☀️☕️ DJT gets SPACked

📝 Focus

• DJT gets SPACked

📊 In the Markets

• Nike Dive; Lululemon’s Downward Stock; Japan records; Hang Seng Slump

📖 MoneyFitt Explains

• 🎓 SPAC that!

💸 Personal Finance Corner

• 5 Tips to Help You Find the Right Insurance Agent

📝 Focus

DJT gets SPACked

Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), a blank-cheque firm or “SPAC”🎓 greenlit a deal to take Donald Trump's social media business public, potentially yielding a $3 billion windfall for the presumptive Republican nominee. Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, will list on Nasdaq as DJT, with Trump holding between 58% and 69% of the combined company. 

The move is particularly timely for the former US president, who is fighting the most expensive US presidential election campaign ever while facing massive legal liabilities. Thanks to signing a standard major shareholder lock-up agreement, Trump can't sell or borrow against his shares for six months post-IPO. However, Trump Media's newly merged board, which is expected to include his son Donald Jr. and other allies from his administration, can waive this and approve the sale, despite the potential impact such massive selling - or even the expectation of such selling - may have on the DJT share price.

That said, a share price collapse is far from a done deal given the highly politicised nature of DWAC’s investor base, consisting largely of small retail buyers showing their love and support for Trump. Short sellers may be wary of taking on such buyers, given the potential for a memestonk-style squeeze. The shares did drop 13.7% on the announcement last Friday but recovered 4.4% in after-hours trading, and remain over 110% up this year alone.

..... ▷ Most immediately, Trump needs to pay $454 million ($355 million plus interest) in order to appeal the civil fraud case he lost on February 23rd. 

The lawsuit alleged that he lied about his wealth for years as he built his real estate empire. The verdict punishes Trump, his company and executives for scheming to inflate his net worth on financial statements given to banks, insurers, and others.

..... ▷ If he doesn’t pay or come up with a financial guarantee within 30 days, i.e. by today, Monday, March 25th, New York’s attorney general can start the process of collecting on the money owed to the state, potentially including the seizure of Trump's properties, bank accounts and investments. 

An “appeal bond” for the full amount would stop the clock on collection during an appeal and ensure the state would get its money if he were to lose, but so far, all attempts to secure such a bond have failed. Trump claims to have the cash but prefers to use it for his campaign.

..... ▷ Trump is also facing substantial legal costs from an additional 90 cases, including

◦ Criminal: Federal Jan. 6 Case: 4 counts.

◦ Criminal: Election Case in Georgia: 10 counts.

◦ Criminal: Classified Documents Case: 40 counts.

◦ Criminal: Manhattan Hush-Money Case: 34 counts.

◦ Civil: A defamation case (already found liable for sexual misconduct.)

🇸🇬 Singapore: Let’s Get MoneyFitt!

📊 In the Markets

The S&P 500 closed largely flat on Friday but notched its largest weekly gain of 2024 after the Federal Reserve maintained projections for three interest rate cuts by year-end. 

Nasdaq edged higher, buoyed by the Philly semiconductor index, which surged on unabated optimism around artificial intelligence. 

For the week, the S&P 500 rose 2.3%, its biggest weekly rise since mid-December, while the Nasdaq climbed 2.9%, its largest jump since mid-January. 

Nike shares dropped 6.9% after warning of shrinking first-half revenue in fiscal 2025, [MFM: Achtung Adidas!] while Lululemon Athletica fell 15.8% on disappointing annual revenue and profit forecasts. The Canadian athleisure firm's gloomy outlook highlights the challenges ahead as customers slash discretionary spending, especially hard on premium-priced products due to sticky inflation. [MFM: Yogawear IS the experience].

European markets closed marginally off on Friday, a soft end to a week that saw the pan-European benchmark Stoxx 600 index notch another record high, but the UK’s FTSE 100 managed to extend its all-time high from Thursday with a strong close, up 0.6%. 

Japan's Nikkei 225 touched a new all-time high above 41,000 on Friday though the popular press benchmark closed below the milestone as the country's inflation accelerated in February, with headline and core rates both at 2.8%. The Topix also reached a record high, climbing 0.61%. 

Meanwhile, Hong Kong/China's Hang Seng Index dropped by as much as 3%, driven by declines in electric vehicle stocks, before recovering slightly to close down a still miserable 2.2%, while China's CSI 300 fell 1.01%. Shares of Li Auto plunged by over 10% after the Chinese electric vehicle firm cut its deliveries outlook for the first quarter by about a quarter.