GDP pounces forward

July 28, 2023

*past 24-hour performance

  • US economic growth accelerates: GDP grew at a seasonally- and inflation-adjusted 2.4% annual rate in the second quarter, suggesting the U.S. is steering clear of recession (WSJ)

  • ECB raises rates again: The European Central Bank announced a new rate increase of .25 basis points to 3.75%, marking its ninth raise in a row and 22-year high (FT)

  • FTC readies lawsuit: Amazon Rumors are circulating that The FTC is finalizing its long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, a move that could ultimately break up parts of the company (Politico)

  • Bud Light layoffs: Anheuser-Busch is set to lay off a small percentage of its U.S. corporate staff in a restructuring aimed at simplifying and reducing layers within the organization (Axios)

  • From dolls to denim: Top Mattel (MAT) executive Richard Dickson who was credited with reviving Barbie, will become Gap's (GPS) new CEO, capping off a yearlong search (CNBC)

  • Camera-gate: Trump faces new charges as the office of the special counsel accused the former president of seeking to delete security camera footage at Mar-a-Lago (NYT)

  • Nostalgia for the win: McDonald's (MCD) reports global same-store sales rose 11.7%; calls out its "culturally relevant brand and marketing campaigns" as a driver for a strong Q2 (Yahoo)

  • Chipotle earnings: Chipotle (CMG) reported quarterly earnings that crushed expectations, but the burrito chain’s sales fell short causing the stock to drop 9%. Shares are still up 50% this year (CNBC)

  • Lower margins hurting majors: Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) today reported a 56% slump in second-quarter profit, missing Wall Street bets and joining rivals hurt by a sharp drop in energy prices and lower fuel margins (Reuters)

Birth, Death, and Wealth Creation
60% percent of the stocks of U.S. public companies failed to earn returns in excess of Treasury bills; only 2% created more than 90% of the aggregate wealth. The skewness in wealth creation suggests two approaches for investors: seek broad diversification or build a portfolio that tries to avoid the wealth destroyers while owning the wealth creators. Read more >>

These Energy ‘Middlemen’ Are an Income Lover’s Dream
Midstream energy companies, which connect producers and end users, service the industry itself, rather than being tied to commodity prices. Read more >>

Bearish in a Bull Market
When the Street’s most bearish strategist turns bullish, does that mean the market is due for a correction? Well, that logic is a little too on-the-nose, but… Read more >>

70% of mid-income Americans haven't switched to higher-yield savings
After years of low-interest payouts, savings accounts now are paying higher yields, after a series of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. But many Americans still aren't getting the best rates for their cash. Read more >>

  • These are the top 100 brands by value in 2023 (Visual Capitalist)

  • Spotify CEO teases potential AI-powered capabilities surrounding personalization, ads (Techcrunch)

  • Planning a trip to Europe? You’ll need to apply for ‘authorization’ starting in 2024 (The Hill)

  • Inside Pornhub’s finances (Semafor)

  • A Friendly BTC Reminder (CoinSnacks)

  • Labor’s Shadow War With Self-Driving Cars (Pirate Wires)

  • Facebook Bowed to White House Pressure, Removed Covid Posts (WSJ)

Thunderclap Research is a professional investment research firm focused on understanding and profiting from market anomalies.

We take both a quantitative and qualitative approach to research and focus extensively on strategies for established money managers and everyday retail investors.

We are a small, self-funded team of real humans going up against the hype-filled, sensational news outlets in the world. You can check out a selection of our other publications below.

CoinSnacksDigestible crypto news.
Gold PlaybookAll your gold investing news in a single daily email.

Reply

or to participate.