MARKET MOVERS

  • Facebook Marketplace and DoorDash team up for local deliveries. The deal is an attempt to get more people, especially younger ones, to use Meta-owned Facebook, according to a person familiar with the plan. For DoorDash, the partnership boosts its ambition to expand into delivering more than food. Facebook and DoorDash confirmed they tested the service in several U.S. cities in recent months.

  • Rivian’s losses were nearly triple to $1.7 billion. The California-based SUV and truck maker said revenue for the quarter was about $364 million as it increased production and deliveries of its first three models. The automaker affirmed its 2022 production guidance of building 25,000 vehicles by the year’s end but said its operating loss is expected to grow to $5.45 billion, from its previous projection of $4.75 billion for the full year. Read more here.

  • Ultra-rich fueling sales of luxury brands despite inflation and recession fears. Experts say luxury brands are often insulated in economic slowdowns because most of their sales come from the super wealthy. Companies that cater to the ultra-rich, including Ferrari and the parent companies of Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Versace, are reporting strong sales or hiking their profit forecasts.

  • MTV opens a metaverse experience to promote the video music awards. The MTV Video Music Awards is opening a virtual experience on the Roblox Corp. gaming platform. The temporary installation is a companion to a new category that MTV has added to the awards show this year to recognize the best musical performance in the metaverse.

  • Soros reloads on Big Tech With Amazon, Google, and a new Tesla bet. George Soros’s investment firm bolstered its stakes in Amazon.com Inc., Salesforce Inc., and Alphabet Inc., among other large technology companies. All three rank among its top 10 holdings as of the end of June, according to a regulatory filing Friday. The New York-based firm also added a new US$20 million position in Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. Read more here.

  • Credit card spending has now eclipsed the pre-pandemic high. Consumers are now more willing to go back into credit-card debt to keep their lifestyle now that they had a taste of it. It's very hard for people to downshift. Wells Fargo put out data indicating that their customers are using their rewards points for everyday purchases like groceries and gas whereas during the pandemic, they were using it for bigger purchases like a dishwasher. Source(27:40)

WHAT TO WATCH

  • YouTube advances plans for a streaming video marketplace. The company is planning to launch an online store for streaming video services and has renewed talks with entertainment companies about participating in the platform. The company hopes the new platform, which it is referring to internally as a “channel store” and which has been in the works for at least 18 months, could be available as early as this fall.

  • Jeep maker may invest billions to make EVs in Mexico. Stellantis NV is considering renovating a plant in Mexico to build hybrid and electric vehicles as it transforms its lineup to meet surging demand for battery-powered transport. The owner of the Jeep, Peugeot, and Ram brands are contemplating a retooling of its factory in Saltillo, Coahuila, one of northern Mexico’s industrial hubs about 200 miles from the Texas border.

  • We might go back to recession next year as the rates kick in. David Sacks says we're in a shallow technical recession right now and we might bounce out of it in Q3 or Q4. But there's a significant risk that the economy will be back in it next year. There's a pretty good chance that these rate hikes will really kick in by then. It takes six to nine months for it to ripple through the economy and for the effects to show. Source(38:55)

  • Biden is set to sign the largest climate bill in history. The implications across the clean energy space are vast, with the bill touching just about every industry from solar to wind, hydrogen, nuclear, electric vehicle, and more nascent technologies. But the bill doesn’t only prompt users to choose green energy products – it also incentivizes domestic manufacturing. Read more here.
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