Boeing's woes, Bilt jilts, and the Indicator's stock rally
2Digest
This week's Indicators of the Week delves into a variety of economic news, starting with Boeing's struggles. The company faced three negative news events, including CEO Dave Calhoun's grilling by senators on Capitol Hill, a letter from victims' families of the 737 Max crashes calling for aggressive criminal prosecution, and issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft delaying NASA astronauts' return from the International Space Station. Next, the episode examines Wells Fargo's losses on a unique credit card that offers no fees for rent payments. The bank is losing millions of dollars a month on the card, likely due to underestimating the number of customers who would sign up and carry a balance. Finally, the episode revisits the investment funds based on congressional stock trades, tracking the performance of Republican and Democratic lawmakers' investments. The Democratic fund, Nancy, outperformed the market, driven by investments in artificial intelligence, particularly Nvidia, which was recently named the biggest company in the world. The Republican fund, Cruise, did not perform as well, falling below the overall stock market performance.
Outlines
Boeing's Embattled State
This Chapter discusses the three negative news events that plagued Boeing this week, including CEO Dave Calhoun's grilling by senators on Capitol Hill, a letter from victims' families of the 737 Max crashes calling for aggressive criminal prosecution, and issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft delaying NASA astronauts' return from the International Space Station.
Wells Fargo's Credit Card Mishap
This Chapter focuses on Wells Fargo's losses on a unique credit card that offers no fees for rent payments. The bank is losing millions of dollars a month on the card, likely due to underestimating the number of customers who would sign up and carry a balance.
Congressional Stock Trades: Nancy vs. Cruise
This Chapter revisits the investment funds based on congressional stock trades, tracking the performance of Republican and Democratic lawmakers' investments. The Democratic fund, Nancy, outperformed the market, driven by investments in artificial intelligence, particularly Nvidia, which was recently named the biggest company in the world. The Republican fund, Cruise, did not perform as well, falling below the overall stock market performance.
Keywords
Boeing
Boeing is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and weapons worldwide. It is one of the largest aerospace manufacturers in the world, known for its commercial aircraft, such as the 737, 747, and 787, as well as its military aircraft, such as the F-15 and F-18 fighters.
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is one of the largest banks in the United States, offering a wide range of financial products and services, including banking, credit cards, investments, and mortgage lending. Wells Fargo has been involved in several high-profile scandals in recent years, including a fake account scandal that resulted in billions of dollars in fines.
Nvidia
Nvidia Corporation is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is a leading manufacturer of graphics processing units (GPUs), which are used in personal computers, gaming consoles, and data centers. Nvidia's GPUs are also used for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning applications. The company has been a major player in the AI revolution, with its GPUs powering many of the world's most advanced AI systems.
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a habitable artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. It is a joint project of five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). The ISS serves as a microgravity laboratory for scientific research and a platform for observing Earth. It has been continuously occupied by astronauts since November 2000.
737 Max
The Boeing 737 Max is a narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is a member of the Boeing 737 family and is designed for short- to medium-haul flights. The 737 Max was grounded worldwide in March 2019 following two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, which killed a total of 346 people. The crashes were attributed to a faulty flight control system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). The 737 Max was recertified by aviation authorities in November 2020 and returned to service in December 2020.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence processes by computer systems. These processes include learning (the acquisition of information and rules for using the information), reasoning (using rules to reach approximate or definite conclusions), and self-correction. AI research has been highly successful in developing effective techniques for solving a wide range of problems, from game playing to medical diagnosis.
Congressional Stock Trades
Congressional stock trades refer to the buying and selling of stocks by members of the United States Congress. There has been increasing scrutiny of congressional stock trades in recent years, with concerns about potential conflicts of interest and insider trading. Some lawmakers have proposed legislation to restrict or ban congressional stock trades, while others argue that such restrictions would violate their First Amendment rights.
Unusual Whales
Unusual Whales is a financial data and analytics company that provides insights into the stock market, particularly focusing on unusual trading activity. The company's data and analysis are used by investors, traders, and financial professionals to identify potential investment opportunities and risks. Unusual Whales is known for its focus on identifying large and unusual stock trades, which can be indicative of insider trading or other market-moving events.
Sversive
Sversive is a financial technology company that specializes in creating and managing exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The company's ETFs are designed to track specific market indices or investment strategies. Sversive is known for its innovative approach to ETF management, using data-driven strategies and technology to optimize portfolio performance.
Planet Money
Planet Money is a daily podcast produced by NPR that explores the world of economics and finance. The show covers a wide range of topics, from the global economy to personal finance, using a mix of humor, storytelling, and data analysis. Planet Money is known for its accessible and engaging approach to economics, making complex topics understandable for a broad audience.
Q&A
What were the three negative news events that plagued Boeing this week?
The three negative news events were: CEO Dave Calhoun being grilled by senators on Capitol Hill, a letter from victims' families of the 737 Max crashes calling for aggressive criminal prosecution, and issues with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft delaying NASA astronauts' return from the International Space Station.
Why is Wells Fargo losing money on its new credit card that offers no fees for rent payments?
Wells Fargo is losing money on the card because they underestimated the number of customers who would sign up and carry a balance. They were hoping to make money back on interest payments from customers who carry balances, but that hasn't materialized.
How did the investment funds based on congressional stock trades perform this week?
The Democratic fund, Nancy, outperformed the market, driven by investments in artificial intelligence, particularly Nvidia. The Republican fund, Cruise, did not perform as well, falling below the overall stock market performance.
What is the significance of Nvidia's recent performance?
Nvidia's recent performance is significant because it has become the biggest company in the world, driven by its dominance in the artificial intelligence market. This highlights the growing importance of AI and the role of Nvidia's GPUs in powering these technologies.
What are some of the concerns surrounding congressional stock trades?
There are concerns about potential conflicts of interest and insider trading when members of Congress trade stocks. Some argue that these trades could give lawmakers an unfair advantage or influence their decision-making.
Show Notes
On today's show, we're digging into the embattled aerospace company, Boeing. We look at how paying your rent with a Wells Fargo credit card is costing the bank millions of dollars a month. And we learn how much richer the Planet Money coffers are after we invested in the funds that track stock trading by congresspeople and their families on both sides of the aisle.
Related Episodes:
Invest like a Congress member
Help Wanted at Boeing
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