Disney share price jumps 9% on Bob Iger’s return

In today’s top stories, Disney shares soar on Bob Iger’s return, trading commences on Shenzhen’s data exchange and an asset manager reveals their top picks for the upcoming holiday season. Meanwhile, streaming made up 37.3% of October TV viewing and Warren Buffett increases his stake in five of Japan’s major trading houses.

Disney’s former CEO returns

Bob Iger is returning to lead Disney [DIS] effective immediately after stepping down in February 2020. During his first tenure, Disney acquired a number of studios, including Pixar, Marvel and LucasFilms. Tiger had a “golden touch”, tweeted Wedbush analyst Dan Ives on Monday morning, adding that the “move will have ramifications across the media and streaming industry”. The Disney share price was up 10% in pre-market trading following the news.

Shenzhen officially launches data exchange

In a bid to strengthen China’s digital economy, a state-run data exchange has launched in Shenzhen’s tech hub after a one-year trial. Data is regarded by China as a new production metric and allowing companies to trade data like they would commodities could boost innovation and creativity. However, the country still doesn’t have “adequate legal framework that could help resolve thorny issues around data trading, such as data ownership,” reported the South China Morning Post.

Holiday shopping picks

The holiday season is upon us and many households may be trimming their Christmas spending. Consumers will be “very tactical”, Katie Thomas of the Kearney Consumer Institute told CNBC. Walmart [WMT] is expected to benefit “because there’s a great perception of value there,” she added. Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management, recommends Family Dollar, owned by Dollar Tree [DLTR]. His luxury picks are RH [RH] and Lululemon [LULU].

October streaming risers and fallers

Streaming gained a bigger share of the total TV viewing in the US in October, the eight month in a row, according to Nielsen data. Broadcast TV’s slice of the pie rose from 24.2% in September to 26%, while streaming’s increased from 36.9% to 37.3%.  The gains were led by Alphabet’s [GOOGL] YouTube, which increased from 8% to 8.5%, while Disney Plus increased from 1.9% to 2%.

Buffett’s shoga shosha buys

Warren Buffett has upped his stakes in five of Japan’s major trading houses, according to regulatory filings. His firm Berkshire Hathaway [BRK-A] first bought into the houses – or sogo shosha – in August 2020. Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex, told Reuters he wasn’t surprised by Buffett’s move. Sogo shosha “are associated with high commodity prices, but there's much more to their businesses than that. Their earnings are good and shareholder returns are strong.”

Amazon’s healthcare push

As pressures continue to mount on consumers’ discretionary spending, the Amazon, Shopify [SHOP] and Jumia [JMIA] share prices are feeling the weight. In search of more profitable ventures, Amazon is making a push away from cyclical consumer demand trends and into healthcare. It's launching Amazon Clinic, a virtual service that provides advice and support for common conditions.

Hedge funds reveal Q3 holdings

Big hedge funds revealed their buying and selling activity for the third-quarter last week. Buffett isn’t known to open many new positions, but did put $4.1bn in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company [TSM]. Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global increased its Uber [UBER] stake by 1502% and its Block [SQ] holding by 300%. Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater upped its position in Alphabet by 2,879% and took up 148% more Visa [V] shares.