Good Morning! Inflation finally slowed to its lowest annual level since 2021. But investors are worried a jumbo Fed rate cut could send stocks reeling. OpenAI is raising $6.5 billion at a $150 billion valuation. SBF’s ex Caroline Ellison is begging a federal judge to stay out of jail. Wall Street investors think Trump lost the debate. Amazon is reviving its grocery ambitions. And Ken Griffin helped bankroll a contract for new US men’s soccer coach. Plus the biggest job interview mistakes according to LinkedIn.

Earn rewards on rent, travel expenses, fitness, and dining, plus unlock FSA/HSA reimbursements automatically at Walgreens when you join Bilt (for free).

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Swiping In Real Life

It seems that these days, every app or website is tugging at your wallet. A popular dating app in New York, The League, is betting that its users are willing to shell out money to meet people the old-fashioned way. 

Instead of swiping on an app, The League wants to create experiences such as happy hours and gatherings that will bring strangers together and hopefully lead to in-person matches. You might be wondering… what value are dating apps really offering by charging you for a chance at taking part in how your parents probably met? But it sounds like The League is finding some willing buyers.

They’ve already tested the waters with swanky events in the Hamptons and the U.S. Open, and they’re planning more. While these events are reportedly free for users, joining the app will still cost you, with memberships ranging from $300 to $2,500 a month.

A lot of users in their 20s and 30s report burnout and frustration with dating apps - with 46% of users reporting negative experiences. Bumble, Hinge, and Tinder are scrambling to win back fed-up users. And the League says the future of dating apps involves AI to “optimize” matches, and you have to wonder if that could further contribute to burnout and feelings of inauthenticity and randomness. Ultimately, AI can’t replicate chemistry.

Takeaway: Dating apps might be a prime example of how optimizing for monetization and efficiency leads to a worse product. At the end of the day, these companies are making money off the fact you’re single—so don’t expect them to rush you off the app anytime soon. I mean, if everyone finds love, who’s going to pay $2,500 a month for happy hours?

_{PRESENTED BY BILT REWARDS}

Earn Points On Rent (For Real)

It’s likely your biggest expense–why not earn rewards on it? 

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Consumer inflation slows to lowest rate since February 2021 (CNN)

• What a bigger-than-expected Fed rate cut would mean for the stock market (YF)

• OpenAI reportedly in talks to raise at $150B valuation (TC)

• Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-lover Caroline Ellison begs to stay out of jail (NYP)

• Wall Street investors think Trump lost the debate (NPR)

• Billionaire Ken Griffin a ‘significant part’ of USMNT’s Mauricio Pochettino hire (NYP)

• Amazon revives grocery ambitions (Fox)

• Restaurant chain BurgerFi files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (CNBC)

• US airlines will owe you cash for flight delays under new proposal (Fortune)

• Behind Wall Street’s big win with regulators (Axios)

• Bitcoin could soon hit six figures regardless of who wins U.S. election (CNBC)

• In the prediction markets, Harris jumps ahead of Trump (Axios)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks bounced back on positive inflation data.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Dave and Busters ($PLAY) +5% after the restaurant and entertainment chain beat revenue expectations.

• (–) Trump Media ($DJT) -10% because of a post-debate sell-off.

• (–) GameStop ($GME) -12% after a decline in sales.

Private Dealmaking

• Brookfield Asset Management will invest $1.1 billion into Infinium

• Qualifyze, a supplier risk management solutions provider, raised $54 million

• Quantum Source, a quantum computing startup, raised $50 million

• PhoreMost, a British pharma startup, raised $46 million

• Smartcat, a translation automation platform, raised $43 million

• Spare, a mobility operations software provider, raised $42 million

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

_{NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH}

Real Estate Digest

Markets are heating up as rate cuts loom and buyer confidence returns. With interest rates at an 18-month low without Fed intervention, the real estate market is poised for a Q4 rally despite election uncertainty.

Latest News

• Airbnb urges NYC to scale back short-term rental regulations (Bloomberg)

• Palm beach condo sales market dips in August (The Real Deal)

• Foot traffic in Manhattan nears pre-covid levels (The Gothamist)

• Manhattan’s luxury market booms post-Labor day (The Real Deal)

• Key events shaping real estate through the end of 2024 (Cibrano Nest Seekers)

New Listings

• 22 Renwick Street - 4 Bed/4 Bath - $4,650,000

• 157 West 57th Street - 2 Bed/2.5 Bath - $6,750,000

• 675 West 59th Street - 4 Bed/3.5 Bath - $25,000 per month (rent)

• 86 Warren Street - 1 Bed/1 Bath - Fully Furnished Short-Long Term Executive Suite - $30,000 per month (rent)

Fill out this form if you're looking to buy, sell, rent or invest.

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

The World Walk

After the death of a close friend at seventeen, Tom Turcich resolved to make the most out of life; to travel and be forced into adventure; to experience and understand the world. On April 2nd, 2015, he set out to see it all—one step at a time.

The World Walk is the emotional and exhilarating story of the tenth person and first dog to walk around the world. Together, Turcich and his dog, Savannah, covered twenty-eight thousand miles over the course of seven years. Through deserts, jungles, cities, and mountains, Turcich meditated on what’s important in life and took lessons from cultures around the globe.

Rarely has there been a true-life tale of such scope. From sheltered suburbanite to world traveler, Turcich’s epic account runs the full gamut: He is held up at knifepoint in Panama and gunpoint in Turkey; wanders deep within himself in the deserts of Peru; watches a democracy fortify itself in Georgia; and takes it all in with his resolute companion by his side.

His growth spans the most basic elements of surviving on the road—finding food, water, and safe places to camp—to humanity’s more noble aspirations, such as the benefits of democracy, the search for love, and the weighing of personal significance.

Accompanied by some of the author’s world-class photography, this tour de force of resilience and triumph of the human spirit will reaffirm to readers that the world is beautiful, people are good, and life should be a generous, vibrant adventure.

"A remarkable story of perseverance and endurance enhanced by a warm, far-reaching humanity."

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Probability of a Recession Is Declining

_{PRESENTED BY PUCK}

The Newsletter Wall Street Can’t Stop Forwarding

Breaking news. What do CEOs and West Wing staffers have in common? They all read Puck, the platform for smart and engaging journalism. Puck’s Bill Cohan is a former investment banker turned all-star journalist.

Read his work—including a recent decode of Linda Yaccarino’s bizarro plea to advertisers to return to X—and everything else Puck covers, from Wall Street to Washington + Hollywood, for free.

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Failure

Failure is a word that carries weight—a heaviness that makes us shudder at the thought. Yet, what if failure isn’t the enemy, but a critical ingredient to success?

Research shows that people who experience and reflect on failures develop resilience, adaptability, and problem-solving skills that success alone rarely teaches.

When we fail, our brain rewires itself, learning from mistakes in ways that deepen understanding and encourage growth.

Thomas Edison famously failed thousands of times before inventing the light bulb, each failure teaching him something crucial he needed to know. In Silicon Valley, the mantra is to “fail fast” and “fail forward” because each misstep is a step closer to the breakthrough.

Embracing failure doesn’t mean expecting to fail, but understanding that every stumble is a chance to learn something new, to refine, and to get better.

So, don’t fear failure—see it as a mentor, guiding you to what’s next. Because it’s often through our failures that we discover the path to our greatest successes.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• The biggest job interview mistakes according to LinkedIn

• The world’s food and drink etiquette, mapped

• How the pendulum lifestyle can help you feel unstuck

• How much weight should you be bench pressing?

• How to convert Word docs to PowerPoint with CoPilot

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day