Good Morning! A global stock rout pushed Wall Street's fear gauge to a four-year high over worries that the US economy could be falling into a recession. Japan’s Nikkei logged its worst day since 1987 Black Monday crash. While an August stock dip is normal, investors are cautioned against buying the dip. Buffett dumped half his Apple stake, and Chevron dumped California for Texas after 145 years. Plus interest rates are already falling and how Intel went from Silicon Valley darling to disaster.

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_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

IB Analyst Wins Olympic Gold

While you may have been downing Aperol Spritz with your friends this weekend, Justin Best was at the Paris Olympics winning gold medal for his country.

Justin is a 3^rd year analyst at Union Square Advisors, a tech-focused investment bank based in San Francisco. It’s the first US gold in a rowing category in 60 years.

Best won gold in the coxless men's four event, a 2,000-meter race involving boats with four rowers and no steering captain. This is his first Olympic medal, though he previously competed in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where he finished in fourth place.

Despite working in one the most grueling jobs out of college, Best managed to balance his career with his with his intense training schedule, demonstrating exceptional time management and dedication.

Best's daily routine was rigorous, starting with early morning training sessions, followed by a full workday at the office, and concluding with another round of training in the evening. He credits his success to maintaining a structured to-do list, efficient work habits, and clear communication with his bosses.

Union Square Advisors also played a crucial role in supporting Best's dual career. The boutique investment bank, known for its supportive culture and rowing tradition, provided the flexibility needed for Best to train and compete at the highest level.

Looking ahead, Best plans to take a year off from rowing to focus on his career, including obtaining his Series-7 certification. He hopes more companies will support athletes with Olympic ambitions, particularly those in sports with fewer financial opportunities.

Takeaway: Best's story is a testament to determination. Winning an Olympic gold while working as an investment banking analyst showcases unparalleled grit, discipline, and dedication. Justin Best, take a bow—and maybe take a nap, you've earned it!

_{PRESENTED BY BILL}

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Global stock rout deepens (CNBC)

• Japan’s Nikkei logs worst day since 1987 Black Monday crash (CNBC)

• U.S. economy adds 114,000 jobs in July, unemployment rate spikes (Axios)

• Berkshire sells half its Apple stake (CNBC)

• Jobs report stokes fears Fed may have waited too long (YF)

• Strategists urge caution on buying the dip (CNBC)

• Olympics draw new investments to niche sports and women’s teams (CNBC)

• Chevron dumps California for Texas after 145 years (YF)

• Interest rates are already falling (Axios)

• Intel was once a Silicon Valley leader. How did it fall so far? (Vox)

• Hedge fund investor appetite hit by high fees, private credit (Reuters)

• Nvidia faces DOJ antitrust probe (Axios)

• How an Elon Musk PAC is using voter data to help Trump (CNBC)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed lower because investors worry the Fed waited too long to cut rates.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Vsee Health ($VSEE) +75% after the company announced it developed a robot to help ICU patients. 

• (–) Intel ($INTC) -26% after announcing a massive restructuring.

• (–) Snap ($SNAP) -27% because the social media platform lowered its full-year guidance.

Private Dealmaking

• Level AI, a customer service task automation startup, raised $39.4 million

• Addonics, a battery tech startup, raised $39 million

• PQShield, a cryptography startup, raised $37 million

• QA Wolf, a software debugging startup, raised $36 million

• Relay, a business banking platform, raised $32.2 million

• Sword Health, a physical therapy hardware, raised $30 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

American Flannel

For decades, clothing manufacture was a pillar of U.S. industry. But beginning in the 1980s, Americans went from wearing 70 percent domestic-made apparel to almost none. Even the very symbol of American freedom and style—blue jeans—got outsourced. With offshoring, the nation lost not only millions of jobs but also crucial expertise and artistry.

Dismayed by shoddy imported “fast fashion”—and unable to stop dreaming of re-creating a favorite shirt from his youth—Bayard Winthrop set out to build a new company, American Giant, that would swim against this trend. New York Times reporter Steven Kurutz, in turn, began to follow Winthrop’s journey.

He discovered other trailblazers as well, from the “Sock Queen of Alabama” to a pair of father-son shoemakers and a men’s style blogger who almost single-handedly drove a campaign to make “Made in the USA” cool.

Eye-opening and inspiring, American Flannel is the story of how a band of visionaries and makers are building a new supply chain on the skeleton of the old and wedding old-fashioned craftsmanship to cutting-edge technology and design to revive an essential American dream.

“The little-engine-that-could story of how a band of scrappy entrepreneurs are reviving the enterprise of manufacturing clothing in the United States.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

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_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Djokovic on Discipline

How much discipline? In January 2012, I beat Nadal in the finals of the Australian Open.

The match lasted five hours and fifty-three minutes—the longest match in Australian Open history, and the longest Grand Slam singles final in the Open Era.

Many commentators have called that match the single greatest tennis match of all time.

After I won, I sat in the locker room in Melbourne.

I wanted one thing: to taste chocolate. I hadn’t tasted it since the summer of 2010. Miljan brought me a candy bar. I broke off one square—one tiny square—and popped it into my mouth, let it melt on my tongue.

That was all I would allow myself. That is what it has taken to get to number one.

Novak Djokovic, Serve To Win: Novak Djokovic’s life story with diet, exercise and motivational tips

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• How to choose the right productivity method

• 4 leadership strategies from the top CEOs

• Inward wealth and the wealth of the mind

• Debunking the biggest myths about happiness

• Are job interviews failing us?

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day