What we’re reading (7/17)
“Many Investors Are Fleeing The Stock Market, But Some Are Doubling Down: ‘If I Lose $15,000, I’m Not Going To Die’” (Wall Street Journal). “In March, individual investors bought $28 billion of U.S.-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds on a net basis—the largest monthly sum ever recorded by Vanda Research since it started tracking data in 2014. Between April and June, that slipped to about $25 billion a month on average, though that is still much higher than prepandemic levels. In April through June of 2019, for example, that number averaged $3 billion a month.”
“Dollar Lurks Below Highs As Euro Gasps For Gas” (Reuters). “Traders are holding their breath ahead of Thursday, when gas is supposed to resume flowing through the Nord Stream pipe from Russia to Germany after a shutdown for scheduled maintenance.”
“From $25 Billion To $167 Million: How A Major Crypto Lender Collapsed And Dragged Many Investors Down With It” (CNBC). “In October 2021, CEO Alex Mashinsky said the crypto lender had $25 billion in assets under management. Even as recently as May — despite crashing cryptocurrency prices — the lender was managing about $11.8 billion in assets, according to its website. The firm had another $8 billion in client loans, making it one of the world’s biggest names in crypto lending. Now, Celsius is down to $167 million “in cash on hand,” which it says will provide “ample liquidity” to support operations during the restructuring process.”
“Fed Officials Preparing To Lift Interest Rates By Another 0.75 Percentage Point” (Wall Street Journal). “Federal Reserve officials have signaled they are likely to raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage point later this month, for the second straight meeting, as part of an aggressive effort to combat high inflation. Policy makers left the door open to a larger, full-percentage-point increase at the July 26-27 gathering. But some of them simultaneously poured cold water on the idea in recent interviews and public comments ahead of their premeeting quiet period, which began Saturday.”
“The Truth, And Strategy, Of Food Expiration Dates” (CNN Business). “You might think that date is the absolute last day that food is safe to eat. You'd be wrong. But you wouldn't be alone in coming to that mistaken conclusion, because the system behind food label dates is an absolute mess. There's no national standard for how those dates should be determined, or how they must be described. Instead, there's a patchwork system — a hodgepodge of state laws, best practices and general guidelines. “It is a complete Wild West,” said Dana Gunders, executive director of ReFed, a nonprofit trying to end food waste.”
