Good Morning! It’s been a rough year for Cathie Wood. Her ARK fund was once the largest actively managed ETF but has shrunk to just $9 billion in assets under management, down from a peak of $50 billion.

EVs are keeping the lights on - literally. Thanks to power outages in the Nashville area, some EV owners have been using their cars as makeshift generators. And Boston is launching a creative office conversion plan. With median rents soaring and corporate footprints shrinking, the city will offer fat tax breaks for developers willing to turn empty offices into housing units.

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_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Memes Reshaping Box Office

The film industry’s been wanting it to feel like 2019 for quite some time, and it looks like we might finally get there this weekend. It’s been a rough few years - theatrical releases struggled to recover from the pandemic, and making matters worse, Warner Brothers exclusively streamed all 2021 films on HBO Max. And there’s a new problem in 2023 with Hollywood writers striking.

But there’s been a glimmer of hope, in case you haven’t realized from getting spammed with Barbenheimer memes on Instagram and TikTok. Some experts think the same-day release of Barbie and Oppenheimer on Friday could lead this weekend to become one of the biggest blockbuster ones in history.

And the hype is, in large part, thanks to the 'Barbenheimer' memes. Barbie is a hot-pink comedy flick, and Oppenheimer is a longer and darker film. Barbie and Oppenheimer are projected to rake in $100 million and $45 million respectively this weekend. And while the movies started out as rivals, many hardcore movie-goers say they’ll see both movies on the same day.

Takeaway: Who would have thought that two unlikely candidates would save us from a recession in 2023 - Taylor Swift and Barbenheimer memes. And with all the talk of both an advertisement spending slowdown and recession concerns, it’s looking like Americans are taking a well-needed break from the heat waves and heading to the theaters this weekend.

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed higher with earnings poised to ramp up.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Yelp ($YELP) +10% after an upgrade by Goldman Sachs.

• (+) Tesla ($TSLA) +3% after building first cybertruck in 4 years, returning $735M in stock awards to end litigation.

• (–) AT&T ($T) -7% shares fell to 30-year low over reports of toxic lead cables.

Private Dealmaking

• Kahoot, a learning game, agreed to $1.72 billion offer from Goldman Sachs and other investors

• Constellation Software Inc. bought Black Knight's Optimal Blue business for $700 million

• Silo, a supply chain solutions provider, raised $32 million

• CarePredict, a preventative care tech provider, raised $29 million

• Herself Health, a women’s healthcare company, raised $26 million

• Picket, a residential real estate investing startup, raised $20 million

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Bank CEOs on soft landing prospects (Axios)

• The media industry is in turmoil, and that’s not changing (CNBC)

• Expect the stock market to stay fat and flat this year (YF)

• Why these are unprecedented times on Wall Street (CNN)

• Here’s what’s lifting U.S. stocks this year (Axios)

• Morgan Stanley says India will account for 20% of Apple’s user growth (CNBC)

• Goldman Sachs cuts probability of U.S. recession in the next 12 months (Reuters)

• Private equity’s still bullish on healthcare despite setbacks (MH)

• Private investment in space showing signs of stabilizing (CNBC)

• Twitter’s lost nearly half its advertising revenue since Musk took over (BBC)

• How the Fed’s new instant payments system could change the banking industry (Axios)

• Gen-Z might be most entrepreneurial of all generations (YF)

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Invisible Influence

If you’re like most people, you think your individual tastes and opinions drive your choices and behaviors. You wear a certain jacket because you liked how it looked. You picked a particular career because you found it interesting. The notion that our choices are driven by our own personal thoughts and opinions is patently obvious. Right? Wrong.

Without our realizing it, other people’s behavior has a huge influence on everything we do at every moment of our lives, from the mundane to the momentous.

Even strangers have an impact on our judgments and decisions: our attitudes toward a welfare policy shift if we’re told it is supported by Democrats versus Republicans (even though the policy is the same). But social influence doesn’t just lead us to do the same things as others.

In some cases we imitate others around us. But in other cases we avoid particular choices or behaviors because other people are doing them. We stop listening to a band because they go mainstream. We skip buying the minivan because we don’t want to look like a soccer mom.

By understanding how social influence works, we can decide when to resist and when to embrace it—and learn how we can use this knowledge to exercise more control over our own behavior.

“A fascinating book that brims with ideas and tools for how to think about the world.”

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• A few questions from Morgan Housel

• Lionel Messi on how to handle anxiety

• How to use the Hemingway trick to supercharge morning productivity

• Top 5 habits that business schools should be teaching

• How America fell out of love with ice cream

_{DAILY VISUAL}

US Ice Cream Consumption

Pounds per person

_{SPONSORED BY TAHIIRA}

Mykonos is Calling

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Tahiira offers evil eyes on accessories from windbreakers to yoga mats. Each piece possesses a unique charisma and mystery that is guaranteed to ward off bad vibes.

So look great, feel protected and head over to the virtual Mykonos store.

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Power of Control

Ever felt stuck because of things you can't change? Well, remember, your real superpower isn't controlling the uncontrollable.

Nope, it's in your reactions and actions. Sure, we can't change the weather or rewind time, but we sure can choose how we react and what steps we take next.

So, why spend energy worrying about the uncontrollable? Let's focus on what we can change and grow together. After all, it's all about mastering our actions and perspectives.

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day