👋 WeWork filed for bankruptcy

WeWork's debt became too much to handle | Luxury watch retailer Watches of Switzerland showed off its style | [Finimize](   TOGETHER WITH   Hi {NAME}, here's what you need to know for November 8th in 3:12 minutes.   🍳 Finimized over a full English breakfast at [Norman's Cafe]( in London, UK (8°C/46°F 🌤) Today's big stories - WeWork filed for bankruptcy - Put these three things together, and you’ve got the makings of a stock rally – [Read Now]( - Second-hand Rolex watches helped Watches of Switzerland tick off strong results WeDon’t Work [WeDon’t Work] What’s going on here? WeWork filed for bankruptcy, serving as a stark reminder of the importance of doing business within your means. What does this mean? Once the darling of the startup world, WeWork was revolutionizing office work, boasting office spaces on every desirable street and a valuation of $47 billion. But the company was soon weighed down by colossal losses and its disaster of an initial public offering. Stir in increasingly pricey leases and the habit-changing effects of the work-from-home movement, and WeWork ended up laden with debts verging on $19 billion and profit firmly in the red. Now the company – once the biggest office tenant in Manhattan – has been forced to file for bankruptcy. Mind you, that’s not necessarily the final curtain. The bankruptcy filing could allow WeWork to shed its expensive, hard-to-cancel, cumbersome contracts at a lower cost, clearing space for a major shake-up. In fact, the firm’s already worked out restructuring deals with its creditors, trading mountains of debt for stakes in the reorganized company. Why should I care? For markets: Not the first, not the last. WeWork’s the most infamous failure in the commercial property industry, but the firm has plenty of company. After the pandemic triggered a seismic shift in working patterns, office spaces cleared out. And with today’s ramped-up interest rates, it’s more expensive for businesses to pay rent. That combination has already crumbled coworking companies, forcing Knotel and subsidiaries of IWG to file for bankruptcy in 2021 and 2020 respectively. The bigger picture: The heydays are over. WeWork once epitomized the allure of charismatic entrepreneurs, hailed for using cutting-edge tech and visionary strategies to transform traditionally mundane industries. After all, charm and ambition can attract investors on the lookout for high risk and high reward when money’s cheap, maybe even bringing in the coveted “unicorn” status. But you can’t compete without solid financial foundations – especially now interest rates have made it prohibitively expensive to access extra cash. You might also like: [Commercial real estate is on shaky ground, so here’s what you need to know](. Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [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=WeDon’t Work&utm_campaign=daily-global-08-11-2023&utm_source=email) Analyst Take This Rally Seemed To Come Out Of Nowhere. It Didn’t. [This Rally Seemed To Come Out Of Nowhere. It Didn’t.]( By Russell Burns, Analyst A great recipe for a [stock market rally]( is to add overly bearish sentiment to overly bearish positioning, and then stir in a catalyst. That’s what happened last week, as that pessimistic blend came together with fresh hopes that [interest rates had peaked](. The mixer went down smoothly – it was the market’s [best week all year](. That’s today’s Insight: [what market sentiment and positioning suggest about what’s next, and where an AI tool would tell you to invest](. [Read or listen to the Insight here]( SPONSORED BY WINECHAIN Rich, smooth, and timeless Fine wine is one of the most luxurious purchases you could possibly make. And hey, it can make [a decent investment]( too. The right collection can stand the test of time, building value as the bottles gather dust. (That’s right: no sneaky sips for you.) With [WineChain](, you can start a collection even if you don’t have a free basement and a sommelier’s degree. The platform sources, stores, and ships the bottles for you. What’s more, the platform’s [wines are picked out by one of Europe’s best sommeliers](, and come with digital tokens proving their authenticity. There’s never been a better time to start checking out wine: you can [get a $295 concierge service for free in your first year, and 15% cashback if you sign up before November 30th](. [Find Out More]( *[Terms & Conditions apply](. When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. Prime Time [Prime Time] What’s going on here? British luxury watch retailer Watches of Switzerland (WoS) [reported]( stylish results on Tuesday. What does this mean? WoS’s competition toughened up in August, when Rolex snapped up the brand’s rival Bucherer. Straight away, investors worried that Rolex might hold off on supplying WoS with new watches, choosing to stock the competition’s velvet-lined cabinets instead. But WoS proved that not everything has to be shiny and new: second-hand watches flew off the firm’s shelves between April and October, bringing overall sales for the period 5% higher than the same time last year. What's more, WoS confidently stuck to its forecast of doubling sales and profit by 2028. Investors were won over by a future of preloved sales, sending the company’s shares up nearly 10%. Why should I care? For markets: Alternative assets do it beta. Interest rates call the shots for all sorts of investments, with higher rates weighing asset prices down. Beyond that, though, a handful of assets – think art, jewelry, and watches – are also whipped around by market cycles. They’re known as having “high beta”, which simply means they rise and fall more dramatically than the market as a whole. So sure, watch prices have been slipping since last year, but if interest rates let up and the market changes tack, they could be headed for a recovery worth watching. The bigger picture: There’s a time and a place. Luxury accessories are perfect for pulling an outfit together, but they’re far from guaranteed to make you a quick buck. In fact, if you’re looking to resell that pair of Louboutins, it couldn’t really be a worse time. That said, this could be a chance to give your portfolio a makeover for less. European luxury giants like LVMH have seen their stocks dip, and when the economy eventually recovers, they’ll likely make bank from pent-up demand. You might also like: [Why wearing your investments may be a timely idea](. Copy to share story: [( 🙋 [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=Prime Time&utm_campaign=daily-global-08-11-2023&utm_source=email) Despite this economic downturn, [retail investors are optimistic](. Yup, 84% of the hardy bunch we surveyed are planning to invest more or the same as last quarter, with [67% predicting that global stock markets will be higher a year](. And women are bringing out the big guns: [42% of female investors have between $5,000 and 100,000 to invest]( in the next year, and more than a third plan to invest over 11% of their monthly income. See, despite being painted as less confident than male investors, the women we surveyed said that wasn't the case. In fact, [more than three-quarters are fully confident in managing their investments themselves](. If you want the rest of the scoop on how retail investors are trading, you can [grab the full report here](. [Read The Report]( 💬 Quote of the day "If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it." – Charles Kettering (an American inventor and the holder of 186 patents) [Tweet this]( SPONSORED BY OAKLEY CAPITAL INVESTMENTS Private equity: top of the class [Private equity]( has been one of the top-performing asset classes for decades. Over the last five years, the [global private equity benchmark]( has grown at almost double the rate of its public stocks equivalent. While private equity funds are hard to access, [listed private equity]( – listed companies that invest in private funds – can be the gateway to the sector’s performance. [Oakley Capital Investments (OCI)]( is one such company: its five-year 150% share price increase speaks for itself. Private equity can grant investors [greater exposure to fast-growing, new-economy, innovative companies](, most of which are choosing to avoid costly and restrictive public markets. [Find Out More]( DisclaimerPast performance is not a guarantee, projection or prediction and is not necessarily indicative of future results. The ability to achieve successful results depends on a number of factors, and the past performance of the Oakley Funds and the investments on which Oakley Capital Limited has advised may not necessarily be repeated. When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. 🎯 On Our Radar 1. Turns out we know nothing about cats. For starters, they don’t [purr because they’re happy](. 2. AI isn't new. Here's [what investors need to know]( about its evolution – and its future.** 3. Dishwashing is one task that never ends. Make sure you [do it right](. 4. Crypto projects thrive on network effects. Here's [what to look at in a crypto project]( to see how much it’s worth.* 5. Your new best friend is nearly ready. Instagram has been developing [your perfect partner](. Your capital is at risk. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.** When you support our sponsors, you support us. Thanks for that. 🌍 Finimize Live 🥳 Coming Up Soon... 🎉 [Modern Investor Summit 2023](: 12pm, December 5th and 6th (UK time) [Register by midnight on November 20th for a chance to win free flights to the in-person London summit event]( ❤️ Share with a friend Thanks for reading {NAME}. If you liked today's brief, we'd love for you to share it with a friend. You stay classy, {NAME} 😉 We’d love to hear your thoughts. [Give feedback]( Want to advertise with us too? 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