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?
Proven tech. The Cashmere fund has 5,500+ investors and $14m AUM deployed into 33 promising startups.
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.
Venture-backed team. Backed by 6 VCs, including Motivate, Akuna, and Bonaventure. Already raised $19m.
How to invest in Sweater:
Invest directly in the company via StartEngine
Invest in the Cashmere Fund
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.
The European Central Bank cut interest rates for the first time in nearly five years.
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
😱 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?
📊 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
