Yesterday, we wrapped up our three-part series on one of the most enigmatic and lucrative asset classes: Litigation finance.

Check out the trilogy:

Masterworks just sold this Basquiat for $8mz

Masterworks just sold 006 by Jean-Michel Basquiat for $8 million.

This is their 23rd exit, but their first ever Basquiat exit, and it delivered their second-largest payout to date.

Over 2,000 investors are getting a payout this week. Masterworks has distributed back over $60 million in total proceeds across 15,000+ payouts.

📰 Market Headlines

  • The Dow eked out another record high as investors await Nvidia's upcoming earnings report.

    • The blue-chip index claimed a second consecutive record close, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rose about 0.2%.

  • US home prices hit a record high in June, with a 0.2% increase in the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index, marking the fifth straight monthly rise.

  • Former President Donald Trump faced a revised federal indictment accusing him of attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

  • Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed the Biden administration pressured the company to censor COVID-19 content during the pandemic.

🕶️ Market Vibes

🎰 Market Forecasts and Futures

Forecasts via Kalshi, the prediction market.

😱 Fear and Greed Index

🎤 What you said last time

📈 Trends you need to know

American home prices continue going up and to the right despite mortgage rates remaining over 7%.

🧠 What do you think?

It was XXX for my parents to buy a home than it is for me

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📊 Stocks

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

Winners and losers

Earnings, upgrades, and acquisitions

  • Bank of Montreal failed to meet analysts’ estimates as shares slumped 2.6%.

  • Nordstrom reported better-than-expected Q2 sales growth of 3.2%; shares surged 11%.

  • Box reported results in line with estimates, with revenue up 3.3% year-over-year, lifting shares 8.29%.

Market movers

  • Meta shuttered its augmented reality studio for third-party creators, shifting resources to "next-generation experiences."

  • Self-driving truck company TuSimple settled a shareholder fraud lawsuit for $189 million.

  • A federal judge dismissed a proposed class action claiming X (formerly Twitter) targeted female employees for layoffs under Elon Musk.

  • Intel board member Lip-Bu Tan quit over disagreements about the company's bloated workforce and lagging AI strategy.

  • The US commodity regulator fined TOTSA TotalEnergies Trading SA $48 million for attempted market manipulation of European gasoline futures.

Ideas, trends, and analysis

  • Americans grew more pessimistic about the job market, with only 32.8% saying jobs are "plentiful".

  • Oil prices surged 3.5% due to production halts in Libya and escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

  • Former President Trump's lead over Vice President Harris on the economy narrowed to 3 points, with both tied at 40% on crime.

  • American support for Ukraine increased, with 48% wanting to support Ukraine as long as the conflict lasts.

Recommended Newsletter

🌍 Global Perspectives

  • 🇺🇦 🇺🇸 Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said he will present his peace plan to President Biden next month to end the war with Russia.

  • 🇮🇱 Israeli special forces rescued a hostage from a tunnel in southern Gaza, leaving 108 hostages still in captivity.

  • 🇨🇳 Chinese hackers exploited a vulnerability in Versa Networks software to compromise internet companies in the US and India.

  • 🇪🇸 A Spanish police boat appeared to run over a dinghy carrying four people approaching Melilla.

  • 🇫🇷 France announced it will trial a school mobile phone ban for children under 15.

  • 🇩🇪 A 26-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker turned himself in to German police, claiming responsibility for the Solingen knife attack.

📊 Crypto

  • Former President Trump launched a new NFT series, "America First," a collection of Bitcoin-themed digital cards.

  • BlackRock listed its iShares Ethereum Trust on Brazil's B3 exchange, expanding its crypto ETF offerings in the country.

  • MakerDAO rebranded as Sky, introducing new USDS stablecoin and SKY governance token alongside existing DAI and MKR tokens.

🧠 Errata

📺 What to Watch Today

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

Cheers,

Wyatt

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