🛍️ Hot discount summer

…and private buyers hit the mall (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) The fleet is coming   Sponsored by Yesterday's market moves Dow Jones 40,954 (+1.85%) S&P 500 5,667 (+0.64%) Nasdaq 18,509 (+0.20%) Bitcoin $64,524 (-0.47%) Dow Jones 40,954 (+1.85%) S&P 500 5,667 (+0.64%) Nasdaq 18,509 (+0.20%) Bitcoin $64,524 (-0.47%) Hey Snackers, “Hamster Kombat,” a game that involves repeatedly tapping on a digital hamster to earn rewards, gained [20M subscribers]( to its YouTube channel in a month. Most videos are subtitled in Russian and the game’s creator is unknown. Some have joked it’s the CIA. The Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs yesterday, and the market rally is spreading beyond America’s largest companies: the Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks has [outperformed](, gaining 3.5% yesterday alone.   BUY-IN [Amazon Prime Day sales soar as America’s biggest retailers deal out discounts]( Primed to spend… Amazon’s yearly sales blowout wraps up tonight, and early data suggests it could be a banger. In its first seven hours, Prime Day — the two-day discount event for Amazon Prime subscribers — saw sales [up 12%]( compared to the same time last year, according to data from Momentum Commerce (which oversees Amazon sales for 50 brands including Crocs and Lego). Amazon had said the first day of last year’s Prime event was its biggest sales day ever. - Primordial: Prime Day, which launched in 2015, is aimed at pulling in new subscribers who pay $139/year for “free” shipping and other perks like streaming. Amazon Prime was said to have 180M US subs as of March, up 8% on the year. - Speed strains: A US Senate probe this week said that Prime Day has been a “major cause” of worker injuries (picture: sprained muscles, herniated disks). It’s a hot discount summer… and everyone wants in. US retailers like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy all planned their own July sales events to [compete]( with Amazon’s. And as consumers hunt for deals, retailers are pushing back-to-school discounts while kids are still at summer camp. The rising Prime tide is lifting all shipping: online sales (not just from Amazon) are expected to total $14B over the course of the Prime Day promo. Overall, retail purchases were up 0.4% last month ([excluding]( car sales). THE TAKEAWAY Beating inflation starts at the top… After years of sticky inflation, some of America’s largest retailers (like: Walgreens, Walmart, Target) have announced plans to slash prices. That may be contributing to cooling inflation: US consumer prices fell last month — the first monthly price decline since the start of the pandemic. Fed Chair Powell said he’s confident inflation’s easing, and the Fed suggested it wouldn’t necessarily wait until it hits its 2% target to cut rates. [Read this online]( Sponsored by Sector SPDR ETFs Evolving media consumption could impact all communication services companies. Why continue to take single stock risk? [The Communication Services Sector ETF (XLC)]( provides investors access to the communication services stocks in the S&P 500, all encapsulated within a single security. Why continue to take on the risk of single stock exposure, when you can own the entire communication services sector of the S&P 500? Learn more about the [Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC](. Advertiser's disclosures: All ETFs are subject to risk, including possible loss of principal. Sector ETF products are also subject to sector risk and non-diversification risk, which will result in greater price fluctuations than the overall market. An investor should consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus, which contains this and other information, call 1-866-SECTOR-ETF (866-732-8673) or visit [www.sectorspdrs.com](. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc., a registered broker-dealer, is the distributor for the Select Sector SPDR Trust. Sponsored by Sector SPDR ETFs Evolving media consumption could impact all communication services companies. Why continue to take single stock risk? [The Communication Services Sector ETF (XLC)]( provides investors access to the communication services stocks in the S&P 500, all encapsulated within a single security. Why continue to take on the risk of single stock exposure, when you can own the entire communication services sector of the S&P 500? Learn more about the [Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC](. Advertiser's disclosures: All ETFs are subject to risk, including possible loss of principal. Sector ETF products are also subject to sector risk and non-diversification risk, which will result in greater price fluctuations than the overall market. An investor should consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus, which contains this and other information, call 1-866-SECTOR-ETF (866-732-8673) or visit [www.sectorspdrs.com](. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.ALPS Portfolio Solutions Distributor, Inc., a registered broker-dealer, is the distributor for the Select Sector SPDR Trust.   Off-Rack [Macy’s shuts down private buyout talks even as its mall-staple rivals get scooped up]( Cancel the parade… Investing firms Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management won’t be celebrating buying Macy’s after the Bloomingdale’s owner [turned down]( the pair’s $6.9B acquisition bid. The firms have been courting Macy’s for seven months, upping their proposed price twice. But the department store — which last year reported its lowest sales in nearly two decades (excluding 2020) — still deflated the firms’ hopes like last year’s Thanksgiving balloons. Macy’s stock fell 15% on Monday after the news. - Hostile: Macy’s called the decision “unanimous,” despite two of its board seats being Arkhouse-backed (the firm tried to take over its board and force an acquisition). - Bogo no-go: Macy’s said the firms didn’t provide an “actionable” plan. Critics said the buyout would’ve squeezed value out of the retailer (think: selling off stores) at the expense of long-term growth. Department stores’ massive sale… of themselves. Private-equity firm Rhône Capital will soon be the lead investor in Saks Global (the recent merger of Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus), and Nordstrom is reportedly putting out feelers for a PE deal. In theory, private buyers snatch up companies with rocky performance to try to boost their profitability. But sometimes they scrap retailers for parts, deeming components like real estate more valuable than the core biz. Critics argue this “vulture capitalism” is what shut down thousands of Sears and Toys “R” Us stores. THE TAKEAWAY Change starts on the inside… Real-estate-focused Arkhouse denied critics’ claims that it would gut and sell Macy’s stores. But the retailer’s still shunning outside aid, instead planning a turnaround on its own terms that concentrates on smaller stores and luxury goods. Private buyouts have been an option of last resort for mall staples that lost sales to ecomm giants like Amazon, but Macy’s is betting it can make its own miracle on 34th Street. [Read this online](   ON SHERWOOD Getty Images [Something has gone terribly wrong with dating apps]( Whether it’s problems adding users, making money, or keeping up momentum, Tinder, Bumble, and others are scrambling to transform their businesses. [Read More.](   What else we're Snackin' - [Cat&Mouse](: Thousands of Disney’s internal Slack messages were leaked in a hack, compromising Mickey’s confidential plans. US data breaches hit a record last year, and 82% involved data stored in the cloud. - [Dunk](: New Balance signed a multiyear deal to become an official WNBA partner. As b-ball stars like Caitlin Clark attract millions of fans, women's-sports merch has become an estimated $4B market in the US. - [Cap](: The White House announced a plan to cap rent-price hikes at 5% annually for the next two years (by withholding tax breaks from landlords with 50+ rental units). US rents spiked 30% from 2019 to 2023, outpacing wage growth. - [Luxe](: As China's consumer spending cools, luxury brands are feeling the chill. Cartier parent Richemont saw China sales drop 27% in Q1 and German fashion house Hugo Boss cut its full-year sales forecast. - [Veep](: Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, reportedly said last year that he owned between $100K and $250K of bitcoin. In Q2, Trump got [$3M]( in crypto donations, a fraction of his $330M+ total haul.   Snack Fact of the Day [35% of US workers last year did at least some work from home on an average day](   Wednesday - Federal Reserve “Beige Book” released - World Emoji Day - Earnings expected from Johnson & Johnson, ASML Holding, Elevance Health, Ally Financial, Prologis, Synchrony, US Bancorp, Citizens Financial Group, Northern Trust, United Airlines, Alcoa, Discover Financial Services, and Equifax Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of Amazon, Disney, and Walmart   [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [Sherwood Logo](sherwood.news) Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... 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