Gold futures gain on spot demand
Centene To Acquire Magellan Health – Quick Facts
Centene Corp. (CNC) and Magellan Health, Inc. (MGLN) have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Centene will acquire Magellan Health for $95 per share in cash for a total enterprise value of $2.2 billion. Ken Fasola, CEO of Magellan Health, and other members of Magellan Health’s leadership team have agreed to join Centene.
Centene expects the deal to be slightly accretive in the first full year and deliver low to mid-single digit percent adjusted EPS accretion from the transaction by the second full year, including approximately $50 million in annual net cost synergies projected by the second full year.
The companies expect to complete the transaction in the second half of 2021.
Bitcoin Falls Most Since March as Volatility Grips Trading
Bitcoin fizzled in Monday trading as the famously volatile cryptocurrency pulled back after a spectacular rally.
Prices sank as much as 17% in the biggest intraday retreat since March, wiping out gains made over the weekend. After a parabolic 2020, the digital currency had started the new year with a bang, surging as high as $34,000 and hitting all-time highs.
As ever in the world of crypto, it’s hard to pinpoint the proximate cause for the latest bout of volatility. Still, Bitcoin is up more than 300% over the past year, driven by a speculative fever from retail and institutional investors on the belief that cryptocurrencies are emerging as a mainstream asset class and can act as a store of value.
Believers in Bitcoin have pointed to the market’s supply constraints and supposedly rampant money printing by central banks as key drivers of bullish narrative. Others say that cryptocurrencies are a bubble in the making and another sign that crazy risk taking has taken over global markets.
Bitcoin was down 13% to $29,168 as of 10:41 a.m. in London.
— With assistance by Eric Lam
Brown & Brown Acquires Berry Insurance Group; Terms Not Disclosed – Quick Facts
Insurance brokerage firm Brown & Brown, Inc. (BRO) announced Monday that it has acquired substantially all of the assets of Berry Insurance Group through its subsidiary Brown & Brown of Ohio, LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2002 by Mark Berry, Berry Insurance Group has grown to one of the most prominent insurance brokerage agencies in the Ohio, providing commercial and personal insurance products for business and individual customers throughout the Cincinnati tri-state area.
Mark Berry will continue to lead the Berry Insurance Group team operating from their offices in Terrace Park and Lebanon, Ohio. Mark will report to Tommy Huval, Regional President of Brown & Brown Retail.
South Africa Nabs Trio With 74 Kilograms of Gold in Hand Luggage
South African authorities arrested three suspected smugglers after finding 73.5 kilograms (162 pounds) of gold bars worth about 66 million rand ($4.5 million) in their hand luggage.
The trio was detained at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg last week after a security scanner “identified irregular images,” the South African Police Service said Monday in a statement. The men were en route from Madagascar to Dubai via Ethiopia, it said.
The suspects will appear before the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court on charges of dealing with precious metals and contravention of the Customs Act, the police said.
Investigations, with the assistance of Interpol, are under way to determine the origin of the gold and legitimacy of certification papers provided by the men, the police said. The probe will also focus on the destination of the gold.
Trump Expected To Award Presidential Medal Of Freedom To Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan
President Donald Trump is expected to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Reps. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), two political allies who have defended him throughout his presidency and during his impeachment, The Washington Post first reported on Sunday.
Nunes was one of Trump’s loudest cheerleaders in his efforts to undermine the Justice Department’s investigation of Russian interference into the 2016 election. Nunes will be awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor on Monday, Axios reported, citing three sources familiar with the plans.
During an interview on “Fox & Friends” back in October 2018, Trump suggested that Nunes deserved the medal for his fight against the Russia probe.
Jordan also has a long history of supporting Trump’s conspiracy theories and last month, he called for a congressional investigation into the “integrity of the 2020 election” that Trump lost. Jordan is expected to receive the medal next week.
Trump still has not conceded the election to President-elect Joe Biden. However, during his final weeks in office, he has granted a slew of presidential pardons to friends, family members and other allies.
RELATED…
Gold futures gain on spot demand
Gold prices rose ₹871 to ₹51,115 per 10 gram in the futures trade on January 4 as speculators created fresh positions on a firm spot demand.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold contracts for the February delivery traded higher by ₹871, or 1.73%, at ₹51,115 per 10 gram in a business turnover of 10,514 lots.
Fresh positions built up by participants led to the rise in gold prices, analysts said.
Globally, gold prices traded 2.29% higher at $1,938.50 per ounce in New York.