Goldman vs. Solomon

The David Solomon scrutiny spreads, lesser-known treasury yield on brink of historic breakthrough, US takes $1.2B gamble on carbon-sucking vacuums, China’s economic growth is collapsing in real-time, and McDonald’s scrubs “ESG” mentions off its website…

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Market Briefing
August 14, 2023

☕️ Good Morning.

The David Solomon scrutiny spreads, lesser-known treasury yield on brink of historic breakthrough, US takes $1.2B gamble on carbon-sucking vacuums, China’s economic growth is collapsing in real-time, and McDonald’s scrubs “ESG” mentions off its website…

Here’s your market briefing for Monday:

BEFORE THE OPEN BEFORE

As of market close 8/11/2023. Bitcoin as of 8/13/2023.

MARKETS:

  • Nasdaq sees back-to-back weekly loss in 2023, down 0.6% at 13,644.85.

  • Semiconductor slump, including AMD, Nvidia, Micron, impacts Nasdaq. VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) drops 5.2%, its worst week since Oct 2022.

  • S&P 500 slips 0.1% at 4,464.05; Dow adds 0.3%, reaching 35,281.40.

  • Chevron and Merck & Co. boost Dow by 2.1% and 1.8% respectively.

  • S&P 500 and Nasdaq each fall 0.3% and 1.9%, Nasdaq's second losing week.

  • Dow gains 0.6% for the week, standing out.

  • July CPI grows 3.2%, just below 3.3% consensus estimate.

  • Core CPI rises 4.7% year-on-year, excluding food and energy.

  • Disney climbs 3.2% weekly post earnings, biggest since March.

  • July PPI up 0.3%, above 0.2% expectation.

  • Market sees recent turbulence post strong H1 2023, indexes down from August start.

EARNINGS

What we’re watching this week:

  • Tuesday: Home Depot (HD), Sea Limited (SE)

  • Wednesday: Cisco Systems (CSCO), PENN Entertainment (PENN), Roblox (RBLX), The Trade Desk (TTD),

  • Thursday: Walmart (WMT), Tapestry (TPR)

  • Friday: Palo Alto Networks (PANW)

  • Full earnings calendar here

NEWS BRIEFING

The New York Times reported Lloyd Blankfein offered to give more advice to David Solomon after the $50M hit on the stock and floated a return to the firm. The embattled Goldman chief declined to take Blankfein up on his offer.

The yield on 30-year inflation-protected Treasuries is on the cusp of exceeding 2% for the first time in more than a decade. Whether it gets there and where it will stop if it does has bond investors on edge.

  • Goldman pencils in first fed rate cut for second quarter of 2024 (more)

  • David Solomon scrutiny spreads from Goldman to alma mater (more)

  • US takes $1.2 billion gamble on carbon-sucking vacuums (more)

  • US mortgage delinquency rates fall to all-time low (more)

  • China's economic growth is collapsing amid deflation, debt, housing woes (more)

    • Country Garden just confirmed the ‘worst fears’ about China’s property market (more)

  • China's CellX pilots lab-grown meat production, eyes U.S. market (more)

  • Adani ports says Deloittes grounds to quit as auditor not convincing (more)

  • Homebuying gets harder for millennials as boomers’ market share grows (more)

  • America’s fastest growing city Is embracing ‘Yellowstone’ mania (more)

  • Walmart leads retailers shining spotlight on key market signal (more)

  • McDonald's scrubs mentions of "ESG" from its website (more)

  • Toyota recalls Tundra models in largest recall this year (more)

  • Amazon is racing to catch Microsoft and Google in generative A.I. with custom AWS chips (more)

  • Tapestry plans to use Coach playbook to turn around Michael Kors (more)

    • Louis Vuitton may finally get a US challenge (more)

  • Homebuying gets harder for millennials as boomers’ market share grows (more)

  • ESPN's gambling deal is the death rattle of a fading empire (more)

  • Airlines can’t add high-end seats fast enough as travelers treat themselves to first class (more)

  • Fox's legal head to step down in another major exit after Dominion settlement (more)

  • AMC Entertainment gets approval for revised investor settlement, preferred stock soars (more)

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DEALFLOW

  • L’Occitane confirms owner contemplating possible deal to take it private (more)

  • Daily Mail in talks with investors over potential bid for Britain's Telegraph (more)

  • UK's Co-operative Bank buys Sainsbury's Bank's $479M stg mortgage portfolio (more)

  • UK antitrust watchdog provisionally clears $1.58B UnitedHealth-EMIS deal (more)

  • Italy signs preliminary deal with KKR to take up to 20% of TIM's grid (more)

  • WebMD Health Services closes acquisition of Limeade (more)

  • Olis Robotics, a company which specializes in remote monitoring, control, and error recovery technology for industrial robots, raised $4M in funding (more)

  • Capital Rx, a health technology company, received a strategic investment from Memorial Hermann Health System (more)

  • Zetagen Therapeutics, a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company, raised USD9.79M in Series B funding (more)

  • EIC Rose Rock, an early-stage VC fund focused on energy technologies, made a direct investment into Captura, a carbon removal company (more)

  • Veza, an enterprise identity security platform provider, raised $15M in funding (more)

  • Persefoni, a Climate Management & Accounting Platform (CMAP) for enterprises and financial institutions, raised $50M in Series C-1 funding round (more)

  • Quility, an insurtech sales enablement platform, received an investment from F&G (more)

  • Tracer, a provider of a data intelligence platform, raised $18.1M Series A funding (more)

  • Endear Health, a provider of a digital engagement platform, raised $8M in funding (more)

  • Cube3.AI, a web3 transaction security platform provider, raised $8.2M in seed funding (more)

  • ShapesXR, a VR design and collaboration startup, raised $8.6M in seed funding (more)

  • Princeton Equity Group, LLC, a private equity firm focused on control investments in franchisor and multi-unit companies, closed its Princeton Equity Partners II, L.P. at $575M (more)

  • Atmosfy, a provider of a video platform for reviewing live dining and nightlife experiences, raised $12M in Seed funding (more)

  • Flueid, a company using data and intelligence to accelerate the Verification of Title (VOT) across the real estate life cycle, raised $12.5M in funding (more)

  • Paccurate, a cartonization platform for shipping and fulfillment optimization, raised $3.5M in funding (more)

CRYPTO

  • Bankman-Fried in custody after bail Is revoked over leaks (more)

  • Bitcoin has bottomed despite 'astonishing' BTC price actions (more)

  • Latest deadline in Bitcoin-ETF race looms (more)

  • PayPal's stablecoin debut faces headwinds, Bank of America says (more)

  • Crypto firm DCG, CEO Barry Silbert seek dismissal of Gemini lawsuit they dub a smear (more)

  • Curve Finance vows to reimburse users after $62M hack (more)

BULLISH BITES

🛒 Trader Joe's Does $16 billion+ a Year, Beating Out Walmart, Whole Foods and Even Costco...
It has the highest sales per sqft among grocers ($2100). How? By doing the opposite of "best practices" on wages, products, ads and store design.... (continue reading)

🍷 What $500 Buys You at the Most Popular Hamptons Restaurants...
From $70 lobster salad to $150 steak, the cost of food and drinks at dining rooms, markets and bars on the East End... (continue reading)

👜 Shoppers Embrace ‘Girl Math’ to Justify Luxury Purchases — Here’s How it Works...
The latest way comes down to cost per wear. If you use an expensive handbag every day for a year, for example, then it might only set you back a few bucks each time you wear it. While the term originated from an unflattering view of women and their finances, TikTok’s latest trend aims to reframe the narrative around luxury indulgences... (continue reading)

DAILY SHARES

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