Charging the iPhone to my Apple Card... seamless. Paying it off on time: not so much. Goldman Sachs’ Apple Card biz has a bad-credit problem, according to competitor JPMorgan. In 2019 the investment-banking giant triumphed over established card companies to become Apple's card issuer. The sleek no-fee card generated hype, with early users posting pics of their names etched in Apple titanium. Some expressed shock they'd been approved. Now we know why:

• Credit karma: Over a quarter of Goldman’s card loans have gone to customers with credit scores under 660 (aka: fair to poor).
• The WOAT: Goldman’s loss rate on credit-card loans is the worst among major US card issuers and “well above subprime lenders," JPM said.
• The GOAT: Thanks to pandemic stimulus and rising wages, rivals like Bank of America have seen repayments rise near record levels.

DJ D-Sol in the hot seat... Goldman CEO David Solomon, who moonlights as an EDM DJ, is under pressure to produce profits at Goldman's consumer-facing biz (which makes up 18% of its total revenue). The Wall Street-centric bank expanded to consumers in 2016 with its high-yield Marcus savings account. Then Apple Card supercharged its retail reach. Now:

• Growing revenue: Goldman's consumer-banking biz grew revenue 25% last quarter, with 14M customers and $16B in loan balances.
• Growing losses: The consumer division is on track to lose $1.2B this year, and Goldman has been forced to set aside more reserves in case of future loan losses.

Enter the Mocha-verse… Cold brew’s coming to the blockchain. Yesterday Starbucks introduced a loyalty program powered by non-fungible tokens called “Starbucks Odyssey.” Odyssey will be powered by Polygon, a proof-of-stake "sidechain" that aims to make ethereum transactions cheaper and faster. Polygon’s native token, matic, jumped 5% on the Starbs news.

• A journey: Odyssey will extend Starbs’ popular rewards program, enabling latte lovers to earn NFTs (called “stamps”) by completing “journeys.” Think: java-inspired games.
• Peppier perks: Users can redeem stamps for exclusive experiences like virtual espresso-martini-making classes and trips to Costa Rican coffee farms.
• Brewing up community: Odyssey users can also buy and sell limited-edition stamps.

Spill the NFTea… Last year NFT sales boomed with high crypto prices. But since then the NFT industry has struggled:

• Trading volume on top NFT marketplace OpenSea has plunged 99% from its May peak. An NFT of Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s first-ever tweet recently got a top bid of $280 (not a typo) — after selling for $2.9M last year.
• Getting practical: As sales have slumped, some companies have rolled out “practical” NFT applications: Ticketmaster uses them to verify tickets and prevent resale scams, and eBay’s embraced them to authenticate its goods.

• Track: Two of the US’s largest railroad unions are threatening to strike if workers aren’t given better working conditions. Because trains carry nearly 40% of long-distance trade, a strike could wreak supply havoc.
• Wi-Fi: Google’s spinning out its satellite-internet startup (dubbed: Aalyria) but is keeping a minority stake. The search giant joins other tech biggies looking beyond ad sales for revenue growth.
• Fight: Twitter pushed back against Elon Musk's (third) attempt to back out of his $44B takeover offer. Twitter shareholders will vote today on whether to approve a Musk-quisition.
• Chic: Hilton's new boutique-hotel brand made its Time Square debut as Broadway visitors near prepandemic levels. It’s part of Hilton's $2.5B plan to revamp the theater district's entertainment options.
• Slash: Universal Studios Beijing is cutting staff (again) as China’s zero-Covid policy continues to shrink visitor #s. It’s not just theme parks: China’s tourism revenue fell 28% in the first half of the year from last.

• August inflation numbers released
• Earnings expected from Core & Main

Authors of this Snacks own: ethereum and matic and shares of Apple, Google, Starbucks, and Twitter

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