BANK JOB CUTS SKYROCKET

Banking's in a tough spot right now, with some investment banks seeing a 50% revenue drop and 2023 labeled as one of the "worst deal-making environments in a decade." It's no surprise that layoffs are dominating the headlines. Just last week, Goldman Sachs and Barclays announced their plans to trim their workforce. UBS joined the fray this morning, revealing cuts to hundreds of wealth jobs in Asia, adding to their already announced plans to cut over 35,000 jobs as part of their Credit Suisse rescue mission.

Goldman isn't stopping there—they're planning another round of job cuts likely in October, targeting the "underperformers" and expecting to let go of 1-5% of their total staff. Barclays is also sharpening the axe, with plans to cut about 5% of client-facing staff in their trading division and some global deal-makers. It's a turbulent time in the banking sector, to say the least.

GRIT TAKE: For some banks, these layoffs are the most dramatic since the 2008 financial crisis. What's next? Overextended bankers might start unloading their luxury assets—think Hamptons beach houses and swanky cottages. With interest rates skyrocketing, cash could be drying up fast for some! For a full list of layoffs click here.

TESLA SOARS 6% PRE-MARKET

Tesla's soaring +6% pre-market, thanks to a bullish Morgan Stanley upgrade. Analyst Adam Jonas just jacked the stock target from $250 to $400—that's a +60% upside, all fueled by AI buzz.

Jonas is betting big on Tesla's Dojo supercomputer, a 5-year project aimed at perfecting autonomous driving. He claims this tech could add a whopping $500 billion to Tesla's value and even went as far as to say software could become Tesla's main moneymaker.

Hold tight—Jonas hints Tesla has an "asymmetric advantage" in a market potentially worth $10 trillion. And keep your eyes peeled for the next version of Tesla's full self-driving system, expected by year-end

GRIT TAKE: Tesla's stock has more than doubled this year, and Morgan Stanley's new target nearly matches its record close of $409.97 last November. Keep in mind, Morgan Stanley is a key advisor to Elon Musk—even in the $44 billion Twitter takeover. But let's talk numbers: the stock's trading at 64x forward earnings, and that valuation still has me scratching my head. While I may not be buying the stock, here's what I am snagging: Walter Isaacson's upcoming Elon Musk biography, out September 12th. His Steve Jobs bio is a must-read, one of my favourite books of all time!

U.S CONSUMER CRACKING?

Bloomberg's latest survey drops a bombshell: Over half of respondents predict personal consumption—our economic growth engine—will decline in 2024, with some even eyeing Q4.

Sure, the economic data looks peachy on the surface, but here's the underbelly: pandemic savings are drying up, credit card debt's at an all-time high (alongside soaring interest rates), and more folks are missing payments on credit cards and auto loans.

Oh, and let's not forget: millions of Americans are about to get hit with student loan bills again.

Something's gotta give, folks.

GRIT TAKE: Buckle up, the next week is a rollercoaster for the U.S. consumer. First up, Wednesday's inflation data, a major factor in the Fed's Sept 20th decision to hike rates or hit pause. If the Fed chills, consumers can breathe. If rates climb, brace for impact! Then comes Thursday's retail sales for August, expected to be sluggish. If that's the case, it could trigger a stock market sell-off.

Coming Up…

🗓️ This Week's Hot List:

🇺🇸 TODAY: 9/11 memorials nationwide. Plus, Nvidia & JPMorgan execs hit the stage 🎤 and Oracle's earnings drop. 💰

🍎 Tuesday: iPhone 15 reveal & First Republic Bank earnings. 📱💵

📈 Wednesday: U.S. Inflation data heats up & Arm Holdings' mega IPO. 🚀

🛒 Thursday: U.S. Retail Sales, PPI & ECB rate decisions. 🏦

🔧 Friday: United Auto Workers may strike for big pay & perks. 📢

Stay Tuned! 📺🔥

Headlines You Need To Know:

• Birkenstock files for IPO

• Ripple says it will fight the SEC lawsuit ‘all the way through’

• BP Chief quits over his past relationship with staff

• Speaker McCarthy launches House impeachment inquiry  

• Everything Apple just announced at its 2023 event

• Binance USA CEO departs as crypto platform cuts staff

• What Kim Jong Un and Vladmir Putin gain from meeting  

• India spends big on what it needs most to catch up to China

• Taylor Swift could change the movie theater industry

• Three roadblocks keeping Ukraine mired in the war

• Walmart cuts starting pay for starting workers

• Trudeau is stuck in India with faulty aircraft

• Putin wants his hitman back  

Just for fun…

 A Small-Town of Coca-Cola Millionaires

A small town in Florida was once the richest town per capita all because one man convinced the entire city to invest in Coca-Cola stock. Quincy, Florida is a very small town that has a population of 7,000 people, but it won’t take very long for you to find a Coca-Cola millionaire. In the midst of the Great Depression, a banker named Pat Munroe noticed that people were using their very last nickels to buy a bottle of Coca-Cola. At the time, Coca-Cola shares were very cheap. Not only did Munroe invest in multiple Coca-Cola shares himself, he urged many of his neighbors to do so. He was a trusted banker, and many of them followed his advice. As you probably know, the investment was a massive success. If you would have purchased 5 shares, it would be worth millions today. The farming town was able to keep afloat during hard times with its Coca-Cola dividends. They amassed huge fortunes from their early shares, which they passed down through the generations of their families.

3 Most Important Charts Right Now

401(k) balances in the U.S.

401(k) balances have bounced back from a losing year in 2022.

Projected Job Growth Tumbles

Only 4.7 million US jobs are projected to be added from 2022-2032

Wages vs. Inflation

CPI has steadily come down this year.

TWEET OF THE DAY

The author, publisher or insiders of the publisher may currently have long or short positions in the securities of the companies mentioned herein, or may have such a position in the future (and therefore may profit from fluctuations in the trading price of the securities). To the extent such persons do have such positions, there is no guarantee that such persons will maintain such positions.