Apple's $5.25B Five-Part Bond Sale

Apple borrowed money from the US blue-chip bond market yesterday. Many other companies are doing the same to raise money before important inflation reports come out later this week.

Here are the top articles that people are reading on Bloomberg: 1. The latest updates on the pandemic and vaccine distribution. 2. News about the recent surge in Bitcoin's price. 3. Analysis on how President-elect Joe Biden's policies may impact the economy. 4. Insights on the current state of the stock market and potential risks to investors. 5. Coverage on the impact of Brexit negotiations on both the UK and global economy. These articles are all important for staying informed on the latest news and trends in finance and the economy.

Goldman Sachs is giving $215 million to settle a case about paying women less. The case happened because female Goldman Sachs employees did not receive the same pay as male employees. The discrimination was found out in a review by the U.S. government. The settlement will make sure that Goldman Sachs pays female employees fairly in the future.

Powell thinks a recession is unlikely. He may be right. But, some problems could happen. The trade war with China could cause a credit crunch. A credit crunch is when it's hard to get loans. Also, there's a standoff in DC. The standoff could lead to problems with government spending. If these problems do happen, Powell's bet may not be good after all.

More people are talking about gun control in the U.S. One reason is the latest mass shooting in Texas. 27 people died at a church. Many people saw graphic images of the aftermath. This adds to the existing debate about gun laws. Some people say guns should be harder to buy. They want more background checks. Others feel that gun rights are protected by the Constitution. This means they can't be taken away. The debate continues.

China has launched an anti-spy campaign. Police recently raided a consulting firm in the country. The consulting firm is suspected of spying. It allegedly facilitated espionage activities for foreign clients. China is taking a strong stance against espionage. The country's spy agencies are also cracking down on foreign interference. The government is increasing its efforts to protect its national security.

Airfares, hotels, and cars are becoming costly for Americans. People are keen to travel after being confined to their homes for an extended period. Due to this, the demand for travel has increased. The airline industry is still recovering from the pandemic, and airlines are operating fewer flights. The limited availability of seats leads to higher prices. Additionally, rental cars are scarce because rental agencies had to sell their vehicles during the pandemic, and now they're struggling to fulfill the demand. Hotels are also experiencing staff shortages, which leads to increased prices. Therefore, it's becoming more challenging for Americans to travel without breaking the bank.

A company in California called Cupertino recently sold bonds. They sold them in a deal that aimed at $5 billion, but they actually ended up selling $5.25 billion. This info comes from someone who knows about it. The 30-year bond, which was part of the deal, ended up yielding 108 basis points over comparable Treasuries. That's less than the 135 basis points they talked about at first. The person who gave this info didn't want to be identified because the talks were private.

Bloomberg asked dealers for their opinion on this week's US high-grade bond sales. They think it will be between $30 billion and $35 billion. Corporate debt markets are starting to look better. On Monday, 11 companies will sell $22.55 billion of fresh debt. They want to get funding before the consumer price index comes out on Wednesday. T-Mobile US Inc. and Merck & Co. Inc. sold $3.5 billion and $6 billion in bonds.

Apple will use the money they earned from selling for general corporate purposes. This could mean repurchasing stocks, paying dividends, funding their working capital, investing in new projects, buying other companies, or paying off debts. Someone who knows about this said so. This is the first time that Apple has sold anything since they made $5.5 billion in August to buy back their own stocks and pay dividends.

Apple wants to get billions in new debt, not because they need it for their operations. Robert Schiffman from Bloomberg Intelligence said it's because they're confident they can make more money. They're issuing the debt in five different parts, which will help them reach their goal of not having too much cash on hand.

Rob Waldner, the chief fixed income strategist and head of macro research at Invesco, thinks the market will like the deal. He said this before the deal was priced on Bloomberg TV. He also said people want high quality fixed income.

Apple's representatives didn't answer a comment request. T-Mobile and Merck also didn't answer right away.

Apple sold bonds after reporting earnings. Meta Platforms raised $8.5 billion in bonds last week. Both are mega-cap tech issuers.

Michael Gambale, Brian Smith, Tom Keene, Christopher DeReza and Allan Lopez helped out with this blog.

This section is about what people read the most on Bloomberg Businessweek.

Why use rockets when you can throw objects into space? A team of researchers created a method to launch objects using balloons. This technique could save money on rocket launches. The team used a helium balloon to take a small rocket up to 105,000 feet. The rocket was then launched and reached over four times the speed of sound. The researchers believe this method could be used for small satellites or experiments. It's an innovative solution to reduce the cost of space exploration.

Firefox can't be saved even with $500 million from Google every year.

The Biden Administration wants to calm down talks of the US-China decoupling. They believe an accidental tumbling into a new Cold War would be bad for both countries. Talk of reducing US reliance on Chinese supply chains has been growing. Biden's team sees a need to work together on issues like climate change and global health. They also want to hold China accountable for unfair trade practices and human rights violations.

Airbus aims to win over Boeing with a bigger A220 aircraft. The company plans to stretch the A220-300 by adding three extra rows of seats. This would allow the jet to carry up to 149 passengers, surpassing the 737. Airbus wants to attract more airlines with its larger capacity and fuel-efficient engine. The A220 is already popular with carriers, with orders exceeding 500. The new version is expected to be ready for delivery by 2025. Airbus hopes the stretched A220 will give it an advantage in the highly competitive airplane market.

Many business schools are now offering data science as a master's degree program. This is because of the growing demand for data analysts and data scientists in the job market. In recent years, the amount of data available has increased significantly, and businesses need professionals who can analyze and interpret this data. A degree in data science includes courses in statistics, programming, database management, and machine learning. Graduates of this program are equipped with the skills to identify patterns and make data-driven decisions. This degree has become increasingly popular as companies realize the importance of data analysis for success.