How Much Can You Really Make From Uber or Lyft?
Greetings! Writing this weekend’s brief while having an English breakfast plotting my means of getting chose by a British Duchess. Actually hold that thought, NBA conference finals is getting here…
How To Spot A Cryptocurrency Scam
Do you tend to hear about the next hot new cryptocurrency from your friends or Twitter feed and your FOMO kicks in!? The Wall Street Journal analyzed about 1,450 cryptocurrency offerings revealing blatant plagiarism, identity theft and promises of improbable returns. Companies use coin offerings to raise funds by selling their own digital currency. The SEC also launched a fake website with a fake crypto coin offering as an example of what to avoid in these crypto scams. Of 1450 crypto coins the WSJ analyzed, 111 of them had the exact same white papers, at least 121 of the projects didn’t disclose the name of a single employee, dozens of companies promised investors financial rewards without any risk — all of these are red flags for any sensible investor.
How Much Do Uber Drivers Really Make?
The question of how much Uber drivers make per hour is always a sensitive topic for discussion. There are many factors to consider, including — Uber pays different rates in different markets, commission structure, and weekly promotions, driver costs like gas and depreciation, etc. This week the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a pro-labor think tank, released a report revealing that Uber drivers earn $11.77 an hour after Uber’s commission and expenses, which puts Uber drivers solidly in the lowest fifth of American earners.
MoviePass Proves Great for Customers, Disastrous for Investors — www.wsj.com
MoviePass, the service that lets people see a new film every day for $9.95 a month, has seen its subscribers skyrocket to three million. But its parent company Helios & Matheson Analytics Inc., has been bleeding cash, sending its stock crashing 90% this year down to $0.63 and prompting shareholders to stampede for the exit. On average, a movie ticket in the U.S. costs $9.16, and much more in major cities, like $15 in LA and SF, while MoviePass pays theaters full price for every movie ticket its members order, meaning that its core business is designed to operate at a loss. In a regulatory filing last week, Helios, which generates more than 98% of its revenue from MoviePass, said it had only $15.5 million cash and $27.9 million of accounts receivable. Sounds like this dream movie storyline will be coming to an end very soon as the company runs out of cash.
Companies mentioned (YTD): HMNY (-90%)
Want to Invest in Companies That Surrounds Your Daily Life? — There’s an ETF For That! — www.bloomberg.com
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) is an investment fund consisting of a group of assets (stocks, bonds, etc) which aims to track the performance of a specific index. It’s a great way for investors to invest in a bunch of companies at the same time by just buying an ETF that tracks those companies together. The ETF industry has something for everyone — Global X Millennials Thematic ETF (ticker: MILN) is a fund that tracks an index that invests in companies that provide exposure to the millennial generation. By focusing on categories within technology and retail, and by studying consumer behaviors, consumer spending, and demographics. This fund invests in companies like Netflix, Starbucks, Nike, Facebook, Amazon, Home Depot, and more. This fund has returned almost 40% since it was launched in 2016.
🙅🏿♂️ For Da Culture 🤴🏾
Black actresses protest racism in French film industry — qz.com
Sixteen black actresses staged a glamorous protest on the Cannes red carpet on May 17th to bring attention to the pervasive racism in the French film industry. All sixteen actresses are featured in a new book “Noire n’est pas mon métier” or Black is not my job, a collection of real-life stories of black French actresses.
Diddy Drops $21 Million on Painting by Kerry James Marshall — www.bloomberg.com
Sean “Diddy” Combs was the buyer of a monumental painting by black artist Kerry James Marshall that fetched $21.1 million at Sotheby’s this week, marking the highest ever paid for a living black artist.
Chart of the week
What Else I’m Currently Reading
- How much do you need in order to be wealthy in America
- Denver plans to use its marijuana tax profits to build affordable housing
- So you’ve been invited to a “destination wedding”, how much are you willing to blow for an attendance?
- J.Cole talks about meditation, social media, kanye and more, in this interview.
- The Saudi Prince MBS’s guide to getting rich
Resource of the Week
Music of The Week — open.spotify.com
This week’s letter is curated while listening to “Good Thing”, an album by Leon Bridges. My favorite tracks are Bad Bad News, and Shy.
Thank you for reading through this weekend’s brief! Hope you found a couple interesting articles to spark your next happy hour or office water-cooler conversation. I would appreciate your feedback by responding to this email — Which article did you find most interesting this week? What topics would you like to know more about?
Cheers,
Valentine
