Morning Download from Invincible Money 

Personal finance + economics + markets

Good morning investors! U.S. Fed chair Powell shook the markets a bit by stating we still have a long way to go to get to 2% (i.e. more rate hikes coming). The Tesla charging network rolls toward total domination. Is Telsa actually an A.I. stock? Plus, another big bank gets into crypto.

📊 Economy 

Fed Chair Powell reiterated that inflation is still too high and we should expect more rate hikes. Markets fell on the news, except crypto which rose 7%.

He said, “Inflation pressures continue to run high, and the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go.” Adding that the labor market is still tight, but improving.

📰 News

More car makers join Telsa’s Charging Network

Tesla's charging network continues to steamroll over the world as more electric vehicle makers adopt its standard. The network is one of the largest and fastest-growing EV charging networks in the world.

Rivian is the latest to adopt Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS), which will allow Rivian owners to access Tesla Superchargers starting in 2024.

• NACS is rapidly becoming the industry standard, which benefits both Tesla and other automakers. (but mostly Tesla)

• Tesla opened up its formerly proprietary charging network in November to qualify for federal funding and Hyundai is also considering adopting NACS. On June 8th General Motors announced they’re using the network and Ford said the same on May 25th.

Is Tesla an A.I. company?

Interesting article arguing Tesla is actually an A.I. company due to the software behind self-driving cars, plus the Tesla bot (in development) and the Dojo software that trains their A.I.s.

Tesla’s stock surge has happened about the same time as Nvidia and other A.I. stocks, but the Wall Street Journal agues it’s NOT an A.I. company.

Lastly, consider the Tesla bot has made huge advances in a year and not many people are talking about the huge societal and market impact a $20,000 personal robot will have on the world.

About 8 months ago, Elon boldly stated that Tesla could be worth TWICE as much as Apple! I did a YouTube live about it if you want to hear more.

Big Chinese EV investment

Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio announced that it has raised more than $700 million from a fund owned by the Abu Dhabi government.

• The funding will be used to expand Nio's production capacity and accelerate the development of new technologies.

• Nio is one of the leading electric vehicle makers in China, and it has been growing rapidly in recent years.

• The company's latest funding round is a sign of the strong investor interest in the Chinese electric vehicle market.

China economy struggles

Several banks downgraded China’s GDP estimates.

Who? JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of American and UBS

What? Goldman cut the forecast from 6% to 5.4%

China’s post-Covid growth has been disappointing, showing lower than expected numbers for the past 2 months.

Amazon Sued

The FTC sued Amazon for allegedly tricking customers into signing up for Prime and making it difficult to cancel.

The accusation: Amazon's checkout process made it harder to purchase items without first subscribing to Prime.

Tricky? They say Amazon also presented some customers with a purchase button that automatically triggered a Prime subscription without clearly stating that they would be enrolled in the program.

The FTC is seeking an injunction to stop Amazon from these practices and to refund customers who were tricked into signing up for Prime.

$250 Million for a house?

The priciest house in the U.S. is for sale.

📈 Stocks

S&P 500 4,365.69 (-.0.52%)
DJIA 33,951.52 (-0.3%)
NASDAQ 13,502.2 (-1.21)
VIX 13.2 (-4.9%)

Yesterday’s Most Actives

Intel [INTC -6.00%] fell upon announcing a restructuring plan to reduce costs by $10 billion and take on Taiwan Semiconductor. It fell because, as one analyst put it, "The presentation essentially tells investors that its current manufacturing is sub-scale and could remain sub-scale for a while."

Patterson Companies [PDCO +14.69%] hit a 52-week high after being up 28%+ yesterday. The healthcare company makes products for dental and animal health markets.

Why? They reported EPS (Earnings per share) of $0.17 (up 18% YOY) on Q4 revenue of $1.7 billion (up 5% YOY).

Palantir Technologies, Inc [PLTR -7.28%] The company’s stock is up 147% so far this year, even with 8 straight quarters of slowing growth.

What? They make A.I. software for government customers for intelligence gathering, counterterrorism and the military.

🏃🏿‍♂️ Marathon Digital [MARA] rose again with Bitcoin - up 4.18%.

🔐 Crypto

Bitcoin $29,960 (+6.5%)
Ethereum $1,879.69 (+5.4%)
Total market cap $1.21 T (+5.5%)
_{* quotes as of 5pm EST, June 21.}

Deutsche Bank has applied for a digital asset custody license in Germany. This is the latest sign that traditional financial institutions (TradFi) are increasingly interested in the cryptocurrency market. UBS and Commerzbank have also applied in Germany.

The move by Deutsche Bank is part of a broader trend of TradFi institutions entering the crypto market.

In recent months, a number of other TradFi institutions, including Fidelity Investments and Goldman Sachs, have announced plans to offer cryptocurrency services.

The growing interest from TradFi institutions is a sign that the cryptocurrency market is maturing. As more traditional financial institutions enter the market, it is likely that cryptocurrency will become more mainstream and accessible to a wider range of investors.

💰 Be a Better Investor

What famous investors say about Tesla

"Tesla is not just a car company. It is a technology company that is revolutionizing the transportation industry." - Jim Chanos, Kynikos Associates

"Tesla is the most important company in the world." - Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla

"Tesla is the future of transportation." - Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest

"Tesla is a disruptive company that is changing the world." - Michael Burry, investor

"Tesla is a risky investment, but it could be very rewarding." - Warren Buffett, investor

NOTE: It is important to do your own research before investing in any company, including Tesla. However, these quotes from some of the most respected investors in the world suggest that Tesla is a company with the potential to change the world.

Here are some additional things to consider before investing in Tesla:

• Tesla is a volatile stock, so you should be prepared for the possibility of sharp swings in price.

• Tesla is a growth stock, so you should be prepared to hold the stock for the long term.

• Tesla is a controversial company, so you should be comfortable with the risks involved.

🧠 Get Smarter

The efficient frontier

Part of Modern Portfolio Theory, the efficient frontier is a portfolio that offer the best combination of return and risk. It is a curve that plots the expected return of a portfolio against its risk. Portfolios that lie on the efficient frontier are considered to be optimal.

In other words, you can use it to calculate how efficient your portfolio is so you can try to maximize it.

For the math nerds: Dig into it here.

👩🏽‍⚖️ Legal Stuff
Nothing in this newsletter is financial advice. Always do your own research and think for yourself.