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Tesla Not Impressed7/26/2020 Image: Murat Onder on Unsplash
Our boy Elon is watching closely. Rivian, Tesla's competitor, is taking 1,000 USD down payments for 69,000 and 72,000 USD electric vehicles set to deliver next summer. In a plot similar to Arthur Slugworth trying to pay a distraught employee underneath a bridge for Willy Wonka's recipes, Tesla has accused Rivian of stealing technology and even sued for luring 178 former employees. When Elon gets bored, he still has rockets and the red planet to talk about.
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Floods and Bugs7/26/2020 Image: Sam Beasley on Unsplash
China is getting hammered by floods. The locusts soon followed to gobble up anything that is left over. Three Gorges Dam in Hubei was forced to open three floodgates as the water rose above the flood mark by 50 feet. The world's largest power station can't catch a break. Poor mitigation construction along the Yangtze and heavy Pacific and Indian Ocean activity have also contributed. Don't forget about the locusts who shamelessly pack tiny shot glasses of baijiu for their feast. It's time to get that garden going. Not wanting to repeat the CHAZ model in Seattle, China grabbed 1.76 million tons of corn from the US.
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Huge Earnings Week7/26/2020 Image: Mathias Konrath on Unsplash
It's earnings week for many prominent American companies. Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook are at the forefront both socially and politically. 3M, Boeing, Caterpillar, Procter & Gamble, General Electric, General Motors, Ford, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Mastercard, PayPal, and Visa are also involved in some way in your life. These firms move massive amounts of money internationally every minute.
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Controlled Reactions7/26/2020 Image: Richard Gatley on Unsplash
The push for creating a small nuclear reactor, one that can hop on a rocket carried by SpaceX and that Boeing venture, is very real. US Department of Energy has asked for help from private industry to partner with NASA aiming for deep space exploration. 2026 is the desired year for this milestone. On Earth, an astronaut can rock a beard and change a tire.
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Coins Are Small, Now They're Short7/19/2020 Image: Photo by Chris Briggs on Unsplash
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Yeah, Just Give 'Em More7/19/2020 Image: Photo by Mathias Konrath on Unsplash
The EU summit this weekend is facing objections from its Scandinavian mid size members including Netherlands. It's a complex situation as kingmakers Germany and France push to give the smaller Mediterranean countries more money (rebates, anyone?) and the middle contributors want to rein in spending. What's another 1.8 trillion EUR among neighbors when one is concerned about having his HOA called on him for the incorrect trim color while down the street that guy refuses to edge his lawn?
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Chipotle Still Fresh7/19/2020 Image: Photo by Tom Radetzki on Unsplash
A tip of the hat is in order for going from possibly the worst model ever for preventing the spread of the plague to having its stock up 34% YTD. The spit guards are never tall enough or deep enough at Chipotle (CMG) yet the burrito example of Adam Smith's specialization in action is doing very well curb serving. Maybe they can spot us that guac money for awhile. It closed at a whopping 1,136.22 USD Friday.
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Everyone's Hands Were Out, Palms Up7/19/2020 Image: Photo by Rocco Dipoppa on Unsplash
Major arena and stadium musical acts took the "free" money from us when the 2.2 trillion USD CARES Act hit last March. Some groups received up to 1 million USD to pay for their roadies and other members of their crews who are not working because they're not allowed to tour. Named on the list of brands who didn't think they'd get exposed publicly are Guns 'N Roses, Eagles, Slipknot, and Tool. In any other context, Nickelback would never be mentioned with these iconic bands but they put their hands out, too. This is a bad, bad look. Bands of this size are corporations and have money managers who saw the interest free cash as a way to earn some interest before paying it back. Nobody believes these names could not have carried their crews' living expenses for several years. Bands still at the club level and lower have drawn no ire for accepting the help and rightfully so. And where is the US government's oversight? Spending someone else's money has always been fashionable. Our favorite doughnut shops and barbers will be gone forever but at least we can stream our favorite acts as we figure out how to use clippers on our own heads.
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Netflix Created Its Own Good Pressure7/12/2020 Image: Nur Afni Setiyaningrum on Unsplash
Netflix is up, way up. After dropping like everyone else in mid March, the streamer's stock has gained 83% to close at 548.73 USD Friday. With no sports and no prospects, it's no wonder. It's also increasing its original content production as rival offerings like Disney+ have entered the landscape. The big question is, of course, what's the next milestone? Perhaps this shift in programming consumption will force the cable companies to change their deliveries. Here's a hint: when the commercials come on, our heads go down and our phones illuminate. When Joe Buck comes on, we mute the television and stream the radio broadcast.
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Would You Spend 2 Billion USD?7/12/2020 Image: Fer Nando on Unsplash
For the New York Mets? Nah, we're good. That's the franchise that will continue to buy a 1.20 million USD cake to celebrate Bobby Bonilla day until 2035. It's the same franchise with several bad player deals including letting Daniel Murphy get away. Steve Cohen is in a good position to buy again after declining earlier this year. He's also a hedge fund manager, but you knew that. Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez are in the bidding war as well. Maybe the Mets fans have had enough of the glitz and want more of the grit that Cohen will likely bring. As a parting shot to the faithful fan base, the Wilpons will never live down the 162 million USD they had to repay after getting caught up schmoozing too long with Bernie Madoff.
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USD Haven7/12/2020 Image: Lin Mei on Unsplash
USD weakened its safe haven status on encouraging vaccine news. USDJPY fell to 106.982, the lowest since June 23rd. EURUSD rose 0.2% and GBPUSD followed suit rising 0.1%. The perception of hope can be powerful. |