Due to the outbreak of a new coronavirus in Wuhan, China - a city of 11 million 521 miles west of Shanghai - economic contagion is already rippling through Asia.
Tourism has been slashed, retail outlets closed on scale, service workers encouraged to work from home, and supply chains disrupted. Some are even suggesting Xi Jinping's important state visit to Japan this spiring could be put on hold.
Consider that Delta Airlines has suspended flights to mainland China until the end of April. At least 90 days of no flights meaning at least 90 days of new business put on hold.
The smart money on Wall Street tracks air traffic between the US and China as a KPI to determine where the economy is going.
With this Black Swan event to open the Year of the Rat, plan for 2020 to see little global economic expansion.
GM commits to $2.2 billion investment and 2,200 jobs at “D-Ham”
General Motors announced it is investing $2.2 billion in the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant and will make it the company's first assembly plant fully devoted to making electric vehicles.
According to GM, the plant will produce a variety of all-electric trucks and SUVs. The first all-electric truck will be a pickup with production scheduled to begin in late 2021.
GM said that it will soon be followed by the Cruise Origin, a shared, electric, self-driving vehicle unveiled by Cruise in San Francisco last week.
"Through this investment, GM is taking a big step forward in making our vision of an all-electric future a reality," GM President Mark Reuss said on Monday. "Our electric pickup will be the first of multiple electric truck variants we will build at Detroit-Hamtramck over the next few years."
"We are truly building the future today," Reuss said, "and we are doing it here in our hometown and home state, just up the road from our world headquarters."
When the plant becomes fully operational, GM said the investment will create more than 2,200 manufacturing jobs. The company also said it will invest an additional $800 million in supplier tooling and other projects related to the launch of an electric truck.
GM is expected to air a commercial during the Super Bowl that features LeBron James and the electric Hummer branded under GMC.
Reuss teased that more news could be coming during the Super Bowl: "I can definitely tell you this, the Super Bowl match-up Sunday between the Chiefs and the 49ers shapes up to be a classic and you should all tune in."
Irish Ambassador DanMulhall on how Brexit may benefit Ireland
“We will be the sole English-speaking, common law country in the European Union. We expect that this will add further to Ireland's attractions as a location for US investment in Europe.”
Penn National Gaming buys a minority stake in Barstool Sports
Getting back to its roots, Barstool Sports is betting on betting in a big way.
Initially started as a rag that offered gambling advertisements, but once SCOTUS decided that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was unconstitutional, Barstool used the repeal to bolster its sports betting content and gain further recognition in the gaming industry.
Plus the appetite for sports betting only continues to grow as twenty states and DC have passed legislation allowing legal sports betting, with more states likely to follow.
So on paper, Penn National Gaming’s acquisition of a minority stake of Barstool Sports at a $450 million valuation makes sense.
Front Office Sports reports, over the years, Barstool has collaborated with other sports gambling entities like FanDuel, MGM, PointsBet, and DraftKings, but as the company sought a new owner, its unique audience of fans and bettors made the company an ideal target for Penn National Gaming. Barstool has 66 million unique monthly visitors, the majority falling in the 18-to-34 age range.
Dave Portnoy, Barstool founder, University of Michigan graduate, and satirical sports personality, or El Presidente as he's referred to by Stoolies predicts: “We are going to become the biggest gambling company in the country.”
The best brands in the world operate seamlessly online and offline.
With this new relationship, Barstool is in a unique position to marry media with online and retail sports betting, coupled with restaurants and hotels, merchandise, and experiences.