Good morning Reader!

We're back after a week off, ready to serve up a heaping plate of financial news.

Let's dig in...🍽️

P.S. - a couple weeks ago, I asked anyone who works in the financial advisory space that reads this to reach out to me. If you haven't yet, respond to this email: the special project I'm working on is this🤏 close to launching and I have a feeling you'll be very interested in it.

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Market Update Since Last Week's Newsletter

Dow Jones

35,630.68 (1.94%)

S&P 500

4,576.73 (0.48%)

Nasdaq

14,283.91 (-0.49%)

Bitcoin

29,214.60 (1.90%)

• Markets remain a mixed bag this week as we enter the busiest earnings week of the year.
• In other news: Apple is expected to post their 3rd consecutive down quarter, the women's World Cup is underway, CVS will cut 5,000 jobs, and Uber's stock is set for its worst loss in months despite posting it's first ever profitable quarter.

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Visual of the Week

Does Timing Matter? 🤔

• The different points within the business cycle affect sectors of the stock market VASTLY differently!
  • What are the 4 stages of the business cycle? Recession, Contraction (Slowdown), Trough (Recovery), & Peak (Slowdown)
• So, take a look at which sectors perform the best during each point, and ask yourself… why would they succeed within these economic conditions?
• Why is this important? You may initially believe that if you know which direction the economy is headed, then you can determine which stocks will outperform. On paper, not a bad investment strategy.
  • HOWEVER, does anybody know which direction the economy is headed? No, rewind just a couple months ago- when every Wall St. “expert” was predicting a recession, but the latest economic data says otherwise…

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Deep Dive of the Week

Musk's Twitter Rebrand: Will it Pay Off ❓

I’m sure by now you’ve caught wind of Elon Musk’s ambitious project to rebrand Twitter into “X”- or “the everything app”. Whether his plans succeed or fail miserably, it’s safe to say this will be a case study taught in thousands of college classrooms in years to come. So, let’s take a deep dive into why Mr. Musk rebranded a world-renowned company…

For better or worse, Elon Musk's dreams are out of this world (pun intended). Whether it’s colonizing Mars, pushing the combustion engine into extinction, or solving the issue of traffic by digging underground tunnels, it’s safe to say nobody has bigger ambitions than Elon. I mean, it feels like just yesterday people were calling him insane for buying Twitter- which had never turned a profit.

I say all of this because his ambitions for Twitter extend WAY beyond just a bird app where people post funny memes. Twitter’s newest CEO tweeted that “X” would be, “centered in audio, video, messaging, and payments/banking”- far more than what Twitter is today.

There are two major inspirations Elon Musk has drawn from for the idea of “X”. For starters, (and most importantly) wayyy back in the early 2000s, Musk was a founder of X.com- which we now know today as Paypal. He had a plan to build a “global financial nexus” which would offer anything & everything financial- bank accounts, credit, mortgages, stocks, insurance, etc.

A more modern inspiration for an “everything app” comes from WeChat- China’s most popular app. In fact, Musk has publicly praised WeChat on multiple occasions, so it’s safe to say he wants to build a Western version of the app.

The burning question is… will “X” succeed? The general consensus is that it probably won’t. Also, it’s important to note Meta and Google have both attempted a similar objective and failed miserably. However, that being said… Elon Musk is a man who achieved more in 30 years than most men could do in 1,000 lifetimes. If anybody could do it, I’d place my bets on Elon.

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News Roundup

News of the Week That'll Impact Your Wallet💸

💼 Labor Market Update​

• June’s labor market report revealed some positive signs for the labor market. Let’s take a look a the numbers:
  • Layoffs nudged lower to 1.53 million (1.55 million in May)
  • Employment openings hit 9.58 million in June- which is lower than 9.62 million in May.
  • 300,000 fewer people quit their job compared to May
• On the surface, fewer employment openings may seem like a bad thing, but when you combine it with the fact less people are leaving work, it can actually be a good thing. It means that people are not job hopping, and are satisfied with their employment.

📺 Coming Soon to a Walmart Near You...​

• Walmart recently announced they’ll be following in the footsteps of similar retailers, such as Target & Kroger, by introducing additional third-party advertisements throughout their stores.
• This will include ads during self-check-out, in-store radio ads, ads on in-store tvs, and in-store demo testing.
• I don’t know about you, but there’s a fine line between effective advertisement, and over-advertisement for the sake of making an extra buck. Walmart will have a tough battle ahead to find that perfect balance- or else they may push customers out of their stores!

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Memes of the Week

Your Weekly Finance Memes!

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Financially Lit University

Inflation is a Bigger Deal Than You Think 😲

Thanks for stopping into Financially Lit University! Let’s get straight to business…

For my younger audience, this past year might have been your first real-life experience with the impact of inflation. We saw gas prices shoot up, and the beloved Dollar Tree changed their prices to $1.25

While it does suck that high inflation means prices shoot up every month- thus shrinking your budget. I don’t think people realize it has an even BIGGER impact over the long run (and this lesson is especially important for young people).

Let me explain… At some point, you might’ve come across a black-and-white picture of a Mcdonald’s menu where a burger was only 15 cents and 20 cents could get you a milkshake (what a time to be alive). But what happened to these prices??? Inflation.

Now, let’s say you retired in 1940 with $1 million. You’d be EXTREMELY WEALTHY and never have to worry about money again (see the quiz for how much this'd be worth today). However, let’s say you retired today with $1 million… would you have enough money to never have to work again? Probably not.

My point is, inflation has had a FAR BIGGER impact over several decades compared to what you may see in the news. So, when you begin to think about planning for retirement, it’s SUPER important to account for inflation. Today’s dollar will never equal tomorrow’s!

The only true way to BEAT inflation is to put your money to work for you by saving it in a high-yield savings account or investing it in the stock market or real estate.

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Quiz

If Only I Had a Time Machine... ⌛

$1 million in 1940 would equal how much in 2023?

A. $12.4 million

B. $32.1 million

C. $21.7 million

D. $8.9 million

Reply to this email with your answer!

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Last week’s answer: B. $12.7 Billion

(How much did Amazon make during Prime Day this year?)

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Disclaimers:

Nicholas Meyer is the owner and operator of NICKTALKSMONEY LLC, which creates content under the social media handle @nicktalksmoney. NICKTALKSMONEY LLC does not render, or offer to render, personalized investment or tax advice through content posted by @nicktalksmoney on any social media platform, any email newsletter, or any other vertical.

The information provided on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. Speak with a qualified professional who knows your specific situation before making any financial, tax, investment, or legal decision.

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