Bonus Now, Pay Later
Credit Suisse is paying some junior banker bonuses in installments (a new low), J Pow said inflation is easing but interest rates will likely continue to rise, US junk bonds are trading at an average of 7.97%, UK managers suffered record $60B net outflows in 2022, SEC is considering requiring audited financial statements from private companies, retail investors are loading up on small-cap AI firms, and Wells Fargo will pay $300M to settle with shareholders over auto insurance disclosures.
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Google's Big AI Reveal
Google is launching an AI service to rival ChatGPT, FTX is asking for political donations back, US mortgage applications are up 25% YTD, Goldman thinks hedge funds are caught in a bigger squeeze than the 2021 meme stock frenzy, AbbVie lifted a self-imposed $2B M&A limit, and global air traffic has recovered to 69% (nice) of pre-Covid levels.
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Spy Balloon Target Practice
The US shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, US unemployment hit a 53-year low, hedge funds are rushing to offload short bets as markets rally, the Adani crisis has ignited fears of contagion in Indian markets, Twitter will share some ad revenue with creators, Dell is slashing ~6.6k jobs, and the US Senate Banking Committee will hold a 'Crypto Crash' hearing this month.
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Zuck's Bounce Back
Zuck's net worth increased by $12.5B this week, the ECB and BOE raised rates by 50 bps, stock buybacks increased by 3x from last January, US weekly jobless claims hit a 9-month low, West Texas oil production and profits hit record highs, and ChatGPT set a record for fastest growing user base.
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Tom Brady Retirement_vFINAL(2).PDF
Tom Brady retired (again), Meta's stock is up more than 100% from its 2022 low, the Fed raised rates by 25 bps, tech stocks rallied after J Pow's speech, US job openings hit a five-month high in December, US-Mexico egg border seizures are up 300% (lol), FedEx is cutting 10% of management roles, and OpenAI will sell ChatGPT subscriptions.
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Bed, Bath, and Bankrupt
Bed Bath & Beyond plans to seek bankruptcy protection as early as this week, a US judge ordered for SBF's bail guarantors to be identified, ExxonMobil posted record-high 2022 profits, central banks bought a lot of gold last year, UK company insolvencies hit their highest level since the GFC, Norway's wealth fund posted a record loss in 2022, and a Japanese trading firm says its traders can be part-time YouTubers to bring in more side income.
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TikTok's CEO Is Headed to DC
Eurozone economic sentiment hit a seven-month high in January, the UK government scrapped an in-house consultancy for the Big Four, TikTok's CEO will testify before Congress, Twitter is working on a payments feature, China's Baidu is launching a ChatGPT-style bot in March, and Ford is cutting prices on its Mustang Mach-E.
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Inflation Was Transitory?
The Chiefs and Eagles are heading to the Super Bowl, core PCE index growth hit its lowest level since October 2021, Gautam Adani's companies are getting rekt after a bombshell short sell report, bankers in Asia are seeing large bonus declines, Yellen is nervous about a debt limit default, and David Solomon took a ~30% pay cut (to a modest $25M).
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BuzzFeed Joined the AI Train
BuzzFeed landed a deal with Meta and plans to use ChatGPT, US GDP rose 2.9% annualized in Q4 2022, US M2 money supply shrank for the first time ever last year, Toyota's president and CEO is stepping down, the IMF wants the BOJ to let long-term yields rise, and the University of California is investing another $500M in Blackstone's BREIT.
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Canada says 'No More Rate Hikes'
Musk is considering raising $3B to help pay his Twitter debt, Tesla beat estimates on best-ever revenue, Bank of Canada is done hiking rates, UK's competition regulator is investigating Broadcom's purchase of VMware, Chevron announced a $75B buyback program, Credit Suisse dismissed most of its Mexico-based bankers, Trump has been reinstated by Facebook / Instagram, and Hindenburg Research dropped another bombshell short report.
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