What we’re reading (6/29)
“Stocks Finish Lower After Weak Consumer-Confidence Reading” (Wall Street Journal). “U.S. stocks slumped Tuesday, giving up early gains and falling for a second consecutive day as investors parsed fresh economic figures for clues about the pace of monetary-policy tightening.”
“Coinbase Sinks as Goldman Downgrades to Sell After 75% Rout” (Bloomberg). “Shares of the firm slumped 11% to $55.96 on Monday, extending their decline this year to 78% as Bitcoin trades at less than half its value from just six months ago. Goldman analyst William Nance cited the “continued downdraft in crypto prices” and the broader drop in activity levels across the industry. Coinbase had fallen 75% this year prior to the downgrade.”
“Energy-Hungry Data Centers Are Quietly Moving Into Cities” (MIT Technology Review). “In 1930, the telegraph giant Western Union put the finishing touches on its new crown jewel: a 24-story art deco building located at 60 Hudson Street in lower Manhattan. Soon after, over a million telegraphs each day shuttled in and out, carried by a network of cables, pneumatic tubes, and 30 employees in roller skates who sped across the building’s linoleum floors. Today, much of it is home to vast halls of computer servers.”
“Shareholders Of America’s Worst Bank Amply Rewarded For, Uh, Well, We’re Not Sure, Exactly” (Dealbreaker). “Jamie Dimon’s fear and loathing have extended to JPMorgan Chase’s dividend. Citigroup has seen fit to hold the line there, as well, to keep a bit extra in the kitty for its next fat finger/Revlon-related disaster. Wells Fargo? The same Wells Fargo coughing up yet another anti-money laundering fine, facing down an employee rebellion, dealing with a criminal investigation into its allegedly racist hiring practices, facing a squeeze on its mortgage business and generally unable to fix any of the things that ail it? Yea, it feels like it can swing a dividend hike.”
“Democrats Race To Revive Economic Package As Inflation Spikes” (Washington Post). “[Recent] economic peril has fueled new urgency on Capitol Hill, where Democrats hope to resolve their differences, re-craft their agenda and deliver before fall on at least some of the promises they made in the last election.”
