“The challenge from an IPO perspective is, Uber is going out at something above $65 billion, so it’s hard to pitch that as a growth story” — Anand Sanwal, chief executive of CB Insights. Some analysts believe Uber should plan an IPO sooner rather than later, before its growth slows too much. And the wait continues…
MARKET SNAPSHOT
Big Picture
- U.S. markets skyrocketed on Friday after the optimistic jobs report increased the chances of a Fed rate hike later this year
Alternatives to Watch
- In a drastic change from its massive rally this year, Gold prices dipped close to 2% after the report, as a stronger dollar hurts gold’s value
Market Movers
- Shares of Bristol-Myers plummeted 16% after one of its drugs failed its clinical trial test, sending competitor Merck’s shares up 10%
CORPORATE PRIMER
If You Can’t Beat ‘Em
…Buy ‘em? Chinese President Xi Jinping has recently expressed high hopes that China will win the World Cup one day, and sure enough, Chinese investors are listening. Over the weekend, a group of deep-pocketed Chinese investors dropped over $825 million to buy AC Milan—a historic club with over 18 Serie A league titles. Interestingly enough, just two months ago, a Chinese retail giant bought 70% of Inter Milan. We’re no soccer experts, but it looks like there’s a Chinese rivalry brewing in Milan.
Apple Bobbing
…Tech giant reportedly acquired Turi for $200 million. What’s Turi, you ask? The Seattle-based startup specializes in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Fancy stuff. It’s not yet clear what Apple plans to do with Turi, but the company has used machine learning for applications like Siri. Apple has now made about 15 acquisitions since 2015—with already two of them being similar startups to Turi. The acquisition also expands Apple’s presence in Seattle, where it has been building an engineering outpost. What are you up to, Tim Cook?
Not a Bad Day at the Office
…American Airlines employees score a raise. American Airlines reached an interim deal on Friday that will provide an average salary bump of 22% for 30,000 employees—a victory for many workers while the two sides continue negotiating towards a collective bargaining agreement. According to American, the positions affected will now sport the highest paid salary by hour across all network carriers. What’s the cost? Expect an added $200M in pre-tax costs through the rest of 2016. Better break out the wallet.
U.S. MACRO
…Americans are going to work this summer. The Labor Department announced on Friday that the U.S. economy added 255,000 jobs in July, blowing past economists’ expectations of 182,000 workers added. Nice. Despite the increase, the unemployment rate remains at 4.9%. How? Simple: more Americans are joining the workforce. The overall figures from the report were very strong, and (we’ve got to say it) lend the possibility to a rate hike by the end of the year. But with disappointing preliminary second quarter GDP released last month, you can never be too sure.
OTHER STORIES
- Facebook begins testing a Snapchat-like camera
- Iran is first country to ban Pokemon Go
- Steinhoff to acquire Mattress Firm for about $2.4 billion
- Google’s self-driving car leader exits
ECONOMIC CALENDAR
- Monday: Labor Market Conditions Index
- Tuesday: Coach, Valeant, Walt Disney, Yelp Earnings; Wholesale Trade
- Wednesday: Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Shake Shack, Wendy’s Earnings; Treasury Budget
- Thursday: Kohl’s, Macy’s, Nordstrom Earnings; Weekly Jobless Claims
- Friday: Retail Sales; Consumer Sentiment
MOVIE MADNESS
It’s no secret that Americans love their superheroes, but apparently they’re also big fans of imprisoned supervillains. Suicide Squad, the ultimate antihero movie including stars like Will Smith, easily broke the all-time movie opening record for August. Get your popcorn ready:
- The latest Warner Bros. comic book movie brought in an estimated $135.1 million from 4,255 theaters over the weekend. The previous August record was held by Disney-Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which brought in $94.3 million in its opening weekend in 2014.
- Despite destroying the box offices, Suicide Squad still opened below Captain America: Civil War, which raked in nearly $180 million in May, and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, which opened with $166 million in March.
- So why did so many people want to see this movie? 34% said they went to see Squad because of the cast of villains, 23% said because of Will Smith and 21% wanted to see Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn.
- The biggest discrepancy comes in the ratings. Audiences gave it a solid 74% rating, while Rotten Tomatoes gave it an abysmal 26% rating. You be the judge.
INTERVIEW QUESTION OF THE DAY
How many times a day do the hands of a clock overlap? (Answer)
BUSINESS TERM OF THE DAY
Gross Profit Margin — A financial metric used to assess a company’s financial health and business model by revealing the proportion of money left over from revenues after accounting for the cost of goods sold (COGS). It is calculated by dividing gross profit (revenue minus COGS) by revenue.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The number of people watching the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics declined by 35% compared to the 2012 Games, resulting in the “lowest-rated Summer Games kickoff” since 2004. This news doesn’t bode well for NBC, which is heavily invested in Olympic media rights through 2032.
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