers.
This Wall Street Journal piece looks at the challenges PayPal now faces in trying to turn the growth Venmo has spurred into increased profitability. Time will tell, but I am betting that PayPal will figure it out.
Wall Street weighs in on Trump tax plan
Analysts far and wide were keen to get a look at President Trump’s plan for tax reform yesterday. When they did, their response was pretty uniform: Meh. On the other hand, hedge fund honchos let out a hopeful Yippee!
The people who can make Trump pay (maybe)
Whatever becomes of the Trump administration long-term economic plans, there is one group of people who might be waiting until the time is right to exercise their own unique brand of control over policy making: Bond vigilantes.
Regional banks aren’t enjoying a Trump bump
The commercial and industrial lending many assumed would rev up under the Trump administration has not yet left the starting line. In fact, it might be headed back in the locker room. 13 of the 15 largest regional banks missed analysts’ estimates for loan growth in Q1. Total loans declined by about $10 billion, the first such drop in lending in four years.
WYWW Appetizers
- Homeownership is looking set to grow.
- Goldman Sachs is trying to pump up its online bank.
- CME Group signaled trouble in the data fee market.
- Non-bank lenders continued their gallop into the commercial real estate lending market.
- Apparently, Google and Facebook got duped to the tune of $100 million.