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Larry Summers Says the Dollar Isn’t Losing Its Dominance in Global Economy (4 min read)

Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers dismissed the narrative that the dollar is quickly losing its global dominance, noting China's shortcomings in providing an alternative reserve currency. He questioned whether China, which is currently trying to keep capital in the country, would be a place where people would want to hold reserves on a massive scale. He also criticized the Biden administration's refusal to use trade policy as a tool in competing with China and called for greater efforts to show the US is not trying to hobble China's economy.

US economy has 'regained growth momentum' in April as recession fears swirl (4 min read)
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The US economy is experiencing its biggest upturn in almost a year, according to the S&P Global PMI, an index that measures economic trends in the manufacturing and service sectors. The index reached 53.5 in April, its highest level since May 2022, and any reading above 50 indicates an expansion in economic activity. It also shows that economic activity is broad-based, led by services and goods, and job growth has accelerated. This is the first data in recent months that challenges the narrative of the US economy is in imminent danger of a downturn.

BlackRock CEO Sold Monstrous Personal Stake (2 min read)
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Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, has sold almost 7% of his stake in the firm, worth roughly $25 million, according to a securities filing. This sale, along with other senior management directors selling shares, has raised concerns as many analysts noticed Fink typically sell his shares before major recession events. However, Fink recently claimed he was not expecting a big recession to come during an appearance on CNBC's Squawk on the Street show. The $25 million sale is equivalent to Fink's yearly compensation in BlackRock.

Lyft plans to ‘significantly reduce’ workforce, CEO says (2 min read)
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Lyft CEO has informed employees that the company is planning to significantly reduce its workforce to turn a profit after disappointing earnings over the last quarters. The internal memo said the cuts aim to slim down the company and speed up its turnaround. This comes after Lyft cut 13% of its workforce last November. According to the Wall Street Journal, the latest job cuts could eliminate at least 1,200 positions or over 30% of staff. Lyft shares were up 6% on Friday, but the company's stock has declined approximately 70% over the past year.

The Biggest No-Brainer Investment Right Now? (4 min read)
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This blog post by a money manager discusses whether it's a good idea to move bond allocation to a money market fund. He argues that moving into short-duration assets seems like a no-brainer at the moment because the yields are still in the range of 4% to 5%. However, there are still some risks to consider such as interest rate and reinvestment risks. Scenarios like inflation falling rapidly or a recession can affect those risks. But in the near-term, short-duration investments like T-bills or money market funds offer the best risk-to-reward in fixed income.

Cathie Wood's Firm Has Changed Its Predicted Future Stock Price for Tesla (2 min read)
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Cathie Wood's Ark Invest funds purchased another 256,023 shares of Tesla worth $42.7 million after Elon Musk said the company plans to increase volume over profitability in the coming quarters. Shares of Tesla have tumbled more than 20% over a five-day period due to shrinking operating margin concerns. However, Wood said she is unphased by the drop and remains bullish on Tesla. Ark Invest now has a $2,000 price target for the EV company in 2027 and that Tesla's robotaxi plans will play a significant role in achieving this goal.

That's it for today! You can reply to this email if you have any comments or feedback.

Thanks,
Thomas

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