Government

Policymakers might not be able to trade stocks anymore

Nancy Pelosi isn’t going to like this one, as her portfolio is up 23% on the year (her net worth is ~$253 million with a $223,000 salary). A bipartisan group of senators have unleashed a new proposal called the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act, that will attempt to stop members of Congress from stock trading.

Taking another step

The current law, called the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, requires lawmakers show when they trade individual stocks, but many say the act isn’t enforced very well and is largely ineffective (the penalty is a $200 fine).

The ETHICS Act, however, is looking to fill the holes left by the STOCK Act, and it might just be able to make a difference:

• Beginning with 2027, Congress members, their spouses, and their dependant children would have to give up their assets.

  • Assets must be divested under the act, even if they are placed in a blind trust.

• It would also prohibit lawmakers from trading for three months following the bill's enactment.

• If a violation of the act is found, the penalty would be the lawmaker's monthly salary or 10% of the value of the asset in violation, whichever is greater.

Why shouldn’t Congress be able to trade stocks? In short, its because they have access to information many of us don’t have, and if it is released to the public, they sure get it a lot sooner.

The public has long been critical (thanks, Unusual Whales) of the government for not doing enough to stop politicians from using their positions to garner wealth, and for good reason too:

• Two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the transactions of Republican and Democratic politicians have beaten the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, respectively.

• Like I said earlier about Nancy Pelosi, people want to “trade what [she] trades,” according to Chris Joseph’s, one of the creators of Autopilot, which allows users to copy lawmakers trades.

  • Pelosi’s husband, Paul, is up 45% this year on Autopilot’s tracker.

As for the bill’s future… as soon as the end of this month, it will be sent to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for review.

Technology

Google’s parent company is making its biggest purchase ever

Your parent’s search engine, or rather, search engine’s parent, is making a record acquisition. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is gearing up to buy the cybersecurity company Wiz for $23 billion, marking the tech giant’s biggest purchase ever.

Massive merger

If the deal goes through, which the WSJ reported is likely, it would be a pretty big deal:

• Alphabet already owns the cybersecurity firm Mandiant, which is the company’s second largest acquisition, at $5.4 billion.

  • The only deal that tops that was its purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings LLC in 2012 for $12.5 billion.

• The potential deal also marks the biggest exit for a tech startup since 2021 and is around double the price of Wiz’s current valuation.

It’s a smart strategy: Amazon and Microsoft have a strong hold on the cloud computing industry and acquiring Wiz, which works with nearly half of all Fortune 500 companies (including Amazon and Microsoft), would give Alphabet a much needed lift to its cybersecurity division.

However… an acquisition this large is bound to draw the attention of antitrust regulators, who have been increasingly scrutinous toward big tech, especially Google. The company has already dealt with two lawsuits from the DOJ in the past year.

Gen Z has lost interest in tech jobs

Despite most of us being chronically online, less of Gen Z wants to pursue jobs in the tech space. Based on Business Insider's research of the National Society for High School Scholars study, the tech industry has fallen behind government and healthcare organizations in the ranking of companies young adults wish to work for.

What’s of interest?

Healthcare and government jobs saw a big boost in particular. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital ranked first, while the Mayo Clinic took second, Health Care Services Corp. ranked third, the FBI and NASA (ranked fifth and sixth, respectively) all saw increases from their 2018 rankings.

• The government and healthcare sectors made up nearly 60% of US job growth in the year leading up to April.

Interest in tech isn’t completely gone. In 2024, the Top 10 most sought-after employers still included Google, Amazon, and Apple, but all three—along with Microsoft, Instagram, and Netflix—saw a decline in their rankings from 2018.

Why is Gen Z so weary of tech jobs? 70% of college students named job stability as a critical concern when deciding where to work, according to a Handshake survey. The survey also showed that the number of recent graduates applying to government jobs nearly doubled from 2022.

Plus, the massive wave of tech layoffs during late 2023 and early 2024 weren’t exactly encouraging. The tech industry saw almost 200,000 layoffs last year, and there have been over 100,000 this year alone.

Grab Bag

Need some bullets? Go to your nearest vending machine

This might just top the Chick-fil-A summer camp for most American thing I’ve ever seen. Those in a few select states can now buy ammo from vending machines in grocery stores. What a world we live in.

The machines are owned by American Rounds, a Texas-based company that claims this is the safest way to sell ammunition. American Rounds said the transactions are safer than retail stores, as there is a chance of stealing, and safer than online, where age verification may not be required.

How does it work?

Users simply walk up to the screen, select whether they want rounds for a rifle, shotgun, or pistol, and choose their specific ammunition. After making their selection, customers place their ID card through a scanner, and a camera on the device snaps a photo of their face to verify their identification and that they are at least 21.

• The dispensers are federally approved, according to CEO Grant Magers.

• The age verification system uses AI to compare the images of clients' faces and photo IDs.

• Customers can only pay with card.

• And the whole process takes less than two minutes (see video).

So far, there are only six total in stores, but Magers said he’s gotten over 200 requests for the ammo dispensers to be put in others. If you’re in the area, you can find four of them at Oklahoma Super C Marts, one in an Alabama Fresh Value store, and one in a Texas Lowe's Market, which is adjacent to a middle school.

Airlines aren’t able to keep up

Even the best of them are still failing. Delta, the world’s most profitable airline, is still struggling even amid a bustling travel season this summer. Just last week, the airline reported meager Q2 profits, showing even Delta is scrambling to find a balance.

Losing altitude

The airline reported a profit of about $1.3 billion in the most recent quarter, which was 29% less than analysts had predicted.

It's not, however, because nobody is buying plane tickets: The Sunday following July 4th, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced a record daily traveler count of 3 million individuals.

How is that even possible?

That’s a good question, but it all falls to the most basic tenet of economics: supply and demand.

• In order to fulfill demand after the pandemic, airlines increased recruitment,  purchased more planes, and widened their flying schedules.

• As a result, they now have an excess of inventory, which has forced them to give away empty seats at reduced prices, which has reduced profits even more after rising labor and fuel costs already hurt revenue.

Delta does have a little more leeway than other airlines though. More than 50% of its revenue comes from loyalty and first-class tickets, but bargain airlines can’t say the same (looking at you Ryanair), which leaves them in more of a pickle than the world’s (supposedly) most profitable airline.

Fast Facts

Drop-Out: Several top Democrats privately told Axios the rising pressure of party congressional leaders and close friends will persuade President Biden to decide to drop out of the presidential race, as soon as this weekend.

Airline Argument: A New Zealand woman sued her boyfriend for not showing up to drive her to the airport after he verbally committed to giving her a ride.

Troll Trash: A Danish artist known for his gargantuan sculptures of trolls made out of trash has been hiding them in parks in Minnesota.

Ad Assassin: BlackRock pulled a 2022 ad that featured Thomas Crooks, the gunman who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump, as a student in the background.

Campfire Cup: Cup Noodles is releasing a limited edition s’mores ramen flavor for those who’ve wanted put their noodles in between marshmallows and graham crackers.