Aug 10, 2021 Sign Up

Together With

"The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of a mistake." —Meg Whitman

Good morning! Global warming is happening so fast that scientists now say we'll cross a crucial temperature threshold as early as 2030, up to a decade sooner than previously thought, according to the newly released report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Read the two-page executive summary here.

If you still have not subscribed to Short Squeez yet, now is the time and this is the link. 

1. Story of the Day: AMC is Back?

The world’s largest theater chain and popular meme stock, AMC Entertainment posted a narrow quarterly loss, beating analysts’ estimates with results that still underscore the movie industry’s struggle to draw fans back to cinemas and compete with streaming options at home. Shares rose as much as 5.3% to $35.60 in after-hours trading.

Revenue soared to $445 million, from virtually zero a year ago, and was better than the $382 million that Wall Street had expected. The revenue is less than a third of the summer-season peak of $1.51 billion two years ago. Customers are slowly returning after the industry practically shut down in 2020. Attendance totaled 22.1 million at its theaters globally in the period. But many of this year’s biggest movies are also being offered online on the same day that they open in theaters.

In some good news for crypto investors, CEO Adam Aron announced that AMC will start accepting Bitcoin as payment by the end of 2021. Bitcoin was up ~5% on the news and has been having a good week, up more than 17%.

Short Squeez Takeaway: AMC was saved by retail investors in the pandemic who pumped up the stock and allowed management to raise cash, refinance, and stave off bankruptcy. With many movies being offered online on the same day, it will be a challenge for AMC to bring back customers to its theaters unless it can incentivize customers in some way (free popcorn for everyone?). Movies also seem to be something many people are still wary of going to in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Source: Bloomberg

2. Markets Rundown

• US stocks were mixed on Monday as investors tried to assess whether last week’s solid job figures meant that the Fed would engage in tapering—unwinding its monetary stimulus—earlier than expected

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Moderna ($MRNA) +17% amid growing enthusiasm over technology used in their coronavirus vaccines and its potential to help fight other ailments like cancer and malaria.
• (+) Scientific Games ($SGMS) +9% on strong Q2 earnings.
  
• (–) Elanco Animal Health ($ELAN) -16% a downward guidance revision for 2021 earnings overshadowed impressive sales growth.

3. Top Reads

A Message from Daloopa: Automate Your Modeling

Tired of updating models every quarter? The future is here! Daloopa has built AI technology that can build and update models for any public company with flawless accuracy. Daloopa enables a robust audit trail for each document so you can validate the exact location of any particular data point. In addition to saving hundreds of hours, incorporating Daloopa’s technology for modeling needs has saved customers millions of dollars and an average of 8x efficiency gains versus a manual process, while providing a higher accuracy rate due to a reduction in human error.

Get in touch with Daloopa and automate your life.

4. Book of the Day: Risk Savvy: How to Make Good Decisions

In this age of big data, we often trust that expert analysis—whether it’s about next year’s stock market or a person’s risk of getting cancer—is accurate. But, as risk expert, Gerd Gigerenzer, reveals in his latest book, Risk Savvy, most of us, including doctors, lawyers, and financial advisors, often misunderstand statistics, leaving us misinformed and vulnerable to exploitation.

Yet there’s hope. In Risk Savvy, Gigerenzer gives us an essential guide to the science of good decision making, showing how ordinary people can make better decisions for their money, their health, and their families. Gigerenzer delivers the surprising conclusion that the best results often come from considering less information and listening to your gut.

5. Daily Visual: The Beer Industry & The Illusion of Choice
(Beer Output and Notable Brands Owned by the World's Largest Brewing Groups)

Source: Statista

6.  Daily Acumen: Destructive Money Habits

1. Using a Credit Card as a Loan

Credit cards are great and serve a purpose. In most countries, you need it to build a good credit score. But the problem with credit cards is that we think it’s a free loan.

“I can spend my money now and pay later,” usually doesn't always end well. If you’re in debt, assess your financial health, negotiate lower interest rates with your credit card provider, make extra payments to your loans when more money is coming in and cancel unnecessary memberships.

2. Borrowing Money for Liabilities

There was a gentleman who leased a German sports car for three years. It cost him about $3,500 a month including gas and insurance. That’s $126,000 in three years before any investment gains.

He was quite apathetic about it. “I really enjoyed driving that car, but I can’t help to think that I probably could’ve bought a condo with that money.”

Don’t be that guy.

3. Having One Income Stream

People who have one income stream usually live with a perpetually fearful state of mind and terrible money habits. They realize that their income is vulnerable. They’re afraid to lose their job, so they say yes to everything and let people walk over them at work. That’s how many people become bitter over time.

But you don’t have to do that. By investing in yourself and spending less time on entertainment and consumerism, you can build a more stable career.

You can build a side business, invest your money in real estate or dividend stocks, or work in a field with a lot of job prospects. When you have options, you feel more at ease.

Source: Darious Foroux

7. Memes of the Day

Love Short Squeez? Share it with your friends!