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THE HEADLINES

 

WWJD?

“Americans deserve an economy that allows each person to succeed through hard work and creativity and to lead a life of meaning and dignity.” – JD

Jamie Dimon and a who’s who of big swinging d*cks (aka “The Business Roundtable”) released a statement yesterday. The kind of statement that would have Gordon Gekko going full “Kyle” on some drywall. The blasphemy? Shareholders’ value is no longer the main objective of their companies *audible gasps*.

Squad up

The Business Roundtable is a group of 181 CEOs from the biggest companies in the US. Led by JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon, this group includes other notable names such as Blackrock’s Larry Fink and Amazon’s own Jeffery Commerce. After failing to identify an actual leader the Roundtable just kinda said “f*ck it” and rescinded Wells Fargo’s invite.

Since the late 80s, the focus of corporations has been to increase value for the shareholder. Known as shareholder primacy, the practice has often been criticized as requiring companies to focus on quarterly earnings results instead of building for the long term.

The latest statement from The Business Roundtable states that corporations have a responsibility to not only serve their investors, but also employees, customers, and society at large. That’s f*cking deep, man.

Both Dimon and Fink have urged other CEOs to get involved in social causes and make political statements when it could serve the greater good.

 

CELEBRITY STATUS

Noah Kerner’s got some big ideas.

The former DJ and current Chief Exec of fintech company Acorns, is bringing on power couple A-Rod and J-Lo in hopes of helping the company in its metamorphosis from a niche savings app to a true bank alternative that serves 100M+ customers.

J-Rod is joining a laundry list of celebrities including Ashton Kutcher, Bono, and Kevin Durant as investors in the saving and investment app. It’s unclear on how much the couple is investing and in what capacity they will actually serve the company but the goal is for them to work with Acorns and develop financial products tailored to their needs and interests … because nothing screams “average American” quite like filthy rich celebrities.

Plant your roots

Despite boasting over 5M users, Acorns has had a tough time taking the next step … a common theme among fintech companies. Aside from Venmo and Square’s Cashapp none of the saving and investment apps that garnered billions from investors have been able to go “viral.”

It’s a tough market, especially when many of the concepts have become dime a dozen. Exhibit A: BoA’s “Keep the Change” program circa 2007. And as time goes on larger companies are launching their own apps in the space. Hell, Lyft and T-Mobile offer bank accounts in the US now.

Acorns does have promise, as evidenced by its partnership with PayPal. And other investors include BlackRock and Comcast. So a little celebrity flair may be just what it needs to push it over the top. Either that or this will go about as well as Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi promo.

 

FED-MAGEDDON

China and Germany: *Announce stimulus packages*
Donny Politics: “Hold my beer.”

Not to be outdone, POTUS offered some stimuli of his own. The President took to twitter to pressure Fed Chair Jay Powell into a 100 basis (that’s 1%) reduction of the Federal Funds Rate, which was lowered by 25 basis points on July 31, a move Jay called a “midcycle adjustment.”

And while he’s at it Jerry Interest Rates ought to go all “quantitative easing” on ’em. In addition to his rate cut proposal, the President strongly suggested (read: demanded via twitter) that Powell and the Fed turn the ship around with QE, a policy that involves the central bank snatching up government securities.

Hole in one

This week the Fed will meet at its annual off site in Jackson Hole. Jay will take the mic on Friday and market participants (and the Commander in Chief) will be waiting with bated breath for clues about whether the July rate cut was a one-off or if there is another trick up the Fed’s sleeve. No pressure.

 

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IN OTHER NEWS

• Juul has a little more cash in its coffers after nabbing another $325M in funding. The firm will use the money to expand internationally while continuing the fight the good fight at home against policy-makers looking to ban its products. Juul says it raised the money from four investors, all of whom see Juul’s vision for a childhood nicotine addiction epidemic.

 

• Disney announced its new Disney+ streaming service will be available on every major streaming network … except for Amazon. Suck it, Bezos. Disney+ will set fans back $6.99 per month. Or if you’re looking for entirely too many streaming options, you can score Disney+, ESPN+ and an ad-supported Hulu for $15 per month.

 

• Donny T. and the boys will allow US companies to continue doing business with Huawei … for another 90 days. Companies will need to be awarded special clearance, and what’s sold can’t be a threat to national security, so that limits products to repairs and existing software updates. Breathe easy, Chinese Android users looking to do some beta testing.

 

• GE isn’t taking Harry Markopolos’ accusations of shoddy accounting lying down. On Monday, the firm sent a letter to investors telling them it actually has the money to support its long-term-care insurance business, which was one of the many issues Markopolos pointed to in his report. It is also defending the bookkeepers on its oil and gas business. What is it about oil-and-gas and fraudulent accounting practices?

 

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