Today's Scoop:

Hey friends, we’re happy to report that our community investing round is now closed! We raised over $200,000 from 189 investors!! 🤯 Thank you to everyone who invested and shared for making this a huge success!

Here’s what you need to know today…

1. Investors are worried about banks again.

2. Consumer confidence is fading.

3. New homes are selling fast.

S&P 500: 4,071.63
1Mo: +2% | 1Yr: -2% | 5Yr: +53%

The market sank lower today as investors worried about banks again.

First Republic Bank isn’t looking good, but other banks seem fine. First Republic, long speculated to be the next bank at risk of failure, reported a huge decline in deposits in March. First Republic said deposits have stabilized since, and other bank reports this week have been healthy. It doesn’t seem like a systemic issue at this point.

Consumer confidence is fading. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index dropped to a nine-month low in April, with fewer people planning big expenses or travel.

New homes are still selling fast. The Commerce Department reported a surprise jump in the number of new homes sold in March to the highest level in a year. The median new home price rose to $449,800, 3% higher than a year ago. New homes are a small percentage of the market, and The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell in March, and prices declined. Home construction has been limited, and the supply of new homes fell again in March.

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• Fox Corp drops its most successful anchor

• PepsiCo pledges 100% sustainable packaging by 2025

• Spotify reaches a half-billion subscribers

• General Motors beats expectations and boosts EVs [🤓]

• Apple wins Fortnite lawsuit to maintain dominance

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Earnings Estimates

Earnings season is full of "beats" and "misses." News articles typically reference whether the company reported more or less profit/revenue/whatever for the quarter than investors expected.

Wall Street Analysts make projections, and then media outlets will compare the reported financial figures to the average of the Analysts' expectations. Having a tiny bit more or less revenue (sales) or earnings (profit) than the average of a range of expectations isn't typically something to worry about, especially when it's only three months of a company's lifetime. The important stuff is the report's context and whether the company feels confident about the future.

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Here are our top priorities for today’s challenges:

1. Rising Rates & More Layoffs: Make sure you have an emergency savings in cash. Use SaveBetter to make sure your savings account pays you at least 4%.

2. Higher Living Costs & Tighter Budgets: Make sure to avoid debt by tracking your spending, building savings, and spending carefully. We use Guac to save while spending and get cash back on 200+ brands.

3. Volatile Markets: Automate your investment contributions to take the emotions out of it. We use M1 to automate banking and investing in one place.

4. Hidden Opportunities: Down markets are a good time to hunt for bargains if you have the savings. We’ve made a lot of money from Motley Fool’s stock picks.

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