US markets didn't get the memo. American GDP sunk 33% between April and June - record breakers.Unemployment is at 10%. And yet... America's biggest marker for the stock market - the S&P 500 - is hovering at around all-time highs. Why? Well, the government went big (with an election around the corner), throwing around $6 trillion dollars at coronavirus and the economy. With interest-rates at zilch, markets gained a shine to the optimistic investor - but this won't be a smooth journey at the top. Now here's your weekly round-up of the business and finance news you need-to-know.Home Depot's Home RunRyan Reynolds' Gin Swept Up In Diageo's $610m RoundRobinhood Valuation Hits $11bnPlant Wars Lands Impossible Another $200m Home Depot's Home Run | What happened and why... The global DIY bug has infected millions and it has spread to America fast. Home Depot has offered investors some pandemic cheer, but quickly put a lid on this bug lasting much longer. With spending on cosmetics, shopping, and eating out drying up, Americans have turned their spending attention to their own homes. After DIY-giant, Kingfisher (think B&Q) shared news of their own 21% sales bounce, we knew people have been chasing the DIY dream more than ever. America always goes a step futhrt... Booming... Home Depot reported a 23% jump on last year - their biggest sales growth in almost 20 years.DIY money... The world’s largest home improvement retailer also serve up a $480m quarterly bonus to staff, aimed at offsetting the damage wreaked by Covid-19. 👊 Leaving investors pumped right...? Wrong. The stock slipped with Home Depot chief, Craig Menear, playing a spirit-level-headed game and throwing water on the longevity of the DIY hype-train. Lumbered with high prices... Higher lumber prices are expected to weigh down DIY momentum - with 40% of lumber going through the DIY warehouses. Prices of the wood have almost tripled since April. American spending dream is drying up... While retail spending jumped for a third month in a row, the unemployment stimulus money to support the population is on its way out. | The Takeaway Home Depot is a staple of many American lives. That has seen the DIY-giant open nearly 3,000 stores in 50 states and in the process, it has become a stalwart of many fund managers portfolios. That's mainly thanks to its unblemished record of 134 quarterly dividend payouts in a row and with $11bn of profit last year, it's the least they could do. Ryan Reynolds' Gin Swept Up In Diageo's $610m Round | What happened and why... 🍸 Aviation and gin are usually a bad mix if you're in charge of the wheel. Unless of course, you're Ryan Reynolds. The Hollywood heart-throb (opinions are my own) saw his co-owned gin brand, Aviation Gin, swallowed up as part of Diageo's $610m acquisition of Davos Brands. FTSE 100 drinks giant, Diageo (-2.54%) - the proud owner of Johnnie Walker and less-pround owner of Smirnoff vodka - will bring Aviation Gin, into its growing cabinet of more than 200 drinks brands. Here's what had Diageo queuing up for a drop of Aviation... No.2... Aviaiton is now the second-largest brand in the super-premium gin segment and one of the fastest-growing brands in the category.Flying sales... Aviation’s revenues increased by more than 100% in 2019 as demand for premium gin soared in North America. But these deals aren't like buying a drink at a bar. Diageo is buying a flying brand with some protection. Here are the ingredients in the deal... Deliver the goods... Diageo will pay an initial $335m and could be worth an additional $275m, depending on the gin’s performance over the next 10 years.Big round... Diageo will also acquire the Astral Tequila, Sombra Mezcal, and TYKU Sake brands as part of the deal. | The Takeaway 👀 Celeb-spotting... Diageo is going after a more youthful market by bringing on board Reynolds' creation. And Reynolds is not the first Hollywood star to make a splash in the drinks market... In 2007... Diageo teamed up with P. Diddy to sell Ciroc vodka.In 2017... it dropped $700M+ for George Clooney's Casamigos tequila. But... as Reynolds mentioned in his out-of-office email, he is not quite as Clooney as he thought... “Thanks for your email. I am currently out of the office but will still be very hard at work selling Aviation Gin. For quite a long time, it seems... In related news, I just learned what an ‘earn-out’ is... And I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to everyone I told to go f*** themselves in the last 24 hours...so... turns out I’m not as George Clooney as I thought.” Robinhood Valuation Hits $11bn | What happened and why... Retail trading app, Robinhood, launched with the goal of “democratising finance” through free stock trading, and at a valuation of $11bn, they must fancy their chances. 💸 A New York-based hedge fund is the latest investor to throw money at Robinhood, digging out $200m to land the trading-app a +22% jump in valuation just a month after it's last fundraise. In July... Sequoia Capital led an investment round that valued Robinhood at $8.6bn.One month on... D1 Capital Partners has lined Robinhood pockets, which has now raised more than $1.7bn since 2013. The Robinhood steam-train is making hay while the sun shines (on them at least), as the retail investor appetite for the market gains in turbulent times... Jumping on board... 3m new customers joined the platform, expanding its user base beyond 13m.Stealing from the rich... In June, the stock-trading young whipper-snapper eclipsed older rivals including Charles Schwab and ETrade in “daily average revenue trades” — which is what investors are looking at to compare the major players in terms of activity. But it hasn't all been plain-sailing for Robinhood... The company has taken a few blows along the way. In February and March, the trading platform suffered repeated outages after sharp drops in prices led to crazy volumes and demand. That also led to a group of customers filing a class-action lawsuit against the company. And then, last month, the company scrapped plans to launch in the UK, even if their arrival does feel inevitable - more on that here. | The Takeaway... Global domination... The latest edition of fundraising has fuelled speculation that Robinhood is planning on giving back to the people with a potential IPO in the next 12 months. The company changed the landscape of retail stock trading in the US since it launched its service in 2015, the next step, is going global. Plant Wars Land Impossible Another $200m | What happened and why... Plant-based wars keep growing. And like in most wars, people throw a lot of money at them. Impossible Foods just landed another $200m to top up on their 'Series-F round' of funding, that was served up just a few months ago. This is going to take some serious dough... Coronavirus has prompted some serious switch-hitting from the plant-based players coming out of America. With the additional $200m of funding, Impossible is making some moves to pump that pulp into your kitchen or direct to your belly... At your service... Impossible has launched their own e-commerce platform for home delivery.On the move... The meat-challenger is working with the likes of Starbucks and Burger King, to deliver the alt-meat movement to the in-demand drive-through experience.Run-on everything... Tie-ups with Walmart saw alternative meat consumed and emptied out of the freeze zone, as Impossible finally sees a life outside of the restaurant. | The Takeaway Making the impossible, possible... Impossible has seen COVID-19 as a moment to shift. After knocking on restaurant doors with their premium alternatives Impossible has fallen into line. In a bid to takedown cheaper and more established rival, Beyond Meat, the company has expanded its retail-print and going direct to customers to control that experience.
