Oct 16, 2024

You're A Hard Man to Pleas-ant Ridge

Today's newsletter focuses on the fact that some people are hard to please, such as stock market investors, Nvidia investors, Black male voters, Gen Z voters, and people who go to Starbucks. Even though everything is going rather well for many of these people by historic measures, they're still, rightly or wrongly — and God knows I'm in no position to judge — a bit cheesed off at the moment.

Pleasant Ridge, meanwhile, as we all know, is a handcrafted cheese from Uplands Cheese Company in Wisconsin, named after the ridge where the farm is located. Produced exclusively in the summer months using raw milk, it offers a complex taste that's both rich and salty with a long, fruity finish. So, it's just like this newsletter!

For the love of God, not the value dealz…

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

Quote of the Day

"Young Americans, Generation Z are spending 30% of their income on housing, on rent." — Dylan Douglas

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1. Bank Profit$ Exceed Expectation$

...but the stock market was still down a tad from Monday's record highs, once again showing how challenging it is to impress an investor these days.

Goldman Sachs reported a 45% increase in third-quarter profit at $2.99 billion on a revenue increase of 7% to $12.7 billion. The solid performance reflects broader positive results among big investment banks, with a rising optimism for a soft economic landing that could further improve conditions. Merger and acquisition activity is also on the rise with lower interest rates making it easier to finance such deals with loans.

JPMorganChase, Bank of America, and Citigroup also showed strong results, particularly in their Wall Street operations, with trading revenue up. JPMorganChase reported an 8% rise in trading revenues to $7.2 billion while Bank of America posted a 12% increase to $4.9 billion and Citigroup a lowly 0.5% upturn to $4.8 billion. That's a lot of billions, and yet, are they happy? Eh? Read More

2. New Worries See Nvidia Stock Decline from Monday's Record Highs

Nvidia's stock experienced a significant drop of over 5% yesterday, retracting from a recent two-week rally and record-high close on Monday. Despite recent optimism driven by high demand for its AI chips, Nvidia faces volatility due to geopolitical risks and potential slowdowns in AI spending. It's what dragged the overall stock market down most yesterday.

Nvidia's decline was spurred by a Bloomberg report suggesting the Biden administration is contemplating restricting chip exports to certain countries, particularly in the Persian Gulf, citing national security concerns. The news also affected the valuations of other chipmakers like AMD and Intel.

The chip sector was also hit by a disappointing earnings report from ASML, a key supplier of semiconductor equipment, whose order bookings fell significantly short of expectations. Nvidia is scheduled to report its earnings on Nov. 19, with projected revenues showing a substantial year-over-year increase. The size of the company means its earnings reports have become market-moving events. If they don't outperform expectations, then the whole market sags. It's a bit of a bind, isn't it, really? Read More

From @cheddar

As Elon Musk said, "The future should look like the future." At the "We, Robot" event, Tesla's CEO unveiled a passenger van designed for autonomous transport using advanced camera systems and AI technology. Its sleek, train-engine-inspired design has no visible wheels, and Musk said it can carry up to 20 passengers or be used for transporting goods.

Follow @cheddar on Instagram!

3. Harris, Trailing with Black Men, Reveals 'Opportunity Agenda for Black Men'

The "agenda" includes $1 million in forgivable small business loans and a commitment to legalizing recreational marijuana (because as any racial stereotyper will tell you, "All Black men love to sell and smoke a ton of weed!") while ensuring Black entrepreneurs can participate in the industry.

Recent polls indicate that support among Black male voters has decreased to 70% from the 85% President Joe Biden received four years earlier. The decline in support is particularly notable among young Black men, some of whom are considering support for former President Donald Trump or may abstain from voting.

Harris's campaign now acknowledges the need to listen to Black men's voices more. Other measures proposed by Harris involve improving access to the cryptocurrency industry for Black Americans and launching a national health initiative focused on conditions like sickle cell anemia, which disproportionately affects Black men.

One can't help thinking that as Stevie Wonder once sang about politicians as a young Black man who lived in "the ghetto" in his song, Big Brother, it's almost as though "you just come to visit me 'round election time." Read More

4. We Talked to Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones's Kid About How Gen Z is Viewing the 2024 Presidential Election

Dylan Douglas, host of "Young American with Dylan Douglas" on SiriusXM, knows a thing or two about the Gen Z's concerns in the run-up to the 2024 election. As the nepo baby of Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, I'm sure that student loans and the high cost of living (wait…his parents are worth a combined half a billion bucks, and he went to Brown?) are very real issues to him.

"On either side of the aisle, whichever political persuasion, both believe that this is one of the most fundamental elections in the history of this country," he said. "And so many of our issues, our generational issues, are up for grabs: gun control, abortion rights, housing."

"Young Americans, Generation Z are spending 30% of their income on housing, on rent," he said. "People always ask me, why did I become political? And I think it was just kind of baked-in before I even knew any politics or policy."

He was "raised in a certain way" to treat people well and have respect for women. Also, to get an entry level job (although not his job, perhaps?) needs "like three years of experience" these days. It's an outrage!

Meanwhile, 70% of Gen Z women are voting for Kamala Harris; 60% of Gen Z men are voting for Donald Trump. "So it's a huge gender divide, which can be very interesting to see how it plays out this November," Dylan said.

Indeed, it will. My favorite nepo baby quote is David Beckham talking about his kids in the recent Netflix documentary. "They could be little sh*ts," he said. "And they're not." Which, to be fair, is a major achievement, really, for the Beckhams, and seems to be true, too, of the Douglas/Jones's. In related news I feel the strong need for a cup of coffee, right now, for some reason. Best hop on down to Starbucks for a special value deal. Wait… Read More

5. Starbucks Kills Its Special Value Deals

Noooooooooooooo.

Starbucks is reducing the number of discounts and promotions offered via its mobile app as part of a new strategy by CEO Brian "I Commute by Private Jet to Seattle from San Diego and Used to Run Chipotle" Niccol to reposition the brand as something called a "premium entity."

The shift includes ending broad promotional activities like the previous "buy one, get one free" offers or 50% discounts. Fair enough, mate. Let's see how it goes. The company aims to focus on promoting seasonal drinks through advertising rather than through broad offers, especially during the holiday season. The upshot of this paragraph: The new CEO effectively doubled the price of Starbucks coffee.

The move comes after a fall in sales for two consecutive quarters and a decrease in visits from infrequent customers, plus those aged 18 to 29 (who are apparently concerned about spending 30% of their income on rent). Niccol's vision for Starbucks includes a return to its roots as a community coffeehouse (like all the ones it closed by opening right next door, all over the country?) with an emphasis on enhancing the "in-store experience" to reflect the brand's "core values" and "distinction."

All I'll say is: Best of luck with that, Brian. And, to quote Tilda Swinton sounding utterly exhausted in my favorite movie, Michael Clayton, "Can I get that coffee, now?" Read More