P2JW040000-6-A00100-17FFFF5178F ****** TUESDAY,FEBRUARY 9, 2021 ~VOL. CCLXXVII NO.32 WSJ.com HHHH $4.00 DJIA 31385.76 À 237.52 0.8% NASDAQ 13987.64 À 0.9% STOXX 600 410.78 À 0.3% 10-YR. TREAS. À 3/32 , yield 1.159% OIL $57.97 À $1.12 GOLD $1,831.90 À $21.00 EURO $1.2052 YEN 105.23 Thousands ProtestinMyanmar Before MilitaryBans Rallies Tesla What’s News Makes Big Bet Business&Finance In Bitcoin esla said it bought T$1.5 billion in bitcoin, a disclosure that follows Electric-car maker CEO Musk’s promotion of buys $1.5 billion of the the cryptocurrency and other digital-currency al- digital money, plans to ternatives on Twitter. A1 accept it as payment Theelectric-vehicle maker has been summoned by Chinese authorities cit- BY CAITLIN OSTROFF ing consumer complaints AND REBECCA ELLIOTT about quality issues. B1 Tesla Inc.said it bought SoftBank posted net $1.5billion in bitcoin, adisclo- profit of about $11 billion surethat follows Chief Execu- for its latest quarter, un- CK TO tiveElon Musk’s promotion of derpinned by investment the cryptocurrency and other gains at its Vision Fund digital-currencyalternatives and asmaller successor. A1 SHUTTERS on Twitter. A/ Boeing’sboard failed to Theelectric-vehicle com- challengeMuilenburgonthe pany said it expectstostart NLAN/EP safety of the 737MAX or his LO accepting bitcoin as payment campaign to counter nega- for its products soon. Bitcoin tivenewsreportsbetween UNG prices jumped more than 10% MA two fatal crashes,according to DIVIDING LINE:RiotpoliceonMondayfaceoff againstdemonstrators in Naypyitaw,Myanmar,protesting the military coup. afterthe announcement, ac- alawsuit by shareholders. B1 Thousands attendedrallies beforethe military rulersissueddecrees banning protestsinthe country’s twobiggestcities.A9 cording to cryptocurrency re- search and news siteCoin- Major U.S. stock indexes Desk. closed at records, with the Tesla disclosed itsbitcoin S&P 500,Dow industrials purchase in itslatestannual and Nasdaq rising 0.7%, 0.8% report, saying the move aims and 0.9%, respectively. B11 Tech-Fund Turnaround Powers to “diversifyand maximizere- Raising the federal min- turns on our cash that is not imum wage to $15 an hour required to maintain adequate by 2025 would lift900,000 operating liquidity.” Tesla said Americans abovethe pov- SoftBank to $11Billion Profit aboardcommitteeapproved erty line but cost 1.4million changes to company rules on jobs,aCBO study said. A2 investments, adding it canalso invest cash in gold bullion and TheDOJ dropped itschal- BY PHRED DVORAK gains of $13 billion in the three Mr.Son said at aTokyo news turns arecritical forMr. Son, gold exchange-traded funds lengetoCalifornia’snet-neu- AND MAUREEN FARRELL months ended December,their conference, standing in front whohopes to roll out aseries among other assets. trality law,inwhat maysig- best quarter ever.Those gains of aslide showing agoose lay- of successor funds,but has Thebitcoin purchase,likely nal ashiftback to an Obama- TOKYO—SoftBank Group underpinned a net profit of ing golden eggs, representing found investorstoo skeptical of among the largest by a public erapolicyaimed at equal Corp.’smassivetech funds are ¥1.17 trillion forSoftBank, SoftBank’shit IPOs and exits. A the firstfund’sperformanceto company, comes afterarally access to the internet. A3 finally starting to produce equivalent to about $11 billion. later slide depicted the golden contributetoasecond. in 2020 when the price more Reddit, which playeda golden eggs. That is how Mr.Son said he expected eggs marching out of the goose Anticipation of strong re- than quadrupled. Tesla is join- role in the recent stock- Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s SoftBank’sfunds—which have to the tune of Tchaikovsky’s sults pushed SoftBank’s stock ing ahandful of other compa- trading frenzy,doubled its ebullient chief executive, char- investmentsin164 companies “March of the ToySoldiers.” price up 4.4% to ¥9,485 Mon- nies that have disclosed bit- valuation to $6 billion in a acterized arecord-breaking when athirdcapital pool fo- Asuccessfulrun could revive day, alevel last seen in Febru- coin holdings. Software newround of funding. B1 quarter forthe Japanese com- cused on Latin America is in- the reputation of Vision Fund, ary2000,when the company’s PleaseturntopageA2 pany’ssignature$100 billion cluded—could producebe- aftermissteps and the market’s shares peaked during thein- Electronic Arts said it Vision Fund. tween 10 and 20 initial public decline early in the pandemic PleaseturntopageA2 China rebukes Tesla on is acquiring Glu Mobile in That fund, along with a offerings a year. left it with anearly $17billion quality issues.............................. B1 a$2.4 billion deal. B1 smaller successor, rode red- “We’vefinally entered the investment lossfor the year Heardonthe Street: SoftBank’s Heardonthe Street: Bitcoin hotmarkets to investment harvest phase” forthe funds, ended March 2020.Good re- vision when markets rise.... B12 purchase raises concerns... B12 World-Wide Netanyahu Pleads Not Guilty in Corruption Case Lawyersfor Trump ar- Trump’sLawyers gued it is unconstitutional forthe Senatetohold an impeachment trial forafor- mer president and de- LayOut Defense nounced the case as “politi- caltheater,” while Democrats said Trump wastrying to On EveofHis Trial escape accountability foral- legedly inciting last month’s riot at the Capitol. A1 BY REBECCA BALLHAUS several days of presentations AND lINDSAY WISE that could include witnesses. Theelaboratenational Mr.Trump,who last month be- security network set up after WASHINGTON—Lawyersfor came the firstpresident to be 9/11 to identifyand thwart Donald Trump argued it is un- impeached twice, is the firstfor- threatsfailed ahead of the Capitol riot,aslaw enforce- constitutional forthe Senateto mer president to faceaSenate hold an impeachment trial fora impeachment trial. ment didn’t act on intelligence former president and denounced In their brief Mondaythat about potential violence OL PO the case as “political theater,” offeredthe fullest pictureof and prevent the assault. A6 S while Democratssaid Mr.Trump their defense,the former presi- House Democrats re- /PRES wastrying to escape account- dent’steam argued that the leased the biggest pieceof RO ability forallegedly inciting last Senatecan’t convict Mr.Trump, ST their coronavirus relief bill, CA month’sriot at the Capitol. aRepublican, because he is no offering ameasurethat Thepretrial filingscame a PleaseturntopageA6 would extend a$400-a-week daybeforethe Senatetrial for- REUBEN unemployment insurancebo- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, speaking to a member of his legal team mally begins,with abrief debate Impeachment puts Trump nus through Aug.29and in court in Jerusalem, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of corruption. A10 and vote on the constitutionality back in center of GOP.......... A4 send $1,400 per-person pay- of trying the former president Warnings of Capitol riot mentstomost households. A3 set forTuesday, followedby weren’tacted upon.................... A6 WHO officials expressed confidencethat AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine canprevent Trade Fracas severecases of the disease,de- TheBill ComesDue spitequestions about the protection it offersagainst Snares Wrong afast-spreading strain first ForMall Theme Parks detected in South Africa. A9 Robin Hood U.S. prosecutors are in- iii vestigating Honduras’spres- Operators spentbillions to wooshoppers Plans change. ident forallegedly accepting Historical society bribes to protect drug traf- with entertainment. It’smade matters worse. fickerswho shipped tons of mistaken for the PowerStore cocaine to the U.S.,accord- BY ESTHER FUNG Adding theme-park-like ing to a court filing. A10 online brokerage attractions was a strategy Theacting U.S. attorney SYRACUSE, N.Y.—Destiny that Pyramid viewed as cru- BY JAMES HOOKWAY USA is New York’s largest cial to drawing foot traffic adapts. general plans to ask hold- shopping mall, a six-story and reversing the yearslong over U.S. attorneysap- Theday Robinhood Markets structure by Onondaga Lake. struggles of mall operators pointed by Trump to resign, Storage that’salwaysin exempting two topprosecu- Inc.brokerage restricted trad- Its feature attraction is Won- battling online shopping. tors overseeing politically ing in GameStopCorp., ahowl derWorks, a 40,000-square- Now, the strategy looks less sync with the needs of rose among the small-time foot theme park where chil- like a lifeline and more like a sensitiveinquiries. A6 traderslooking to take a dren caN experience a millstone. your business. swing at Wall Street big shots simulated earthquake, learn Even as new pandemic CONTENTS Opinion.............. A17-19 during the market’send-of- about space travel wearing measures have allowedthe Arts in Review... A14 Personal Journal A12-13 Business News...... B3 Sports........................ A16 January frenzy. an astronaut suit or play la- mall’sstorestoreopen, regu- Capital Journal...... A4 Technology............... B4 Thetrading folderol caught ser tag. lations have kept manyofits Crossword.............. A14 U.S. News............. A2-8 the attention of Robin Hood They could, that is, until entertainment attractions Heard on Street.B12 Weather................... A14 enthusiastsinNottingham, the state made the mall closed. Pyramid, which is pri- Markets..................... B11 World News..... A9-10 England, where legends swirl close many of the attractions vately held,borrowedheavily of past campaigns to squeeze in November for the second to expand