Plus: Is FTX’s Sam Bankman Fried the next J.P. Morgan? June 27, 2022 Made in Canada IN THIS ISSUE 🌊 The oil wave crests 🚭 Juul gets banned 🎾 Serena Williams returns WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried | Tom Williams/Getty Images The week in markets 📈 💚 😌 👾 🤸 Where did this green come from? In a comforting turn, global stocks rallied this week, with the MSCI All-Country World & U.S. S&P 500 each up about 5%. The TSX was roughly flat. Bond yields fell (meaning prices rose) as investors worried a little less about future rate hikes in both Canada and the U.S. And crypto had its first good week since April, with Bitcoin climbing about 5%, Ether more than 10%, and Solana reminding people of how much fun crypto could be by spiking 20%. IMPORTANT It’s time to mix some more water into that hand soap. In the least surprising news of the week, StatCan revealed that prices jumped 7.7% from a year ago (compared to a 6.8% YOY increase in April). A 40-year high! Gas is up 48%, cooking oil 30%, meat 9%, and veggies 10.3%, which fortunately affects only those who happen to drive or eat. But: a teeny ray of good news at the pump. Gas prices dipped slightly last week — one cent in Ontario and six cents in Nova Scotia. And that’s before the 10% drop in oil prices over the last week are factored in, so it’s possible things will get better. Roe v. Wade was officially overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. By some estimates, reproductive health-care restrictions cost the U.S. economy more than $100 billion in 2020 because of reduced labour force participation. INTERESTING Sam Bankman-Fried is handing out loans. In an attempt to shorten the tumbling line of crypto dominoes by at least two, the straight-shooting billionaire co-founder of crypto exchange FTX did his best J.P. Morgan impression, announcing new credit lines to struggling lending platforms BlockFi and Voyager. While it’s not pure altruism — what’s good for crypto is generally good for FTX, after all — it’s still welcome news as the industry attempts to stabilize. Single-use plastic gets kicked out of Canada. In 2019, a reported 15.5 billion plastic grocery bags, three billion stir sticks, 5.8 billion straws, and 183 million of those plastic ring thingies from six packs were sold in Canada. The government plans to bring that down to zero, banning companies from making or importing six types of plastic items by the end of 2022 and from selling them after 2023. Great news for sea turtles — and anyone who doesn’t want the earth to implode. THE FOMO INDEX IMPORTANT 🍆 Massive layoffs at PornHub put future of online porn in no jeopardy at all. Source 🚗 UberPool is back in some U.S. cities. It’s finally safe to feel super awkward to save $4. Source 🍁 We’re calling it Bieber’s Law: now Netflix, TikTok, and YouTube will have to show Canadians more Canadian content. Source 👻 Amazon might teach Alexa to speak in voices of your dead relatives. Grandpa, dim the lights and play my party mix. Source CRASH & BURN TO THE MOON ⛺️ Camp counselor shortage arises as teens decide between ticks and body-shaming or staying on couch longer. Source 🚶‍♂️ Man walking across Canada to protest since-lifted vaccine mandates wonders what else his failures might achieve. Source 🚫 The FDA bans Juul sales in the U.S. Cigarettes double over with maniacal laughter. Source ⏰ TikTok to triple revenue this year to $12 billion. Soon it will have to tell us what it plans to do with its life. Source WHO CARES WHAT’S UP THIS WEEK MONDAY June 27 Serena’s back… After an injury kept her away from tennis for a year, the 23-time Grand Slam champion returns to Wimbledon, looking to add to her legacy — and her record $95 million U.S. in prize money. FRIDAY July 1 …and so’s the Freedom Convoy. After blocking border crossings and causing general headaches earlier this year to protest vaccine mandates, the Freedom Convoy is expected to regroup in downtown Ottawa on Canada Day — and stay for the summer. The last protests resulted in nearly a month of business closures, an estimated economic loss of $44 to $200 million a day, and $800,000 CAD per day in additional security costs for the city. THE BIG IMPORTANT STORY OUTLOOK Does what comes next have to be horrible? What do 68% of Canadians, some economists, Cardi B, and strippers have in common? They all think we’re headed into a nasty recession. They fear inflation is here to stay and central banks will just keep hiking interest rates, leading to lower spending and layoffs until the sheer economic chaos eventually (and painfully) brings those high prices down. Think: the 1970s or the Great Depression. But just because someone has the loudest voice doesn’t mean they’re right. There’s also a possibility — something people might be afraid of saying in case they’re wrong — that a rainbow could pop up through all this rain. Historically, it’s actually not unlikely! Here are some signs that could pleasantly surprise Cardi B: Economic growth: Economist Michael Veall told CTV that he sees the economy as still in the process of bouncing back from COVID-19 — more recovery mode than slump. Many households actually have big pandemic savings banked, which could mean more spending this summer. Supply chain: With production in China back on track, the supply chain is starting to get its act together, which should help lower prices and get more money into the economy. Inflation: Higher rates seem to be working, and some economists suggest inflation may be nearing its peak. No big bubbles: Tightenings have historically led to the biggest downturns when they caused major bubbles to pop. We’ve seen some implosions in the cryptocurrency market and with tech stocks, but those are relatively small compared to the overall economy. So will there be a recession? Maybe. But also maybe not. No one knows. That’s why it’s good to remember that all the usual money advice applies in bad times as well as good: try to have a little money on hand, pay down any high-interest debt that you can, and remember that investing is a long-term pursuit. —Sarah Rieger OTHER VERY GOOD READS 💸 How Three Sisters (and Their Mom) Tried To Swindle the CRA Out of Millions A multi-million dollar spaghetti scam |Maclean’s 🍑 And a newly relevant classic: The Fight To Keep PornHub Accountable How have adult sites been reined in? |The New Yorker 👾 The Case of the Missing $46 Million A heist that shocked the crypto world |Toronto Life THE WISDOM OF TWITTER The least volatile pork future: THOUGHTS ON TODAY’S ISSUE? 🤑 Love it 🙂 Good 🙁 So so TLDR is better with friends! 👯 Share this link in the group chat, Slack thread, or print it out and mail it to anyone who wants to sign up. This week’s newsletter contributors: Brennan Doherty (writer), Devin Gordon (Writer), Stacey Woods (writer), Sarah Rieger (news writer), Ambrose Martos (fact checker), Sara Black McCulloch (fact checker), Ciara Rickard (copy editor), Peter Martin (senior editor) and Kat Angus (managing editor). Full disclosure: contributors to this newsletter own stock in Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft. Wealthsimple Media Inc. 80 Spadina Ave Suite 400 Toronto, ON, M5V 2J4 Replies to this email address are not monitored. Have questions? Visit our Help Centre or submit a request to our Client Support team. VIEW IN BROWSER PRIVACY POLICY UNSUBSCRIBE TLDR is offered by Wealthsimple Media Inc. and is for informational purposes only. Any views expressed are those of the individual author and/or of Wealthsimple Media Inc., not of Wealthsimple Financial Corp or any of its other subsidiaries or affiliates. 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