Market leap of faith, European stagnation, and remote fading

Stocks don't roar, Europe stagnates, remote fades

Cheers from the Netherlands as I'm embarking on a travel week starting last Saturday.

The macro news this week looks distorted - mainly due to the stark difference between the US economy and what Europe represents.

First off, S&P500 is considered by some in an upcoming bull market. May 24 marked a low point of 4.115 with the index blooming at 4.369 at the end of Tuesday, or a 5.63% bump for 3 weeks alone.

The leap of faith in the market is due to the debt ceiling crisis being resolved and believing that the Fed will put that interest hike on hold as the inflation slows down.

Simultaneously, Europe is in a recession. Several large countries announced the slowdown and kicked into a formal recession mode. The disparity between the US and Europe begs questions - while the energy crisis and the war nearby definitely impact that, running in different directions with a much easier internet policy is concerning.

And finally, remote is getting less and less accessible. More leaders call their staff back at least 3 times a week, basically asking everyone to return to the HQ if they moved to a different city. Promotion policies by companies like Google or investment banks also tie raises to face time - the single strongest key to management locking senior troops around the block.

Why does all of this matter?

- If you sell internationally, Europe is just getting hit by the market dynamics.

- I doubt the US is fully restoring as fewer jobs are available and severance packages expire, plus callback to the HQs is going to cause tension to many.

- The EU is also largely used for outsourcing, but more on-site hubs mean fewer one-off ad hoc hires in Europe.

- If you are looking for a job, try to prioritize on-site. Remote is harder to find, less accessible, and less promising now - unless you're at the seniority level where this could be overcome.

- For investing, Q4 shows a promising future due to the trading world. Consider maximizing Q4 opportunities and regaining positioning.

 Understanding macro news helps determine the right dynamic for your business or hustle - when to double down or slow down, where to hold hiring or make use of free talent around, and what niches can be unlocked.

What else do you want to learn and follow weekly? Hit me up with questions I can include in my next edition.

Mario

 ✍️ My Take 

LinkedIn Deck:  We often call people difficult when they are being disruptive, unproductive, and hostile. This all leads to avoiding working with them, which by itself causes blockers and halts a project. Have a look at how to manage "difficult people" in your team. 

Mastering the Digital Landscape:  

Have a look at the three ways to

enhance your online brand presence

for today's marketing demands. Navigating the crowded digital landscape is challenging for brands, balancing the ability to connect across platforms with the difficulty of capturing attention. With high customer expectations, the success of a brand hinges on delivering an exceptional web experience.

Delegation Domination:  

Over the recent weeks, I've been compiling a delegation course for overcoming the main hurdles that managers and business owners face. Therefore, if you struggle with having too many time-based apples in one basket, have a look at my

Delegation Domination Course

!

📄 Business Strategy 

European Startup funding to drop 39% - Investment in European tech startups is projected to plummet by 39% in 2023 to $51 billion, largely due to a withdrawal of U.S. investors, according to data from venture capital firm Atomico. Previously, American funds significantly drove funding activity in Europe, with many VC funds establishing a presence in London.*article by CNBC*

NASDAQ to acquire Adenza for 10,5B - Nasdaq announced its acquisition of Adenza, a developer of risk-management and regulatory software, for $10.5 billion, aiming to bolster its support for financial institutions. This acquisition positions Nasdaq to offer comprehensive assistance in regulatory technology, compliance, and risk management across its three U.S. and seven European stock exchanges.*article by TechCrunch*

A startup 'mass extinction event' has begun - Startups garnered substantial funding through 2021, during which minimal failures gave an illusion of an invincible market. However, with the increasing rate of startup failures, the market may face a significant capitulation wave in the upcoming year.*article by Business Insider*

Ex-Samsung executive charged - A former executive of Samsung, the world's leading memory chip maker, has been indicted by South Korean prosecutors for allegedly sharing confidential information to aid competitors in constructing a similar semiconductor factory in China. The unidentified individual is accused of "wrongfully using" Samsung's proprietary data, including the semiconductor factory's engineering data, floor plan, core production process descriptions, and design drawings.*article by CNN*

Google includes office attendance in performance reviews - Amid the post-pandemic work-from-home era, Google is reportedly pressuring its employees to return to their offices, making in-person attendance a factor in performance reviews and suggesting that remote work may not be evaluated as favorably. With a current "hybrid work" policy requiring at least three days of in-office work per week, employees with "frequent absences" are to receive reminders about office attendance*article by ArsTechnica*

WordPress launches AI assistant for content writing - WordPress has launched Jetpack AI Assistant, an AI-driven tool designed to aid users in creating and editing blog posts, which is now integrated into the editor interface on WordPress.com. The tool is also accessible to users with WordPress blogs on different platforms via a Jetpack plugin, providing additional features for marketing, security, and anti-spam initiatives.*article by VentureBeat*

Global News 🚨The layoff-verse is adding up - with companies like Twitter leading the chart. 

• 2023 Companies with layoffs: 768

• Employees were laid off in 2023: 206,136

• Q2 2023 Layoffs: 36,485

*Statistic was taken from layoffs.fyi as of June 14th*

The global economy is hovering.

• DOW: 34,212 (+0.42%)

• NASDAQ: 13,573 (+0.82%)

• S&P: 4,369 (+0.69%)

*Economy numbers as of  June 13th*

The Pandemic has had a profound impact on time spent in office in the US.

• Pre-pandemic: 0.7h

• Post-pandemic: 2.2h

*Taken from Statista's "Average number of days per week in which employees worked from home in the US and Europe" April 2023*

Investing Updates 📈 

Several angel investing opportunities listed on SeedBlink at the time:

• ADASTEC - securing $20M in funding to strengthen its market dominance and fulfill pipeline contracts valued at $7M in annual recurring revenue (ARR).

• SoCyber - secured €1M in funding to enhance cybersecurity automation utilizing machine learning technology.

• Planboo - securing €1M in funding to refine the biochar-based carbon sequestration process, along with its digital solution for measuring, reporting, and verifying carbon removal.

Very excited about the secondary market (even though I couldn't purchase additional equity within SeedBlink itself at a lower multiplier).

Note: Got a round going that you want to feature - your own business or a portfolio company? Get in touch

.

Need my Help? 🦸I'm involved with a number of initiatives - here's what I can do to help you:

• Scalable and secure WordPress? DevriX provides WordPress retainers to SMEs, publishers, eCommerce, SaaS, and more. Our plans start from $1,200/mo to $40K/mo for anything from support through engineering, CRO, performance, security, to fractional CXO services and managing the data stacks of large corps.

• Want to scale and optimize your business? Growth Shuttle offers personalized advisory plans starting at $350/hr. Tap into my personal pool of business know-how and my data warehouse of industry data.

• Want access to my blueprints/books and a weekly Slack planning session? Join my Community and grab my Entrepreneurship book. 

• Looking for investment opportunities? Check out SeedBlink.

• Eager to incorporate my recommended solutions? Track my angel investments. Sharing, applying for open roles, or writing reviews helps a ton.  

And anything else I try to publish on my blog and my courses here!