🏚 Home-wrecking results

The DIY blues dented Lowe's forecast | Shipping's shaking containers | [TOGETHER WITH]( Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for May 24th in 3:13 minutes. 🌎 Making money at the world’s expense is so last century. Join Fennel’s Daniel Naim for [The ESG Revolution: Investing With Purpose]( on June 8th, and find out how your shareholder power can drive some twenty-first-century changes. [Get your free ticket]( Today's big stories - Lowe’s followed in Home Depot’s footsteps and took a hammer to its outlook - This quiet industry is poised to boom with the AI revolution – [Read Now]( - Global container production is slumping, as trade continues to flounder Lowe And Behold [Lowe And Behold] What’s going on here? Lowe’s [took]( a hacksaw to its yearly forecast on Tuesday – a move that didn’t surprise observers. What does this mean? Home Depot’s recent sorry performance gave investors a clue that something had gone awry in the DIY world, and Lowe’s fate has driven the point home. Granted, the companies’ stories weren’t totally identical last quarter: Lowe’s managed to outperform analysts’ sales predictions, after all, while Home Depot clocked up a near-record miss. But the overarching narratives were eerily similar: as customers tighten their purse strings, discretionary spending has taken a backseat to increasingly costly essentials – and the home renovation boom triggered by the pandemic has truly fizzled out. That’s not exactly the stuff of home-improvement fairy tales, so Lowe’s followed in Home Depot’s footsteps, pruning its sales and profit forecasts for the year. Why should I care? For markets: Bad, but not worst. Lowe’s stock actually jumped after the announcement, probably because its update wasn’t as grim as its competitor’s. See, Lowe’s cut less from its forecast than Home Depot did, and the firm’s more effective cost control meant it was better than its rival at maintaining profit margins. Lowe’s professional business segment continued to flourish too – and pro customers are known to visit more often, spend more, and stick around, making them the ultimate retail trifecta. Put it all together, then, and you’re a step closer to understanding why Lowe’s stock has outperformed Home Depot’s by 10% this year. The bigger picture: Building confidence. Despite the rough patch, Lowe’s seems hopeful about its long-term outlook – and that confidence could be well-founded. Data out last week [showed]( that homebuilder sentiment is warming up for the first time in almost a year, with a lack of homes spurring construction hopes. If that trend continues, demand for home improvement goods could flower once again, turning Lowe’s current gloom into a high bloom over time. You might also like: [Here's how to decide whether it's better to rent a home or buy one outright.]( Copy to share story: [/lowe-and-behold]( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Lowe And Behold&utm_campaign=daily-global-24-05-2023&utm_source=email) Analyst Take This Might Be The Most Overlooked AI Investing Play Out There [This Might Be The Most Overlooked AI Investing Play Out There]( By Russell Burns, Analyst When it comes to investing themes, [artificial intelligence]( is – without question – the latest and greatest. AI is poised to disrupt and remake companies across entire sectors – heaping a huge number of [opportunities right at your feet](. Some of the earliest (and [potentially most overlooked]() opportunities are likely to come from the data center industry. That’s today’s Insight: [an under-the-radar play on the massive AI investing theme.]( [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY SELINA Digital nomads are taking over – and you can invest in their future Fluorescent lighting and standing desks are old news: nowadays, hot shots [work from the beach](. And sure, they might have had to put up with shoddy wifi and overpriced rent when the [remote-working movement]( first picked up during the pandemic, but not anymore. [Selina](, the [digital-nomad-focused hospitality firm](, is transforming properties around the world into lush, [photo-worthy pads]( with all the tech trimmings like working space and decent wifi. The innovator has a sweet [business model](: doing all the [heavy lifting in-house]( means it can cut down on costs, and [a strong focus on ESG]( will likely strengthen the brand now and in the future. As more fed-up city dwellers swap subways for sunshine rays, [newly public Selina]( should reap the rewards. And if you’re fired up by that potential, you can [find out more on Selina right here](. [Find Out More]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. Boxed In [Boxed In] What’s going on here? Recent data suggests that global container production, once experiencing roomy growth, has now found itself in a tight spot. What does this mean? Just yesterday, it seems, shipping giants were scrambling for containers, thanks to a pandemic-induced crunch and simultaneously roaring demand. But now the pendulum has swung back: demand for goods has plunged off the proverbial cliff, leaving port owners playing real-life Tetris in a bid to store their record glut of unused boxes. Naturally, that’s seen container production take a nosedive: data from a maritime consultancy showed the number of 20-foot containers (the industry standard) fell a chunky 71% last quarter from the year before, dropping to around 300,000. And the outlook isn’t sunny going ahead, either: Maersk, one of the world’s biggest shipping behemoths, has paused dry container production till at least 2024. Why should I care? The bigger picture: Headwinds and countercurrents. This container crunch mirrors the current state of trade and – by extension – the whole global economy right now. After all, the World Trade Organization expects this slump to be around for at least the rest of the year, and recent economic indicators seem to agree. Data out Tuesday showed a measure of eurozone business activity missed expectations and fell to a three-month low in May, weighed down by the flagging manufacturing sector. And while the IMF now [thinks]( that calm-and-carrying-on Brits might dodge a recession, that doesn't mean they're in for an economic boom anytime soon. Zooming out: Digital docking station. As shipping fortunes ebb, port businesses are anchoring their hopes in automation. And China – a formidable player in global shipping – is leading the charge, already [automating]( an increasing number of dock operations. The US isn’t just watching from the shoreline, though: it’s [nudging]( the American industry to follow suit. With any luck, then, this digital transformation could offset costs and help better weather any future pandemic-style blasts. You might also like: [Black Swan events are coming. Here's how to be ready.]( Copy to share story: [/boxed]( 🙋 [Ask a question](mailto:questions@finimize.com?body=Ask us a question: Where are you writing from? Let us know and we'll mention it when we reply.&noapp=true&subject=Boxed In&utm_campaign=daily-global-24-05-2023&utm_source=email) 💬 Quote of the day "Knowledge is power, if you know it about the right person." – Ethel Watts Mumford (an American author) [Tweet this]( SPONSORED BY CME GROUP Your toolbox looks tired If you’re an active trader, you might feel like you’ve exhausted [sources, tools, and opportunities](. So even though there’s an endless stream of new ideas out there, sometimes it just feels like too much rigmarole to find them. So again and again, you bring out the old bag of tricks. If that sounds like you, [CME’s Active Trader page]( might be worth a gander: brimming with the guidance you need to figure out [futures trading](, it could help you add new tools to your kit. You can use [CME’s economic events calendar]( and [FedWatch tool]( to navigate the most important market events so you’re never caught off guard, and use its [watchlist to get the lay of the land](. And if you want to give it a spin without risking anything, you can try out your existing or newly freshened-up strategies with [CME’s Trading Simulator](. [Take your first steps]( and focus on the methods and risks of futures trading, with [CME’s free downloadable trade plan](. DisclaimerCME Group futures are not suitable for all investors and involve the risk of loss. Copyright © 2023 CME Group Inc. [Find Out More]( When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. 🌍 Finimize Live 🥳 Coming Up In The Next Week... All events in UK time. 🚀 [A Guide To Prop Trading](: 5pm, May 25th 3️⃣ [Three Reasons To Invest In Crypto Right Now](: 5pm, 30th May 👀 And After That... 💥 [A Guide To Impact Investing 2.0](: 1pm, June 1st 🌎 [The ESG Revolution: Investing with Purpose](: 6pm, June 8th 🙋‍♀️ [Finimize Ladies Investing Club](: 6.30pm, July 13th 🎉 [Modern Investor Summit 2023](: 12pm, December 5th and 6th 🎯 On Our Radar 1. “I just like living.” The oldest woman in Ireland says that savoring life is the secret to [extending it](. 2. Seeing the world backward. A civil-war bullet wound left this Spanish soldier with [strange, reversed vision](. 3. Science fair superstar. This student's [high-school project]( could wind up saving lives. 4. The hustle generation. Almost half of money-worried Gen Z [have got side jobs](. 5. Millions and billions. That’s how many T. Rex dinos might once have [roamed our planet](. ❤️ Share with a friend Thanks for reading {NAME}. 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