WORD ON THE STREET 

• Don’t Get Too Comfortable – Though the Federal Reserve did not increase interest rates again, investors can’t be feeling good about the bank’s forecast that two more rate hikes could be coming. Chairman Jerome Powell took care to leave the door open but emphasized that no decision had yet been made.

• Fifth Straight Record – Oracle (ORCL) was up almost 4.8%, closing at a record price for the fifth straight day. AI is driving the rally and may be single-handedly defying predictions of a tech collapse.

• IPO Set For Cava – The Mediterranean food chain should hit the market today with its IPO. The opening price is set for about $22, with about 14.4 million shares to be issued. Investors will be watching closely for a sign in this year’s relatively slow IPO market.

• Deal Reached At Port Of LA – The Biden Administration is breathing a sigh of relief, as is corporate America. Both the union and the owners have agreed to a tentative deal in a labor dispute in Los Angeles. The deal should cover workers at 29 West Coast ports and last about six years. Now let us never hear about this again.

HOT SPOTS: What’s Going on in Geopolitics

• Macron Feels Left Out – As the BRICS regional alliance grows, France’s Emmanuel Macron apparently wants an invite to the next meeting. He’s reportedly asked South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for a meeting. The meeting should already be a place of high drama, as some say South Africa is required to arrest President Vladimir Putin if he arrives for the summit. Somehow, I don’t see that happening.

• New Zealand In Recession – Another one bites the dust. New Zealand’s economy fell 0.1% in the first quarter. Considering the 0.7% recession in the last quarter of 2022, that makes it official. The country is now in a technical recession.

• China Cuts Policy Rate – Uh oh. China needs to stimulate its economy already. The People’s Bank of China lowered the rate on some one-year medium-term lending facility loans. The cut was for 10 basis points, and helped the Shanghai Composite gain after the move was announced.

Bank collapses, corporate bankruptcies and more.

Silicon Valley is being gutted and completely reshaped.

Learn how one trigger could be the key to witnessing hundreds of triple digit wins in the aftermath of The Tech Reckoning

CUTTING EDGE: What‘s Happening In Tech

• Jannies On Strike – We did it Reddit. Thousands of subreddit have switched to private in protest of a plan to sell users’ data to other companies. More than 3,000 subreddits have thus far joined the protest, massively limiting the site’s reach.

• Another Attack On Twitter – They’ll never forgive Elon Musk for buying Twitter. Twitter is facing $250 million in lawsuits from various music publishers, accusing Twitter of massive copyright violations on the platform.  Twitter is also being evicted from a headquarters in Boulder due to unpaid rent.

• ATVI Gets New Record – Diablo IV is a hit, bringing in $666 million (heh) in revenue in five days. Microsoft is still battling with the FTC in its attempt to take over Activision Blizzard.

The information in this email is intended for informational purposes only and does not guarantee specific results as there is a high degree of risk involved with trading. Also, our traders are real traders and may have financial interests in the companies discussed. Please see our Terms and Conditions for more information