MARKET MOVERS
- Elon Musk wants to cut Tesla staff by 10%. In an e-mail Musk sent to Tesla executives, Musk said he had a “super bad feeling” about the economy and called for the job cuts. Like other automakers, Tesla has been coping with parts shortages and supply chain problems exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic and Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Read more here.
- May jobs report supports the idea of an economic soft landing. To get a soft landing, the market wants to see data that shows the economy is cooling, but not too much. On that basis, the May jobs report passes the test, coming in at 390,000, higher than the 328,000 expected but still below the 428,000 from April. Some analysts remain skeptical of the sustainability of this recovery due to the lack of evidence of a bottom being set.
- New York passes a bill halting new Bitcoin mining projects. The bill still needs Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature to become law. The 2-year freeze is to allow authorities to carry out an environmental impact assessment of crypto mining operations that use non-renewable sources of energy like gas or coal, including electricity consumption and potential water quality effects.
- Chipotle is now accepting crypto in U.S. stores. The food chain is collaborating with Flexa, a digital payment platform that allows the chain's U.S. stores to accept digital currency payments. If Chipotle's new payment options are successful, then Flexa could be adopted by other major organizations around the world, but the success of this enterprise could rise and fall with Chipotle. Read more here.
- Home prices soar to a new record high. The median national home price climbed to an all-time high in May, reaching $447,000, realtor.com® reports. Buyers snatched up listings a week faster than a year ago. But housing analysts say there are signs of a slowing housing market. Active inventory rose 8% annually. A rising number of homeowners may be growing more confident in selling. Read more here.
- The housing market just hit a turning point. The number of new listings that hit the market last month rose for the first time since June 2019, according to a new report from Realtor.com®. As a result, May home shoppers had 8% more active listings to scroll through compared with this point last year. Buyers can expect more inventory going forward, and more homes to choose from.
- Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg is leaving the company after 14 years. She is leaving this fall. Ms. Sandberg looking forward to spending more time on her foundation and women’s issues. Ms. Sandberg has been telling people that she feels burned out and that she has become a punching bag for the company’s problems. She would continue to serve as a member of Meta’s board. Source(2:26)
WHAT TO WATCH
- Twitter says the regulatory waiting period for Musk’s acquisition bid has expired. The waiting period, under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, is a condition to the closing of Musk’s pending acquisition of Twitter. It expired at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday. Under the act, Musk and Twitter were required to file premerger notifications with the FTC and the DOJ’s antitrust division to request a review of the proposed acquisition. Read more here.
- Opec agrees to accelerate oil production following US pressure. Opec and its oil-producing allies agreed to boost production by almost 650,000 barrels a day in July and August. The US has been pressuring Saudi Arabia to boost oil in order to bring down fuel prices. What they’ve essentially done is accelerate already scheduled supply increases that were planned over the next three months into two months instead. Source(1:29)
- The housing market has peaked, says Mark Zandi of Moody's. Everything points to a rolling over of the housing market. In terms of home sales, they're falling sharply. Housing demand is coming down fast. Home price growth will go flat here pretty quickly; we will see home price declines in a significant number of markets. Jason Hsu thinks this means that houses will get a little less liquid and harder to sell. Source(1:12:14)
