MARKET MOVERS
- Apple to slow hiring and spending as the economy softens. The move reportedly stems from a decision to take a more careful approach in uncertain times. The move reportedly won’t affect all teams, noting that Apple still plans to launch a mixed-reality headset in 2023. The company couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Read more here.
- Goldman Sachs crushes analysts’ expectations on strong bond trading results. Second-quarter profit fell 48% to $2.79 billion, or $7.73 a share, driven by industrywide declines in investment banking revenue. Still, the results were more than a dollar higher than the average analyst estimate reported by Refinitiv. Revenue fell 23% to $11.86 billion driven by a 55% surge in fixed income revenue.
- Bank of America's profit fall was cushioned by consumer spending. Consumer spending across Bank of America’s debit and credit cards jumped 10 percent in the second quarter, demonstrating the resilience of consumers despite flagging economic sentiment. BofA said it processed a record $2.1tn in consumer payments in the first half of the year, driven by increases in every category including travel, gas, and services.
- Disney scores $9 billion in upfront ad sales with 40% of spending going online. Walt Disney Co. said advertisers agreed to buy $9 billion in commercials across its various channels and streaming services for the 2022-2023 TV season. Disney said Monday that the so-called upfront purchases were the strongest in the company’s history. About 40% of spending went to its online offerings, including the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ streaming services. Read more here.
- Christie’s launched a venture-capital arm focused on Tech in Art, Crypto. The auction house said it is starting its own in-house investing firm, Christie’s Ventures. The entity will aim to supply seed funding to young companies whose technologies could ultimately help collectors buy and sell more art, digital or otherwise. Christie’s is wading in now to apply its expertise to find companies potentially capable of solving art trade-related problems. Read more here.
- Foreign buyers continue to favor Florida. The Sunshine State’s main home shoppers were from Latin America (39%) and Canada (25%), likely drawn to Florida’s beach-friendly climate and lack of state income tax. California claimed second place, with 11% of the foreign buyer share. The Golden State was the top destination among Chinese and Asian/Indian buyers. Texas came third. The State was popular with Mexican and Colombian buyers. Read more here.
- High-flying fintech start-ups are now crashing to earth. This year, fintech shares have collectively lost nearly half a trillion dollars in value compared to their pandemic peak. That’s according to data from CB Insights. They’re suffering from broader economic concerns dragging down the entire stock market like inflation and recession fears. But investors are also turned off by fintech companies’ lack of profits and untested business models. Source(4:31)
WHAT TO WATCH
- More pain to come for battered housing stocks, says Ivy Zelman. The plunge in homebuilder sentiment is a signal of a housing slowdown that’s just beginning. Builder sentiment dropped 12 points to 55 in July, according to a Monday report from the National Association of Home Builders. Zelman expects the overall downturn in housing to last until at least 2023 or 2024 and thinks that both new and existing home prices will decline.
- The Fed is likely to hike rates three-quarters of a point in response to new economic signals. Faced with a slowing economy and inflation that is showing signs of at least topping if not retreating, the Federal Reserve is expected by analysts to go with a lower level instead of a full percentage point. Goldman expects that lower gasoline prices have helped drive the softening of the economy.
- Record single-family investor buying in Q1 and possible evidence of a real estate slowdown in Q2. In its quarterly report on investor home buying activity, CoreLogic reported that SF homes purchased by investors increased to a record high of 27.6% in the first quarter of 2022, up from 24.8% in the fourth quarter of 2021 while the number of SF homes purchased by non-investors in the last three quarters showed double-digit YOY declines, with Q1/2022 non-investor purchases down 15% from the comparable quarter of 2021. Read more here.
