Mortgage rates jump back to 2002 levels: U.S. mortgage rates surged this week, with the 30-year fixed rate hitting the highest level in more than 21 years (7.09%), further complicating the housing market outlook (NYT)
SpaceX makes bank: Private documents give a rare look into the finances of Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The privately held company generated $55 million in profit on $1.5 billion in revenue during Q1 of 2023 (WSJ)
Bitcoin takes a massive dip: Bitcoin dropped as much as 9% to just over $26,000 yesterday; The current speculation is it's an Elon Musk/SpaceX-driven selloff, after WSJ reported that SpaceX has sold all the BTC on it’s balance sheet (CNBC)
Not your grandfather's Walmart: Walmart (WMT) reported a jump in revenue and soaring profit — and the company raised its fiscal-year outlook as it continues to excel during inflationary times (Yahoo)
Activist Starboard takes stake in Bloomin Brands: Starboard Value, who won a major proxy battle with Darden Restaurants (DRI) nearly a decade ago, has another restaurant chain in its sights: Outback Steakhouse owner Bloomin’ Brands (BLMN) (WSJ)
You’re not alone: Global household wealth fell last year for the first time since the financial crisis in 2008, as inflation and the appreciation of the US dollar wiped some $11.3 trillion off assets (Bloomberg)
China’s second-largest property developer goes bankrupt: China Evergrande Group, the real estate giant whose default two years ago accelerated a broader property debt crisis in the country, sought Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in New York yesterday (CNN)
Blue Shield of California drops CVS: Shares of CVS Health (CVS) and other managed care companies fell after health insurer Blue Shield of California said it will drop CVS's Caremark pharmacy-benefit manager to work with other companies, including Amazon and Mark Cuban's drug firm (Reuters)
Tyson exits: Tyson Foods (TSN) is planning to sell its poultry business in China, amid a trend of companies divesting from the country (Reuters)
Private money is hard to come by: Funding for current unicorn companies dwindled to $2.2 billion in July 2023, compared to $6.6 billion the previous year, showing how much investors have slowed their pace in investing in private high-growth companies (Crunchbase)
Will the Secret U.S. Banking System blow up again?
America’s biggest economic calamities (1907, 1929, 2007, etc) all start in the same spot—an unregulated sector one expert says is about to blow again. More here »
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What recession? This summer’s economy is defying the odds: The economy was supposed to be deep in recession by now, right?But the summer of 2023 is shaping up to be a period of unexpected expansion. With unemployment near 50-year lows, inflation edging down and wages rising faster than prices, businesses and families are still spending. Read more »
Venture capital funds are mostly just wasting their time and your money: Morgan Stanley equity strategists Edward Stanley and Matias Øvrum have run the numbers for the past 20 years of crossover investing and found that the average VC fund doesn’t reliably outperform the average stock. Read more »
China needs to engineer a beautiful deleveraging (Ray Dalio)
Bubblegum maker Bazooka to be sold for $700 million (Axios)
iMac at 25: a visual history of Apple’s iconic all-in-one computer (Verge)
36% of Americans approve of Biden's handling of the economy (NORC)
If You're Concerned About How Massive U.S. Debt Could Affect Your Retirement…
You need to see this guide on how to diversify and protect your retirement savings. In it, you’ll learn how to protect yourself from surging National Debt… a weakening U.S. Dollar… stock market downturns… and much more.
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