🏢 Happy Jobs Day to those who celebrate

🍺 Plus, the creepy Scottish lady from Baby Reindeer sued Netflix for $170m

This is the sixth catastrophic cherry harvest in a row in Spain, and it’s not the only crop failing. I went down the rabbit hole to uncover commodity opportunities.

Sweater: The Evolution of Venture Capital

Investing in VC deals used to be for accredited investors who were well-connected.

​Sweater Ventures​ revolutionized the way VC works.

What does Sweater do?

In 2022, they created the Cashmere Fund. This was the first VC fund that anyone could invest in — accredited or not.

Now, they've built something even more interesting: A platform that lets qualified partners start public funds​.

  • Qualified partners are fintech companies, brokerage firms, banks, universities, even celebrities and influencers.

  • VC, real estate, PE, and private credit funds are all possible using Sweater.

  • These are SEC-registered interval funds available to both accredited and non-accredited investors.

  • Public solicitation is allowed (← this is huge)

Think of it as private market investing using public fund infrastructure.

Why invest in Sweater?

  1. Proven tech. The Cashmere fund has 5,500+ investors and $14m AUM deployed into 33 promising startups.

  2. Accelerating sales. Their first partner contract was just signed (a $500m fund). They're in the final stage on 3 additional contracts, and have a $4.6b AUM fund partner pipeline.

  3. Venture-backed team. Backed by 6 VCs, including Motivate, Akuna, and Bonaventure. Already raised $19m.

How to invest in Sweater:

Disclaimer: This is a paid advertisement for Jurny’s Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at​ ​​https://www.startengine.com/offering/jurny​.

📰 Market Headlines

  • Stocks held onto record highs as investors await Friday’s May jobs report and potential interest rate cuts.

    • The S&P 500 dipped below the flatline, the Dow added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.1% after a record rally.

    • Investors expect the May jobs report to show 190,000 new jobs and a 0.3% wage increase, with a 69% chance of a September rate cut.

  • Nvidia slipped 1.1%, returning to being the world's third most valuable company.

  • Former President Trump went to a San Francisco tech fundraiser, with some tickets costing $300,000. Perks included a photo with him.

🕶️ Market Vibes

🎰 Market Forecasts and Futures

Forecasts via ​Kalshi​, the prediction market.

😱 Fear and Greed Index

🎤 What you said last time

Well, Nvidia slipped back below Apple yesterday.

📈 Trends you need to know

It’s been a rough five years for Cathie Woods, but I’m sure the $70 million in fees she collects each year from this one ETF keep her warm at night.

🧠 What do you think?

💬 Have your say

Why are people still letting Cathie Woods incinerate their money?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

📊 Stocks

Get $20 free shares at ​public.com​ using code ALTSCO.

Winners and losers

Earnings, upgrades, and acquisitions

  • J.M. Smucker posted upbeat Q4 FY24 results, beating estimates; shares climbed 6.2%.

  • DocuSign dropped 3.62% despite beating Q1 revenue estimates.

  • Nio reported a wider-than-expected Q1 loss as revenue tumbled; shares sank 6.9%.

  • Vail Resorts missed revenue estimates, dropping shares 5.7%.

  • Rent the Runway surged 7.24% after reporting record-low quarterly free cash flow consumption.

  • Big Lots reported a Q1 adjusted loss; shares crashed 18%.

Market movers

  • Netflix was sued for $170 million by a Scottish woman who claims she was defamed as a stalker in the mini-series "Baby Reindeer."

  • Alamo Drafthouse closed six locations after its owner filed for bankruptcy.

  • Best Buy shut down its Samsung authorized service provider repair program.

  • Pagaya announced plans to lay off 20% of its workforce in an attempt to reduce its operating costs by $25 million this year.

Ideas, trends, and analysis

  • The job market is showing cracks for younger workers, with the hiring rate for low-experience labor plunging from 20% to 13%.

  • Initial jobless claims ticked up to 229,000 last week, while Q1 labor costs were revised lower, indicating a cooling labor market.

  • The US trade deficit ballooned 8.7% in April to $74.6 billion, the largest gap since October 2022.

  • US labor productivity surged 2.9% year-over-year in Q1, the highest growth rate in three years.

🌍 Global Perspectives

  • 🇺🇳 Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama, and Somalia were elected to the UN Security Council for two-year terms starting on Jan. 1, 2025.

  • 🇾🇪 🇮🇷 Yemen's Houthi rebels unveiled a new solid-fuel missile called "Palestine" that resembles an Iranian hypersonic missile.

  • 🇮🇱 🇵🇸 Israel hit a Gaza school in the latest airstrike campaign, killing 40 people.

  • 🇺🇦 🇫🇷 French President Macron announced France will provide Ukraine with Mirage combat aircraft to help fend off Russian attacks.

📊 Crypto

  • Robinhood acquired crypto exchange Bitstamp for $200 million.

  • Saudi Arabia's central bank joined BIS's Project mBridge, a CBDC initiative with China, Thailand, Hong Kong, and UAE.

  • Solana memecoin GME surged over 80% as GameStop shares rose 47% after Keith Gill's $586 million update.

🧠 Errata

  • Methamphetamine traces in European waterways have caused brown trout to become addicts.

  • California's first documented fatal black bear attack on a human has been confirmed.

  • Tokyo City Hall has developed a dating app to encourage marriage and childbirth.

  • TJX has begun outfitting select employees with police-style body cameras to deter theft.

📺 What to Watch Today

Say cheese!

That’s all for today. Did I miss anything? Smash the reply button to let me know.

Cheers,

Wyatt

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