Europe Bond Sales Are Piling Up in Sign It's Business as Usual
As many as 19 issuers are looking to raise at least €10.3 billion ($11.9 billion), with the biggest deal a three-part offering from oil and gas giant TotalEnergies SE, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Many jumped into action having not even publicly announced the sales beforehand.
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Mag 7 Plans to 'FOMO' Into $650B Tech Investment Despite Trump's U.S. Manufacturing Push
While President Donald Trump's tariff war aims to spark a manufacturing boom at home, corporate America's spending focus remains firmly on "bits" rather than "bricks and mortar." This contrast is evident in the spending patterns of the Magnificent 7 (Mag 7) stocks – a group comprising large-cap tech companies, including Alphabet (parent company of Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms (parent company of Facebook and Instagram), Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. These firms are expected to cumulatively spend an astonishing $650 billion this year on capital expenditure (capex) and research and development (R&D), according to data tracked by Lloyds Bank. That amount is larger than what the U.K. government spends on public investments in a year, the bank noted in a Thursday note. If that number alone doesn't impress you, consider this: the total economy-wide investment spending on IT equipment and software has continued to surge this year, accounting for 6.1% of GDP, while both private fixed and fixed non-residential investment, excluding IT, have shrunk for consecutive quarters. FOMO and AI According to Lloyds' FX Strategist Nicholas Kennedy, the decline in investments across other sectors of the economy could be due to several reasons, including the fear of missing out (FOMO) on the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. "There might be some explanations other than a crowding out by IT spending and political/trade uncertainties that you could call on; the building boom that was triggered by Biden's CHIPS act, which boosted structures, has faded, for instance. There is also a FOMO effect at work, firms encouraged to divert investment resources from what they traditionally do towards fashionable AI-related projects. So they're just spending elsewhere," Kennedy said in a note to clients. The chart indicates that U.S. corporate spending on IT equipment and software has increased to $1.45 trillion, representing a 13.6% year-over-year rise. The tally makes up over 40% of the total U.S. private fixed investment. The U.S. second-quarter GDP estimate, released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis early this week, showed that private fixed investment in IT increased by 12.4% quarter-on-quarter. Meanwhile, investment in non-IT sectors or the broader economy fell by 4.9%, extending the three-quarter declining trend. From 'bricks' to 'bits' This continued dominance of "bits" spending in corporate America should calm the nerves of those worried that the administration's focus on manufacturing may suck capital away from technology markets, including emerging avenues like cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin and NVDA, the bellwether for all things AI, both bottomed out in late November 2022 with the launch of ChatGPT and have since enjoyed incredible bull runs, demonstrating a powerful correlation between technology's rise and the crypto market. "Whether that [AI spending boom] generates a return is another matter, but it does reshape plans towards bits from bricks," Kennedy said. Moreover, the crypto market has also found a significant tailwind in the form of a favourable regulatory policy under Trump. The administration has demonstrated its pro-crypto bias through the signing of several key pieces of legislation aimed at clarifying regulatory oversight for digital assets and stablecoins, including measures that have garnered bipartisan support. Additionally, the administration has made strategic appointments to financial regulatory bodies. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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Starbucks' problems may be too big to fix
Starbucks' problems may be too big to fix originally appeared on TheStreet. In its early days, Starbucks' approach was unique. Unlike rivals like Dunkin', Tim Hortons, and breakfast diners, its mission wasn't to provide one coffee for everyone as fast as possible. Instead, it treated making coffee like a craftsman makes fine furniture, focusing on the highest-quality product, regardless of how long it takes. That approach helped Starbucks grow from a single store in Seattle, Washington, to a coffee powerhouse with 32,000 stores located in just about every nook and cranny of the globe, including: Over 18,000 stores in North America. About 2,800 stores in Europe. More than 6,500 stores in China. Roughly 1,300 stores in the Middle East and North Africa. 1,800 locations in Latin America, including more than 70 in Colombia, putting Starbucks about as close to the coffee's origins as possible. With that kind of growth, and plenty of shareholders eager for ever-increasing profits, it's pretty unsurprising that Starbucks has dealt with growing pains. The company has faced controversies over worker pay (and what they wear), as well as customer complaints over inconsistent drink tastes, food freshness, and, more generally, the rise of a less-relaxed cafe vibe, too focused on boosting transactions and profit margin. The situation has left many scratching their heads, wondering if Starbucks' new CEO, Brian Niccol, can get things back on track. Longtime hedge fund manager Doug Kass is among the doubters. He recently sent a particularly harsh message about Starbucks, suggesting Niccol's strategy to get Starbucks back to its roots is unlikely to pan out. Starbucks comes under fire from Wall Street Starbucks' () stock price financed a good chunk of the company's global expansion. Investors eagerly bought shares early in the company's growth phase to profit from the opportunity for its customer-first approach to dislodge market share from rivals like Tim Hortons and Dunkin'. Longtime shareholders have been handsomely rewarded, given that Starbucks shares have surged since its IPO in 1992. A $10,000 investment then would be worth over $3 million many investors' love affair with Starbucks has faded since the company has mostly saturated major U.S. markets like New York and California, reducing chances for sales growth. Its share price is up just 15% over the past five years, while the S&P 500 has climbed 89%. In 2025, Starbucks' stock price has fallen nearly 5%. With Starbucks stores seemingly everywhere, longtime hedge fund manager Doug Kass suggests the company's strategy nowadays is less about reimagining coffee houses and more about milking as much money out of existing locations as possible. Such an approach can boost earnings in the short term, but it poses a significant long-term risk to Starbucks' brand. '[Starbucks] morphed into overpriced purveyors of food/coffee — while the quality of their product offering has deteriorated and the selling cost of the product has risen,' wrote Doug Kass in a post to investors on TheStreet Pro. It's not just the coffee, either. While many may think Starbucks bakes its treats on site, many are previously frozen. 'I couldn't create a danish as unappealing,' said Kass, who has managed money professionally for about 50 years. Starbucks' worker relationship has soured over time Some Starbucks employees agree that the company's mission has lost its way. It was once highly recognized as a pioneer in employee pay, offering solid wages and a 'partner' approach to its workers. Employees, however, have increasingly explored unionization in recent years, saying the faster-paced environment is taking a heavy toll on its once-lauded baristas, and pay hasn't kept pace. Starbucks' response to unionization has drawn fire from worker advocates who suggest management has engaged in union-busting decisions. For example, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has accused the company of firing or disciplining workers, including the high-profile case involving the 'Memphis 7,' seven workers terminated after advocating unionization. That case went to the Supreme Court, where an earlier court decision to grant an injunction supporting the workers was reversed in Starbucks' favor, and the case was sent back to the lower courts. The first corporate Starbucks location to unionize was in Buffalo in 2021, led by Starbucks Workers United. As of August 2025, workers at over 600 Starbucks stores across the U.S. have voted to unionize, according to Workers United. Starbucks turnaround plan faces uphill battle The company's frayed relationship with some employees isn't the only problem CEO Brian Niccol is trying to fix. Niccol joined Starbucks as CEO in 2024 after over six years at the helm of Chipotle. Shortly after Niccol took over as Starbucks' CEO, he acknowledged 'a shared sense that we have drifted from our core' and announced his 'Back To Starbucks" plan to get the company back on track, focusing on a 'welcoming coffeehouse where people gather and where we serve the finest coffee, handcrafted by our skilled baristas.' However, those comments and Niccol's plans sound hollow to Kass. 'When he got to Starbucks, Niccol started off by using fancy jargon to distract from the fact that Starbucks is losing to both value and premium brands/operators,' wrote Kass. 'Starbucks now faces a very expensive overhaul in its physical locations and product offerings.' Starbucks faces fierce competition from big and small rivals Starbucks' competitive advantage hasn't been lost on rivals. Big rivals like Dunkin' and McDonald's have expanded menus, including popular refreshers, while local mom-and-pop cafes have leaned hard into the artisanal coffee house back market share from those players won't be easy. As a result, Niccol's overhaul could pressure Starbucks' profits while ultimately doing little to restore Starbucks's culture, disappointing investors. 'The brand is now very weak competitively — they aren't premium (artisans, local brands, etc.) and the previous also-rans are coming in hot with smaller footprints,' said Kass. 'From a product standpoint, they sell more chemicals, sugar and ice — it's not coffee.' Undeniably, many remain loyal Starbucks fans, but there are more choices, and with less connection to the employees, the moat of loyalty isn't nearly as strong as it was in the past. 'It is the Regal Cinemas concession stand without the movies. The notion that the baristas want to hang with the customers has been lost,' said Kass. 'I suspect the turnaround in both companies will take a lot longer than the consensus expects.' To be sure, Starbucks' challenges aren't unique. Indeed, most companies experiencing the kind of success it has experienced deal with similar issues. Still, the hyper-competitive coffee market and the challenges facing Niccol leave Kass thinking that there are better alternatives for investors. 'I would not bottom fish despite the material share-price weakness,' concluded problems may be too big to fix first appeared on TheStreet on Aug 3, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared. Sign in to access your portfolio
