Summary

Major stock indexes are nearing record highs, with the Dow Jones up 0.85%, fueled by expectations of Fed rate cuts and strong corporate profits. Warren Buffett trimmed his Apple holdings by $20 billion but still has a 40% stake, and is holding $182 billion in cash, suggesting the market may be overvalued. Jobless claims rose, signaling a cooling labor market, while consumer credit demand was weaker. Shopify lost $270 million in Q1, dropping shares 19%, while FTX customers are set to get funds back with interest after the crypto exchange's collapse, through asset sales including stakes in AI firm Anthropic.

For those who read...

In stock market news: 

All three major stock indexes are closing in on record highs, reversing the lows we saw in April. 

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.85%, its seventh straight day in the green
• The S&P 500 rose roughly half a percent and the Nasdaq rose nearly .3%
• All three indexes have jumped over 3.5% since the start of May, fueled largely by Wall Street's belief that the Fed will begin cutting interest rates this year. Strong corporate profits and a more optimistic outlook on inflation are also adding fuel to the fire.

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In more general news, we turn to the man often hailed as the greatest investor of all time: 

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• Warren Buffet has trimmed his holdings in Apple by a whopping $20B. Noting this, Apple stock still represents a hefty 40% of Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio. Warren said his sale of Apple stock was for tax purposes, although it likely doesn’t help that Apple hasn’t grown revenues in 4 of the 5 last quarters. I also imagine he isn’t a huge fan of  the absurdly thin iPads they just released which I’d bet crack faster than a nature valley bar.
• Furthermore, in a surprising revelation, Buffet disclosed that he's sitting on a staggering $182 billion in cash. Opting for liquidity over stocks at the moment, he suggests that he's struggling to find appealing investment opportunities, hinting that the market may be overvalued.
• Expanding on general market directionsome text
  • From the U.S. Department of Labor Report: US weekly jobless claims rose to their highest level in more than eight months signaling that the labor market is cooling. 
  • The Consumer credit report from the U.S. Federal Reserve came out on Tuesday and showed weaker loan demand from banks, indicating weaker activity from the market.
  • And today we look forward to the release of the University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment, preliminary results and the Federal budget from the  U.S. Department of the Treasury.

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Moving into some stories from the Corporate World:

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• Shopify lost $270M in the first quarter, dropping their shares 19% on Wednesday. The stock is now down 63% since peaking in November of 2021. That being said, analysts across the board have slashed their price targets for the business, and some are jumping at the opportunity to buy the dip.
• and FTX customers are set to get their funds back with interest—a surprising turn after the crypto exchange's 2022 collapse. According to the bankrupt company’s attorneys, FTX has secured sufficient funds for repayment through asset sales, including big wins from stakes in AI company Anthropic and in the rebounding crypto market. While the proposal awaits judicial approval, current FTX CEO John Ray described it as an extraordinary outcome in bankruptcy. Noting this, there won’t be money left for the investors that backed FTX. Sorry Shaq, Tom Brady, and Steph Curry— I’m surprised this wasn’t in the new Tom Brady roast.

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That's all for this week's Business Column. Stay tuned for more updates next week and let us know if you found this useful by texting us back! Have a great Friday and weekend and thanks for listening.

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Bulletin Brief

Stock market latest (WSJ)

The latest on the Dow (WSJ)

Warren’s market moves (WSJ)

US Weekly Jobless Claims (Reuters)

Financial releases this week (JHI Investments)

Shopify news (Yahoo)

FTX bankruptcy plan (CNN)