We're still sweating in the summer sun, but Starbucks already declared fall is here (aka PSL szn). The pumpkin spice latte — which contributes up to 10% of Starbs' total sales — is back earlier than ever. Stocks rose last week, and the S&P 500 popped 1% on Friday, with real estate being the best-performing sector as investors reacted to Fed Chair Powell's speech (more on that in a sec). 👔 Quizness as usual: The Snacks Seven quiz is back to test how closely you've been paying attention to the biggest biz news. Try the first q: |
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DJ Powell's set… On Friday all eyes were on the yearly Jackson Hole economic meetup (central bankers' version of Coachella). The headliner: Jerome Powell. The Fed chair's mic drop: "the time has come for policy to adjust." It suggested the central bank is finally prepared to cut interest rates next month. Stocks popped after Powell's comments, which were a big shift from last year's meeting, when he said inflation was still too high. |
- #Bars: Powell said "we do not seek or welcome further cooling in labor market conditions." Labor's been losing steam (slower hiring, growing unemployment).
- Last week we got the biggest downward revision in payroll growth since 2009. The Labor Department said the US had created 818K fewer jobs than originally reported.
- The August jobs report, scheduled for September 6, will be the next big piece of data to inform the Fed's rate moves ahead of its mid-September decision.
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Fed up with high APRs… Investors are all but certain of a September trim, which would be the first since March 2020, when rates were emergency-slashed to nearly zero. While the US central bank has paused hikes, rates are still at their highest level in decades. That's weighed on companies and consumers, but easing could change that: |
- Lower rates = cheaper borrowing (think: your mortgage, credit card). That tends to boost spending and investment while reducing returns on savings accounts and bonds.
- Markets tend to like lower rates: When rates fall, so do potential returns from lower-risk investments (like: Treasury bonds, savings accounts). It makes riskier investments like stocks start to look more attractive in comparison.
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Markets are forward-thinking… Now that the market's fully pricing in a September cut, traders have moved on to the next thing: how big will the cuts be — and how many? After Jackson Hole, traders' bets on a cut of 50 basis points rose to 37% (versus 64% for a 25 bps cut). Economists said the central bank could trim at each of its final three meetings this year. Consumers might be thinking ahead to the good times too: retail sales in July spiked 3x more than expected. |
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Is AI About to Disrupt Hospitality? |
This AI company is set to disrupt the $4.1T hospitality industry, and this is your chance to invest. Partnered with industry giants like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Expedia, Jurny's technology is fully automating operations for thousands of properties globally. Invest before August 28 to secure a 25% discount.* |
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AIs on the prize… Nvidia's powering up to report earnings. In Q1, the chip titan said its sales more than 3x'd from a year earlier to a record $26B as AI demand sizzled. Nvidia has sold billions' worth of H100 GPUs, but now all eyes are on its faster-processing Blackwell AI super chip, which is said to have garnered big orders from Google, Microsoft, and Meta. But Blackwell shipments are facing delays, and China's Huawei is reportedly set to drop a rival AI chip. Still, Wall Street thinks Nvidia will unload chipper results on Wednesday. |
Pet-food subscription… auto-shipped monthly. Chewy reports Wednesday, and investors expect tail-wagging results. The online pet retailer's profits nearly tripled in Q1 with auto shipments making up 78% of sales. Chewy said spending'll cool as pandemic pets grow up and adoptions slow. But with retail spending staying buoyant, pawrents may keep buying Lamb Chop toys. JM Smucker, also reporting Wednesday, has seen its Meow Mix and Milk-Bones boost earnings so much that it launched a Milk-Bone dog treat with Jif peanut butter. |
Banned bans… A federal judge last week blocked the FTC's ban on noncompete agreements, ruling that the agency didn't have the proper authority. About 20% of US workers are under a noncompete, which prevents them from working for a competitor or starting a rival biz for a stretch of time. The FTC said its federal ban could've lifted employee earnings by $400B+ over the next decade. Despite the ruling, four states have already passed blanket bans, and 33 more have restricted them for certain income levels and industries. The FTC's considering an appeal. $10 box of cereal… VP Kamala Harris called for a ban on price-gouging by food companies and grocery stores. Since the pandemic, food prices have soared over 20%, but a group repping food retailers said politicians are confusing price-gouging with plain ol' inflation. A combo of factors is likely to blame, but grocery stores have reason to think Harris' call out of "opportunistic companies" means them. The FTC is taking Kroger and Albertsons to court this week to challenge the duo's proposed merger, which regulators say could lead to even higher grocery bills. |
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Travel companies are talking about a slowdown, but it hasn't shown up in the wider data… yet. Read more. |
- Mole: Publishers are relying on a decades-old robots.txt file to block AI bots from scraping their content. The problem: newer bots from the likes of Amazon and Meta keep popping up, making it harder to stay ahead.
- Feta: Cava shares soared after the Mediterranean Chipotle rival served up an earnings beat and raised its sales forecast. While fast-food chains struggle, Cava said its traffic grew 10% as customers went in for its new grilled-steak option.
- NoVacancy: North America added the equivalent of Silicon Valley's full data-center inventory so far this year. AI's generating data-center demand, with construction up 70% from last year and vacancies at below 3%.
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- Monday: US durable-goods figures for July. Women's Equality Day. US Open begins. Earnings expected from Pinduoduo and Trip.com
- Tuesday: S&P Case-Shiller home-price index. Conference Board's consumer-confidence indicator for August. Earnings expected from Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, and Nordstrom
- Wednesday: Earnings expected from Abercrombie & Fitch, Chewy, Li Auto, Kohl's, Foot Locker, Bath & Body Works, Royal Bank of Canada, JM Smucker, Nvidia, CrowdStrike, Salesforce, Affirm, Okta, HP, NetApp, and Victoria's Secret
- Thursday: US weekly jobless claims and pending home sales. Earnings expected from Best Buy, American Eagle Outfitters, Dollar General, Birkenstock, Burlington Stores, Campbell Soup, 1-800-Flowers.com, Polestar, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Dell, Lululemon, Ulta Beauty, Marvell, Autodesk, and Gap
- Friday: US PCE inflation data (the Fed's preferred measure of inflation) for July. University of Michigan's consumer-sentiment index for August. Earnings expected from JinkoSolar
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Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Ulta |
Advertiser's disclosures:
* This is a paid advertisement for Jurny's Regulation CF Offering. Please read the Form C, offering circular, and related risks. Equity crowdfunding investments in private placements, and start-up investments in particular, are speculative and involve a high degree of risk and those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups. Companies seeking startup investment through equity crowdfunding tend to be in earlier stages of development and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. Further, investors may receive illiquid and/or restricted stock that may be subject to holding period requirements and/or liquidity concerns. |
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Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more |
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