🎶 Don’t stop BBelieving

Reddit's new favourite meme stock makes gains, virus origin plot thickens, and some more updates.

the mesha tribe

Jun 08, 2021

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Read Time: 960 words, 4:48 minutes.

There’s so much to cover today so let’s get started.

First up,

Market Snapshot 📈

Sensex: 52,275.57 (-0.10%) ↓

Nifty 50: 15,740.10 (-0.073%) ↓

Dow Jones: 34,630.24 (-0.36%) ↓

Nasdaq 100: 13,802.89 (+0.23%) ↑

Bitcoin: $32,888.20

Top Stories 📰

1. Blackberry: the new favourite meme stock 📈

Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets, a community that's known for hyping up meme stocks like AMC and GameStop, has decided to pump up the shares of Blackberry — a Canadian firm that was once a dominant force in the mobile phone market.

On Monday, seven of the top 20 posts on the subreddit were entirely dedicated to Blackberry, which traded in the $15-$16 range. Some enthusiastic hodlers now speculate the stock to go up to $50.

Why such frenzy? Investors believe that Blackberry is gradually transitioning from being a mobile phone manufacturer to a cybersecurity firm that has deals with big players like Amazon. They also conclude the company to be well-positioned to enter the EV market. In fact, the company's shares advanced 137% this year alone.

Despite such optimism, analysts think otherwise. Fund managers like David Baskin have likened owning Blackberry's shares to casino gambling. "You know you might double your money in one day you might lose 50% of your money in one day," he added. Currently, three firms have "Sell" ratings on the company.

Blackberry's fundamentals also do not paint a good picture. The company posted a $1.1 billion loss for FY2021. Its sales were down 25% year over year at $210 million, compared to last year's $218 million.

Why it matters? While meme stocks collectively enjoy meteoric momentum supported by massive rallies, the SEC has warned investors that it's closely monitoring the market's volatility to determine market disruptions or manipulative trading practices.

2. Two theories, one virus 🦠

In their attempts to study the origins of the coronavirus outbreak, two reports have emerged, and they both make opposite claims.

Theory #1: natural origin theory
One nature study found a link between the illegal selling of 38 animal species in Chinese markets and the coronavirus pandemic. The research analysed monthly surveys of 17 wet market shops selling live wild animals as pets and food from May 2017 to November 2019, just before the virus first emerged in Wuhan.

But it was all pure serendipity! In fact, the study did not intend to find coronavirus origins at all. Researchers were trying to identify the source of the tick-borne disease that first broke out in Hubei Province in 2009–2010.

This research supports WHO's assertion that SARS-CoV-2 most likely transmitted from animals to humans, either from a bat or another mammal sold in the wet markets of Wuhan in China.

Theory #2: lab-leak theory

A May 2020 report by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory doubled down on a popular theory, claiming that the virus leaked from a Chinese lab in Wuhan. The inquiry, which began during Trump's final months in office, concluded that the lab-leak hypothesis is plausible and recommended further investigation.

The report comes just two weeks after President Biden ordered US intelligence agencies to inquire into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak. The theory gained mainstream attention after an undisclosed report revealed that three researchers from China's Wuhan Institute of Virology became sick with flu-like symptoms and sought hospital care in November 2019.

China has repeatedly denied such claims and said that it's cooperating with international agencies to find COVID-19 origins. However, several officials and scientists have accused Beijing of restricting access and transparency in the investigation.

Why it matters? While it's still too early to say where the SARS-CoV-2 originated from, it's vital to study and understand how such viruses spread to prevent them from causing massive damages in the future.

3. Apple WWDC 2021 📱

Apple kicked off its annual Worldwide Developer Conference with some big announcements focused on improving the overall user experience. The company's new iOS 15 sharpens on four main ideas: staying connected, using intelligence, focusing without distraction, and exploring the world.

Some key highlights:

FaceTime gets a big update with features like spatial audio, voice isolation, portrait mode, and SharePlay, which allows you to listen to music/watch a film with your friends. It also expanded FaceTime for Android users.
Its new Live Text feature will digitize text in photos and make it selectable and copy/pastable.
You can now open hotel doors and even go through airport security screenings easily using Apple Wallet.
Security to the max — Apple Mail will now automatically block tracking pixels marketers, and its "App Privacy Report" will flag unexpected behaviour.
New iOS will allow Siri to operate offline and process voice requests on the device itself. Apple will also let third-party accessory makers add Siri to their devices.
Users can now track family members' health data and receive alerts on their health updates.
New macOS called Monterey will facilitate seamless file sharing between Macs and iPads.

Why it matters? With such a range of functionalities, Apple is making sure that it's staying in the game with its rivals like Microsoft, which has also recently announced major advancements in privacy, productivity, and health and fitness fronts.