🍋 Powell's Popularity Wavers

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"If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if Trump is coming back on this platform, Twitter would be minting money!"  — Elon Musk

Good Morning! As job cuts begin, Ford is offering its underperforming staff members the choice to either accept a severance package or enroll in a performance plan. Eurozone  inflation hit 10.7% in October as its economies slow down. 

Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase knocked $10 billion off his net worth, but at least he wants to resurrect Vine. Halloween candy was the most expensive it’s been since 1999. And the Dow had its best month in almost 50 years - the index closed October up 14%.

1. Story of the Day: Powell's Popularity Wavers

Jerome Powell has been a popular guy over the past few years in Washington and on Wall Street. But that could all change as job losses are set to rise with the Fed continuing its war against inflation.

JPow became chair of the Fed in 2018. Bloomberg called him “Wall Street’s Head of State” after he successfully guided the economy through the pandemic. 

But it’s not just the elite who love him. Powell has also boosted popularity with ordinary Americans - he speaks to how economic developments impact all Americans in a plain-spoken manner.

But the Fed is now laser-focused on getting inflation under control. The cost is likely both financial and economic pain as the economy slows down. Most economists think the worst is still yet to come - many anticipate a recession next year.

The Fed is expected to raise interest rates another three-quarters of a percentage point tomorrow. Experts are beginning to question Powell’s approach. Some think the Fed is moving too fast and isn’t giving itself time to see how its decisions will impact the economy.

Takeaway: Jerome Powell’s popularity is tanking as economists, investors, and even ordinary Americans debate whether hiking interest rates is worth the costs. As supply chain issues smooth out and consumer spending slows, experts worry that more jobs than necessary will be cut at the expense of taming inflation.

While signs point to the Fed slowing down rate hikes, JPow doesn’t want to be the guy to throw away four decades of price stability and is likely all-in on fighting inflation. No matter what the Fed decides to do on Wednesday and in the coming months, the markets may be in for another roller-coaster of a year in 2023.

2. Markets Rundown

If you want access to Wall Street insider interviews, industry deep-dives, and investment ideas, check out our Insiders newsletter.

Stocks closed lower to end October as investors await Wednesday's Fed meeting.

Movers & Shakers

  • (+) First Solar ($FSLR) +10% as company continues to chart growth, even after 60% rally YTD.

  • (–) Meta ($META) -6% as the stock's bloodbath continues and shareholders call Zuckerberg 'tone-deaf'.

  • (–) TuSimple ($TSP) -46% after the company fired its CEO.

Private Dealmaking

  • Blackstone will buy a 55% stake in Emerson Electric for $14 billion

  • Solugen, a green chemicals manufacturer, raised $200 million

  • Versa Networks, a secure access service platform, raised $120 million

  • HealthJoy, an employee health benefits platform, raised $60 million

  • OTI Lumionics, a consumer electronics manufacturer, raised $55 million

  • Canary Technologies, a software platform for hotels, raised $30 million

Top Reads

  • Twitter to lay off 25% of workers in first round of job cuts (Reuters)

  • October’s stock market rally is on shaky ground (YF)

  • JPMorgan Chase unveils payment platform for landlords and tenants (CNBC)

  • The Great Resignation is cooling off (Axios)

  • Twitter is a startup again, I guess (TC)

  • Self-driving truck startup TuSimple fires CEO over improper ties allegations (CNBC)

  • Despite ferocious October rally, more losers than winners on Wall Street (CNN)

  • Private equity’s antitrust future (Axios)

  • How economists missed the mark on inflation (MW)

  • End of Fed’s tightening could be near (YF)

A Message from from Green Revolution Reports

This tech company's new platform will be the "first of its kind" in the medical green leaf field.

It recently announced an agreement to acquire 100% ownership of another company which holds the patent pending intellectual property for a therapeutic device that uses low concentrations of C-B-D oils, such as hemp seed oil and other natural oils, to treat certain women's health issues.

4. Book of the Day: Virtual Society

The concept of “the metaverse” has exploded in the public consciousness, but its contours remain elusive. Is it merely an immersive virtual reality playground, one that Facebook and other platforms will angle to control? Is it simply the next generation of massive multiplayer online games? Or is it something more revolutionary?

As pioneering technologist Herman Narula shows, the metaverse is the latest manifestation of an ancient human tendency: the act of worldbuilding. 

From the Egyptians, whose conception of death inspired them to build the pyramids, to modern-day sports fans, whose passion for a game inspires extreme behavior, humans have long sought to supplement their day-to-day lives with a rich diversity of alternative experiences.

Bloomberg Intelligence recently predicted that the metaverse will become an $800 billon industry by 2024. But its implications, argues Narula, will lead to far more awe-inspiring possibilities than a spigot of cash. 

The arrival of the metaverse marks the beginning of a new age of exploration—not outward, but inward—with the potential to reshape society and open the door to a new understanding of the human species and its capabilities.

“This metaverse is going to be far more pervasive and powerful than anything else. If one central company gains control of this, they will become more powerful than any government and be a god on Earth.”

5. Short Squeez Picks

What Else to Read - The Donut: No outrage. No bias. No sensationalism. Just. News.

Oh, and humor… there’s definitely humor – prodigious wit, even! But what else would you expect from a free personalized newsletter with 70,000 daily readers called “The DONUT”? Well, maybe a certain pastry of some kind. But we’ve got something even sweeter….

Quick, nonpartisan, trustworthy, and easy-to-understand news that’s actually enjoyable to read. We weed through all the bias and negativity so you can save time, stay informed, and even be entertained. And who knows? You may even learn a thing or two.

6. Daily Visual: EuroZone Inflation Mooning

Monthly change in consumer prices from a year ago

Source: Axios

7. Daily Acumen: Creating a Brand

Warren Buffett, in a rare 1972 letter on creating a brand:

"People are going to be affected not only by how our candy tastes, but obviously, by what they hear about it from others as well as the "retailing environment" in which it appears. 

The latter includes the class of store, the method of packaging, the condition in which it appears, and the surrounding merchandise. 

Just as the New Yorker creates a different "editorial environment" for a Lord & Taylor ad than does the Village Voice, so do the surroundings in which our candy is offered affect potential customers' mental - and even gastronomical - impression of our quality.

It should be very hard to get, available only periodically, and then (to the consumer) apparently only in limited quantities."

Source: Warren Buffet

8. Crypto Corner

9. Memes of the Day

 

 

 

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