(Howard Schnapp/Getty Images) |
Beginning to look a lot like Klarna |
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For "less than one trillion dollars" The Onion said it won its bid to purchase Infowars out of bankruptcy. The satirical news publication said it would relaunch the far-right website as a parody of itself, though late yesterday a judge put the sale on hold. Stocks dropped yesterday after Fed Chair Powell said that the US economy has been "remarkably good" and that the Fed was in no hurry to lower rates. Meantime, bitcoin slipped below $90K after hitting a record $93K+ earlier this week. 🧠 Quizness as usual: We're back with your regularly scheduled programming of this week's Snacks Seven quiz. Here's the first q: |
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Buy now, IPO later… Klarna's rollin' its shopping cart to Wall Street. After months of speculation, the Swedish payments company this week filed to go public in the US. FYI: Klarna lets shoppers split purchases into smaller interest-free installments across 550K+ global brands including Nike, Sephora, Macy's, Ikea, and even Airbnb. If successful, Klarna would join publicly traded BNPL rivals like PayPal and Affirm. |
- IOU: Klarna's valued at $14.6B, up more than 2x since 2022. Still, it's a huge drop from its 2021 valuation of $45.6B.
- Cha-ching: Klarna said it had swung to a profit of $66M in the first half of the year (after a $45M loss last year) as it saw US growth and leaned into AI to lower costs.
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BN-PLosion… Buy now, pay later has become a popular way to pay, last year accounting for $75B in online spending. That's a 14% jump from 2022. And while electronics are typically the most popular BNPL purchase, as budgets tighten more folks are relying on the service for essentials like TP and groceries. A recent survey found that 40% of BNPL shoppers use the service at least once a month, and over half use it more than they swipe credit cards. |
- Full cart: Shares of Minneapolis-based BNPL biz Sezzle are up 3,600% since listing on the Nasdaq last year, fueled by young mid- to low-income customers.
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It pays to pay later… As the holiday season kicks off, buy now, pay later has solidified its position as the go-to option for folks looking to spread out their spend. Over a third of US shoppers are said to be considering a BNPL loan this month, the highest % since September 2023. Holiday spending using pay-later services is set to hit a record $18.5B this year. |
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By now you've heard the big news – index options are coming to Robinhood's brokerage platform (Robinhood Financial LLC). And if you aren't already trading index options, you still have time to get your trading strategies ready. Cboe® is here to guide you on your trading journey. From trading strategies and use cases to educational videos and a free guide, we've got the materials you need to prepare for trading index options. Get access now to valuable information to know for index options trading strategies. |
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By now you've heard the big news – index options are coming to Robinhood's brokerage platform (Robinhood Financial LLC). And if you aren't already trading index options, you still have time to get your trading strategies ready. Cboe® is here to guide you on your trading journey. From trading strategies and use cases to educational videos and a free guide, we've got the materials you need to prepare for trading index options. Get access now to valuable information to know for index options trading strategies. |
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| Temp check… The climate's heatin' up, and so are talks between the leaders from nearly 200 countries this week in Azerbaijan for the COP29 climate summit. The main topic: who's going to pay for climate change? Wealthy nations in 2009 agreed to cough up $100B/year to less-wealthy nations to fund climate-related projects (mainly clean energy). Payments started in 2020, but only hit the $100B/year goal in 2022. With the pledge expiring this year, world leaders at COP29 are trying to forge a new agreement with a funding target of more than $1T/year. |
- Hitting a trillion could hinge on private-sector (like: JPMorgan, Barclays) participation and whether a Trump-led US contributes.
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Money doesn't grow on trees… The US contributed ~$10B to global climate goals last year, a third of what the UK spent. Now, COP29 attendees are concerned that Trump could cut climate funding altogether. He's widely expected to again withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement, the global pact to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. That agreement calls for developed nations to provide large-scale financial aid to less-wealthy nations. Now some leaders at COP29 have hesitated to confirm their countries' contributions until they know the US's plans. |
- Finger-pointing: World leaders are also putting pressure on China and Gulf nations to start chipping in. Beijing says it's not on the same footing as established economies like the UK and US.
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The world's not keeping up… and the price tag to tackle the climate crisis keeps surging. The $1T/year climate spend that some COP29 attendees hope for would still fall short of what some experts say is required, with new research landing on a $6T/year price tag. |
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The incoming Trump admin has dealmakers ready to consolidate so fast they might forget to pass go and collect $200. Read more. |
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📜 Policy… New York's ban on new fossil-fuel-powered crypto miners is set to expire next week. Meanwhile, miners have seen their share prices pop as Trump pushes for "made in the USA" bitcoin. 🤖 Techy… A push to tokenize stocks, bonds, and commodities would see traditional financial markets and crypto converge on the blockchain. Analysts predict it could unlock a multitrillion-dollar market of tokenized securities. 🌶️ Spicy… The FBI reportedly raided the home of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan. The crypto-based prediction market has been in the spotlight after its US presidential-election event contract is said to have seen $3.2B in trading. |
- Coach owner Tapestry and Versace parent Capri called off their $8.5B merger following a successful FTC antitrust suit.
- Spotify is moving into YouTube territory with plans to pay video-podcast creators for high-performing vids as visual pods gain steam.
- Food-delivery chain Wonder acquired Grubhub for $650M, four years after the delivery app was purchased for $7.3B.
- Ford will pay up to $165M (the second-highest auto-safety civil penalty in 50+ years) after regulators said it moved too slowly on a rear-view-camera recall.
- Amazon launched fixed pricing for meds to treat conditions like men's hair loss and erectile dysfunction, sending Hims & Hers shares plunging.
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- Retail sales
- Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match, broadcast live on Netflix
- Earnings expected from Alibaba
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Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of: Alphabet, and Amazon |
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Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more |
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