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  Key Takeaways Netflix Q2 revenue hit $11.08B, beating estimates by $10M . Full-year revenue forecast raised to $44.8B–$45.2B, citing currency shifts and ad growth . Ads business on track to double revenue in 2025, hitting ~$3B . Operating margin hit 34.1% but will dip in H2 due to content spend . Stock rose 2% post-earnings despite lofty 40x forward P/E . The Numbers Came In $7.19 per share. $11.08 billion in revenue. Netflix cleared the bar again. Analysts expected $7.08 and $11.07 billion. Close, but not quite. Profit jumped to $3.1 billion—up from $2.1 billion a year ago. Cash flow surged too. Operating cash hit $2.4 billion. Free cash flow hit $2.3 billion. Up 91%. They raised the full-year cash flow forecast to $8.5 billion. Fat and happy . Wall Street yawned. Shares dipped 1% after hours. Too rich, maybe. Trading at 40 times forward earnings. A premium. The stock ran up 40% this year before the report. People take profits. Human nature . Raising the Roof Netflix nudged the ...

  Key Takeaways Jerome Powell vowed he would “never, ever, ever leave this job voluntarily” before his term ends in May 2026 . Trump repeatedly threatened to fire Powell over interest rate disagreements but recently called it “highly unlikely” unless “fraud” is proven . The White House now accuses Powell of mismanaging a $2.5 billion Federal Reserve building renovation as potential grounds for removal . Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested Powell should leave the Fed Board entirely when his chair term expires to avoid “confusion” . Legal experts question if Trump can fire Powell; Supreme Court precedent suggests policy disagreements don’t constitute “cause” . The Unmovable Object: Powell’s Ironclad Vow Jerome Powell sits behind a desk older than your grandfather’s whiskey. The chair creaks. Washington humidity sticks shirts to backs. Reporters lean in, recorders thrust forward like weapons. They want blood. They want drama. Powell gives them granite. “ I will never, ever, eve...

  Key Takeaways Meta investors settled  an $8 billion lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg and executives over privacy failures, ending a high-stakes trial . Cambridge Analytica scandal  triggered the lawsuit, where user data was harvested for political campaigns . Undisclosed settlement terms  mean no public accountability for Zuckerberg or the board, critics argue . FTC’s $5 billion fine  in 2019 was central to the case, but gaps in oversight remained . Caremark claims  are notoriously hard to prove, and this case sets no legal precedent . The $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit Against Zuckerberg Ends Quietly Meta investors just settled a massive lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg and ten other executives. They wanted $8 billion for privacy failures tied to the Cambridge Analytica mess. The trial started this week in Delaware’s Court of Chancery. But it ended fast—on day two. Judge Kathaleen McCormick got the news Thursday. Shareholders’ lawyer Sam Closic said the deal “...

  Key Takeaways San Jose leads AI adoption : Mayor Matt Mahan uses ChatGPT for speechwriting and budget drafting, aiming to train 1,000 city workers in AI by 2026 . Productivity gains demonstrated : Early projects show 20-50% efficiency boosts—e.g., a $12M grant secured using ChatGPT took fewer nights/weekends . Rigorous safeguards in place : Strict guidelines mandate human oversight, data privacy, and bias checks to prevent errors like AI "hallucinations" . Cost challenges emerge : Pilot projects (e.g., Stockton’s AI booking agent) face cancellations due to high licensing fees or unclear ROI . Bay Area expands AI use : San Francisco rolls out Microsoft Copilot to 30,000 workers for translation, data analysis, and 311 services . How San Jose’s Mayor Turned ChatGPT Into a City Hall Power Tool Mayor Matt Mahan ain’t shy ’bout how he crafts speeches. When ribbon cuttings or budget talks pop up, his team fires up ChatGPT to draft talking points. “Elected officials do a  tremendou...

  Key Takeaways 🚨 The FDA fully authorized Juul’s e-cigarettes and tobacco/menthol pods for U.S. sale on July 17, 2025 . 🔄 This reverses Juul’s 2022 federal ban, which was suspended shortly after enforcement but left the company near bankruptcy . 🔬 Authorization followed “rigorous evaluation” of Juul’s data showing sales met public health standards . 🏛️ Industry experts expected the Trump administration to relax vaping regulations, speeding up stalled applications . ⚖️ Juul lost major market share during its ban amid illegal import competition and paid $300M in a class-action settlement . FDA Greenlights Juul’s E-Cigarettes After Years-Long Legal Fight In a landmark shift, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Juul Labs to market its e-cigarette devices and refill pods in tobacco and menthol flavors. The decision, confirmed July 17, 2025, marks a stunning reversal from the agency’s 2022 ban—which had threatened to bankrupt the once-dominant vaping company . Juu...

  Key Takeaways Uber commits to buying  20,000 Lucid Gravity SUVs  equipped with Nuro’s Level 4 autonomous tech over six years, starting in 2026 . $300 million investment  in Lucid anchors the deal, with additional “multi-hundred-million” funding for Nuro . First commercial launch targets a  major U.S. city in late 2026 , with prototype testing underway in Las Vegas . Lucid’s  450-mile range  and redundant systems enable high vehicle utilization, reducing downtime . Nuro pivots from delivery bots to AV licensing, securing its largest commercial deal to date . The $300 Million Handshake: Uber, Lucid, and Nuro Forge Robotaxi Future Uber just dropped a massive bet on driverless rides. Announced today, they’re pouring  $300 million directly into Lucid  and another undisclosed (but larger) chunk into self-driving startup Nuro. This ain't just cash though—it’s a binding promise to deploy  20,000+ electric robotaxis  over six years. These ...

Key Takeaways Price cuts surge : 38% of builders reduced prices in July 2025—the highest rate since tracking began in 2022, averaging 5% discounts . Affordability crisis : Mortgage rates near 7% and record-high prices push buyers to the sidelines, forcing builders to offer incentives like rate buydowns . Regional divergence : Builder confidence dropped sharply in the South/West but held steady in the Northeast/Midwest . Inventory imbalance : New home supply hit 9.8 months (double existing homes), pressuring builders to clear stock . Why Homebuilders are Slashing Prices Like Never Before So builder confidence’s been stuck below 50 for  15 straight months , yeah? That’s wild—means more than a year of pessimism. And even though it ticked up  1 point  in July, it’s still way down from 41 last year. What’s propping it up? Mostly that new budget bill giving tax breaks. But honestly? Mortgage rates just won’t budge from their annoying 7% perch . Buyer traffic tells the real stor...