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Next week’s world-famous news haiku competition™ is about the best way to visualize a trillion dollars, which is how much Elon Musk is now worth. Send me your entry—to haiku at cheddar dot com—by noon ET Thursday (today!), for consideration by your Cheddar peers.

Now for crying out loud, can we hear about the news?

Matt Davis — Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Will anyone buy Snap's $2k ‘Specs’ 👓?

• The ‘9-to-5’ is dead, apparently

• Can SpaceX stock keep climbing?

• Retail sales jump yet again despite gas prices

• Hotels rebel against Marriott’s loyalty program

• Poll of the day: Decisions, decisions…

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▼ 1.21% )  $DJI ( ▼ 0.98% )  $NDX ( ▲ 1.59% )  

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$SNAP ( ▼ 8.14% )  $XYZ ( ▼ 2.46% )  $SPCX ( ▼ 4.95% )  $META ( ▼ 5.44% )  $MAR ( ▼ 1.13% )  

Will anyone buy Snap's $2k ‘Specs’ 👓?

Snapchat's Evan Spiegel is wearing some very expensive new glasses, but investors are squinting to see the value. Defying intense pressure from investors, Snap $SNAP ( ▼ 8.14% ) just dropped its new $2,195 augmented-reality "Specs," a device Spiegel earnestly defends, telling reporters, "this has been most of my life’s work over the past 12 years, so I think the stakes are already pretty high.”

While Spiegel marvels at his own creation, investors are playing the role of the crowd pointing out that the emperor has no clothes. Activist investor Irenic Capital slammed the hardware division to an FT reporter as a massive "distraction" that offers "no path to value realization until 2030+." Analysts at Rosenblatt completely agreed, bluntly stating that ditching Specs altogether would be "the big, obvious value unlock." 

But Spiegel, heavily shielded by his overwhelming voting control, isn't listening. He insists the Specs will let users "bring a large display with you wherever you go.” Instead of shutting down the project, he simply fired 1,000 employees, arguing that the glasses mean “maybe less short-term profitability but a much larger long-term opportunity for Snap.” He even threw shade at competitors like Meta $META ( ▼ 5.44% ) , bragging that Snap didn't just take normal frames and "jam cameras and a microphone into them.”

No. They made a pair of glasses so ridiculous-looking that people are mocking them widely on social media. Best of luck with that!

Quote of the Day

The ‘9-to-5’ is dead, apparently

The traditional 9-to-5 job is increasingly just a polite suggestion. According to Christine Kahm, at Twitter-founder Jack Dorsey’s new payments company Block $XYZ ( ▼ 2.46% ) , a staggering "117 million Americans, about like one in three Americans," are now proudly defying the traditional W-2 lifestyle.

Kahm notes that this new breed, the "modern earner,” is "earning through multiple sources of income" and shaking off the shackles of a single, boring paycheck. They are the gig workers, freelancers, and creators who have realized the new office is literally just a smartphone.

Why suffer through endless corporate staff meetings when, as Kahm points out, "you could be a creator making $50,000 a year to $100,000, you're simply just using your phone itself." Younger generations are highly "self-motivated through flexibility," ditching the cubicle to monetize their quirky interests and leverage AI to be their own entire team.

That said, we aren't totally abandoning the corporate mothership. Kahm clarifies that right now, "most of the time we're saying multiple sources of income with one of the income sources being a W-2."

Basically everybody needs a side-hustle to make ends meet, on top of an anchor job to pay for their health insurance. After all, we’ve got to buy a pair of $2k Specs!

Can SpaceX stock keep climbing?

SpaceX's $SPCX ( ▼ 4.95% ) record-breaking IPO has Wall Street buzzing, but can its astronomical valuation continue to soar? According to Lou Whiteman, Contributing Aerospace Analyst at The Motley Fool, investors should tread carefully before jumping in, at this point.

While the market's enthusiasm is undeniable, Whiteman emphasizes that the company's valuation is based purely on future potential rather than present financial reality. "SpaceX, the current business is not worth $3 trillion dollars," he told us, adding that "most of this investment is more investing in Elon's brain." Buyers are essentially betting on Musk's historic ability to generate long-term value.

However, Whiteman warns retail investors about significant red flags, particularly the company's vague AI ambitions. "I have a lot of questions about the AI merger," Whiteman said, noting that the company's IPO filings left their actual AI strategy unclear. With massive upcoming expenses for projects like the Terafab factory and Starship, he also anticipates future stock "dilution" to raise capital, predicting a "messy complicated story for at least the next few years.”

Ultimately, while the broader market remains "more excited than it is scared," potential buyers must also decide if they are comfortable with Musk's extreme 85.1% voting control and the complicated financial journey ahead, Lou said.

I think he’s a skeptic. My father-in-law, meanwhile, describes the stock as a “hundred-year hold.” Who’s right?!

Song of the Day: Carlita & Sofi Tukker, ‘Manhattan’

I wanted to hate this track but it’s grown on me every time I’ve played it. Enjoy a vibrant, sun-drenched sonic love letter to a New York City summer! And sure. Go, Knicks!

Retail sales jump yet again despite gas prices

American shoppers are showing surprising stamina. In May, retail sales jumped 0.9% to $764 billion, beating Wall Street expectations. While part of this increase was driven by a 3.4% rise in gas station sales, underlying core retail sales still gained a solid 0.7%. They’re up 6.9% compared to the same time last year, proving that it’s always a bad idea to bet against the American consumer.

The surge suggests that shoppers are shrugging off the recent inflation shock and rising pump prices caused by the Iran war. Thomas Simons at Jefferies told the Financial Times there is “little sign of fatigue from high gas prices,” adding that consumers are “showing yet another layer of resilience that keeps economic growth rolling.”

Economists question how long this resilient spending can actually last. A major driver of the recent shopping spree has been bumper tax refunds averaging over $3,500. James Knightley at ING points out, “For now, households are still prepared to spend, largely funded through saving less and borrowing more.”

U.S. consumer spending really is remarkable, actually. Here it is over the last 10 years:

And here it is over the last 50 years, juxtaposed with stock market performance.

I would never bet against the American economy, based on those graphs.

Hotels rebel against Marriott’s loyalty program

Marriott Bonvoy $MAR ( ▼ 1.13% ) points might be great for travelers dreaming of a "free" vacation, but the actual hotel owners footing the bill have finally snapped.

Dozens of franchise owners, representing nearly 1,000 hotels, are throwing a massive fit over Marriott's lucrative loyalty program. Why? Because Marriott's credit-card fee revenue is expected to jump to nearly $1 billion this year, and the franchisees are suddenly realizing they are the ones paying the tab!

In a scathing letter to Marriott’s corporate brass, the fed-up owners complained that they are getting fleeced. “Hotel owners are absorbing an increasing share of the program’s costs while Marriott captures an increasing share of its revenue,” the group wrote. Analyst Mike Bellisario attempted to play the peacemaker, reminding the squabbling parties in the Wall Street Journal, “Everyone’s a partner here.…You need all sides to be happy and healthy.”

Ironically, even the supposedly spoiled guests are miserable. Larry Pearlman, a loyalist since 1989, misses the glory days: “Going back in history you’d get a few hotel nights each year and it was nice and you’d be treated with a free breakfast,” he said. Now stuck with skimpy breakfast vouchers and ridiculous parking fees, Pearlman admitted his loyalty has limits: “Now it’s like, if Holiday Inn is cheaper, I’ll stay there,” he said.

Now that’s disloyal.

Free yourself from advertising forever!

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👎️ 

Still not quite. It’s approaching the day when I’ll tell you yes, I’m sure of it. Just…hold on!

Poll of the day: Decisions, decisions…

Poll of the day: I would have said ‘3,’ personally

We asked: Colonel Sanders is getting a glow-up. Which version of the KFC daddy do you favor?

You answered:

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Number one: KFC crossed with MMA. (29)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Number two: KFC but with better DNA. (317)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Number three: KFC but with a little DMT. (74)
420 Votes via @beehiiv polls

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