Weekly Dose: Week of June 26th

Vonetta Logan's recap of the big business, news, markets, political, cultural and viral trending stories featured this week on Daily Dose.

What’s up tastynation? It’s the inaugural edition of a li'l sumthin' sumthin' I’m calling Weekly Dose! Each week, I’ll recap the top stories I covered on Daily Dose. If you missed any eps of Daily Dose you can catch up on them here. 

First of all, thanks to everyone who reached out to me after my traumatic encounter with a spider this week. https://twitter.com/tastyliveshow/status/1674421994706853890?s=20

Let’s get to the recap! 

Monday 

• Russia has a mini coup: Russian President Vladimir Putin faced a violent attempted insurrection by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a longtime Putin ally who led a private mercenary group. But in a weird twist, Prigozhin was just sent to Belarus without supper as punishment. Also, no one has been able to accurately pinpoint his location and the very nice people at The Hague would like a word. 
• SpaceX soars in value: SpaceX is considering a new fundraising effort through a sale of employee stock shares, which would value the company at about $150 billion. The privately held company would raise $750 million dollars. SpaceX became the most valuable startup in the United States after its last two rounds of fundraising last May and December, which valued the company at $125 billion and $140 billion, respectively. SpaceX is also in a very important race with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin for best billionaire space penis. 
• Musk versus Zuck: An online exchange between Meta (META) chief Mark Zuckerburg and Tesla (TSLA), Twitter, SpaceX and Grimes Fan Club prez Elon Musk may lead to an actual physical confrontation. UFC head honcho Dana White says he spoke to both men and that they are “dead serious” about fighting. Later in the week, news surfaced that Musk’s mommy had put the kibosh on the fight, but it appears Musk has started taking fighting lessons, so who knows. Bettors have placed odds on the bout, with Zuckerberg as the favorite at -160. 
  
  

Tuesday 

• Broadband infrastructure plan: The Biden administration on Monday outlined a plan to disburse $42 billion dollars in federal funding for high-speed internet access, highlighting the U.S. government’s push to bring connectivity to more Americans and to close the digital divide. I just hope this means more hot farmers will have access to FarmersOnly.com. 
• Lilly has a blockbuster weight loss drug: Retatrutide, a new injectable drug candidate from Eli Lilly (LLY) is delivering stunning weight loss results in clinical trials. Some clinicians say the drug can deliver results similar to bariatric surgery. Word is the entire cast of Real Housewives has already sent their assistants to camp outside Lilly’s headquarters. 

Wednesday 

• AI chip ban: The United States is considering new restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence chips to China, which sent chip stocks like Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD) lower. Chip stocks have been leading the Nasdaq rally the last few weeks, but the sector retreated this week. Luckily, regular chips like BBQ and Salt & Vinegar remain unaffected.  
• Silicon Valley execs pop pills: A shocking expose in the Wall Street Journal revealed tech execs like Elon Musk and Sergey Brin regularly dabble in psychedelics like mushrooms, LSD and ketamine. The “open secret” of the tech industry is confusing for shareholders and board members. *Snorts a line off my desk.* Sorry, what was I writing about? 

Thursday 

• Fed stress test: All 23 of the U.S. banks included in the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test weathered a severe recession scenario while continuing to lend to consumers and corporations. Financial stocks like JP Morgan (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) surged on the news. I think it would be cooler if they made all the banks run a Ninja Warrior style course. Now that’s a stress test. 
• FTX reboot?  Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is reportedly making a final push for its revival plans as it seeks submissions this week from interested parties. The restart could happen through structures including a joint venture, the report said, quoting unnamed sources. FTX would also likely rebrand as part of any restart, and certain existing users could get stakes in any reorganized entity, per the report. Who asked for this? This would be like saying, “Who wants to take a ride on the Hindenburg 2.0?” But you do you, FTX. You tried it. 
• Apple close to $3T in market cap: Apple's (AAPL) stock climbed to a record high close on Wednesday and was on the cusp of a $3 trillion market capitalization. Update: as of the writing of this blog, the iPhone maker's shares were above $192/share. Apple is above $3 trillion in market cap. It’s reached this level before but has never closed above the epic high. Apple’s shares are up over 50% for the year. Apple out here with the equivalent of the GDP of FRANCE and they have the audacity to ask me for $3,500 for their VR Pro headset. 

Friday 

• FTC versus Amazon: The Federal Trade Commission is set to launch an antitrust case against Amazon (AMZN), the fourth against the retail king this year and the biggest one yet, according to a report in Bloomberg. Amazon is like a mafia don pulling a slow drag from a cigar as regulators enter their lavish estate, “what took youse so long?” Good luck storming the castle! Amazon’s Prime Day is slated for July 11-12. 
• Shein files for IPO: Shein, the controversial Chinese online fashion retailer worth more than $60 billion that is under scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers over its labor practices, has registered with regulators for an initial public offering in New York, people familiar with the matter said. Shein also made headlines this week for shuttling a coterie of TikTok influencers to China on a “brand trip” to its factories. The influencers got to pose with laborers working for unlivable wages. Slay! 
• Sriracha shortage: Quick! Check your pantry. You might have some “red gold” in there. Prices of Sriracha sauce are as high as $70 on eBay (EBAY) as people look to snap up the spicy sauce—and they’re even steeper on Amazon, up to $124. Huy Fong Foods, which makes the rooster-adorned bottled sauce, has been dealing with a years-long shortage of the chilis, which is hurting production and causing some shortages. Ha, ha! I want to see some guy with his trunk popped open by the Dan Ryan Expressway in Chicago being like, “I got two bottles! Who wants two bottles?” 

Whew, and that wraps up the week! I’ll be back next week to recap the short week after the Fourth of July holiday. 

What I’m watching: This week I watched the Arnold doc on Netflix (NFLX). It was surprisingly funny, candid and insightful. Also, I’m not mad at a young Ah-nold. He can get it. 

Vonetta Logan has more than a decade of markets experience and has been a trader for five years. She is an on-air personality, creative writer and news correspondent at tastylive, She appears Monday-Friday on Daily Dose and contributes to Luckbox Magazine. @vonettalogan  

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