What we’re reading (7/27)
“The Dow Sinks, Snapping Its Longest Run Since 1987” (CNN Business). “The Dow slipped on Thursday, snapping a 13-day winning streak. The blue-chip index fell 237 points after being on track to close higher for a 14th consecutive session. That would have marked the Dow’s longest run of consecutive gains since May 1897. If the Dow had closed higher Thursday and Friday, it would have notched 15 days of gains, its longest daily winning streak ever.”
“Hedge Funds That Sold Alphabet Miss Out On Huge Gains” (Institutional Investor). “The Google bulls are winning — at least for now. Shares of the search giant’s parent Alphabet surged about 6 percent Wednesday, after the company beat second-quarter earnings forecasts and reported strong revenues from its cloud business. The stock is now up more than 50 percent for the year.”
“Commercial Real Estate Is In Trouble, But Not For The Reason You Think” (Morningstar). “The long, slow metamorphosis happening in the office segment of the commercial real estate market is soaking up oxygen from another story that’s rapidly unfolding in commercial real estate markets. Remember those other categories? The biggest one, beating office by a few hundred billion dollars, is multifamily residential. Multifamily residential buildings are typically apartment complexes that are owned by commercial landlords. Real estate loans in this area are looking especially wobbly, for three primary reasons.”
“Sequoia Capital Slashes Crypto Fund As It Downsizes Amid Startup Crunch” (Wall Street Journal). “Sequoia Capital pared back the size of two major venture funds, including its cryptocurrency fund, as part of a dramatic downsizing the storied venture firm is undertaking amid a broad startup downturn. Sequoia cut the size of its cryptocurrency fund to $200 million from $585 million, according to people familiar with the matter. It also slashed the size of its so-called ecosystem fund, which invests in other venture funds, to $450 million from $900 million, the people said.”
“One Family Pocketed $7.6 Million By Taking Cans And Bottles From Arizona And Recycling Them In California. That’s Fraud, Prosecutors Say.” (Insider). A clever example of regulatory arbitrage. “In a felony complaint filed this month, state prosecutors charged eight family members in Riverside County with defrauding the state by importing used bottles and cans from Arizona — some 178 tons in 8 months — and recycling them in California.”
