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FTX: Worse than Enron
Twitter offices are closed until Monday as the company deals with heavy resignations, US banks are scooping up fintech deals among falling valuations, FINRA warned of pump-and-dumps among small-cap IPOs, Morning Brew is laying off 14% of its staff, and FTX's new CEO said the mess is worse than Enron.
Gridlock in Washington
UK CPI hit 11.1% in October, US homebuilder sentiment hit a decade low, US Q4 GDP estimates were revised upwards, Republicans secured control of the House, Softbank posted a $10B quarterly loss, Apple will launch an MLS season pass, South Korean apartment prices are crashing, and Thanksgiving meals will cost 20% more this year.
Digital Dollar Inbound
The Fed is testing a digital dollar, FTX may have a million creditors, US household debt soared at the fastest pace in 15 years in Q3, global fertility rates are slowing despite the world's population hitting 8 billion, Tencent announced a new round of layoffs, Teslas were ranked one of the least reliable vehicles in the US, big tech is cutting office real estate, and Donald Trump is running for president again.
Population: 8 Billion ✅
The New York Times published the fluffiest of fluff pieces on Sam Bankman-Fried, Berkshire went on a stock buying spree last quarter, the global population topped 8 billion, emissions are likely to reach an all-time high this year, Amazon will lay off 10k workers, NYC building owners are banning e-bikes amid battery fires, Tom Ford is about to get acquired, and a more than a dozen crypto funds have confirmed their exposure to FTX so far.
The Big Short 2 (Coming Soon)
FTX moved $10B to Alameda through a backdoor and up to $2B of that is missing, Democrats are set to hold onto Senate control, the UK economy contracted by 0.2% in Q3, Yellen says the US must raise its debt ceiling, LME will not ban trading of Russian metals, China is easing some of its Covid policies, the US is seeking 15 years and $800M in restitution payment for Elizabeth Holmes sentencing, and JPMorgan dodged a fat buyout-loan bullet by sitting out on Twitter and Citrix financings.
Bull Market Is Back
Sequoia wrote down its entire FTX investment, stocks ripped on a low inflation print, the ECB is scrutinizing energy firms' derivative bets, the FTC is concerned with Twitter's security executives' exits, Musk's Twitter loan package is trading at a steep discount, and Amazon is reviewing unprofitable business units to cut costs.
FTX on the brink of bankruptcy
Binance pulled out of its proposed FTX deal, FTX is facing an SEC investigation, 30-year mortgages are nearing a 20-year high, Chinese CPI retreated to 2.1% YoY growth, the NBA launched a PE arm, Meta laid off 11k employees, and TSMC is opening an Arizona factory.
Binance Pulled an FTX on FTX
Binance is poised to buy rival FTX (wild story), US natural gas supply and demand is hitting all-time highs, investment banking layoffs are ramping up, Meta is beginning widespread job cuts today, Netflix is exploring opportunities in live sports, and US consumer confidence is at a decade low.
Investors want gridlock
Happy election day. The EU is concerned with the US's Inflation Reduction Act, Americans are working part-time gigs to help with high inflation, housing market consumer confidence hit a new low, startups are looking to scoop laid-off tech workers, Tiger Global's funds are down horrendous, China offered to buy El Salvador's external bond debt, and Venezuela MoM inflation slowed to 6.2% last month.
L Salvador
El Salvador's bitcoin bet isn't going so hot, Binance dumped its FTX tokens, Twitter is losing a ton of ad revenue, women portfolio managers are outperforming their male counterparts, Twitter is asking some laid off employees to come back, Meta is preparing for a massive wave of layoffs, alcohol-related deaths increased by 26% in 2020, and the Powerball jackpot climbed to a record $1.9B.
Winter is Coming
The BoE raised rates by 0.75% in step with the Fed, the White House says the US is not in a recession, US holiday sales are expected to grow by only ~7%, European VC deal value fell by 36% QoQ in Q3, a wave of layoffs and hiring freezes are hitting all sectors, an Uber whistleblower said the current business model isn't sustainable, and PE political donations are trending to the right.
Expect Higher Rates, But Maybe Slower
The Fed raised rates by 0.75% again, the market got clapped, Biden has shrunk the petroleum reserves to a 40-year low, Russia's economy contracted 5% in September, Elon is expected to slash ~50% of Twitter's workforce, Meta is adding NFTs to Instagram, Goldman expects a wave of private tech M&A next year, and there might be a turkey shortage this Thanksgiving thanks to a bird flu.