Investors cranking out the umbrellas like [praetorianphoto/E+ via GettyImages]
Hey Snackers,
Facebook Messenger just released Soundmojis, "next-level" emojis that let you send sounds like clapping 👏... and "audio clips from your favorite artists like Rebecca Black." 🤔 #ThonkingFace
Stocks dropped so much yesterday that we're doing a full story on the market.
"In the red"... Not a phrase we've heard recently re: the stock market. The market closed lower last week, after rallying to records for three weeks in a row. Yesterday, things got worse for the major stock indexes.
Cloudy with a chance of N-95 masks... A surge in Covid cases driven by the highly-contagious Delta variant is pouring cold water on recovery optimism. Ballooning Covid cases — mostly among the unvaccinated — in highly-vaxed countries like the US and the UK have dampened investors' expectations of economic growth. The CDC is calling the US surge "a pandemic of the unvaccinated." A few big counties, including LA, brought back indoor mask mandates last week. Meanwhile in developing countries, the situation is more dire.
The market mood has shifted... again. Stock market prices aren't just a product of fundamentals like profits, but also of human psychology. Stocks have been basking in Caribbean-level sunshine, but investors are starting to fear clouds ahead. The VIX, which measures the stock market's expectation of volatility, has soared 36% in the past five days. As Delta rises, confidence is waning: US consumer sentiment plunged in early July to its lowest level in five months. Sharp price increases in everyday items could also be knocking confidence in spending. It's TBD how long this shift will last.
Bringing the tractor factor... minus the tractor. Hardware chain Tractor Supply Co. sells tractor-adjacent products like animal feed, tractor apparel, and anything that caters to the “tractor lifestyle.” Turns out, the tractor lifestyle has been booming: TSC reported record profits last quarter after a pandemic-fueled boom in DIY projects.
Like the Peloton of farmland... TSC has created a lifestyle brand focused on community — in its own words: "a rural lifestyle brand." TSC differentiates itself from competitors like Home Depot and Lowe's by prioritizing farm-specific needs. A few features of its lifestyle strategy:
Niche sounds small, but it can be big... Unlike Home Depot, TSC isn't targeting the needs of everyone with a house — just like Peloton isn't targeting everyone who likes to sweat. TSC's core customers are "recreational farmers, ranchers, and all those who enjoy living the rural lifestyle." It was able to pull in big profits last quarter by catering to these farm-specific needs (“Fly Control Strategies for Your Barn,” anyone?). TSC says that this "specialized market niche" is what sets it apart from the competition.
Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Microsoft
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