Good Morning! The U.S. economy’s Q2 rebound was stronger than first reported. Tesla’s European sales sank 40% as overseas competition intensifies. Fed Governor Lisa Cook is suing Trump to block her firing and claims the mortgage fraud allegations were due to a clerical issue.

Pod shops are looking more like banks, while old-school hedge fund strategies are staging a comeback. And Nvidia’s top two mystery customers made up 39% of its Q2 revenue.

Plus: Bill Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson filed a trademark application for the term ‘gold digger,’ and 10 things your smartphone camera can do other than selfies.

SQUEEZ OF THE DAY

Fired Over Email

At ANZ, more than 100 senior bankers just found out they were being laid off, not from HR, their manager, or even a Zoom call. They found out from an automated email asking them to return their laptops. The system fired before the humans did.

The bank scrambled to patch the disaster, issuing apologies, offering counseling, and staging video calls to “confirm” what Outlook had already made painfully clear. But some critics are complaining it was just theater after the fact.

ANZ, Australia’s fourth-largest bank, has been stuck in a long restructuring cycle. The CEO kicked off a strategic review in May to tackle sluggish growth, regulatory headaches, and a toxic culture. Layoffs were inevitable. But layoffs are one thing. Letting the machines break the news is another.

The optics are brutal. A firm already under pressure for cultural failings now looks careless, detached, and tone-deaf. Offering therapy right after blasting a mass-firing email doesn’t read as compassionate; it reads as scripted damage control.

Takeaway: ANZ’s blunder was bigger than a botched email. In finance, execution is reputation. If you can’t manage communication with your own people, how can clients or investors trust you to manage risk, relationships, or capital? In an industry built on trust, perception can be as costly as performance. If Outlook handles your layoffs, good luck handling investors.

HEADLINES

Top Reads

• U.S. economy grew 3.3% in Q2, stronger than initially estimated (CNBC)

• Tesla sales plunge 40% in Europe as Chinese EV rival BYD's triple (CNBC)

• Fed Governor Lisa Cook sues Trump to block her firing (CNBC)

• Lisa Cook’s ouster fight with Trump rattles bond markets (Axios)

• Pod shops are the new banks (BB)

• Old-school hedge fund strategies stage a comeback outside giant pod shops (BB)

• Nvidia’s top two mystery customers made up 39% of its Q2 revenue (CNBC)

• Bill Belichick, girlfriend Jordon Hudson look to trademark 'Gold Digger' (Fox)

• In their 20s and already making $1 million a year (WSJ)

• Michael Saylor hit by revolt as MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin premium collapses (BB)

• US puts GDP data on the blockchain in Trump crypto push (YF)

• Wealthy Americans travel to Europe to dodge tariffs on luxury goods (CNBC)

• Wall Street braces for fallout as Trump escalates Fed fight (CNN)

• Wineries and whiskey makers turn to private credit for financing (BB)

• U.S. tech projects forecast stronger growth ahead (Axios)

• Credit market FOMO leaves investors with razor-thin safety net (BB)

• How private equity funds understate the risks in their investments (Morningstar)

• Private equity could transform retirement savings (YF)

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CAPITAL PULSE

Markets Rundown

Market Update

• U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday

• Communication and energy stocks led gains, while utilities and consumer staples lagged.

• 10-year Treasury yield dipped to 4.21%, down from its July peak near 4.50%.

• Q2 GDP revised up to 3.3%, from 3.0% previously, driven by stronger fixed investment.

• Asia mixed, with South Korea’s central bank holding rates steady at 2.5% and U.S. tariffs on Indian imports doubling to 50%.

• Dollar weakened; WTI oil rose as Russia escalated strikes on Ukraine.

Economic Data Highlights

• Initial jobless claims fell to 229K, slightly above estimates, while continuing claims dropped to 1.95M.

• The broader claims trend points to a cooling labor market, though unemployment remains low at 4.2%.

• 7.4M job openings still exceed 7.2M unemployed, suggesting the labor market remains relatively tight.

• Wage gains remain above inflation, providing support for consumer spending.

• Markets await July PCE inflation Friday: headline expected at 2.6%, core at 2.9%, with bond markets pricing two Fed cuts this year and three in 2026.

Reported Earnings

• WeBull (BULL) – Results showed user growth and trading activity up, though commission pressure weighed on fees.

• Dell Technologies (DELL) – EPS and revenue topped expectations; AI infrastructure and enterprise demand boosted results.

• Affirm (AFRM) – Reported solid BNPL volume growth; delinquencies remained contained but margin pressures linger.

Earnings Today

• Alibaba (BABA) – Focus on Chinese e-commerce trends, cloud growth, and macro impact from tariffs.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Pure Storage ($PSTG) +32% after the company’s deal with Meta boosted results.

• (+) Build a Bear Workshop ($BBW) +14% because the retailer beat earnings and raised guidance.

• (–) Urban Outfitters ($URBN) -11% after the retailer lowered its guidance thanks to tariff impact.

Private Dealmaking

• HD Hyundai Heavy Industries agreed to buy HD Hyundai Mipo for $5.5 billion

• CrowdStrike agreed to buy Onum for $290 million

• Wugen, a developer of off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapies, raised $115 million

• Iantrek, a surgical solution developer for glaucoma, raised $42 million

• M0, a platform for creating application-specific stablecoins, raised $40 million

• InstaLILY, an AI assistant for industrials, raised $25 million

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

BOOK OF THE DAY

Apocalypse

Description: A masterfully woven narrative that reframes humanity’s greatest cataclysms—not as endings, but as turning points. Through vivid storytelling and cutting-edge archaeology, Lizzie Wade explores how past disasters—from the fall of the Old Kingdom in Egypt to the Black Death—sparked resilience, innovation, and new societal possibilities. An urgent reminder that—and how—we survive, adapt, and rebuild.

Rating: 
Amazon 4.2 / 5
Goodreads 3.7 / 5

Book Length: 320 pages
Audible Length: 10 hrs 10 mins

Ideal For: History lovers, futurists, environmental thinkers, and anyone curious about what cataclysmic events can teach us about collective rebirth and transformation.

“This book upended my understanding of the ancient world… the best kind of history: vibrant and vital.” — Zoë Schlanger

DAILY VISUAL

Nvidia Data Center Revenue

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You’ll also receive an exclusive briefing on the coin their analysts consider the most promising in today’s market. The book is complimentary; readers simply cover the cost of shipping.

DAILY ACUMEN

Asymmetry

The greatest fortunes on Wall Street come from asymmetric bets: limited downside, outsized upside.

Life offers the same trades every day, but most people don’t see them.

Sending a cold email risks nothing but pride; answering could unlock a decade of opportunity.

Speaking up in a meeting risks minor embarrassment; staying quiet costs compounding reputation.

The math is obvious, yet we overweight the small downside and ignore the massive upside.

The irony? Asymmetry rewards the one thing most fear—exposure.

To play the game, you must risk being seen.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Short Squeez Picks

• A “personal brand” is the cheat code for quieter professionals at work

• How to deliver bad news without losing your team

• The science of a pep talk 

• Your smartphone camera can do way more than selfies 

• Boost your presence at work, even when you’re on screen

MEME-A-PALOOZA

Memes of the Day

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