US loses top rating

BEFORE THE OPEN BEFORE

MARKETS:

• Fitch lowers U.S.'s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to AA+ from AAA

• U.S. stock futures decline after Fitch downgrade

• Dow futures fall by 0.21%, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures dip around 0.3%

• AMD rises 2% after beating Q2 earnings expectations

• SolarEdge Technologies tumbles 12% on missing revenue expectations

• S&P 500 falls 0.27%, Nasdaq declines 0.43%, Dow adds 0.2% in first day of August trading

• Earnings season surpasses halfway mark with about 82% of S&P 500 companies beating expectations

• CVS Health, Yum! Brands, and Humana to report earnings today

• Traders await July ADP jobs report, economists predict 175,000 increase

EARNINGS

What we’re watching this week:

• Today: CVS Health (CVS), DoorDash (DASH), Etsy (ETSY), PayPal (PYPL), Robinhood Markets (HOOD)

• Thursday: Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Coinbase Global (COIN), DraftKings (DKNG), Dropbox (DBX), Wayfair (W)

• Friday: Cboe Global Markets (CBOE)

• Full earnings calendar here

NEWS BRIEFING

Tesla Wants to Build a Semi Truck-Charging Route From Texas to California

The First Generation of Solar Panels Will Wear Out — A Recycling Industry is Taking Shape

• Fitch downgrades U.S. long-term rating to AA+ from AAA (more)

• US job openings fall to lowest level since 2021, layoffs ease (more)

• The US may avert recession, says the economist behind the Sahm Rule (more)

• Trump indicted for efforts to overturn 2020 election and block transfer of power (more)

• House China committee launches probe into investment firm BlackRock

• Wall Street is gaming out global spillover threat from BOJ shock (more)

• Saudi wealth fund hires banks for second bond sale this year (more)

• China’s rush into older-generation chips is alarming the US and Europe (more)

• Amazon rolls out its virtual health clinic nationwide (more)

• Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to ‘supercharge’ products with A.I. (more)

• CVS to slash 5,000 jobs as company deepens costly health care push (more)

• Ford restarts F-150 Lightning production, says demand jumped sixfold after July price cuts (more)

• Uber developing an AI-powered chatbot to integrate into app (more)

• Huge rallies boost Tupperware, Yellow shares into 'meme stock' club (more)

• Tesla facing NHTSA probe over loss of steering control in Model 3 and Y vehicles (more)

• Overstock-owned Bed Bath & Beyond relaunches its online presence with revamped "beyond" category (more)

• Goldman loses another partner in a spate of recent departures (more)

• National Bank to buy Silicon Valley Bank’s Canadian portfolio (more)

DEALFLOW

• CVC’s Glendower raises $5.8B for secondaries fund (more)

• BDT & MSD buys stake in Italy’s IMA from BC Partners (more)

• Software provider New Relic to go private in $6.5B deal with Francisco, TPG (more)

• Glencore buys Argentina Copper stake in $475M deal (more)

• Networking startup Nile raises $175M to challenge Cisco (more)

• Strathcona buys rival to go public, create Canada's 5th biggest oil company (more)

• TPG Telecom gets $4.2B offer for non-mobile fiber assets from Vocusg (more)

• Dynatrace to buy Rookout (more)

• Accenture acquires Strongbow Consulting (more)

• Standex International acquires Minntronix (more)

• Stay Ai, a customer loyalty operating system for Shopify brands, raised a $15.1M Series A funding (more)

• DebtBook, a public sector’s leading debt, lease, and subscription management software company, closed a $12.5M Series A-1 funding (more)

• Neon, a multi-cloud Serverless Postgres provider, closed $46M Series B funding round (more)

• Source, a B2B marketplace for commercial construction products, closed on $8.5M Series A funding round (more)

• Skylight, a digital photo frame and smart calendar brand, raised $15M in debt through its partnership with SG Credit Partners (more)

• SnoFox, a business intelligence tool that provides data analytics for the global cold chain, raised $4.5M in Seed funding (more)

• Airalo, an eSIM marketplace for global connectivity, closed a $60M Series B financing round (more)

• Pelvital, a women’s health company, closed a $2.68M seed funding round (more)

• Stackless Data, an AI-enabled, comprehensive data solution for businesses, raised a seed round at a valuation of $14M (more)

• GoTab, a hospitality commerce platform, closed an $18M Series A funding round (more)

• Silk Security, a sustainable cyber risk resolution platform, raised $12.5M in seed funding (more)

• Nile, a next-gen enterprise networks company, raised $175M in Series C funding (more)

• Converge Insurance, a provider of advanced cyber risk management and underwriting solutions, raised $15M in Series A funding (more)

• Equivity, a provider of US-based virtual assistant services specializing in administrative, marketing, and paralegal support for businesses and entrepreneurs, acquired RH Communications Inc., a market leader in the virtual receptionist services industry (more)

• TruckLabs, a clean technology company focused on trucking sustainability, closed its Series B funding (more)

• Aulos Bioscience, an immuno-oncology company, raised $20M in Series A extension funding (more)

• Nikola Corporation a global leader in zero-emissions transportation and energy supply and infrastructure solutions, via the HYLA brand, raised an additional $16.3M in additional grants and government funding awards (more)

• Abbey Labs, an identity and access management (IAM) company, raised $5.25M in seed funding (more)

• Socket, a startup that fights vulnerabilities and provides visibility, defense-in-depth, and proactive supply chain protection for JavaScript and Python dependencies, raised $20M in Series A funding round (more)

• Akkio, an AI company delivering generative analytics and machine learning to businesses, closed a $15M Series A funding (more)

• Solu Therapeutics, a precision-medicine company developing therapeutics to eliminate disease-driving cells, closed a $31M seed financing (more)

• Cyble, a provider of a platform that monitors both dark web and internet threats for businesses, raised $24M in Series B funding (more)

• VenoStent, Inc., a clinical-stage, venture-backed, therapeutic medical device company developing bioabsorbable wraps to improve outcomes for hemodialysis patients, completed a $16M Series A financing (more)

• Tisento Therapeutics, Inc., a developer of novel medicines to treat diseases with significant unmet medical needs, is launching with an $81M Series A financing (more)

• Equilibrium Energy, a clean power company, emerged from stealth backed with $33M in venture funding (more)

• Mirakl, a SaaS company that enables businesses to sell online, signed a €100M Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) (more)

• ansā Roasting Inc. and Argyle, a CoffeeTech startup, secured a total of $9M funding (more)

CRYPTO

• MicroStrategy returns to profitability with Bitcoin rebound (more)

• Bitcoin rebounds to $29.2K, recovering rrom DeFi fears; CRV jumps 5%, XRP rises (more)

• Federal judge rules some crypto assets are securities in Do Kwon, Terraform case (more)

• IRS classifies crypto staking rewards as taxable income upon receipt (more)

• Curve Finance founder’s $100M debt could trigger a DeFi implosion (more)

BULLISH BITES

🍎 Steve Jobs's Son Is Diving Into Venture Capital — and His Focus Hits Close to Home…
The new firm "Yosemite," a nod to where his parents got married, has raised $200 million from investors and institutions including the venture capitalist John Doerr, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Rockefeller University and MIT, per DealBook… (continue reading)

🤑 The Ultra-Rich Are Flourishing and Sticking Around in California...
The scene on the 36th floor of San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid was reminiscent of the pre-pandemic boom years: well-to-do attendees hobnobbing over wine and appetizers, being pitched access to an exclusive enclave with a private bar, restaurant and gym in the heart of the city...(continue reading)

DAILY SHARES

Self-reminder: do you want to be right… or do you want to be rich? -mb