🍟 McDeflation

…and the Fed’s big rate decision [( Mario Tama/Getty Images Hungry for deals   Presented by Hey Snackers, Target’s checking out. The retailer said it would no longer [accept personal checks]( after seeing an “extremely low volume” of folks whipping out their pens. Unfortunately, that was one of the last places we could show off our majestic sea-turtle checkbooks. Friday the 13th wasn’t bad luck for markets: the S&P 500 and Nasdaq clinched their [best week]( of the year as traders upped bets that the Fed would do a jumbo rate cut on Wednesday. ☎️ Quiz me through the phone: Start the week off strong by dialing up your biz-news knowledge with our [Snacks Seven]( quiz. Try the first q: - Campbell Soup, fka The Campbell Soup Company, is changing its name to what? ([Check your answer](.)   LOVIN-IT [McDonald’s doubles down on meal deals as consumers digest cooling prices]( Chicken nuggies… taste better when they’re discounted. McDonald’s last week whetted appetites with news that it would [extend]( its $5 meal deal into December. It’s expected that 80% of its 13.5K US locations would keep slinging the promo (burger, fries, nuggets, drink), which McD’s intro’d in June to lure back cost-conscious consumers. FYI: McDonald’s second-quarter sales fell for the first time in three years as folks [dialed back]( their burger bites. McD’s wasn’t alone in its soggy performance: - Droppin’ deals: As fast-food spending cools, Domino’s, Wendy’s, Dunkin’, Taco Bell, and Burger King have all recently pushed promos (think: $6 breakfast combo). - Cheerless chains: Fast-casual spots BurgerFi, Red Lobster, and Buca di Beppo recently declared bankruptcy. Americans are opting to eat at home more as restaurant inflation outpaces grocery-price growth. Deal or no deal… It’s not just fast food that’s serving up discounts. Retailers including Target, Walmart, and Walgreens have cut prices on thousands of staples like milk, diapers, pet food, and snacks to drum up demand. Earlier this month, Kroger’s CEO promised $1B in price cuts if its planned merger with Albertsons went through. The discounting push from America’s biggest chains may have helped price growth cool across the board: in August, annual inflation dropped to its lowest level since early 2021. And from July to August, online grocery prices fell by the most in a decade, while the cost of staples like bacon, bananas, and bread dipped. THE TAKEAWAY Discounting can have a domino effect… Consumers stomached price hikes for years during the pandemic, but the vibe shifted as “[greedflation](” entered the nation’s vocab. Once America’s largest retailers like Walmart started price slashing, it made it difficult for other national chains not to follow suit. Now, fast foodies are playing catch-up. The discount domino may be having an effect: consumer sentiment popped last month for the first time in five months. [Read this online](   Presented by Atombeam The tech disruptor making machines think faster Space, the final (data) frontier… Data storage has long been a materials problem. Think of the evolution from floppy disks to USBs. [Tech disruptor Atombeam](has a new approach focused on software, with the potential to save billions in hardware costs — and to help companies dodge the looming “datapocalypse” when data storage hits its limit. Up and Atom… Combined, [Atombeam’s AI-backed technologies]( could make machine communication up to 4x faster and potentially more secure — and they’re working with the industry leaders. Current and former customers include the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, and Saab… plus partnerships with industry leaders like NVIDIA, Ericsson, Viasat, and Intel.1 Atombeam’s current investment round is moving fast, with $3M invested in their first week. Don’t miss your chance to [invest in Atombeam at a current price of $8.00/share](.2 1The partnership relationship varies between companies and can include the following: inclusion on a preferred vendor list, invitations to participate in certain forums; listed on the other company's website, and introduction and networking opportunities. Presented by Atombeam The tech disruptor making machines think faster Space, the final (data) frontier… Data storage has long been a materials problem. Think of the evolution from floppy disks to USBs. [Tech disruptor Atombeam](has a new approach focused on software, with the potential to save billions in hardware costs — and to help companies dodge the looming “datapocalypse” when data storage hits its limit. Up and Atom… Combined, [Atombeam’s AI-backed technologies]( could make machine communication up to 4x faster and potentially more secure — and they’re working with the industry leaders. Current and former customers include the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, and Saab… plus partnerships with industry leaders like NVIDIA, Ericsson, Viasat, and Intel.1 Atombeam’s current investment round is moving fast, with $3M invested in their first week. Don’t miss your chance to [invest in Atombeam at a current price of $8.00/share](.2 1The partnership relationship varies between companies and can include the following: inclusion on a preferred vendor list, invitations to participate in certain forums; listed on the other company's website, and introduction and networking opportunities.   EVENTS Coming up this week Pow brings out the scissors?… Traders are betting that the Fed [will trim rates]( on Wednesday for the first time since March 2020 (ICYMI: rates are at a two-decade high). This month, fresh data boosted bets that the Fed’s cut will be more of a snip than a slash (25 basis points versus 50). The jobs report showed that hiring’s slowing, but not in a way that’s particularly concerning. And the consumer-prices report confirmed inflation’s cooling, but is staying sticky in some areas. Still, on Friday, traders upped bets on a double cut, giving it a 45% chance. Waiting for lower mortgage rates like… Lennar, one of America’s biggest home builders, is set to host its earning call on Thursday. In the spring quarter, Lennar nailed an earnings beat after its incentives to buyers helped build up demand: Lennar’s home deliveries and orders both saw double-digit growth, but its average sale price fell 5% (to $426K — still ain’t cheap). Lennar said that high rates and prices have weighed on demand. But Goldman estimated that home prices will climb when the Fed starts cutting rates.   ZOOM OUT Stories we’re watching The AiPhones are coming… Apple’s [AI-infused]( iPhone 16s hit shelves this week as the tech titian turns to AI to fuel upgrades. Apple’s sales fell for five of the past six quarters as demand dipped for phones (which, btw, make up nearly half its revenue). Apple’s first phone designed for genAI has features like AI rewrites, a smarter Siri, and a Google Lens-style search function. While most folks [say they don’t]( buy iPhones for new features (the top reason: their old phone’s outdated), experts forecast the AI lineup could generate record holiday sales for Apple. Staying in their lane… Kroger and Albertsons are still trying their [best]( to merge (they’ve [spent $1B+]( on the effort so far), arguing that they need to combine to compete with Walmart, Amazon, and Costco. But regional grocers like H-E-B in Texas are doing [just fine]( by focusing on existing territory. H-E-B, the US’s fifth-largest private co, is [beloved by Texans]( (it sells $1M of brisket queso dip every week). That loyalty helps local grocers fend off larger rivals: when Walmart expanded into the Lone Star State a decade ago, H-E-B kept its market share.   ON SHERWOOD [But how risky are OpenAI's new models, really?]( Well, they can help experts plan biological threats and they’re really good at tricking people. [Read more](.   What else we're Snackin' - The Biden admin plans to [crack down]( on a loophole Temu and Shein use to ship their products duty-free from China. - The Miami Dolphins are said to be in [talks]( with private-equity investors, who can now own up to 10% of an NFL team. - Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 received FDA [clearance]( to be used as over-the-counter hearing aids.   Snack Fact of the Day [28 NFL quarterbacks are earning at least $10M this season](   This Week - Monday: Empire State Manufacturing Survey for September. 50 days until US presidential election - Tuesday: Fed meeting begins. National Voter Registration Day. Industrial production and retail sales data for August. Home builder confidence index. Earnings expected from Ferguson - Wednesday: Fed’s interest-rate decision; Powell’s press conference. August housing starts. International Equal Pay Day. Earnings expected from General Mills - Thursday: Weekly jobless claims. August existing-home sales. Earnings expected from Darden Restaurants, FactSet, Cracker Barrel, FedEx, and Lennar - Friday: International NFT Day - Saturday: Munich Oktoberfest begins. International Day of Peace - Sunday: First day of fall in Northern Hemisphere Authors of this Snacks own shares of Amazon, Apple, Google, Walmart, and Yum Brands Advertiser’s disclosures: 2 This is a paid advertisement for Atombeam’s Regulation A+ Offering. This Reg. A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Please read the [Offering Circular]( and related risks at [Atombeam’s webpage on StartEngine]( before investing. This was a paid for ad. Sherwood Media has been compensated for this ad by the Atombeam Reg A+ Campaign hosted on StartEngine. Investing in private company securities is not suitable for all investors. An investment in private company securities is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. It should only be considered a long-term investment. You must be prepared to withstand a total loss of your investment. Private company securities are also highly illiquid, and there is no guarantee that a market will develop for such securities. Each investment also carries its own specific risks, and you should complete your own independent due diligence regarding the investment. This includes obtaining additional information about the company, opinions, financial projections, and legal or other investment advice. 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