Live data from Hacker News

Northvolt raises $1.2B convertible note from BlackRock

sifted.eu

51–60 of 105 posts

Re: Northvolt raises $1.2B convertible note from BlackRock

#51

> Sweden’s Northvolt, has raised $1.2bn from North America-based investors including BlackRock. Feels like BlackRock have touched almost everything

Well sure, because they're an investment company. They manage people's money. A lot of people seem to talk about BlackRock as if they're investing their own money, which would be similar to pretending your bank owns all the money that you put in it. They have $10Tn under management, but they have a market cap of $100bn. So the vast majority of what they're doing is just brokering deals for their investors. The fact t…

Agree on all points except the comparison with banks. The banks do technically own the money you put in it - and what you get in return is an IOU. So a bank is a very different sort of thing.

Re: Northvolt raises $1.2B convertible note from BlackRock

#52
post #45
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It appears to be a conflict of interest [...] The fed choosing an asset management firm is similar to choosing a vendor. That in itself isn't a "conflict of interest". That only arises if there's reason to believe that the Fed or its officials are making decisions that benefit themselves personally at the expense of the fed. For instance, if they hold outsized positions in blackrock and chose them despite not being…

The Chairman of The Fed has his assets being managed by a company that the Fed does business with. It's completely reasonable to assume a conflict of interest in this less-than-transparent environment. The upper tiers of power don't deserve the benefit of the doubt.

I agree that it's a conflict of interest, but I'm not sure how the chair of the fed could keep their money without a conflict of interest somewhere, given that their role necessarily has interests in all US financial institutions.

For the chair to not have a conflict of interest, they'd need to forfeit all their money, or keep it in cash under their mattress.

Re: Northvolt raises $1.2B convertible note from BlackRock

#53
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well sure, because they're an investment company. They manage people's money. A lot of people seem to talk about BlackRock as if they're investing their own money, which would be similar to pretending your bank owns all the money that you put in it. They have $10Tn under management, but they have a market cap of $100bn. So the vast majority of what they're doing is just brokering deals for their investors. The fact t…

$10 tn AUM is way too much. I don’t see what the price of their stock has to do with anything.

Agreed. Investing with one of the huge investment firms such as BlackRock, Vanguard or State Street feels like investing in the erosion of democracy and the monopolization of the means of production.

The optimal strategy for them is to coerce all the companies that they invest in to only do business with each other in order to completely lock new competitors out of the market. This is very bad for consumers and society.

Re: Northvolt raises $1.2B convertible note from BlackRock

#54
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Chairman of The Fed has his assets being managed by a company that the Fed does business with. It's completely reasonable to assume a conflict of interest in this less-than-transparent environment. The upper tiers of power don't deserve the benefit of the doubt.

I agree that it's a conflict of interest, but I'm not sure how the chair of the fed could keep their money without a conflict of interest somewhere, given that their role necessarily has interests in all US financial institutions. For the chair to not have a conflict of interest, they'd need to forfeit all their money, or keep it in cash under their mattress.

I'm of the opinion that anyone in government or regulatory agencies should be forbidden from conducting any business at all while in office. Put it all into a blind trust.

It should be a crime to be a regulator while doing business with the entities one is regulating. As I said, just my opinion.

Re: Northvolt raises $1.2B convertible note from BlackRock

#55
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well sure, because they're an investment company. They manage people's money. A lot of people seem to talk about BlackRock as if they're investing their own money, which would be similar to pretending your bank owns all the money that you put in it. They have $10Tn under management, but they have a market cap of $100bn. So the vast majority of what they're doing is just brokering deals for their investors. The fact t…

$10 tn AUM is way too much. I don’t see what the price of their stock has to do with anything.

> $10 tn AUM is way too much

Please elaborate. What's the right amount?

Re: Northvolt raises $1.2B convertible note from BlackRock

#56
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$10 tn AUM is way too much. I don’t see what the price of their stock has to do with anything.

Agreed. Investing with one of the huge investment firms such as BlackRock, Vanguard or State Street feels like investing in the erosion of democracy and the monopolization of the means of production. The optimal strategy for them is to coerce all the companies that they invest in to only do business with each other in order to completely lock new competitors out of the market. This is very bad for consumers and socie…

[deleted]

Re: Northvolt raises $1.2B convertible note from BlackRock

#57
post #45
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It appears to be a conflict of interest [...] The fed choosing an asset management firm is similar to choosing a vendor. That in itself isn't a "conflict of interest". That only arises if there's reason to believe that the Fed or its officials are making decisions that benefit themselves personally at the expense of the fed. For instance, if they hold outsized positions in blackrock and chose them despite not being…

The Chairman of The Fed has his assets being managed by a company that the Fed does business with. It's completely reasonable to assume a conflict of interest in this less-than-transparent environment. The upper tiers of power don't deserve the benefit of the doubt.

There's not a single thing the Fed chairman could invest in that wouldn't be a conflict of interest -- whether the world's largest asset manager (blackrock), broadbased ETFs, or even USD since his monetary policy effects the dollar's purchasing power.

Re: Northvolt raises $1.2B convertible note from BlackRock

#58
post #3

I was recently shopping for an UPS + couple 100Ah Batteries solution and failed to find an easy way to buy something not manufactured in China. Northvolt seems to not be present in retail at all. Are there any good places I should've checked out?

Maybe not a full answer to your question, but reviews from Will Prowse are great. Check his youtube/website.

That's an interesting channel, thanks in any case!

Re: Northvolt raises $1.2B convertible note from BlackRock

#59
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well sure, because they're an investment company. They manage people's money. A lot of people seem to talk about BlackRock as if they're investing their own money, which would be similar to pretending your bank owns all the money that you put in it. They have $10Tn under management, but they have a market cap of $100bn. So the vast majority of what they're doing is just brokering deals for their investors. The fact t…

$10 tn AUM is way too much. I don’t see what the price of their stock has to do with anything.

$10 trillion AUM and a market cap of $100 billion means that 99% of their investments are directly on behalf of their clients, that's what GP is emphasizing.

Re: Northvolt raises $1.2B convertible note from BlackRock

#60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Blackrock doesn't 'own' Tesla, or any company really. They hold and manage stocks for their customers. If you own an iShares ETF or mutual fund, you own the companies, not Blackrock.

I just don't think this is a practical argument. You have zero control, influence, or access to the businesses BlackRock controls. By contrast Larry Fink has the power, which he has regularly exploited, to reshape entire economies at the snap of his fingers, let alone just one of the many businesses under their control.

Which is exactly what investors pay Fink and the BlackRock team to do. Most people don't have time to analyze and choose things to invest in, so they offload that responsibility to BlackRock in exchange for some fees. The system is working as intended.
Post reply on HN