WORD ON THE STREET 

• 500 Days Of War In Ukraine – While the Ukrainian counteroffensive continues to bog down, things are still not going well for Russia. Sweden will join NATO after Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan moved to support its application. It will be the 32nd ally, joining new member and fellow Scandinavian nation Finland.

• Trump DOESN’T Want Quick Trial – Former president Donald Trump continues to cruise torwards the Republican presidential nomination, though legal issues continue to plague him. However, his lawyers asked a federal court not to set a date for his trial for mishandling classified documents. His lawyers argued that the presidential campaign will make it “challenging” to prepare for a trial in unprecedented circumstances.

  

• Disney Theme Park Attendance Down – The good news? Wait times are much shorter at Disney theme parks. The bad news? That means attendance is down. The posted average wait time at Disney World on the Fourth of July was 27 minutes – compared to 47 minutes in 2019.

• Renault Boasts Of Increased Sales – French automaker Renault says sales were up 11% in the first half of the year. It’s a much needed recovery for the company – 2022 was the fourth consecutive yearly decline for overall group sales. Renault sold 770,807 units in the first half of this year.

HOT SPOTS: What’s Going on in Geopolitics

• China Forms “Strategic Partnership” With Solomon Islands – China’s state broadcaster bragged that China and the Solomon Islands have formed a comprehensive strategic partnership that could affect the Pacific security situation. China is also lending its support to the “2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent,” a plan supposedly backed by Pacific island nations. The USA has pushed back against the attempt by Beijing to win over the Pacific’s smaller nations, leaning hard on powers like Japan and Australia to bolster its own defenses.
  

• Putin May Have Fired Top General – General Valery Gerasimov, one of the most important Russian generals in the Ukraine war, has reportedly been sacked. He’s been replaced by Colonel-General Mikhail Teplinskiy. The ousted commander was only in the job for six months, but President Vladimir Putin has been shaking up his top commanders to ensure loyalty after the abortive coup by the Wagner Group.

• North Korea Claims It Repelled American Spy Plane – North Korea says it drove off an American spy plane and warned of “shocking” consequences if espionage continues. North Korea says stuff like this all the time of course. However, what’s truly interesting is that the announcement came from Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s sister and potentially heir to the throne of the Communist dictatorship.

CUTTING EDGE: What‘s Happening In Tech

• Foxconn Bails On Chip Project – India’s program to become a new hub for chip manufacturing has suffered a blow. Foxconn, an Apple supplier, pulled out of an eye-popping $19.5 billion joint venture with Indian company Vedanta. Foxconn said it was via “mutal agreement.” Press X To Doubt.

• Indian Startup In Freefall – Byju’s, once considered one of the most lucrative start-ups in the world, has fallen in value from $22 billion to just $5.1 billion, according to Prosus NV. The educational startup has struggled as children returned to schools following COVID-19, even as investors kept pouring in money.

• Threads Hits 100 Million Users – Elon Musk is officially nervous. Beating the record set by ChatGPT, Threads, owned by Meta Platforms, has reached more than 100 million users in less than five days.

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