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Warm-Up

- Stagflation - as payrolls drop

- People in glass houses ....Stupid Politics

- We are still here - which means we did not win the Powerball Jackpot

- They say it will never happen - Ban on stock ownership for Congress

Markets

- CRISPR Chocolates?

- Tech - again the driver

- Sexy is back - Retail

- Take in stride - on 900k less workers

- ORACLE!!!!!!

Powerball Jackpot

- $1.8 Billion

- Two winners - Texas and Missouri

- Each winning ticket holder can choose either an annuitized prize of $893.5 million or a lump sum payment of $410.3 million – both before taxes.

- Additionally, two lucky tickets sold in Kansas and Texas won a $2 million prize and 18 tickets sold across 13 states won $1 million.

- Back to just $20 million now...

- The odds of winning were 1 in 292.2 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees the game.

Glass Houses

- Pulte - Accuses Fed's Cook and with simple accusations Trump looking to Fire ...

- Close relatives of the federal official who has accused a Federal Reserve governor of improperly claiming primary residence on two properties have declared the same status on two homes in two different states, public records show.

- Mark and Julie Pulte, the father and stepmother of Bill Pulte, President Donald Trump’s appointee as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, since 2020 have claimed so-called “homestead exemptions” for residences in wealthy neighborhoods in both Michigan and Florida, according to the records. The exemption is meant to give a discount to homeowners on taxes for properties they use as their primary residence.

- Local tax officials in both states told Reuters that claiming more than one home as a primary residence isn’t generally allowed in their jurisdictions and could be punishable by fines or back taxes.

- After Reuters contacted tax officials in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, to inquire about the dual claims, Darrin Kraatz, director of assessing, on Thursday said the township “as of today” would revoke the exemption on the Pultes’ residence there.

Beat Your Ass

- Seems at a recent dinner- Pulte got under Scott Bessent's skin and bessent was pissed

- F You - I am going to beat your ass - punch you in the F'n mouth for bad talking me to president Trump

- Class act these children

Chocolate Editing

- Candy maker Mars said Wednesday it has partnered with biotech company Pairwise to speed up the development of more resilient cocoa using CRISPR-based gene editing technology.

- CRISPR technology is a gene-editing tool that makes changes to DNA and can be used in farming.

- The goal is to create cacao plants that can better withstand disease, heat and other climate-related stresses that can put global chocolate supply at risk.

---- Public Service: The main difference between cocoa and cacao: cacao is minimally processed and remains largely raw and nutrient-dense, while cocoa is made from roasted cacao beans that have been processed at high temperatures. This heat and processing affect cacao's nutrient profile and flavor, making cacao powder more bitter and richer in nutrients, and cocoa powder milder and more suitable for baking.

GOOGLE for the win

- Google shares popped 8% on Wednesday last week as investors celebrated what they viewed as minimal consequences from a historic defeat last year in the landmark antitrust case.

- Last year, Google was found to hold an illegal monopoly in its core market of internet search.

- U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled against the most severe consequences that were proposed by the Department of Justice, including the forced sale of Google’s Chrome browser, which provides data that helps its advertising business deliver targeted ads.

- “Google will not be required to divest Chrome; nor will the court include a contingent divestiture of the Android operating system in the final judgment,” the decision stated. “Plaintiffs overreached in seeking forced divestiture of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints.”

- Knock on... Google pays Apple billions of dollars per year to be the default search engine on iPhones.

--- It’s lucrative for Apple and a valuable way for Google to get more search volume and users.

----- Apple stock rose 4% on Wednesday in response...

Sexy Back

- American Eagle said its campaign with actress Sydney Sweeney has so far led to positive gains in new customers and sales.

- The clothing retailer issued fiscal second-quarter earnings that beat expectations on the top and bottom lines.

- It re-issued its full year guidance and is now expecting lower operating income because of tariffs.

- American Eagle stock soared more than 20% in after-hours trading Wednesday.

- “The fall season is off to a positive start. Fueled by stronger product offerings and the success of recent marketing campaigns with Sydney Sweeney and Travis Kelce, we have seen an uptick in customer awareness, engagement and comparable sales,”

- Sweeney or Swift?

- Earnings per share: 45 cents vs. 21 cents expected

- Revenue: $1.28 billion vs. $1.24 billion expected

- - - Calling BS: The company’s reported net income for the three-month period that ended Aug. 2 was $77.6 million, or 45 cents per share, compared with $77.3 million, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier.

Congress

- A ban on members of Congress and their families trading or owning stocks got new momentum last week, after a bipartisan group of House members announced they had come to an agreement on a new bill.

- The Restore Trust in Congress Act combines several different proposals into one vehicle that supporters say will focus the debate and lead to passage.

Apple Event

- Apple today announced AirPods Pro 3, taking the most popular headphones in the world to an entirely new level. AirPods Pro 3 deliver unbelievable sound quality and the world’s best in-ear Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) — removing up to 2x more noise than the previous-generation AirPods Pro, and 4x more than the original AirPods Pro.

- For the first time, users can utilize AirPods Pro 3 to measure heart rate and track over 50 workout types with the new experience in the Fitness app on iPhone.

- Live Translation also comes to AirPods, making face-to-face conversations easier by helping users connect even if they don’t speak the same language.

- Apple® today introduced Apple Watch Ultra® 3 — the most advanced Apple Watch® — delivering expanded health, fitness, safety, and connectivity features, and seamlessly shifting between a powerful sports watch, an elegant smartwatch, and a comprehensive health companion.

--- 42 hours battery, satellite, 5G

- New iPhone 17

- GAME CHNGER slimmer Iphone Air (still noting about the AI and SIRI update)

- Glass big point they discussed... Ceramic shield

- Seems like just put new number on phone with some upgrades - video presentation is the same as has been for years

- On one hand - stale - on the other, if it ain't broke...

Oracle

- "We signed four multi-billion-dollar contracts with three different customers in Q1...This resulted in RPO contract backlog increasing 359% to $455 billion. It was an astonishing quarter—and demand for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure continues to build. Over the next few months, we expect to sign-up several additional multi-billion-dollar customers and RPO is likely to exceed half-a-trillion dollars. The scale of our recent RPO growth enables us to make a large upward revision to the Cloud Infrastructure portion of Oracle's overall financial plan which we will be presenting in detail next month at the Financial