Let’s break down the yuge day for the US economy, shall we?

Enjoy the next 4 minutes and 14 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.

Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,

- tyler

+ US stocks “popped to fresh records Wednesday as investors digested a one-two punch: a cooler-than-expected reading on inflation, and the Federal Reserve holding interest rates steady but slashing projections for cuts this year.” (Yahoo! Finance)

+ The 10-year Treasury yield “fell Wednesday after the Federal Reserve indicated it was making inroads on inflation following a cool May CPI report." (CNBC)

+ Oil “settled higher on Wednesday as ongoing tensions in the Middle East lent support to prices, but news that interest rate cuts could start as late as December capped gains, following the Federal Reserve's statement concluding its two-day meeting.” (Reuters)

+ Bitcoin “and other leading cryptocurrencies popped Wednesday after a widely watched inflation gauge showed that U.S. consumer prices increased last month by less than economists had expected.” (Decrypt)

+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours were: 1) Apple +2.8% 2) C3.ai +0.9% 3) Nvidia +3.5%

The market moves you need to know about…

+ Shares of Whirlpool jumped 6.2% on the best kind of speculation… “vague” speculation about a potential takeover.

+ Still riding the high from its AI-fueled WWDC event on Monday, Apple rose another 2.8%… briefly passing Microsoft as the most valuable company in the US.

+ Taiwan Semi was up 4.3% yesterday after analysts pointed out that it could be a major beneficiary of the Apple AI takeover.

AI is disrupting everything from media to robotics. Now it's coming for the $4.1T hospitality industry, and for the next two weeks only, you can invest.

Jurny has partnerships with industry disruptors like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Expedia. Its AI platform already automates up to 90% of backend operations for thousands of hotel and vacation rental property managers worldwide.

Their traction is off the charts. If you are considering an investment in AI, you won’t want to miss this chance.

Act fast, Jurny’s round closes on June 18.

Would really appreciate it if you took a minute out of your day to check out Jurny. Sponsors are how I keep the lights on around here. Thanks in advance.

Yesterday was the economic equivalent of when Cinco de Mayo falls on a Saturday…

We got both CPI data and a Fed decision. Something that happens about as often as Elon creating a safe and welcoming workplace for women…

First up…

The Consumer Price Index dropped bright and early.

And, we finally got some relief. Prices were flat month over month and up 3.3% vs. last year. That’s not a typo… prices didn't increase vs. last month. The last time that happened was July 2022 (to be fair, that was probably just because inflation had soared so much the month prior). Both figures were below the Street’s expectations.

Speaking of better than expected… the core variety of CPI rose 0.2% vs. April and 3.4% YoY. Both came in 0.1% lower than consensus.

We are so f*cking back.

As you might have guessed, investors welcomed the news. The Nasdaq rose nearly 1% in the first ~1 hour of trading.

Fast-forward to 2 PM EST…

All eyes were on the Fed…

Unsurprisingly, following its two-day meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee left rates unchanged.

But like Heath Ledger’s Joker said… “It’s not about the rates, it’s about sending a message.” And the message in the Fed’s statement was loud and clear: don’t expect a bunch of rate cuts this year. The FOMC adjusted its forecast down from 3 expected rate cuts back in March to just 1.

The Fed also mentioned that it had seen “modest” progress on inflation, which is better than “none”… I guess?

That 2:30 feeling…

About 30 minutes after we got our hands on the Fed statement, J-Poww took the stage for his post-meeting press conference.

Per usual, J-Poww put on a masterclass in Fed speak. He simultaneously indicated that he’s happy with the progress on inflation (“recent monthly [inflation] readings have eased somewhat”) while indicating that there’s work to be done.

But investors didn’t give a damn about all that. They just wanted to know if the Fed had any intentions of hiking rates.

Good news… Jerome made it pretty clear: “no one has that as their base case.”

+ Broadcom (+2.3% // +14.5% after hours) just asked ChatGPT to copy Nvidia’s playbook…

The chipmaker just dropped earnings that blew past the Street’s expectations. Thanks, in part, to its work with AI giants like Google. And just in case that didn’t get investors’ blood pumping like a gas station b*ner pill, the 2024 revenue guidance hike definitely did.

Broadcom didn’t stop there, though. It also announced a 10-for-1 split in a move straight out of the Gospel According to Jensen.

Shares reacted exactly how you’d expect.

+ Imagine investing in a theater chain that doesn’t have a cult-like following of investors who refer to themselves as apes…

Sony (-1.2%) just bought Alamo Drafthouse, the 7th largest theater chain in the US. You probably know it better as the place you blacked out during a matinée showing of ‘80 for Brady’ (the chain is known for serving food and booze).

The move is notable considering Sony is the first studio in 75 years to own a theater chain. You see, up until 2020, film studios were barred from owning cinema chains.

+ Probably nothing, but…

Trading volume for GameStop (-16.5%) calls with the exact strike price and expiration of Keith Gill/Roaring Kitty’s massive position (120k options) was 9x its 30-day average yesterday. Of course, we can’t definitively say Keith was behind the move… but we can all agree it was him, right?

The move pushed shares down more than 16% late in the session yesterday.

+ What’s that? You thought some NFL games were the pinnacle of live sports programming at Netflix?

Think again. The streamer is bringing us the greatest live event in the history of sport: CHESTNUT VS. KOBAYASHI: UNFINISHED BEEF. Joey Chestnut will face off against his biggest rival, Kobayashi (who hasn’t competed at Nathan’s 4th of July event in 15 years) live on Netflix Labor Day Weekend.

And now it’s becoming a bit more clear why Joey Chestnut was banned from Nathan’s event…

+ What the Fed rate decision means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards (Read)

+ Whole Foods CEO shares the No. 1 red flag he sees in employees: I learned it ‘the hard way’ (Read)

⏪ Yesterday, we were keeping an eye on CPI data, the FOMC meeting/presser, and Broadcom’s earnings. You can check out all the details above…

⏩ Here's what we’re keeping an eye on today...

+ PPI data (CPI’s less popular cousin) drops

+ Lovesac reports before the bell

+ Adobe and Restoration Hardware report after the close

+ Tesla holds its annual meeting… where shareholders will vote on Elon’s $56B pay package

Yesterday, I asked, “If you show up to a BBQ this summer and they're only serving meatless meat, what's your move?”

You guys didn’t disappoint…

1) Drinking all their beer (assuming it’s not non-alcoholic)

2) Not eating. Stopping for food on the way home.

(big gap)

3) Leaving. Immediately.

Here’s today’s question…

Tyson vs. Paul. Chestnut vs. Kobayashi. Gimmicky exhibition matches. A behind-the-scenes show for pretty much every sport…

Before you go…

The European mind cannot comprehend this…

Twitter making likes private got the sort of reaction you’d expect from the internet… (Twitter)

Does this look like the face of a guy you should take financial advice from?

No, it’s the face of an individual who is financially irresponsible/dumb enough to be talked into spending money on a family photo shoot that he could have just done with his iPhone. So, act accordingly...

This is not financial advice. Nothing in this newsletter is an investment recommendation. All content is created for entertainment, educational, or informational purposes only. Do your own research, or do yourself a favor and hire a professional.