Good Morning and Happy Friday! Costco is cracking down on membership sharing and putting scanners in every club. The Dow had its best day in over a year, and jobs data eased concerns about the U.S. economy. JPMorgan still thinks there’s a 35% chance of a recession this year. Delta says the CrowdStrike chaos cost the airline $380 million in revenue. Warren Buffett now owns more T-bills than the Fed, and Roku will offer a free 24/7 sports channel. Plus Disney is raising streaming prices and how to stand out at work.

Wall Street interns are partying hard this summer. We spoke to the New York Post about the Wall Street’s intern culture. You can read the full article here.

Financial analysts: Macabacus saves hours on models and pitch decks, finds formula errors, and links Excel and PowerPoint seamlessly. Try it today (for free).

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Pickleball the New Golf?

For Wall Street titans and business execs alike, golf courses haven’t been a place just for exercise and getting 18 holes in. They’ve also doubled as a place to close deals, woo clients, and see how coworkers perform under pressure.

Golf is arguably more popular than ever with Americans, but it looks like, for corporate gatherings, they’re facing some new competition… from pickleball clubs.

Some pickleball clubs say corporate bookings have tripled since 2021. Life Time in NYC for example says they're getting 10-20x corporate booking inquiries per week - more than 5x what they were receiving from last year.

Some pickleball instructors say they're seeing lawyers and bankers bring customers and vendors.

Pickelball is cheaper, faster, and arguably easier to play (for beginners) than golf. It’s a little less intimidating - and you don’t need to commit all day (or drive for hours to find a course in Long Island or New Jersey if you’re in NYC).

Plus, it's a killer workout—great for your heart and agility. You can burn up to 600 calories an hour playing singles pickleball. With health and wellness trending in corporate America post-pandemic, pickleball fits the bill perfectly.

Takeaway: Padel players might wince at the thought of pickleball for work outings, but the summer of pickleball is in full swing. New York City has even added 14 pickleball courts at Wollman Rink in Central Park (pictured above), and last year saw more than 56,000 participants hitting the courts. It looks like America’s fastest-growing sport is about to leave its competitors (and a few golf carts) in the dust.

_{PRESENTED BY MACABACUS}

These Financial Analysts Are NOT Working Weekends

How’d they get so lucky? They use Macabacus, the add-on tool that saves hours on financial modeling in MS Office. 

Used by 80,000+ finance professionals Macabacus:

• Enhances productivity with 100+ Excel shortcuts 

• Audits models to pinpoint formula errors instantly

• Links Excel and PowerPoint seamlessly (refresh charts with one-click)

The #’s don’t lie: Macabacus saves 156 workdays per year for a team of ten.  

Start your free trial today (no credit card needed) and enhance your pitch decks and models instantly. 

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Costco membership scanners coming to clubs in sharing crackdown (Axios)

• Weekly jobless claims fall to 233,000, less than expected (CNBC)

• JPMorgan raises 2024 recession odds to 35% (CNBC)

• JPMorgan says three-quarters of global carry trades now unwound (YF)

• Delta ignites a war of words with CrowdStrike following IT outage (Axios)

• Warren Buffett now owns more T-bills than the Federal Reserve (CNBC)

• Disney hiking prices for Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney+ (Axios)

• Roku will launch a free 24/7 sports channel (Verge)

• Intel sued by shareholders, alleging securities fraud (Reuters)

• Suddenly, Wegovy sales are disappointing (CNN)

• The AI trade is losing its luster (YF)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

S&P 500, Nasdaq surge after jobs data eases concerns over US economy.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Under Armour ($UAA) +6% after posting ‘better than feared’ quarterly sales.

• (+) Eli Lilly & Co. ($LLY) +9% after strong Mounjaro and Zepbound weight-loss drug sales.

• (–) Dutch Bros ($BROS) -20% because the coffee chain expects fewer new store openings.

Private Dealmaking

• Pharmacosmos of Denmark bought G1 Therapeutics for $405 million

• CloudPay, a payroll solutions provider, raised $120 million

• Stori, a Mexican fintech, raised $105 million

• Octane, a fintech for recreational purchases, raised $50 million

• Graphyte, a carbon removal startup, raised $30 million

• Sona, a frontline workforce management platform, raised $27.5 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Small Talk That Doesn’t Suck

No one likes 'networking', and the process of meeting new people can sometimes be like pulling teeth.

How are you, how many siblings do you have, did you have a commute, how long have you lived here, where did you go to university...?! YIKES.

This book aims to transform the dreaded experience of small talk into meaningful conversations that lead to genuine connections and deeper friendships. 

It focuses on moving beyond superficial topics and avoiding awkwardness, providing readers with practical strategies to engage others and foster rapport quickly.

“Patrick suffered for years as a shy introvert and managed to boil human interaction down to a science - first for himself, and now for you.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Rising Labor Supply Because of Immigration

_{WHAT ELSE TO READ}

The Best PE, VC & M&A Newsletter

Buysiders is our deals newsletter to bring y’all the best insights on deals around Wall Street.

Every month, you get insider details on the month’s top 3 deals. For this month’s edition, we cover the following deals:

1. KKR and T-Mobile team up to buy Metronet

2. Cliffs acquires Stelco for $2.5 billion

3. Luxottica buys Supreme for $1.5 billion

Read the full edition here and subscribe to the newsletter below.

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Solitude

In our hyper-connected world, solitude is a rare commodity.

But it's essential for self-reflection, creativity, and mental health.

When was the last time you spent quality time alone with your thoughts?

Great thinkers, from Thoreau to Einstein, valued solitude.

It allows for deep thinking and self-discovery.

Make time for solitude.

Disconnect from technology.

Go for a solo walk.

Practice meditation.

Remember, the quieter you become, the more you can hear.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• How to stand out at work

• 5 tough but worthwhile self-care practices

• 7 top attributes of the most impressive business leaders

• Why you need a productivity journal 

• How to ace a self-recorded interview

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day