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Astronauts may soon join the devil in wearing Prada. The fashion house teamed up with spaceflight biz Axiom Space to design a spacesuit. If all goes well, the suits will have their runway debut on the moon in 2026. The industrials-heavy Dow closed at a record yesterday as investors rotated out of Big Tech (small caps also outperformed). Today, all eyes are on US jobs and retail-sales data. 🎙️ Hear! Hear! Our "Snacks Mix" podcast covers the story everyone's talking about, plus the story everyone should be talking about. Tune in to the latest ep on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. |
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Honey, I shrunk the chips… Pepsi's promising to be less stingy after customers complained it was shrinking snack portion sizes while keeping prices the same (aka: shrinkflation). The company, which makes Lay's, Doritos, Tostitos, and Cheetos, will start tossing 20% more chips into some of its bags for the same price. After years of price hikes that padded profits and drove customers away, Pepsi may be trying to make amends with consumers — and Congress. |
- Democratic lawmakers this month accused Pepsi, Coke, and General Mills of shrinkflation, likening the practice to price gouging and saying that more than half of inflation has been driven by corporate profits.
- Consumer advocates have found several examples of Pepsi shrinkflation, including Tostitos bags with 2 fewer ounces of chips and Gatorade bottles that changed from 32 to 28 ounces.
- Ruffle reverse: Pepsi's snack and bev prices have jumped 40% since 2020. As consumers started skipping its products, Pepsi said it would cut some snack prices.
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Inflation's sneaky cousin… Over the past four years, 31% of supermarket items have shrunk, an analysis suggested. Salty-snack prices grew 36% in that time, outpacing general grocery-store inflation. Last month, the average 16-ounce chip bag cost $6.50 — 28% more than a year ago. Some brands have hopped on the other end of the trend: Domino's last month began a "moreflation" promotion, bumping up some medium pizzas to larges at no extra charge. |
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Trust is measured by the ounce… Shrinkflation is so common that the Bureau of Labor Statistics accounts for it in its inflation calculations. While the strategy pumps profits, it can also make customers feel cheated, lowering trust in a brand. 68% of shoppers switch brands when they notice shrinkflation — and it irks consumers more than straight-up price hikes. |
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Save the data... Atombeam's technology could present a solution to the looming datapocalypse, where data storage capacity is set to hit a wall. Machine communication, reimagined… Atombeam's AI-powered software enables up to 2-4x more data to be sent faster and more securely over existing networks — a feat that has potential to substitute for billions in hardware costs that would otherwise be required. From storage to Space… The company's impressive customer list includes the USAF and U.S. Space Force — plus partnerships with companies including Ericsson and NVIDIA.1 $14M has already been invested into the company from the crowd2… and Atombeam's round is still open to all investors.3 |
1 The partnership relationship varies between companies and can include the following: inclusion on a preferred vendor list, invitations to participate in certain forums; listed on the other company's website, and introduction and networking opportunities. |
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Save the data... Atombeam's technology could present a solution to the looming datapocalypse, where data storage capacity is set to hit a wall. Machine communication, reimagined… Atombeam's AI-powered software enables up to 2-4x more data to be sent faster and more securely over existing networks — a feat that has potential to substitute for billions in hardware costs that would otherwise be required. From storage to Space… The company's impressive customer list includes the USAF and U.S. Space Force — plus partnerships with companies including Ericsson and NVIDIA.1 $14M has already been invested into the company from the crowd2… and Atombeam's round is still open to all investors.3 |
1 The partnership relationship varies between companies and can include the following: inclusion on a preferred vendor list, invitations to participate in certain forums; listed on the other company's website, and introduction and networking opportunities. |
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Earnings wrap: big banks top estimates as i-banking surges and spending stays solid |
🏦 Wall Street POV… Investment-banking biggies including Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs unloaded sturdy Q3 results after rate cuts boosted dealmaking optimism (think: acquisitions, IPOs). Morgan Stanley shares hit a record high after a surge of M&A activity pushed its investment-banking revenue up 56%. Goldman's profit jumped 45% to $3B, fueled by its i-banking biz. While IPO volumes are still below their 2021 peak, the lure of lower interest rates and this year's market rally have pushed more companies to go deal hunting. 🏦 Main Street POV… JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo beat estimates as consumer spending stayed strong. Citi said high earners led splurging for the quarter, while middle- and lower-income customers cut back. Bank of America added 360K new consumer checking accounts and 1M new credit-card accounts. But as Americans rack up record debt, Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo wrote off more unpaid loans as losses. ➡️ Forward POV… Falling interest rates are a double-edged sword for banks. On the one hand, they tend to boost spending and dealmaking. On the other, they can reduce the $$ banks make on loans like mortgages and credit cards. Net interest income is expected to dip next year as rates drop. |
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Uncharted: According to the most recent Air Travel Consumer Report, what time of day is best to catch a flight to avoid delays? (Answer here.) |
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In the absence of actual regulation, AI companies use "adversarial testers" to check their new models for safety. Do they work? Read more. |
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- The FTC finalized its "click-to-cancel" rule, which in about six months should make canceling a subscription (gyms, magazines) as easy as it was to sign up.
- Amazon's investing $500M+ into nuclear energy, following similar buy-ins from Google and Microsoft, as AI supercharges clean-energy demand.
- Elon Musk has been a top donor to Trump's POTUS campaign after gifting $75M to a super PAC that Musk himself created this year.
- Industrial-property leader Prologis reported higher profit and revenue as a slowdown in warehouse construction kept demand firm.
- The Trump-linked World Liberty Financial token sale got off to a slow start, seeing $12M in sales despite a reported $300M target.
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- Atombeam's data compaction technology could present a breakthrough in data storage… potentially substituting for billions in hardware costs otherwise needed. Atombeam's investment round is still open — learn more here.3
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- Earnings expected from Blackstone, Netflix, TSM, Travelers, Elevance Health, Infosys, M&T Bank, and Truist Financial
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Authors of this Snacks own shares of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft |
Advertiser's disclosures:
2 $14M is the total raised in previous and current crowdfunding offerings. 3 This is a paid advertisement for Atombeam's Regulation A+ Offering. This Reg. A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Please read the Offering Circular and related risks at Atombeam's webpage on StartEngine before investing. This was a paid for ad. Sherwood Media has been compensated for this ad by the Atombeam Reg A+ Campaign hosted on StartEngine. Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors because it is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. It should only be considered a long-term investment. You must be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are also highly illiquid, and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities. |
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