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Economy

What’s Going On At JP Morgan?

Jamie Dimon caused a stir last week with some comments about his future.

Who is Jamie Dimon? The CEO of JP Morgan, the nation’s biggest and most prestigious bank - a position he has held since 2006. This has led to Dimon being nicknamed the “the king of all banking.”

Dimon is now 68 years old and many have pondered about his immediate future. Well, he provided some insight when he stated, “it’s not five years anymore”, in regards to his working future/retirement, during JP Morgan’s investor day last week. 

According to reports, it might be more like 2-3 years for Dimon, before he retires once reaching his 70’s. 

The concern is, no one knows what would be next. For him, or the bank.

This caused markets to react, as shares dropped 4% after Dimon’s statement. 

Dimon has been among the most successful investment executives of the generation. Shares are up nearly 90% over the past five years and, unlike other big banks, there have been no scandals. 

Many can’t see Dimon, who reportedly still works seven days a week, just simply slinking off to retirement somewhere on a golf course. Many expect the workaholic will have something planned for his post-JP Morgan tenure.

It might be too late for some sort of political run? But Dimon had said previously that he would be a better president than President Trump, stating he is “smarter” and just “as tough” as Trump.

Retirement, in Dimon’s case, always seemed to be five years away - which would be a great way to be able to go through life. His retirement date had always been given in five-year time spans. That was Dimon’s stock response.

But suddenly, things seemed to change last week and the timeline has tightened. 

The New York Post cited sources that Dimon has become inspired by James Gorman, who was the equally-successful CEO of Morgan Stanley, before retiring in January. And how well the company has handled the transition. 

It’s easier to walk away from something if you can trust it’ll be in good hands. 

Or could this be Dimon trying to get out while the getting is still good, so-to-speak.

He did reference a list of red flags he sees for the future economy, including: inflation which won’t seem to go away, a government prone to prolific spending, and a geopolitical landscape that is among the most volatile he’s ever seen. 

If Dimon is suddenly willing to walk away (sooner than ever before), should that raise red flags for the rest of us?

Economy / Real Estate

Rates Go Up, New Home Sales Go Down

In April, newly built single-family houses sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 634,000. This number was 4.7% lower than the March rate and 7.7% lower than the April, 2023 figure.

The expectation for April was 675,000. 

Despite this, analysts have claimed that this data is no cause for concern.

Wells Fargo blamed an uptick in mortgage rates in early April, and more inventory of existing houses for sale, as the reasons for the decline. 

Advisory firm Oxford Economics predicted in a statement that “new-home sales regain their stride over the remainder of the year.”

Mortgage rates remain stubbornly high. The interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 7% APR, which is up 35 basis points from a year ago (or +0.35%).

Inflation has remained higher than expected and buyers have not seen much relief so far in 2024. IF the economy does eventually cool (how big of an if?), as many experts are predicting, THEN you will likely see a modest decline in mortgage rates. 

Whether it’s a good time to buy or not might be more about YOU than anything else: where you currently are in your life, your income, credit score, debt, savings, etc. 

The market might not indicate the right time as much as your own position.

Economy / Stocks

Nvidia is Putting the Market On It’s Back

We are entering into a science-fiction type of reality.

Nvidia, a chip making company (amongst other things), is the latest example.

Their stock closed up 9.3% on Thursday, reaching all-time highs. Nvidia shares have more than doubled this year so far, now making them worth more than Amazon and Tesla COMBINED. 

Nvidia’s market capitalization is now at $2.6 trillion… with a T. 

Nvidia introduced graphics processing units, known simply as “GPUs”. These are a key component of PC architecture and large-scale applications, which are used for gaming and cryptocurrency. 

But Nvidia also sells chip systems for vehicles and robotics. 

Their earnings just grew by 461%, and sales by 262%, in the first quarter. 

While companies like Amazon and Apple are building their own AI chips, Nvidia is doing it at scale and seems to be a marathon-length ahead of its competition.

This soon might be their AI world, if it isn’t already, and we’ll just be living in it.

Tech

Computer Chips… In Your Brain

The future is now old man.

Neuralink just announced that they are planning on implanting two new study participants with their brand new computer interface in the coming months. 

30-year-old Noland Arbaugh, who is paralyzed below the neck, was the first participant to receive Neuralink’s surgically implanted device, doing so four months ago. He said he now has near full control of his computer by using just his thoughts and is able to play video games with his step-father.

Despite some setbacks and flaws, Arbaugh told the New York Times last week that he has few regrets about being the first to go through something like this.

The device is remarkable technology: it’s the size of a coin, but uses 64 tiny wires and is equipped with over 1,000 electrodes that can read neuron activity in your brain and connect with a computer or smartphone. The device is implanted beneath the skull of the patient. 

Neuralink was co-founded by Elon Musk in 2016.

The idea of this technology was to help those dealing with paralysis, though it might not stop there. The company has also announced that they’re planning to test robotic prosthetic arms. 

This all might sound like science fiction, but competitor-company Synchron (a start-up backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos) has already implanted its stent-like device in 10 patients.

Welcome to the future.

Sports

Always a Bridesmaid, Never the Bride

That’s been the Celtics Story for the past 8 years, the pieces have fallen into place for them to change that narrative.

The Celtics are the NBA’s version of the “boy who cried wolf”. They’ve reached the Eastern Conference Finals in six of the last eight seasons and yet? Zero titles. 

In fact, there’s been just one NBA Finals appearance (the 2022 loss to the Golden State Warriors, despite winning two of the first three games). 

As if the basketball Gods were feeling sorry for such a franchise, they have cleared the path for the Celtics to be able to finally get that elusive title.

Boston faced the Miami Heat in the first round… without their star, Jimmy Butler.

Then it was on to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the next round, who represented a MASH unit more than a playoff team. The Cavs were also missing their star player, Donovan Mitchell, among four others. 

And now, the Celtics get to deal with the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, who have now lost THEIR star, Tyrese Haliburton, to injury, as well. The Pacers have outscored opponents by 59 points this postseason with Haliburton on the court, but have been outscored by 38 when he is not.

Not to mention the fact that the Pacers choked away the end of game one with poor execution. Then inexplicably pulled their starters for the fourth quarter of game two, despite being within striking distance. And Saturday, coughed up a 20 point lead at home to lose game three. 

Once the Celtics get past the Pacers, they will then have to deal with either the Dallas Mavericks or the upstart Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA Finals. Two opponents not comparable to the dynastic Warriors the Celtics were dealt two seasons ago.

The Wolves star, Anthony Edwards, is still only 22 years old and is lacking playoff experience. And the Mavs star, Luka Doncic, is playing on two balky knees. The top two teams in the Western Conference have already been eliminated. 

The NBA is currently dealing with its most parity since the 1970s. If the Celtics can’t get it done now, then when can they?

They’ve been much like Katherine Heigl’s character in 27 Dresses (admit it, you’ve seen the movie… maybe even more than once?): always the bridesmaid, hoping to one day become the bride.

Well, this postseason has been like finding the perfect partner and being one week from the wedding. If you’re the Celtics, just don’t screw it up now. 

Entertainment

Mad Max… Without Max?

Can the star studded cast carry the franchise?

“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” debuted in theaters this weekend. It’s the fifth film of the series, and a prequel, starring Anya Taylor-Joy (The Menu, Last Night in Soho” and Chris Hemsworth of “Thor” fame.

The film received a good reception at the Cannes Film Festival, and even favorable reviews from critics since.

However, in 2024, that doesn’t always correlate to box office sales. The film grossed $58.8M from movie theaters (in 76 total markets) during its opening weekend. This included $33.3M (the majority) from overseas. 

The fact that today is Memorial Day might help the film squeeze a little more out of its opening “weekend” at the theater. 

The projection for opening weekend was $40 to $45M domestically, which is what the last film, “Mad Max: Fury Road”, did in 2015 ($45.4M). “Fury Road” ended up grossing $380M worldwide throughout its total run and earned 10 Oscar nominations. However, this film fell well short of that target, with only $25.5M domestically. 

But much like TV ratings being down across the board, so too are box office sales these days.

It’s hard to compare films post-Covid to even the previous film of this series from nine years ago.

More movie-watchers are just streaming films on-demand at home, or waiting until the films are released on the various streaming apps they’re already paying for.

As for the movie itself, it currently holds an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from the critics and a 90% approval rating from the audience. A lot has been made about the ending of the film, both good and bad, but you’ll have to see for yourself (no spoilers here!). 

Things at the theaters might not be the same as they once were, but there are still summer blockbusters to get excited about. And with Memorial Day Weekend serving as the unofficial opening of summer each year, we may have just received our first must-watch film of the summer…

Listen to This!

Country Music is having a moment with artists like Beyonce, Post Malone and others dipping their toes in and pushing the boundaries of what we though we wanted.

Shaboozey samples a millennial favorite, J-Kwon’s “Tipsy”, and turns it into an absolute country banger. I’m excited to see what else he comes up with!

Weekly Commute