💳 The End of Free Checking Accounts

MARKET UPDATE

Good Morning Investor! Shares of the burrito king Chipotle ($CMG) sold off over 5% on Monday due to customer backlash over the company’s portion sizing being inconsistent across its locations. Meanwhile, shares of Corning ($GLW) surged a whopping 12% after the company raised its guidance for the second quarter thanks to an AI-fueled bump in demand.

TODAY’S BIG HEADLINES

The End of Free Checking Accounts

Gen Z’s Myspace Reaches #1 on the App Store

The Pelosi’s are Back on the Trading Floor

BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICES

The End of Free Checking Accounts💳

End of an Era: Last week, a top exec at J.P. Morgan ($JPM), the largest consumer banking institution in the United States with around 86 million customers, hinted that its patrons might soon face a new reality: paying a monthly fee for a checking account. The leap from zero charges to monthly fees could trigger a mass exodus from the bank or potentially a chain reaction which would see other banks follow suit.

Pointing the Finger: Marianne Lake, the company’s chief exec of its consumer and community banking division, is wagging her finger at Washington regulators.

• Why? Because regulators have slapped an $8 cap on credit-card late fees and a $3 cap on overdraft fees, pushing banks to seek alternative ways to recoup those losses. However, this regulation is currently tangled in appeals court as banks band together for a legal showdown.

• It's expected that if J.P. Morgan goes through with these fees, many other banks will simply follow suit.

Capitalistic Nature: Critics argue that banking behemoths like J.P. Morgan don't need to pass the buck to customers to make up for lost profits. They believe these giants could easily absorb the financial hit. Smaller community banks, however, might not have the same cushion and could suffer more.

• On a brighter note, Wall Street's deep-rooted connections in Washington could come into play, offering a glimmer of hope that these regulations might not pass.

SOCIAL MEDIA & SOFTWARE

Gen Z’s Myspace Reaches #1 on the App Store🤳

noplace Like Home: Meet Gen Z’s new hybrid social media sensation, a delightful blend of Twitter and Myspace, that’s skyrocketed to the top of the Apple App Store. Fresh out of its invite-only phase just last Wednesday, this app is already making waves and giving Meta some serious FOMO.

• Noplace is like Myspace for the modern era, with vibrant, customizable profiles where users can flaunt everything from their relationship status to their current binge-watch, playlist, or even their latest read.

• The platform’s whimsical customization options are a nostalgic nod to Myspace, allowing users to choose custom colors and personalize their profiles in all sorts of delightful, chaotic ways.

Leading the Charge: Founder and CEO Tiffany Zhong is no stranger to the tech world. Having founded her own early-stage consumer fund, Pineapple Capital, and cutting her teeth at Binary Capital as a teenager, she has a knack for spotting the next big thing. Remember Musical.ly? Zhong flagged it in 2015 as the next big deal, and it’s now the TikTok we all know and love. With her savvy background, it's no wonder Zhong has crafted a social app that resonates with today's youth.

Noplace’s Nifty Features: The app lets users create mini, customizable profiles to share their current vibes and interests. Profiles feature tags, or “stars,” representing users’ hobbies, interests, or even their astrology signs and Myers-Briggs types. This makes it easy for users to discover and connect with like-minded individuals. Plus, it has a “top 10 friends” section, a playful homage to Myspace’s famous top 8 and Tinder’s interests.

• For now, Noplace is more of a Twitter/X rival, focusing almost entirely on text-based interactions and skipping images and videos.

POLITICAL TRADING

The Pelosi’s are Back on the Trading Floor📈

The Dynamic Duo is Back: The legendary duo of Paul and Nancy Pelosi have made a triumphant return to the trading floor, making headlines once again with their latest portfolio shake-up

• The Pelosi’s have made significant purchases, investing between $1-$5 million in Broadcom by purchasing 20 call options with a strike price of $800 and an expiration date of 6/20/25. They've also bought 10,000 shares of Nvidia, valued between $1-$5 million. Talk about a shopping spree!

• On the flip side, they’ve offloaded around $250,000 - $500,000 of Tesla stock and $500,000 - $1 million of Visa shares. These trades were revealed in Nancy Pelosi’s latest Periodic Transaction Report.

The Backstory: It’s no secret that Paul Pelosi is the trading genius behind their astounding stock market success. Despite Nancy’s position in Congress requiring her to disclose these transactions publicly, it’s Paul who pulls the strings and executes the trades.

• This week, the Pelosi portfolio reached a new zenith. With an estimated $23 million in stock market gains this year alone, Nancy’s trading prowess is astonishing, especially considering her $223,500 annual salary as the Speaker of the House. Since 2016, her net worth has more than doubled, soaring from $93 million to $255.45 million.

• These figures suggest that either the Pelosis possess an unparalleled knack for trading or they have access to some highly advantageous inside information.

MORE NEWS

Additional market-moving events🌎

NYC Housing Crisis: The NYC housing market is facing an unprecedented crunch, with apartment construction grinding to a halt. (credaily)

Vegan Food for Sale: Impossible Foods CEO's message: 'We could end up selling the company'. (YH)

Robinhood’s AI Focus: Robinhood’s AI advisory services might be crucial to attract a wider array of customers. (WSJ)

New Mega Park Operator: Six Flags, Cedar Fair complete $8 billion merger to create largest park operator. (ABC7)

OUR PICKS

Our selections performance👾

On Monday the 11th of March, we released our “two superperformers” stock picks which we believe will provide significant outperformance compared to the S&P 500. Then on the 12th of June we released our next stock selection.

Here’s how the three stocks have performed since:

• Evolution AB: 1,110.00 SEK (📉-15.42%)

• Hims & Hers Health: $20.51 (📈+41.74%)

• PayPal: $59.09 (📉-6.84%)

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