Independent thinking for complex markets and current events
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently filed a lawsuit against the 5 largest TV brands in the United States over their use of “Automatic Content Recognition” “If you are showing family photos or family homemade movies on your smart tv, automatic content recognition is taking a screen capture twice a second, every half a second. …
Lunar New Year is one of China’s biggest shopping holidays, and global luxury brands are using the 15-day celebration to try to reignite slowing demand. China accounted for more than one-third of global luxury spending in 2019, but that share dropped to 23% in 2025. As consumers welcome the Year of the Horse, brands like …
⭕️⭕️⭕️⭕️ The European Parliament, by passing a resolution, voted in support of the Iranian people and Iranian opposition forces, designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, and also overwhelmingly rejected efforts to invite Reza Pahlavi as… pic.twitter.com/6sxmQB8pmu — Academics In Exile Association (@iranianacademic) January 22, 2026 Iran threatened Thursday to unleash …
Michelle Obama says she is mindful to try to avoid white-owned brands and others also should be pic.twitter.com/5MqY5gaxUv — End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 19, 2026 Factcheck: Yes — according to multiple sources, Michelle Obama said she is mindful about avoiding white‑owned brands and encouraged others to be intentional about who they support. The wording varies …
A national pizza chain is the latest victim in the decline of fast-casual dining. The Little Brown Box Pizza, parent company of Pieology Pizzeria, filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, according to QSR Magazine. The chain, founded in 2011, listed between $100,000 and $500,000 in assets and $1 million and $10 million in liabilities. The …
Big things have small beginnings. https://x.com/kshaughnessy2/status/1981673722982674914 https://x.com/MrJJB/status/1981703730778239330 Key insight: Two more regional banks disclosed credit losses related to the bankruptcy of First Brands, the U.S. auto parts maker that filed for bankruptcy amid allegations that it engaged in fraud. What’s at stake: The list of large and regional banks with exposures to First Brands continues …
Here is the list of subprime lenders and related firms that have recently collapsed or filed for bankruptcy: Tricolor – Subprime auto lender and used car retailer; filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in September 2025 amid fraud allegations and triggered major losses for Barclays First Brands – Auto parts supplier with deep ties to subprime …
First Brands BANKRUPTCY shakes credit markets: The collapse WIPED OUT $4 billion in leveraged loans held across ~80 CLOs from PGIM, Franklin Templeton, Blackstone, and others. The sudden failure is a major warning for the broader credit market and leveraged loan sector… More corporate failures to come? ⚠️First Brands BANKRUPTCY shakes credit markets: The collapse …
https://twitter.com/SilvioVassalli/status/1976274291399541058 Oops! 👇🏼 https://t.co/jvblybqt9n pic.twitter.com/1i3dLKnzQB — Kalani o Māui (@MauiBoyMacro) October 9, 2025 “The Debtors estimate that they have between $10 billion and $50 billion in liabilities.” — Chapter 11 Voluntary Petition, Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court https://restructuring.ra.kroll.com/firstbrands/Home-Index “While the official filing lists liabilities between $10 billion and $50 billion, several creditors now fear …
I mean, there’s literally a woman serving life in prison for it.. After NYT released a picture of the book signed by Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein with the message “to Jeff, you are the greatest!”, Trump calls Epstein files a “Democrat scam” & “con job”? When did Maga become pro-pedophilia? h/t UniversalSurvivalist
Epic shock, end of an era: The China car market of “growth and profits forever” has vanished for non-Chinese brands. Global automakers will sell 7 million fewer vehicles in China this year than they did in 2020. VW down a million cars. GM down a million cars. Jeep JV bankrupt. Suzuki out. Nissan deeply wounded. …
The AfD recently topped the polls in Germany, and now the political party has been designated as an "extremist organisation" – a first step to ban the main political opposition ……Freedom! Democracy! 🚨BREAKING: German intelligence has officially labeled the AfD party an “extremist organization” and a “threat to democracy.” Europe is cooked. pic.twitter.com/GgGnrjCB8G — Benny …
Back in March, the consensus mkt narrative was that business spending (advertising and corporate travel) was weakening first, while consumers were holding firm. But on earnings, we’re actually seeing B2Bs (esp the B2B Mag 7s) outperform, while consumer names are struggling… — Mr. VIX (@yieldsearcher) May 1, 2025 Couples are cutting wedding budgets and delaying …
1/ What used to be a thousands ? Now revealed as a Few $hundreds factory product. Same designSame MaterialsSame stitching Just without the logo pic.twitter.com/KVaPlmKs9U — ZOYA ✪ (@HeyZoyaKhan) April 23, 2025 3/ Luxury pricing = 90% brand cost only 10% Product cost pic.twitter.com/I4KoYl8y6v — ZOYA ✪ (@HeyZoyaKhan) April 23, 2025 5/ Deckers only 10$ …
TESLA DIDN’T JUST WIN Q1—IT WIPED THE FLOOR WITH THE COMPETITION – 128,100 EVs sold—more than the next 10 brands combined. That’s not a lead, that’s a flex. – Model Y and Model 3 still sitting comfortably at the top. Everyone else? Still trying to figure it out. -Nearly 300K… https://t.co/qXmca9eQJj pic.twitter.com/6oVT6NA8Lo — Mario Nawfal …
Chinese manufacturers and suppliers are going viral on TikTok as they claim luxury items people assume are made in Europe are actually made in China. The trend known as “Trade War TikTok” and “Chinese Manufacturer-Tok” sees suppliers explain the production process, break down the cost of the supplies, and reveal how customers can order directly …
Chinese manufacturers reveal that luxury brand goods they produce, labeled as fake, are genuine. They are the suppliers. 😂 — XOLI (@Undlunkulu_Xoli) April 13, 2025 https://twitter.com/realnorma_kay/status/1911562990182096970 The real cost of #Birkin bag and what you are really paying for.🤦♂️ pic.twitter.com/WQTHFL2jKD — Humanbydesign (@Humanbydesign3) April 13, 2025 China is really fed up with the US and …
BREAKING 🚨 President Trump stuns the world by exposing France and saying “Free Marine Le Pen” France has officially fallen pic.twitter.com/u9U9XwdGEi — MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) April 4, 2025 President Donald Trump has offered his support to French far-right leader Marine Le Pen demanding she be set ‘free’ while branding her ban from elective office a …
Vlogger Tiffany Cianci recently went viral with a video explaining how private equity firms have recently bought up and destroyed well-known brands like Hooters, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Party City and Forever 21, driving these often beloved franchises into bankruptcy. Even worse, she says, the private equity firms have offloaded all the associated debt they took on …
$DECK bought HOKA in 2012 for ~$1.1M. A decade later, Deckers Brands have grown HOKA’s revenue from less than $3M to over $2.2B (LTM). That’s a ~700x increase. byu/IAmNotAnEconomist inFluentInFinance
Fourteen popular brands of tampons sold in the U.S., U.K. and European Union have been found to contain toxic metals including lead, arsenic and cadmium, according to tests conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University. As reported by Newsweek on Thursday, 16 total types of toxic metals were found in …
Malls, retail stores, and restaurants all across the country are going out of business in a lead up to this coming recession / depression. The lucky ones that are still in business, are having a hard time right now as inflation is killing people’s purchasing power and forcing many to only spend on essentials. How …
Snapchill, a Green Bay, Wisconsin-based coffee manufacturer, recalled all of its canned coffee products due to the potential presence of Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that can produce a fatal neurotoxin. Nearly 300 canned coffee products from 147 brands are affected. The products range in sizes from 7oz to 12oz cans and have been distributed nationwide …
A major ice cream producer has recalled products sold by multiple brands due to potential listeria contamination, the Food and Drug Administration said. The manufacturer — Totally Cool, Inc. of Owings Mills, Maryland — has recalled products from more than a dozen brands, including Friendly’s, Hershey’s Ice Cream, Jeni’s and the Frozen Farmer, due to …
New vehicle inventory is now at the *highest* level since early spring of 2021. Expect incentives to keep rising for most brands. — Car Dealership Guy (@GuyDealership) December 23, 2023 Updated market day supply for NEW vehicles, major markets.Compared to October numbers (just over 2months):Chevrolet, Nissan, Subaru, Kia almost 50% increase in MDS, and Dodge …
The Teamsters union said on Saturday that 99 percent of its members had voted to authorize a strike at brewer Anheuser-Busch’s U.S. breweries. The union is seeking an agreement that would improve wages, protect jobs, and secure healthcare and retirement benefits for 5,000 of its members at 12 breweries operated by Anheuser-Busch, which makes Bud …
Multiple 🇨🇳 state firms and government departments across at least 8 provinces — including the prosperous coast — instructed employees in the past month or two to start carrying local brands. That’s a major step-up from around September, when a small number of agencies in… pic.twitter.com/5j3Ngci7aE — Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) December 15, 2023 🔴 CHINA’S …
Major brands have pulled ads from Rumble, following the video platform’s refusal to censor or demonetize actor and podcast host Russell Brand over decade-old sexual assault allegations published this month in the U.K. media. Notably, YouTube, to much criticism, has banned Brand from monetization on all of his accounts over the allegations, though Brand has no charges against …
by Chris Black Not sure when allegations – without any criminal charges – became the standard for punishing people. I guess that change took place sometime in mid-2020. Maybe we’re just noticing it now. Julia blasts YouTube for the “outrageous” suspension of the monetisation on Russell Brand’s channel. “It’s not YouTube’s job to sit as …
Americans’ cars now have the ‘unmatched power to watch, listen and collect information about what you do and where you go,’ according to a concerning new study. According to the Mozilla Foundation, at least 84 percent of 25 car brands studied have the power to share or sell the personal data of drivers to to …