Market Update

Chip stocks & AI

What is their relationship? I’m glad you asked. Semiconductor chips are the hardware for AI, think of them as the brain of the computer. In other words, chips are a fundamental component to the field of AI.

Okay then, why are chip stocks struggling?

We figured that would be your next question, let’s get to the answer. Simply put, the AI hype has calmed down. It has been an incredible rally for tech this year, with Nvidia leading the charge.

Some investors have shifted towards a bearish outlook, arguing that valuations are off, as is evident by Arm’s IPO. On the other side, it could just be that the hype train has slowed along with demand. But, it’s hard to believe AI is going anywhere, and we just learned what that would mean for chip makers… 🤑.

Apple expansion in India

Apple is officially making ground in India. After opening its first store in India earlier this year, the company expects to see another 2% uptick in smartphone sales throughout the country. Apple currently accounts for 5%. It may not sound like a lot, but with 650 million smartphone users in India, a 7% market share is worth over 45 million people. To put that into perspective, if everyone in California went out and bought an iPhone today, they’d still be short 6 million. That’s a lot of iPhones.

Additionally, Apple has expanded manufacturing operations as a result of its issues with China. While Apple still has a long journey ahead, the company’s revenue in India is half that of China’s. But, there’s a lot of room to grow. There’s 1.4 billion people in India. Just look how many excited customers were outside waiting for the first store. The Apple wave in India has just begun.

Quick hits

Need Motivation?

Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg (what an unbelievable name) shared that on the back of his work badge are 30 names. These are the names of people that he needs to know and talks to once a week. Vestberg does so in order to connect, motivate, and strengthen the relationships with his colleagues. 70% of workers wish for more daily or weekly check-ins. Indeed, this could also apply to our personal lives. Make a list and make some calls folks.

Singapore overtakes Hong Kong

Move over Hong Kong, Singapore now has the worlds freest economy. For the first time since the Economic Freedom of the World Index began in 1970, Hong Kong has been dethroned. The index is measured using factors such as ease of international trade, ease ad ability to compete in markets, and much more. The U.S. is coming in at 5th.

What’s up with September?

No need to panic, one more week remains. September is historically the worst performing month, on average, for the stock market going back almost 100 years. For those of you hurting, keep checking off those days on the calendar. Just 10 more.

Quote of the Day

“I love money. I love everything about it. I bought some pretty good stuff. Got me a $300 pair of socks. Got a fur sink. An electric dog polisher. A gasoline powered turtleneck sweater. And, of course, I bought some dumb stuff, too.” - Steve Martin

Meme of the Day