(New York)

One of the big changes coming to the structure of the trading and asset management businesses is that research is increasingly being split out on its own. Directed by European regulations, costs for research can no longer be bundled with trading commissions. This has led to a scramble by research providers to figure out how to price their now stand-alone research. Now, big banks are reportedly locked in tense negotiations with the clients as they are asking firms to pay $1m per year for access to their research. Fund managers think prices will come down.

FINSUM: This change could be headed over to the US soon, so something to keep an eye on. If banks are able to charge high fees, it could lead to a change of direction for the whole industry.

(Chicago)

McDonald’s has made a lot of changes over the course of the last couple years. Investors were skeptical at first, but the company’s CEO seems to have one its shareholders over. Now McDonald’s has a new plan to reverse its sliding grip on US fast food sales: take over the “dead zone”, or the period between lunch and dinner which are a doldrums for fast food chains. Between roughly 2 and 5 pm, fast food outlets do very little business. McDonald’s thinks there is an opportunity there, and counter to its recent focus on healthy food, it is rolling out the sweets and pastries to try to lure customers in during those hours. It will offer some new indulgent treats with aggressive pricing. It also says there is an opportunity to expand its coffee business.

FINSUM: We think this is a sharp idea. People seem to get an energy low in the middle of the afternoon, so peddling fresh coffee and sweets then seems like a solid strategy.

(Las Vegas)

The market has had a lot of anticipation about the release and production schedule of Tesla’s new model 3. Many are worried that Elon Musk’s company will not be able to meet its production quotas, leaving the company unable to meet the huge volume of pre-orders it received for the new model. The company has just months remaining to deliver around half a billion Dollars worth of refundable orders. It plans to double its production rate within six months, and then quintuple it by the end of next year. The rollout will be slower than previously as the company wants to avoid the debacle it faced with the release of faulty Model X’s when they debuted.

FINSUM: This is a make or break challenge for the company and they have a poor track record of keeping to production schedules.