šŸ‹ Last Out First In

Together With

"The inability to forecast the past has no impact on our desire to forecast the future." ā€” Morgan Housel

Good Morning! Anyone ever tried keeping images off the internet, or away from the cops? Well, it's harder than you thought, as Brian Huseman, Amazon's VP of public policy, admitted the company shares footage from Ring doorbells without permission, occasionally. Don't know if a Ring helps or hurts the value of your home at this point, but home prices fell last month for the first time in 3 years. It was also the largest decline since 2011... With that kind of economic situation at home, investors are scrutinizing the Jackson Hole summit, where Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell, is hopefully going to share some insight into the central bank's interest rate outlook.

If you are looking to reconcile all your investments in one place, check out the Delta Investment Tracker, which lets you manage and track your portfolio so you don't need 10 different spreadsheets anymore.

1. Story of the Day: Last Out First In

Even though the economy doesn't have great optics right now, Americans have been able to find new jobs quickly. This is counterintuitive, especially with companies announcing layoffs, but it's apparently a positive byproduct of the pandemic.

The labor market of the pandemic has resulted in about two open positions for each individual looking for a job. From start ups to big companies making cuts, they have hardly put a dent in the demand out there. According to the Labor Department, in July, the average unemployed worker only had to wait 8.5 weeks for their next gig, compared to 14.4 weeks a year before.

One staffing firm said, "the balance of power is still with the job seeker." It adds up as people unemployed for 5 weeks outnumbered folks unemployed for at least 27 weeks in January. Also, in June the number of open jobs fell to 10.7 million, from a record 11.9 million in March.

Suki Lanh, who was laid off from a fintech startup in July, was worried it would take months before she got a new job. "I was definitely nervous seeing the amount of startups that were laying off folks. I just thought generally it was going to be really difficult to get another job for a while," said Lanh. Well, after posting on LinkedIn two days after losing her job, her inbox was swarming with recruiters.

Short Squeez Takeaway: That's another ball to juggle for the powers that are trying to make decisions to help the economy. It's one that helps the case to let things play out as they are, but that might not necessarily be the best path forward. Given how unique this melting pot of macro inputs is in, who knows what the right product on the other end should look like.

2. Markets Rundown

Equities were up, and crypto was relatively unchanged, as people are preparing for economic data out of Jackson Hole.

Movers & Shakers

  • (+) Snowflake ($SNOW)Ā +23% after beating revenue estimates for the last quarter.

  • (+) Figs ($FIGS)Ā +18% because investor Ron Baron said he's been buying shares of the company and described it as the "Lululemon of health care."

  • (ā€“) Peleton ($PTON)Ā -18% after a bigger than expected loss and slowing revenue announcement for the last quarter.

Private Dealmaking

  • Crypto ATM firm Bitcoin Depot strikes $885 million SPAC deal to go public

  • Lunar Energy, an electrification startup, raised $300 million

  • Atkis Oncology, a cancer biotech startup, raked $84 millionĀ 

  • Carbon Direct, an ESG startup focused on carbon emissions, raised $60 millionĀ 

  • Happy Health, a ā€œsmartā€ ring maker that tracks stress, raised $60 million

  • Petfolk, a vet care startup, raised $40 million

3. Top Reads

  • The Twitter whistleblower is a bigger threat than Musk ever was (YF)

  • U.S. economy mildly contracted in second quarter, but no sign of recession in underlying data (Reuters)

  • What the hedge funds with the hottest hands are buying and selling (CNBC)

  • The actual ā€˜retail priceā€™ of stock trades with zero commission (YF)

  • Fedā€™s Powell leaves kid gloves behind, saddles up for Jackson Hole (Reuters)

  • Zoom boom meets doom (Axios)

  • What this weekā€™s bond market action says about Jackson Hole (CNBC)

  • Free trading isnā€™t free, but weā€™re still better off (WP)

  • Blackrock, UBS, and 348 ESG funds now ā€œbannedā€ in Texas (Axios)

  • Risk of financial accidents presents opportunity for investors (CNBC)

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4. Book of the Day: Eloquence

Why do people ignore our ideas or support them? Agree with our positions or undermine them? Tune out when we speak or give us undivided attention?

Why do most of us fail to persuade others? Fail to formulate convincing arguments? Fail to speak with confidence and fail to get our way?

And why do some lawyers and legal professionals quickly soar above the competition, their words carrying immense weight, while others struggle to communicate effectively?

53 little-known, cutting-edge, and revolutionary (but practically unheard-of) scientific studies present a virtually unknown answer based on irrefutable empirical evidence...

The answer? If you can't speak with eloquence, your words don't count. This undermines your professional image and stagnates your career, holding you back and sabotaging your ideas.

Eloquent words outperform their weak counterparts. Eloquent words convince. They compel. They captivate. They persuade. They move hearts and minds. And they can change the world.

ā€œIf you can't speak with eloquence, your words don't count."

5. Short Squeez Picks

  • When staying neutral backfires

  • The right way to vent at work

  • Why rent in NYC is worth it right now

  • 3 types of burnout, and how to overcome them

What Else To Read

If you love getting Short Squeez (which we'll assume you do), you must value getting crisp insights and actionable intel without all the BS.

The Daily Upside, founded by a team of bankers and journalists, is another great newsletter for big-brained readers. Built with investors in mind, The Daily Upside is packed with heavy-hitting analysis and stories you simply wonā€™t find elsewhere.

Itā€™s the perfect addition to your media diet, striking that elusive balance of gravitas and wit. Thereā€™s a reason 700,000+ readers start their days with The Daily Upside. Ā Sign up for free here.

6. Daily Visual: Rising Suburban Rent Closes Gap on Urban Rent

Source: Axios

7. Daily Acumen: Think Outside the Box

ā€œIn 2009, a Stanford business professor:

- Split her class into 14 teams

- Gave each team $5 and 2 hours

- Told them to get as much ROI as possible

- Said theyā€™d give a presentation after finishing

Hereā€™s how it went down.

Most of the losing teams tried to flip items.

They bought something for $5 at a store, sold it for $8 on the street, and went on like that.

Their ROI was minimal.

One team got more creative.

They realized that the $5 was mostly a distraction, so they just thought of ways to make money in 2 hours.

They ended up making reservations at a restaurant and selling them to people who didnā€™t want to wait in line.

Their ROI was a bit better.

The winning team got even more creative.

They didnā€™t just realize that the $5 was mostly a distraction.

They also realized that there was a valuable asset hidden in the challenge:

The presentation time.

This realization led to them reaching out to local companies offering the 3-minute slot as ad space.

After some negotiation, they closed a deal for $650.

That's an ROI of 12,900%.

They were the winners of the challenge, and it wasnā€™t close.ā€

Source: Hassan W Bhatti

8. Crypto Corner

9. Memes of the Day

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