Good Morning! Home prices hit an all-time high last month with median price hitting $419k. In contrast, luxury watch prices are down 40% from peak levels. Fake Ozempic is on the rise, and AI-backed Alexa is in the works. Over 100 million Americans are under heat wave advisory and it’s a reminder of NYC’s best activity - staying inside. Citi is in trouble for its fat-fingers, and the U.S. Olympic team will bring its own AC units to Paris. Plus 5 books that will shape you as a business leader and how screens impact your sleep.

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_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

AmEx Reservation Dominance

American Express is trying to win the online reservation wars. The company previously bought Resy in 2019. And on Friday, the company announced it will buy Tock, a platform catering to high-end reservations, for $400 million.

AmEx bought Tock from Squarespace (which acquired Tock for the same amount in 2021). It’s all part of a push to persuade restaurants to either accept AmEx exclusively or give preferential treatment to AmEx cardholders.

AmEx says that restaurant bills are one of their members’ largest spending categories, with over $100 billion in spend last year. And with U.S. restaurant sales heading for $1 trillion in 2024, AmEx thinks that figure will grow.

The Tock acquisition will provide AmEx with additional leverage. Currently, AmEx cardholders enjoy preferred access to tables and special perks through Resy, and it’s likely they’ll receive similar benefits with Tock.

Takeaway: AmEx is over a $165 billion market cap company doing over $60 billion of revenue per year, so the Tock acquisition is really just a drop in the bucket. But at the same time, AmEx is for sure going for reservation dominance here - it’s all part of AmEx’s plans to convert more Tock and Resy users into card members. And if having an AmEx card means you’ll get first dibs on a table at Michelin-starred restaurants like Per Se, we wouldn’t bet against it.

_{PRESENTED BY DOLLAR FLIGHT CLUB}

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• US home prices hit new all-time high in May (CNBC)

• Watch prices are down over 40% since pre-owned peak in 2022 (WP)

• Fake Ozempic is on the rise (BBC)

• AI-backed Alexa is in the works (Reuters)

• Forever 21 seeks rent concessions amidst financial woes (CNBC)

• Germany fines Citigroup over 'fat-finger' failures (YF)

• The heatwave is a reminder of NYC’s best activity - staying inside (NYP)

• All roads lead to Nvidia as tech sees record inflows (YF)

• U.S. Olympic and other teams will bring their own AC units to Paris (NBC)

• Apple AI rally puts valuation at risk of outpacing reality (YF)

• Tourism boost lifts Europe (WSJ)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed lower as Nvidia takes a breather from its rally.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Hertz Global ($HTZ) +16% after the car rental giant upsized a bond offering to $1 billion.

• (+) Asana ($ASAN) +15% after the software firm announced a stock buyback plan that would cost $150 million.

• (–) Nvidia ($NVDA) -3% after the chipmaker stock showed bearish patterns.

Private Dealmaking

• Zepto, a grocery delivery company, raised $665 million

• iOnctura, a Swiss cancer biotech, raised $85 million

• Isar Aerospace, a rocket launch startup, raised $70 million

• HeyGen, an AI video generation platform, raised $60 million

• GrayMatter, an industrial robotics company, raised $45 million

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Big Bets

Rajiv J. Shah is no stranger to pulling off the impossible, from helping vaccinate 900 million children at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to a high-pressure race against the clock to stop the spread of Ebola.

His secret? A big bets philosophy—the idea that seeking to solve problems rather than make incremental improvements can attract the unlikely partners with the power and know-how to achieve transformational change.

Part career sweeping memoir, part inspirational playbook, Big Bets offers a master class in decision-making, leadership, and changing the world one bet at a time.

Shah animates his strategic insights with vivid behind-the-scenes stories, memorable conversations with household names that helped shape his approach to creating change, and his own personal growth as an Indian-American from an immigrant family looking for a way to belong.

He distills his battle-tested strategies for creating change, arguing that big bets have a surprising advantage over cautious ones: a bold vision can attract support, collaborations, and fresh ideas from key players who might otherwise be resistant.

Throughout the book, Shah traces his unlikely path to the Rockefeller Foundation across a changing world and through some of the most ambitious, dramatic global efforts to create a better world.

“Encouraging…Uplifting...Meeting apparently insurmountable goals requires thinking big…this will inspire.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Households Turn More Bullish on the S&P 500

_{PRESENTED BY TiiCKER}

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_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Norman Lloyd Approach

Beware the siren song of success, for it can lull you into a dangerous slumber. Just ask the 90% of Fortune 500 companies from 1955 that have vanished into the mists of time.

Their fatal flaw? Complacency. But fear not, for there's a secret weapon against this insidious enemy: the Norman Lloyd approach.

This centenarian actor spent nearly a century reinventing himself, jumping from Broadway to Hollywood, from acting to directing, never resting on his laurels. So, channel your inner Norman.

Don't just climb the mountain - keep building new peaks. Set audacious goals, visualize them daily, and remember: there is no finish line in life's grand adventure.

Success isn't a destination; it's a continual journey of growth and reinvention. Are you ready to be part of the tenacious 10% who refuse to let complacency clip their wings?

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• Can you read a book in a quarter of an hour?

• 5 books that will shape you as a business leader

• How screens actually affect your sleep

• Leadership is more about giving orders

• How having a failure budget increases your chances of success

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day