—— U.S. new home sales fell 8.1% in June; GM’s net profit fell 40% due to production constraints; Shopify laid off 10% of staff; Deutsche’s head joined Rockefeller; Invesco acquired a self-storage building; Credit Suisse CEO is leaving; Meta’s new VR glasses price increases $100.

1. U.S. new home sales fell 8.1% in June

U.S. new home sales fell 8.1% to an annualized 590,000 in June, the lowest level in nearly two years, according to the latest statistics released by the U.S. government today.

This figure was lower than the 642,000 in May and the 655,000 expected by economists.

Another set of data released by the Conference Board showed that in July, the proportion of consumers planning to buy a home in the next six months fell to 4.4%, the lowest level in nearly seven years. Meanwhile, consumer confidence also fell to its lowest point since February last year.

Signs of a cooling U.S. housing market are becoming more apparent

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Source: Bloomberg – US New-Home Sales Fall More Than Forecast to Two-Year Low

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2. GM’s net profit fell 40%

General Motors Co. reported today that its revenue rose 5% to $35.76 billion, while pretax profit of $1.14 per share missed analysts’ expectations of $1.23.

GM made a net profit of $1.69 billion, down from $2.84 billion a year ago.

Earlier this month, GM warned the outside world that a decline in North American auto production is likely to affect second-quarter revenue figures. The chip shortage has caused GM to sell 95,000 fewer vehicles, but the problem is expected to be resolved in the second half of the year.

China, GM’s second-largest market, posted a rare $87 million net loss in the region

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Source: WSJ – General Motors’ Income Tumbles 40% on China Loss, Parts Shortages

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3. Shopify laid off 10% of staff

Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify Inc. announced today that it will lay off 10% of its workforce, with CEO Tobi Lutke admitting that the company’s aggressive expansion during the pandemic has not brought good results.

At present, Shopify employs 10,000 employees, which means that about 1,000 employees will be laid off. Toby said that the affected positions are mainly from sales, HR, and back-office departments.

Affected by the bad news, Shopify’s shares fell as much as 16% to $30.66, their biggest one-day drop in nearly three months.

E-commerce grows rapidly during the pandemic, but many businesses fail to prepare for this year’s recession

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Source: Bloomberg – Shopify Will Cut 10% of Its Staff, With Most Workers Gone by Day’s End

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4. Deutsche executive joins Rockefeller

Stephen Valentino, Deutsche Bank’s head of international investment banking, will join Rockefeller Capital Management as a partner, people familiar with the matter said.

Based in New York City, Stephen will help Rockefeller lead financial services and other growth strategies. Another person familiar with the matter said that Rockefeller may set up a new fund, specializing in commercial banking (Merchant Banking).

As of March 31, Rockefeller managed $95 billion in assets. The firm’s CEO, Greg Fleming, was chairman of Morgan Stanley’s wealth management division.

In the first five months of 2022, Rockefeller has established 12 wealth management teams and currently has reached 80 teams. The company mainly helps high-net-worth families and institutions manage their assets.

Rockefeller Capital Management started out as the home office of John D. Rockefeller

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Source: Bloomberg – Rockefeller Hires Deutsche Bank’s Valentino for Dealmaking Push

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5. Invesco acquires self-storage building

Invesco Real Estate bought a 10-story self-storage warehouse in Brooklyn for $43.5 million, according to transaction data disclosed on Monday.

Vendor Knickpoint Ventures bought the property for $10.8 million in 2007, a deal that returned a four-fold return.

Currently, ExtraSpace Storage leases 100,000 square feet of space across the property.

Previously, Invesco also acquired a portfolio of two self-storage properties in Oregon and Tennessee for a total of $42 million.

Knickpoint sells the underlying property after 15 years and gets 4 times of appreciation

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Source: Commercial Observer – Invesco Real Estate Buys Self-Storage Building in Brooklyn for $44M

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6. Credit Suisse CEO is leaving

Credit Suisse, which has struggled in recent years, is about to announce the departure of CEO Thomas Gottstein, people familiar with the matter said.

The exact date of Thomas’ departure has not yet been determined. In June, Credit Suisse revealed that the group is likely to lose three consecutive quarters.

Thomas, who took the job at the start of the pandemic in 2020, made a number of costly mistakes, including a liquidation at client firm Archegos Capital.

Credit Suisse wants to find a more qualified CEO to help the company

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Source: Bloomberg – Consumer Giants Are More Like Walmart Than They Think

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7. Meta’s new VR glasses increase by $100

Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, announced that its upcoming Meta Quest 2 virtual reality glasses will retail for $400 in August, $100 more than the first-generation product, due to higher production costs.

In a blog post, Meta also said it would raise prices on accessories and refurbished products.

Meta’s Reality Labs is dedicated to virtual and augmented reality. This division is one of the most important for the company to transform the metaverse. In 2021, the segment’s operating loss reached $10.2 billion.

Company CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Mark Zuckerberg) said that the up-front investment in building the metaverse will definitely be very high.

Earlier this year, Reality Labs canceled a smartwatch product that competed with the Apple Watch, mainly to reduce research and development costs.

VR glasses are one of the most important devices to “enter” the metaverse

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Source: Bloomberg – Meta Hikes VR Headset Prices About $100 as Production Costs Grow

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The content of this article comes from various financial news media such as The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Bloomberg.