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NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Nvidia (NVDA.O) has made a boisterous entry to the $1 trillion club, but it might not remain there for long. While Nvidia has been around for ages – it was founded in 1993, making it older than Amazon and Alphabet – its valuation growth of late has been prodigious. Its trip from $500 billion to $1 trillion has taken about 500 days, which is about one-third what it took Apple. Unlike Apple or Google-owner Alphabet, the brand has little consumer cachet to fall back upon. Alphabet, Amazon.com, Apple, and Microsoft are the four other United States-based companies worth over $1 trillion, according to Refinitiv data.

Persons: Jensen Huang, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Nvidia, Tuesday, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Twitter, Thomson Locations: States

☆ Economic stability hangs on US love of BBQ
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The threat of U.S. default isn’t the only thing bringing lawmakers to the negotiating table. That unofficial deadline adds urgency, and also makes it likely that a deal will be no better than just good enough. But lawmakers are also ditching Washington ahead of Memorial Day, a U.S. holiday marking the start of warmer months. In the meantime, a banking crisis, inflation crisis, and potential economic crisis are all pushed into the background. Investors will come back from their weekend of burgers and beer and see stability, which means they will be ready to take risks again.

☆ Family stands to lose nearly $6,000 in airfare and hotel costs after they were bumped from an overbooked cruise ship
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises have overbooked multiple ships in recent months. One customer said she may lose nearly $6,000 after being bumped from an overbooked cruise. Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises have seen a spate of overbooked ships in recent months, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. 68-year-old Diane Gainey, a frequent cruise-goer, could lose nearly $6,000 in airfare and hotel costs after Celebrity Cruises overbooked her September voyage from Japan. Courtesy of Diane FoleyA Celebrity Cruises spokesperson said the company continuously monitors their sailings to prevent disruptions to guests' travel plans.

☆ How risky bank debt makes customers safer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

LONDON, May 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bank watchdogs are mulling changes to deposit insurance schemes after a string of lenders failed. That’s a problem for depositors, since long-term debt acts as a buffer for customers too. Forcing the issuance of more long-term bank debt could make them cheaper too. The trickier part is figuring out who ultimately bears the cost of loss-absorbing debt. Relying more on loss-absorbing debt could make such giant ad-hoc bills less likely in the future.

☆ Debt ceiling debacle is ultimate winner’s curse
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The ongoing debt-ceiling standoff, which has the potential to tip markets into mayhem, is a kind of winner’s curse. Put differently, the U.S. government has racked up so much debt because everybody else needed it to. Reuters GraphicsBy getting into ever more debt, Americans have done the rest of the world a favor. Nobody knows when that point will come, though, and the debt ceiling doesn’t seem to reflect the market’s view of how much is too much. The U.S. share of the global economy is shrinking, the debt is growing, and so is the political theater it generates.

☆ Peloton aims to rebrand as a fitness company for all with focus on app, tiered subscription pricing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The ad solidified Peloton's nascent identity as a high-end bike company reserved for a certain type of person at a certain income level. "This company historically has been thought of as an in-home bike company for fitness enthusiasts but over the years, it has evolved into something that is much more bigger, much broader than that." The relaunch includes a "Gym" function that allows users to take Peloton's app into the gym with them and create custom workouts. 2 among those who have Peloton hardware. It shows how eager users are to consume Peloton content that has nothing to do with its equipment.

☆ JPMorgan finds jewels in US banking ashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - JPMorgan (JPM.N) boss Jamie Dimon didn’t buy First Republic Bank in a crisis-hewn weekend deal just for the fuzzy glow from helping to stabilize the U.S. banking system. The giant lender laid out some of the impact of acquiring First Republic out of receivership in its investor day on Monday. There’s the $3 billion of contribution to net interest income from the deal, boosting this year’s expected total to $84 billion. More enticing, perhaps, is the $200 billion in wealth-management money the bank has taken from its defunct rival, along with roughly 200 advisers. JPMorgan is so big, with nearly $4 trillion of assets, it’s hard to move the needle in regular banking.

☆ How do you solve a problem like AI? Tax it
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The chances of “generative AI” being put back in its box are very small. Goldman Sachs economists estimate that 18% of work could be automated globally, and that 7% of the U.S. workforce might be substituted by AI. Moreover, while AI will create profit windfalls, many countries don’t tax those as effectively as they ought to. But a dollar of saved costs for a company creates only 21 cents in corporate income tax revenue. Capital gains are still taxed below the level of income in most countries.

☆ This ‘Magic Flute’ Has Ringtones, Bird Tracks and a Foley Artist
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Elisabeth Vincentelli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It can go up and down, and it can be inclined as various angles; the singers can scamper on top or scurry below. “It is much more secure when you’re on it,” Morley said. But McBurney’s North Star remains the music, and trying to stay faithful to what it meant for its creator. “I think that for Mozart, if you can make music so beautiful, people will come out changed,” he said. “We can debate whether he was right or not well, but it’s called ‘The Magic Flute.’ The flute changes the way that people behave.”Mozart, he added, had confidence in his music: “He knew that it could move people in a way that might alter their lives.”

SINGAPORE, May 17 (Reuters) - The dollar rose on Wednesday, benefiting from its status as a safe-haven amid the risk of a U.S. debt default and as traders trimmed bets on imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts following solid consumer spending data in the United States. Against a basket of peers, including the euro, yen and sterling, the dollar index rose 0.3% to 102.96, to its highest since early April. Expectations for U.S. interest rate cuts any time soon were dampened by the solid increase in April consumer spending, and by comments from Fed officials. "A rate hike is possible this year, though the hurdle is high." The New Zealand dollar was broadly steady at $0.6232, with investors looking ahead to a 25 bp interest rate hike next week and perhaps one more after that.

☆ U.S. debt drama and data hoist dollar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The dollar hit a two-week peak of 136.69 yen overnight and hovered just below that at 136.54 in the Asia day. Expectations for U.S. interest rate cuts any time soon were dampened by the solid increase in April consumer spending, and by hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials. "We expect some modest further increases in the dollar as markets continue to take out pricing for rate cuts," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Joe Capurso. "A rate hike is possible this year, though the hurdle is high." The New Zealand dollar was broadly steady at $0.6244, with investors looking ahead to a 25 bp interest rate hike next week and perhaps one more after that.

☆ Data and debt ceiling hoist dollar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Data showed U.S. consumer spending appeared to have increased solidly in April, which together with hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials weighed on bonds and against expectations that interest rate cuts are coming soon. Interest rate futures pricing implies no chance of a rate cut in June, down from about a 17% chance seen a month ago. "Market participants continue to lower pricing for near term rate cuts by the FOMC," said Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Joe Capurso. "We expect some modest further increases in the dollar as markets continue to take out pricing for rate cuts. The New Zealand dollar was broadly steady at $0.6239, with investors looking ahead to a 25 bp interest rate next week and perhaps one more after that.

[1/2] British Pound and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken March 10, 2023. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six main peers, was down 0.14% at 102.29, having reached 102.75 in early trading on Monday, its highest since April 10. "With all of that, do you really want to buy a lot of risky assets this year?" The weak Chinese data was also weighing on the Australian dollar which dropped as much as 0.5% to $0.6665. The dollar also gained on China's offshore yuan , rising to as much as 6.981, its highest since March 10.

[1/2] British Pound and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken March 10, 2023. Broader factors are also weighing on the pound as well, said Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank: "A lot of the better news for sterling is already in the price. "With all of that, do you really want to buy a lot of risky assets this year?" The weak Chinese data was also weighing on the Australian dollar which dropped as much as 0.5% to $0.6665. The dollar also gained on China's offshore yuan , rising to as much as 6.9795, its highest since March 10.

☆ Gen Z is forcing fast-food restaurants to change their menus. They're now offering more spicy food and chicken to lure in younger diners.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Gen Z diners crave spicy food and chicken more than other generations. Restaurant execs say that younger diners crave spicy food and chicken. "Spice levels generally heat up with younger generations," Fabiola Del Rio, VP of integrated marketing communications at Panda Express, told Insider. And where they can, Gen Zers like to get their chicken spicy, too. Or a restaurant exec who's noticed interesting dining patterns among your Gen Z customers?

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - Britain is accelerating plans to protect London from flooding caused by a warming climate and rising sea levels, bringing forward its scheme of work to protect the city centre by 15 years. The government statement said the change was based on improved climate change models which showed the "heightened risk of flooding from a warming climate and rising sea levels." Rising sea levels, in part caused by melting glaciers and record ocean temperatures, are a global threat posing existential risk to some low-lying island states and coastal cities. In April, the World Meteorological Organization said global sea levels were rising at more than double the pace they did in the first decade of measurements in 1993-2002 and touched a new record high last year. ($1 = 0.7923 pounds)Reporting by William James, Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TPG returns to credit party fashionably late
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The buyout firm is acquiring Angelo Gordon, an asset manager that specializes in private credit, for $2.7 billion, it said on Monday. The direct-lending portion of its $55 billion credit business emphasizes borrowers with less than $25 million of EBITDA. While it missed the last private credit bonanza, it isn’t saddled with jumbo-size and potentially shaky loans written at the top of the last cycle. As U.S. regional banks struggle, private credit firms see what Blackstone has termed a “golden moment” to muscle in on new turf. Follow @JMAGuilford on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSPrivate equity firm TPG said on May 15 that it had agreed to acquire private credit and real estate-focused investment firm Angelo Gordon for $2.7 billion, including cash and stock.

☆ MLB roundup: Mets post 8-run inning, whip Nats in Max Scherzer's return
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

For seven innings, the game was a pitchers' duel between Cleveland rookie Tanner Bibee and the Angels' Patrick Sandoval. Zach Elfin (5-1) got the win after allowing four runs on seven hits in his six innings, striking out nine and walking one. Royals starter Jordan Lyles (0-7) was tagged for seven runs in 2 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and three walks. The loss overshadowed another strong outing by Giants starter Logan Webb, who allowed one run on three hits over seven innings. Boston's Corey Kluber (2-5) surrendered four runs on seven hits in five innings.

☆ Dollar weakens, euro edges higher after inflation data
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Laura Matthews | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Labor Department data showed April inflation cooled to 4.9%, the smallest year-over-year increase in two years. However, so-called core inflation remained sticky at 5.5%, suggesting interest rates may need to stay high for some time to tame it. "The U.S. dollar did soften modestly on the news that core U.S. CPI inflation edges a little lower in April. Economists polled by Reuters expected core U.S. consumer prices to rise 5.5% on a year-on-year basis for April. Fed funds futures traders are pricing in a pause before expected rate cuts in September.

SINGAPORE, May 9 (Reuters) - The dollar clung to modest gains against major currencies on Tuesday but remained rangebound as traders awaited U.S. debt ceiling talks and tried to digest how a host of conflicting economic data will influence monetary policy and global growth. Closely-watched U.S. inflation data due on Wednesday is likely to set the tone for markets, after stronger-than-expected jobs data last week. Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar index edged up 0.25% to 101.68, but remained near recent lows as traders eye a peak in U.S. rates. Sterling was broadly flat and bought $1.2599, ahead of Thursday's central bank policy meeting. ========================================================Currency bid prices at 10:18AM (1418 GMT)Reporting by Rae Wee Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Crypto-silence is precious for Gensler's SEC
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But he has taken several enforcement actions against crypto firms alleging that they are selling unregistered securities, and the SEC is considering suing Coinbase. Think from Gensler's perspective, though, and there's little upside in breaking the silence. Accept that digital assets are not securities after all, and he would look foolish for not saying so sooner. Yet state definitively that they are securities, and Gensler would have to show his reasoning, opening the SEC up to more costly legal battles that it could lose. Complain as they may, Gensler's foes may just have to accept that sometimes, no answer is an answer.

☆ Apple’s balance sheet is golden and delicious
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But for Apple (AAPL.O), the sharp change in monetary conditions is golden and delicious. The iPhone maker said on Thursday that it ended the first quarter with cash and saleable investments $57 billion greater than its debts. That’s nearly enough to cover its newly-raised dividend for a year, and $90 billion buyback program, without touching the balance sheet. While the first two initiatives sit on Goldman’s balance sheet, the buy-now-pay-later product sits on Apple’s. Apple had $57 billion more in cash and saleable securities on its balance sheet than its debts at the end of the quarter.

☆ Shopify offloads its logistics baggage
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TORONTO, May 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Shopify (SHOP.TO) is finding that simpler is better after all. Investors welcomed the move: Shares of the company led by Tobias Lütke shot up over 20% in morning trade. Shopify wanted to build out its own logistics business, and now it's leaving that job to Flexport instead. That said, Shopify already uses partnerships with other companies to expand in hard-to-crack areas like fintech, including with payments giant Stripe and buy-now-pay-later company Affirm (AFRM.O). Although Shopify said on Thursday that first-quarter revenue rose 25% year-on-year, beating analyst expectations, Shopify's small-business customers are under pressure from rising interest rates.

☆ Peloton shares plunge after company reports wider-than-expected loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Melissa Repko | In Melissa-Repko | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Peloton 's shares plummeted Thursday after the company reported a wider-than-expected loss in the fiscal third quarter and acknowledged an uncertain economic backdrop. The fitness company has sought to stabilize its business and find a path to profitability again, after seeing a sharp reversal of fortunes. The company ended its third quarter with about 3.1 million connected fitness subscriptions, up 5% from the year-ago period. Average net monthly connected fitness churn ticked up slightly from a year ago, too. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Peloton expects connected fitness subscriptions to rise, but revenue to drop.

☆ Families of US detainees urge Biden to do more to deter hostage-taking
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Speaking at an event organized by the "Bring Our Families Home" campaign, an advocacy group set up largely by the families of American citizens detained abroad, relatives called on Biden to do more to bring home their loved ones but also deter "hostage-taking" by foreign governments and groups. Proponents of "Bring Our Families Home" are urging Biden to take steps including more swaps of prisoners and easing of sanctions against countries that are holding U.S. detainees. Most recently, Russia has detained U.S. citizen and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges, which he denies. The Biden administration has carried out two prisoner swaps with Russia and one with Venezuela. Families also repeated a call to meet with Biden, a plea that went unanswered for many of them for over a year.

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