Full recap
The Fed dropped its July meeting minutes Wednesday and surprise surprise, officials floated the idea of raising rates if inflation doesn't behave. Nothing says 'we're in control' like threatening to make mortgages more painful while the economy pretends everything is fine. The meeting was July 28-29. The minutes dropped today. Democracy moves fast. Markets did their usual midday interpretive dance, with Moderna, Target, gold miners, and Pilgrim's Pride all making notable moves. Gold miners up is the market's way of whispering that maybe not everyone believes the Fed's tough talk. Target moving is just Target doing Target things, which is to say confusing everyone including itself. Carvana is having a rough week, down roughly 10 percent, because the investigation into chairman Mark Walter is raising the obvious question: if the guy who owns a giant chunk of your company gets squeezed for cash, what happens to the stock? This is the part of the financial thriller where investors start quietly backing toward the exit. The Mark Walter situation is particularly spicy because he also owns a piece of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chelsea FC. So we have one guy potentially connecting a used car superstore, a baseball dynasty, and a Premier League club into one very uncomfortable Venn diagram. The market hates uncertainty. This is a lot of uncertainty. On the sports side, Azzi Fudd, the number one pick in this year's WNBA draft, is heading to surgery on her right knee and will miss the rest of the season. Her history with that knee reads like a Fed policy statement: concerning, repetitive, and never fully resolved. The Dallas Wings' playoff hopes just got downgraded to 'monitoring the situation.' Reinier de Ridder is making noise at 205 pounds in the UFC, teasing a potential bout with Paulo Costa and talking about a fast track to the light heavyweight title. The man has the calm confidence of someone who has not yet met the chaos that is Paulo Costa. Respect the hustle, question the timeline. Two of the four sports articles were sportsbook ads dressed up as news, which is honestly more honest than most financial journalism. At least the promo code is upfront about trying to take your money. The Fed could learn something from BetMGM's disclosure standards.
Highlights
- Fed officials floated rate hikes if inflation stays hot - classic 'good cop bad cop' except both cops work for the same broken system
- Carvana down 10 percent on the week because one billionaire's legal problems can apparently move an entire used car company's stock - diversification, look it up
- Azzi Fudd's right knee has now missed more games than some entire franchises, and the Wings' playoff hopes left the building with the MRI results
- Two out of four sports stories were sportsbook promos - the real free market in action, no minutes required
Original source links
- CNBC: Fed officials saw need for rate hike if inflation doesn't cool, minutes show
- CNBC: Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Moderna, Pilgrim's Pride, Target, gold miners & more
- CNBC: Carvana shares are under pressure this week as Mark Walter probe fuels investor jitters
- CBS Sports: Azzi Fudd to undergo right knee surgery, miss remainder of season in major blow to Wings' playoff chances
- CBS Sports: UFC Fight Night Sacramento: Reinier de Ridder sees fast track to title at 205 pounds, teases Paulo Costa bout
- CBS Sports: Use BetMGM bonus code CBSSPORTS to get $1,500 in bonus bets for Marlins-Phillies, Yankees-Orioles on Wednesday