Startup Funding Drying Up In the low-interest rate environment of the last several years, startups routinely got support from venture capital firms. Pandemic-relief initiatives made capital relatively cheap and led to even more fundraising deals. Over the past decade startups snagged about $1.3 trillion from investors. In today’s environment of [...]
12-Year High The Federal Reserve has responded to skyrocketing inflation by raising rates, which has pushed up the cost to carry a mortgage to 12-year highs. Mortgage rates recently reached 5.27%, a huge departure from the 3% level seen just 6 months ago. The difference can result in tens of [...]
Economic Data Today, keep an eye out for the New York Fed’s regional manufacturing survey for May. Known as the Empire State Manufacturing Index, the reading increased significantly from March to April, beating analyst expectations. The report noted this followed three months of sluggish activity, with 40% of respondents saying [...]
Afforestation Market Pachama is in the business of rebuilding forests, or what’s known as afforestation. Founded in 2018, the San Francisco-based startup describes itself as a nature-based carbon credit platform. It recently announced a $55 million Series B fundraising round, led by venture capital firm Future Positive. The round was [...]
As the Pandemic Wanes, Casinos Gain Traction For much of the COVID-19 pandemic people stayed home, shunning elective outings for leisure and moving work activities online. The travel and hospitality industries suffered as reduced demand decimated their bottom lines. Hotels and places like Las Vegas suffered a one-two punch as [...]
Pandemic-Driven Demand Delivery company Instacart grew in popularity during the pandemic as Americans stayed home and ordered their groceries online. It became the largest such operator in the country as big box stores like Kroger (KR) and Walmart (WMT) used its services to fulfill orders from their customers. The company [...]
Sticky Situation We all hoped for a cooler April Consumer Price Index (CPI) print yesterday, and technically we got one — 8.3% year-over-year vs. March’s 40-year high of 8.5%. The temptation to call peak inflation has become almost as contagious as the temptation to call a market bottom. Unfortunately, the [...]
The Latest Fashion Trend To the unfashionable, the latest craze may be more surprising than leg-warmers or bell-bottomed pants. Secondhand stores are increasing in popularity as sustainable practices are becoming more mainstream. Some market observers anticipate the clothing resale market will double in size within five years to $77 billion. [...]
Tech Embraces Remote One of the most significant ways the pandemic changed people’s lives is the shift to working from home. The remote-work trend has been particularly strong in tech. In February of this year more than 20% of jobs in technology were remote, compared to just about 4% in [...]
Growing Supply The run-up in housing prices over the last two years has been well documented. As large numbers of people stopped renting and bought homes during COVID-19 lockdowns, prices rose and supply diminished. Housing inventory has remained low as construction rates fell dramatically following the 2008 recession. But there’s [...]
