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Tag: Steve Mnuchin

  • TikTok Oracle Deal Approval Imminent

    TikTok Oracle Deal Approval Imminent

    The Financial Times reports that under Oracle’s proposal currently under review by various entities within the US government including Treasury and Homeland Security, TikTok is set to become a standalone US company to satisfy White House conditions. The agreement would keep ByteDance as majority shareholding, with Oracle holding a minority stake. This condition would seem to be at odds with Trump’s mandate for TikTok to become an American owned company to satisfy the terms of his executive order designed to protect the privacy and security of the American public.

    However, President Trump told reporters today that he heard that Oracle and TikTok are “very close to a deal.” He said that a decision on the pending deal will be made “pretty soon.” He noted that he has “high respect” Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison. Ellison is a well-known supporter of President Trump. The trust that the President has with Ellison is likely key to making this deal happen.

    CNBC’s Jim Cramer who has both tech world sources and is friends with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said this today:

    I think there’s a deal as soon as today. I think that the review is almost complete. They like Oracle. They don’t feel that Oracle has any ties (to China). I think that they are going to get all of TikTok worldwide. They are going to hire 25,000 people in America. Apparently Secretary Mnuchin is very happy about the security concerns. Oracle CEO Safra Catz is saying we are ready. We have a gigantic cloud presence and we are already doing a lot in advertising. This is going to be today or maybe tomorrow.

    There are 55 million users at 79 minutes a day and there are 100 million users per month. It is a prize asset. The reason why the deal is going to be done is because Oracle is a trusted company in the White House. It’s not going to be that Oracle owns it. It is going to be owned by these PE firms, some of it Oracle, and that’s why I think the deal is going to be approved.

    The Wall Street Journal tonight is reporting that the deal may actually include a piece of the TikTok globally as well:

    China’s ByteDance Ltd. would retain a majority ownership stake in its TikTok app as part of a proposal to be reviewed by national-security regulators on Tuesday with an eye toward settling the high-profile deal by a deadline Sunday, according to a person familiar with the situation.

    The proposal includes Oracle Corp. ’s bid to become TikTok’s U.S. technology partner as part of an effort to address the administration’s national-security concerns surrounding the Chinese-owned video-sharing app.

    Source: Wall Street Journal

    “We just got this proposal over the weekend it would be inappropriate for me to comment on it,” said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin yesterday in an impromptu press gathering this afternoon. “It’s going to go through a national security review in the next couple of days and then we’ll be sitting down and reviewing it with the President. But as we’ve said before a condition of any deal is to make sure that we believe that the code is safe, that U.S .citizens personal data is safe, and that the phones are safe. We have a lot of confidence in Oracle so we’ll be reviewing the technical issues with them.”

  • Oracle TikTok Deal Dead?

    Oracle TikTok Deal Dead?

    Is the Oracle TikTok deal dead on arrival? According to China state-affiliated media China will not allow ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations to Oracle (or Microsoft), nor will the company be allowed to give the source code to any U.S. buyers. CGTN Digital reports that its sources say that despite news reports to the contrary ByteDance will not be selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to Oracle.

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury will be reviewing the deal for the U.S. operations of TikTok. The reported sale was designed to avoid an outright ban of TikTok in the United States because of concerns that data from U.S. citizens were being transferred to the communist government of China.

    “We just got this proposal over the weekend it would be inappropriate for me to comment on it,” said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in an impromptu press gathering this afternoon. “It’s going to go through a national security review in the next couple of days and then we’ll be sitting down and reviewing it with the President. But as we’ve said before a condition of any deal is to make sure that we believe that the code is safe, that U.S .citizens personal data is safe, and that the phones are safe. We have a lot of confidence in Oracle so we’ll be reviewing the technical issues with them.

    Oracle has confirmed Secretary Mnuchin’s statement that it is part of the proposal submitted by ByteDance to the Treasury Department over the weekend in which Oracle will serve as the trusted technology provider.  Oracle noted that it has a 40-year track record providing secure, highly performant technology solutions.

    Breaking: Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin discusses potential Oracle – TikTok deal
  • Kevin O’Leary: The American Core Economy is On Fire Like it was in the 60’s

    Kevin O’Leary: The American Core Economy is On Fire Like it was in the 60’s

    Shark Tank star and investor Kevin O’Leary says that despite the recent stock volatility the “American core economy is on fire like it was in the 60’s.” O’Leary also believes that getting a deal done with China, as we did with Canada, Mexico, and Europe will make the economy boom even more. 

    “If we get a deal done with China, Katy bar the door! The upside on the S&P, if that gets worked out, will be extreme. We will have concern about a melt-up!”

    Kevin O’Leary talks about how the American core economy is on fire in an interview on CNBC:

    Asia is Having a Massive Correction

    I think it’s fair to look at large-cap companies and say that they should have some exposure to the volatility to the rest of the world. Over 47 percent of the S&P’s earnings come from overseas markets, notably Asia which is having a massive correction and Europe which is slowing down a little bit. Obviously, the German numbers over the last three months have been slower than people anticipated and it’s started to be reflected in some of their debt.

    Volatility Because of Some Concern About China

    I still look at that and say, okay, I’m going to own those companies because of their sheer scale and their growth and dividends. Yes, we have more volatility because there is some concern about China and other markets. Our own domestic market, our companies in this country which don’t sell abroad and which have a lot of their input costs at question is one of the reasons small caps are correcting because people are worried about tariffs actually effecting input costs.

    The American Core Economy is On Fire Like it was in the 60’s

    I have over 30 of them now, almost in every state. The last two quarters I’ve never had anything like this in my life. We’re hitting on every cylinder we’ve got. So look, yes we should be concerned, but the American core economy is on fire. It’s on fire like it was in the 60’s. I’m still bullish on the American economy, my money is still going there because I live it every day. These are not public companies, these are private ones that send me a check every quarter and cash flows are going up. I love them.

    If We Get a Deal Done With China, Katy Bar the Door!

    The reason we are not having a major correction yet on the China story is that (investors are waiting to see) if we get a deal done as we did with Europe, as we did with Canada, as we did with Mexico. If we get a deal done with China, Katy bar the door! The upside on the S&P, if that gets worked out, will be extreme. We will have concern about a melt-up, which you don’t talk about on a day like today. That’s why the market is waiting to see what happens. So Mnuchin and Kudlow, put your nose to the grindstone, get some work done there, and solve this for us.