Good Morning! The Fed released its latest minutes yesterday, and they teased more rate hikes. They think inflation is still too high. Bond yields hit their highest since 2008 - putting pressure on borrowing costs. But it’s not stopping retail giant Aldi from acquiring the Winn-Dixie and Harvey’s Supermarket chains - snapping up 400 stores in the process. And having an existential crisis and wondering how many years you’ll stay in banking? You might be in luck since Google’s testing AI that provides users with life advice!

If you are interested in getting in front of a smart, young audience of business leaders, bankers, investment professionals, policy influencers of over 500,000 people, then fill out this form, we’ll be in touch.

If you are interested in working for Short Squeez apply here (college students and all other hustlers are welcome too).

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Chick-Fil-A is Winning

As if Americans weren’t unhealthy and lazy enough before the pandemic - fast food restaurants are reporting a massive revenue boom across the country. You can’t beat the convenience or affordability, but one chain is really blowing the others out of the water - Chick-Fil-A.

Fast food restaurants released how much they make per location. And Chick-Fil-A raked in an average of $6.7 million dollars per location in 2022. The company made $18 billion - more than double Chipotle’s $8.6 billion (and Chipotle has even more stores).

The only other chain that averaged more than $5 million per location? Raising Cane’s, another Southern chain focused on chicken. Companies like McDonald’s, which rounded out the top 5 highest-earning chains, earned about $3.5 million per location (so, about half of Chick-Fil-A).

Chick-Fil-A's unique franchising model could be the reason behind its success. Unlike traditional franchises like McDonald’s that can cost up to $2.3 million, Chick-Fil-A only requires a $10k franchise fee. This affordable model attracts 60k+ annual applicants, with an acceptance rate of 0.13%, it's tougher to become a Chick-Fil-A operator than getting into Harvard.

The stringent selection and hands-on operation rules ensure that only the best of the best franchisees run their stores, leading to exceptional customer service and unparalleled loyalty.

Takeaway: If you’re looking to invest, don’t expect Chick-Fil-A to hit the IPO market and become the latest Chipotle or Cava. The chain’s founder made his children sign a contract swearing they’d never take the fast food company public before he died in 2014. But still - Chick-Fil-A is insanely profitable and if you get burned out working in finance, throw your hat in the ring for a Chick-Fil-A franchise.

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed lower as the Fed minutes and tech dragged stocks down.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) H&R Block ($HRB) +10% after the tax software provider topped expectations.

• (+) Target ($TGT) +3% even after reporting a slump in sales.

• (–) Coherent ($COHR) -30% after the laser and optics maker delivered weak guidance.

Private Dealmaking

• Occidental Petroleum bought Carbon Engineering for $1.1 billion

• ClassWallet, an automated accounts payable platform, raised $95 million 

• Kernel, a fast-casual restaurant startup, raised $36 million

• Capstan Medical, a robotic-assisted heart valve surgery tech developer, raised $31.4 million

• Ciebo, a copper extraction tech developer, raised $30 million

• Silk Security, a sustainable cyber risk startup, raised $12.5 million

Get access to private deal flow here.

_{SPONSORED BY SUPERSIDE}

Creative Assets on Demand

Maybe your brand launch is tomorrow.

Maybe you have no hiring budget (been there).

Or maybe your team is simply understaffed and overworked.

Regardless, if you need ad designs ASAP, you need Superside. They deliver high-quality, on-brand assets to your inbox in as little as 24 hours.

Yup, Superside hires the top 1% of creatives across the globe, so you don’t have to vet freelancers or make any hasty hires in a pinch.

Why Superside is the #1 Creative-as-a-Service:

• Graphic design, websites, ad copy–it’s all on-brand and on-time

• Used by over 450 companies like Google, Meta, Reddit, and Shopify

• Transparent pricing from the start to save you up to 50%

TL;DR: It’s on-demand advertising that’s bottom-line friendly.

Submit your brief today, get creative assets tomorrow!

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• How Google is planning on beating OpenAI (TI)

• TPG approached EY about buying stake in consulting arm (Reuters)

• Cava, Sweetgreen delivery orders fall as customers pick up food (CNBC)

• Why Fed policymakers were torn on latest Fed rate hike (Axios)

• US manufacturing sector reaping benefits of reshoring (Fox)

• What are Michael Burry and Warren Buffett seeing that we’re not? (CNN)

• Forget the office gym - welcome to the gym office (WSJ)

• Why the Dow’s summer rally shouldn’t be ignored (YF)

• CFOs are stepping into rapidly revolving door (Reuters)

• Goldman’s most loyal deputy tested by multiple partners (BB)

• BlackRock expects economy to flatline before inflation returns in 2024 (Fortune)

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Us: Getting Past You and Me

Not much is harder than figuring out how to love your partner in all their messy humanness—and there’s also not much that’s more important.

At a time when toxic individualism is rending our society at every level, bestselling author and renowned marriage counselor Terrence Real sees how it poisons intimate relationships in his therapy practice, where he works with couples on the brink of disaster.

The good news: Warmer, closer, more passionate relationships are possible if you have the right tools.

In his transformative new book Us, Real brilliantly observes how our winner-takes-all culture infiltrates families with devastating results: repetitive fights that go nowhere, or a distant relationship in which partners end up living “alone together.”

With deft insight, humor, and charm, Real guides you to transform your relationship into one that’s based on compassion, collaboration, and closeness.

“This book is a road map for all of us who seek true intimacy.”

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• 3 steps to boo​​st your productivity and creativity

• 8 ways meditation can move you up the career ladder faster and farther

• The world’s happiest man shares 3 rules for life

• Warren Buffett’s number one rule on where people should work is genius

• The best books on time management

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Winners and Losers

Change in total deposits Q4 2022 to Q2 2023 at select banks

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Ride Your Own Bike

“I was happily pedaling along on the rail trail when three spandex speedsters blew by me on their handmade carbon bikes.

For a moment, I was disheartened. What’s the point - they’re speedy, I’m not.

Then I realize that it’s not a bike race, it’s a bike ride. There is no winning, just the riding.”

Source: Seth Godin

_{JOB BOARD}

Featured Jobs

• Goldman Sachs - VP - New York, NY

• BlackRock - VP, Product Strategist - New York, NY

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day