Shake It Off

Silver Banana goes to... [Caplinked. ](=) Market Snapshot After the worst day in over two years, markets attempted a hump day comeback. Bulls played down the inflation data that crushed stocks yesterday, pointing to a minimal month-over-month increase. But the YoY jump is what struck fear in investors who are expecting to get walloped by JPow at the September meeting. At the close, the Dow ticked up 0.10%, the Nasdaq gained 0.74%, and the S&P rose 0.34%. Take your deal-making to the next level with Caplinked. Whether you’re a mom & pop shop or one of the big boys, our digital data rooms give you the tools and functionality you need to get the deal done, at the right price. [Set up your data room today]() Let’s get into it. Banana Bits - Workers at major media companies, including the New York Times and NBC, are [refusing to come back]() to their cubes - Paramount is [considering axing Showtime](=) and moving its content to Paramount+ - While the situation isn’t as dire as in Europe, Americans are [bracing for higher energy costs]( this winter - Mergers are stressful enough. Take dealmaking [into the 21st century](=) - Masa will not be denied—beleaguered Softbank is [considering launching]( a third Vision Fund Banana Brain Teaser Yesterday — A bad guy is playing Russian roulette with a six-shooter revolver. He puts in one bullet, spins the chambers and fires at you, but no bullet comes out. He gives you the choice of whether or not he should spin the chambers again before firing a second time. Should he spin again? Yes. Before he spins, there’s a one in six chance of a bullet being fired. After he spins, one of those chances has been taken away, leaving a one in five chance and making it more likely a bullet will be fired. Best to spin again. Today — It's 30 bananas off a [1-hour mentoring session]( for the first 20 correct respondents. LFG! When you take a look at my face, you will not find the number thirteen in any place. What am I? Shoot us your guesses at [vyomesh@wallstreetoasis.com](mailto:vyomesh@wallstreetoasis.com?subject=Banana%20Brain%20Teaser) with the subject line "Banana Brain Teaser" or simply [click here to reply!](mailto:vyomesh@wallstreetoasis.com?subject=Banana%20Brain%20Teaser) Macro Monkey Says Dollar Bubble? — With the U.S. dollar up nearly 20% YoY, whispers of a dollar bubble are proliferating. Unlike other assets, the value of the USD is directly dependent on other currencies, especially the euro and the yen. So it makes sense to look at the outlook for Europe, especially to see where the dollar might go from here. We’ve told you about the worsening energy crisis in Europe and the resulting recession that’s expected. The European Central Bank (ECB) is behind the Fed in terms of rate hikes and is walking an even scarier tightrope between bringing down inflation and sinking its economy. For decades, foreign investors have turned in local currencies for dollars to invest in American companies. The innovations those companies created eventually spread out across the globe, but the head start in the States buttressed the dollar’s value. When Daddy JPow fired up the money printer in March 2020, the greenback saw a swift decline in value. Two years later, in March ‘22, it had regained all its lost ground. Today, it sits at a 20-year high. In the same way that economic expansions don’t die from old age, long periods of dollar appreciation don’t have a specific lifespan. As long as the macroeconomic picture supports a strong dollar, it’ll stay there. And that’s good news for the U.S. as a world superpower and overseer of the world’s reserve currency. Bankers Are Old School. Deal-Making Shouldn’t Be. [image]() Pulling all-nighters during a merger is stressful enough. Worry less about sharing sensitive documents and data with Caplinked, the fastest-growing data room available today. Whether your client is a sovereign wealth fund or a mom & pop shop, our digital data rooms have the tools you need to get the deal done. When you request a quote for an upcoming deal, we’ll send you a $50 UberEats or Grubhub gift card. Act now! [Request a quote now]() What's Ripe Nikola ($NKLA) — Wonder where they got the inspiration for their name… This non-Tesla EV maker has had a rough go of it in the last few years. Last year, its founder Trevor Milton was indicted for fraud for, and [this is a direct quote](), lying about “nearly all aspects of the business.” Ouch. But $NKLA popped on Wednesday after an analyst report pointed to tailwinds from the Inflation Reduction Act and higher nat gas prices that could give the stock a boost. It closed the day, having gained 6.76%. Moderna ($MRNA) — Gotten that third C19 booster yet? Moderna and Pfizer are rolling out Omicron-focused boosters across the country, advising people to knock out their flu shot and C19 booster in one visit. But the main reason the stock jumped Wednesday was CEO Stephen Bancel’s comment that the company is [chatting with China]() about supplying it with C19 vaccines. Nothing is finalized yet, but a billion additional vaccines means $$$. $MRNA closed the day up 6.17%. What's Rotten Steel Stocks — The steel industry has always been sensitive to the temperature of the economy, and they’re getting rocked by a slew of headwinds. Higher energy costs are shrinking margins. Lockdowns in China have reduced demand in one of the world’s biggest steel markets. Rising interest rates suggest slower demand going forward. Investors don’t expect much growth from this industry overall, so as long as the big players can keep dividends and buybacks flowing, they should be able to weather the storm. Nucor, Steel Dynamics, and U.S. Steel dropped by 11.31%, 8.99%, and 8.63%, respectively. DISH Network ($DISH) — You’d think the streaming revolution would kill a company like DISH, but they’re still kicking. Unfortunately, the stock is at the same level it was in 2002. Believe it or not, there’s still a segment of Americans that like good ol’ linear TV. Its streaming arm, Sling TV, competes with YouTube TV and other streaming-like services that operate more like a traditional TV package. Investors hope that the legacy DISH business can keep chugging along while Sling TV continues to grow. But there’s never been more competition in that space than there is today, so it’ll be an uphill climb. It ended the session down 6.27%. Thought Banana Chips Are on the Table — It’s hard to overstate the global economic and political implications of chip manufacturing. In a world where just about every product has a computer inside it, controlling where and how these chips are made significantly influences power dynamics. It seems pretty straightforward then—create incentives to supercharge chip manufacturing in the U.S., and it won’t be so reliant on Taiwan and other foreign producers to make complex products. Intel broke ground on a gargantuan semiconductor plant in Ohio on Friday, surrounded by cheering politicians, including Joey B. So why has Intel’s stock price gotten cut in half in the last year? Turns out that national security and shareholder returns may not totally be aligned here. Capital-light companies that can print money are the darlings on Wall St, and chip manufacturers that require billions of dollars in Capex to build factories don’t exactly fit that mold. A mix of government subsidies and protections has historically reduced the incessant focus on returns on capital in places like Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. So, naturally, the market prioritized making chips there instead of in the more expensive U.S. In short, it’s more complicated than it seems to ensure chip security. If Joey B and team are dead set on making them in the U.S., it’ll require heavy subsidies and government interventions to overwhelm the free market’s interests. Wise Investor Says “The main purpose of the stock market is to make fools of as many men as possible.” — Bernard Baruch Happy Investing, Patrick & The Daily Peel Team Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up for the WSO Daily Peel [here](. [ADVERTISE]() // [WSO ALPHA]( // [COURSES](=) // [LEGAL](=) Don't want The Daily Peel? [Unsubscribe here](=). Click to [Unsubscribe]( from ALL WSO content IB Oasis Corp. 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