Chapter 1: What is the significance of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history?
Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning. Thanks so much for joining us on this Wednesday, November 5th. I'm Julie Morgan. Washington's longest closure may soon be over. Alpha bets $32 billion whiz deal clears regulators and Bitcoin tumbles back to earth. This is now the longest U.S. government shutdown on record.
Chapter 2: How does the recent election impact the political landscape?
However, odds are suggesting that the end could be near. As we enter day 36 of the shutdown, odds of it prolonging have come down. Betting on the prediction market, Polymarket now has the shutdown ending on November 13th, earlier than the previous prediction of the 29th of November. As the shutdown was inching towards becoming the longest one,
Talks accelerated to resolve issues and let the closure come to an end.
Chapter 3: What are the implications of the DOJ approval for Google's $32 billion acquisition?
A key reason for the shutdown is that Democrats are opposed to the Republicans' plan not to extend Affordable Care Act's tax credits for next year. If that were to happen, many individuals who obtain their health coverage through state insurance exchanges are likely to face drastically higher premiums without the subsidy.
The drop in the odds on the prediction markets coincided with a high-stakes day on Tuesday that saw the first major elections of Trump's second term. Millions of voters headed to the polls to decide key gubernatorial statewide and local races.
Chapter 4: How is the cryptocurrency market reacting to recent events?
Many analysts and experts see the elections as a test for Trump and believe they could set the tone for the midterms next year. And one of the big stories you'll see today is the race for mayor in New York City. Democratic Socialist Mamdani beat Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent. We're breaking down what this means for Wall Street in the Wall Street Breakfast newsletter.
There's a link to sign up for the newsletter in the show notes section. The Justice Department gives an all-clear to Wiz and Alphabet for the latter to acquire the former. The Israel-based cloud security company will be acquired by Alphabet in a deal valued at about $32 billion. It'll be Alphabet's largest acquisition.
The CEO of Wiz said definitely this is an important milestone, but they're still in the journey between signing and closing. Bloomberg News reported earlier this year that the DOJ antitrust enforcers were reviewing whether Alphabet's planned acquisition of the cybersecurity firm would illegally limit competition in the marketplace.
Bitcoin has tumbled about 20% from a record high that it hit a month ago, pushing the cryptocurrency into bear market territory. BTC briefly fell below $100,000 on Monday for the first time since June. It has since paired losses and as of the time of this recording, it is up 0.2% and below $102,000. Ether has declined below $3,500 and has effectively wiped out all of its year-to-date gains.
Chapter 5: What economic indicators should investors watch this week?
As of the time of this recording, the crypto was at $3,297. October saw a wave of crypto liquidations, the biggest of which occurred when President Trump threatened more tariffs on China. According to data from Coinglass, the tariff threat triggered a whopping $19.16 billion in liquidations on October 11th. In the past 24 hours, total liquidations reach $1.76 billion.
Meanwhile, the crypto fear and greed index is currently at 23, signaling extreme fear in the market. Now for a few other articles that are trending on Seeking Alpha. China to suspend most U.S. tariffs after the meeting last week between the two presidents. Soybeans will still face a 13% duty. Novo cuts its 2025 forecast gain and cites slower sales of WeGoV and Ozempic.
And Uber outlines high teens' gross bookings growth and accelerates its AV strategy through its partnership with NVIDIA. A couple of items on our Catalyst watch for the day. Bank of America will hold its Investor Day in Boston. This event stands out because it marks Bank of America's first Investor Day in roughly 15 years and just the second since the financial crisis of 2007-2008.
And Lending Club will hold its Investor Day event in New York City.
Chapter 6: What are the biggest stock movers to look out for today?
And on Wall Street at this early hour, Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in mixed territory. Crude oil is up 0.8% at $61 a barrel. Gold is up 0.8% at $39.64. The FTSE 100 is flat and the DAX is down 0.7%. Digital Turbine is on our list of the biggest movers of the day pre-market. Apps is up 25% after the company beat expectations on profit and revenue and raised its full-year outlook.
And on today's economic calendar, at 7 a.m., MBA mortgage applications. At 8.15 a.m., the ADP employment report. And at 10.30 a.m., the EIA petroleum status report. That's it for today's Wall Street Breakfast. Thanks for listening. For a full offering of news, analysis, ratings, and data on stocks and ETFs, become a premium subscriber. Learn more at seekingalpha.com slash subscriptions.
I'm your host, Julie Morgan. Go out and make it a great day.