👩‍🚀 SpaceX’s riskiest feat

…and a student-loan servicer gets perma-barred (SpaceX) “Hey — I can see my mansion!”   Presented by Hey Snackers, The country with the lowest birth rate is seeing soaring sales of strollers… for dogs. In South Korea, puppy prams [outnumber]( baby carriages. The government — which declared a demographic national emergency — doesn’t find it cute. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq [rallied]( for a fourth straight day after US producer prices were in line with expectations (up 0.2% last month). Next week all eyes will be on the Fed’s [interest-rate decision](. 🍃 Quiz into fall: Summer’s ending soon, but our [Snacks Seven]( quiz is still coming in hot. Test your biz-news knowledge, starting with the first q: - Campbell Soup, fka The Campbell Soup Company, is changing its name to what? ([Check your answer.]()   INFINITY-AND-ELON [SpaceX completed its riskiest feat yet as it tries to lead the astro industry to Mars]( Getting your pilot’s license is so passé… Billionaires’ new expensive hobby is astronaut training. Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman and three fellow private astronauts yesterday completed the first [commercial spacewalk]( (aka any time astronauts exit the vehicle). Two crew members poked their heads out of the cabin for about 10 minutes each, narrating their experience back to earthlings through a livestream. Isaacman funded the five-day SpaceX mission (“Polaris Dawn”), considered the rocket company’s riskiest mission ever. - Stellar exclusivity: Only 263 people had ever hung out in the big ol’ void before this. Three of the Polaris Dawn crew had previously never been to space — nor had their new SpaceX-developed suits. - Trilogy: Polaris Dawn is the first of three missions (it’s giving “Before Sunrise”) meant to prep SpaceX to eventually head “to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.” One small step for humans… one giant leap for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has prioritized scientific advancements over space-tourism selfies. Other commercial space cos, including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, have taken private citizens to the edge of space for minutes of in-vehicle floating. Before the spacewalk, SpaceX had flown a handful of private citizens to the International Space Station (a trip said to have cost ~$55M/seat). Beyond tourism, SpaceX has been tapped by NASA for help with missions. - BRB: NASA last month enlisted a SpaceX capsule to retrieve two astronauts stranded on the ISS after Boeing’s glitchy craft had to leave them behind. - Billions: NASA awarded SpaceX a $2.9B contract to build a lunar lander in 2021. Bezos’ Blue Origin sued, suggesting more than one company should’ve been included, and NASA last year gave Blue Origin a $3.4B lunar-lander contract. THE TAKEAWAY Shoot for Mars, land on the moon… Musk said he expects that 1M people will be living on the Red Planet in 20 years. His ambitious (experts say unrealistic) timelines may have put booster rockets on the astro industry’s plans to reach distant goals as attention and $$ flood the space. Next stop: NASA plans to land astronauts on the moon again in 2026 — the first time since 1972. [Read this online](   Presented by EnergyX GM Is Investing in This Unlisted Lithium Stock For General Motors to successfully meet its EV target by 2035, they’ll need up to 414,469 tons of lithium per year. That’s why the automaking behemoth led a $50M investment round for [lithium extraction startup EnergyX](. Their [patented tech extracts lithium]( 300% more efficiently than conventional methods – and where modern methods take 12+ months, EnergyX needs just two days. Now, EnergyX has acquired 100,000+ acres of lithium-rich Chilean land and a $5M DOE grant toward a recently announced US lithium plant. The energy storage market could reach $546B by 20351 – and it’s powered by lithium. EnergyX’s plan to produce 65,000 tons per year will help them lead the charge. However, EnergyX is only [accepting shareholders until October 3.](2 Presented by EnergyX GM Is Investing in This Unlisted Lithium Stock For General Motors to successfully meet its EV target by 2035, they’ll need up to 414,469 tons of lithium per year. That’s why the automaking behemoth led a $50M investment round for [lithium extraction startup EnergyX](. Their [patented tech extracts lithium]( 300% more efficiently than conventional methods – and where modern methods take 12+ months, EnergyX needs just two days. Now, EnergyX has acquired 100,000+ acres of lithium-rich Chilean land and a $5M DOE grant toward a recently announced US lithium plant. The energy storage market could reach $546B by 20351 – and it’s powered by lithium. EnergyX’s plan to produce 65,000 tons per year will help them lead the charge. However, EnergyX is only [accepting shareholders until October 3.](2   EXPELLED [The US barred Navient from the student-loan biz as the college-debt debacle drags on]( Payment due… America’s former largest student-loan servicer is being booted out of the college-debt biz. Yesterday a consumer watchdog permanently barred Navient from servicing federal student loans and Navient agreed to pay a $120M [settlement](. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accused the servicer — which in 2017 facilitated $300B+ in federal and private student loans — of failing borrowers by steering them away from affordable repayment plans. Two years ago, Navient reached a ~$1.9B settlement in a related lawsuit from 39 states. - Compounding: The CFPB said Navient pushed customers to delay loan payments through forbearance (when interest keeps accruing). 1.5M+ customers were enrolled in at least two forbearances in a row, creating $4B in additional interest owed. - Already out: Navient exited federal loan servicing in 2021, which lawmakers celebrated. In January, Navient said it would outsource its remaining student-loan portfolio to Mohela this year. IOU confusion… The student-loan repayment system has never been known for its seamless organization, but it’s gotten particularly jumbled lately. 40% of borrowers had their servicers [change]( during the pandemic repayment pause as debtors ditched the industry. When payments restarted in October, borrowers had to deal with incorrect bills, glitchy websites, and long hold times. Adding to the hot mess: President Biden’s relief programs are being held up in court, leaving borrowers in the lurch. - Coming up: The yearlong student loan on-ramp period — which prevented missed payments from being reported to credit agencies — is ending on September 30. THE TAKEAWAY Uncertainty is adding to loan stress… The Biden admin has signed off on $168B of student-loan relief for nearly 5M Americans. But with its larger plan to cancel $400B of student debt struck down by SCOTUS last year, and its current plans stalled in litigation, many of America’s 43M borrowers are fazed and confused. [Read this online](   FROM SHERWOOD Listen to “Tomorrow's” first episode: “The Ultimate Multi-Tool” Joshua Topolsky is reporting live-ish from the Sherwood News Studios to bring “Tomorrow” back to you. Joined by cohost Rani Molla, today’s episode covers the week's two not-so-surprising but definitely newsworthy happenings: 2024’s Apple event and first presidential debate. [Listen on Spotify](.[Listen on Apple Podcasts](.   HOT-COMMODITY The Crypto Catch-Up… 🤔 Sus… The FBI said Americans [lost $5.6B]( last year to crypto scams — up 45% from 2022. The biggest culprit: investment fraud. On Wednesday the CFTC said it would [educate]( investors about “pig butchering” scams, which can involve online romances. 🤖 Techy… Bitcoin-mining difficulty (an industry metric) [hit a record]( high as mining giants like Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms competed for BTC rewards. Despite tightening margins, miners have [been]( investing in more energy-efficient hardware. 📜 Policy… The SEC said eToro, a crypto- and stock-investing platform that the regulator [argued]( was operating as an unregistered broker, would pay a $1.5M fine. eToro will still list ethereum, suggesting the SEC considers the crypto a commodity.   What else we're Snackin' - Warner Bros. Discovery will give most of Charter’s Spectrum TV subscribers [access]( to Max and Discovery+ at no extra charge. - McDonald’s is [reportedly]( rolling out digital-ordering kiosks that accept cash and give change, reducing the need for human cashiers. - Gilead said its twice-a-year shot [reduced]( HIV infections by 96% in a large trial, likely boosting the drug’s chance of FDA approval. - BurgerFi filed for [bankruptcy,]( joining other casual resto chains like Red Lobster and Buca di Beppo, which’ve turned to the Chapter 11 menu. - Kroger’s quarterly sales growth [topped]( estimates as shoppers turned to the chain for grocery deals.   Snack Fact of the Day [So far this year, the most-streamed show in the US is “Bluey”](   Friday - US consumer sentiment Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and ethereum and shares of: Riot Platforms and Warner Bros. Discovery Advertiser's disclosures: 1[“Global battery energy storage market could grow to $546B, says analyst,](” Renewable Energy World, 2020. 2 Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Start-up investments are speculative and involve a high degree of risk. Those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups. Companies seeking startup investment tend to be in earlier stages of development and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. Further, investors may receive illiquid and/or restricted stock that may be subject to holding period requirements and/or liquidity concerns. This is a paid advertisement for EnergyX’s Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the [offering circular]( and [related risks]( at [invest.energyx.com]( DealMaker Securities LLC, a registered broker-dealer, and member of FINRA | SIPC, located at 105 Maxess Road, Suite 124, Melville, NY 11747, is the Intermediary for this offering and is not an affiliate of or connected with the Issuer. Please check our background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.   [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [Sherwood Logo]( 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... [See more]( [Sherwood Terms and Conditions]( [Our Editorial Standards]( [Contact Us](mailto:hello@snacks.robinhood.com) [Advertise With Us](mailto:advertising@sherwoodmedia.com) [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy](