Stripping is one of those industries that is very much driven by the economic cycle. In the movie The Big Short, when a stripper explains that she has low deposit mortgages on five houses and a condo, Mark Baum (Steve Carell) becomes concerned. In an economic downturn, the stripper may earn less, need to sell property, which contributes to lower property value, putting the rest of the stripper’s properties underwater and leading to a crisis.

Zillow is now offering mortgages with 1% down payments to some customers (possibly strippers) and given an economic downturn may be right around the corner, I can’t see how that ends well. Anyway, that’s a very long-winded way of getting to my point that I think you should visit the strippers tonight – the economy needs you.

The lowdown

• 🏡 Real estate marketplace Zillow is offering home loans with 1% down payments.

• 🔼 Fed Chairman Jerome Powell warns that rates may need to go higher in speech at Jackson Hole symposium.

• 🇨🇳 China halves taxes on stock trades to encourage buyers in a flagging market.

Flex your finance muscle 💪

Vibecession

This term is probably not going to be found in a dictionary. In fact, I only found one source that has used this term but a "vibecession" basically refers to negative sentiment in the overall vibe or mood of the economy and society. This term is used in a more casual and colloquial manner to describe the emotional or psychological state of the economy, rather than just its financial metrics.

The newsletter’s author argues that signs indicate that the vibecession is coming to an end but after Jay Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole and with things slowing down in China, I feel like we are just getting started.

Featured story

Dating apps introduce higher prices

Dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge are introducing higher-priced subscription tiers to boost revenue ($). Hinge and Tinder owner Match Group is considering a plan for Hinge at around $50 monthly, up from the earlier $35. Match is also looking into a Tinder plan that could approach a whopping $500 a month.

These pricing strategies come as many industries are increasing prices to squeeze more revenue from consumers and to offset rising operational costs (or is it greedflation? ($).

Match has observed three straight quarters of declining paying users. Bumble, in contrast, reported a 20% increase in paying users. The challenge for dating apps is to demonstrate the value of their higher-priced offerings, i.e. that more money equals more dates.

The content we're consuming today

• Newcomer: The Scam in the Arena.

• Musings on Markets: Toys for Billionaires: Sports Franchises as Trophy Assets!

• Odd Lots podcast: This is what we just learned about Jackson Hole.

Off-balance sheet items

• I am so pale that my friends call me Snowman so yes, I am already using quite a lot of sunscreen. But after reading ‘The curious ways your skin shapes your health’ I am going to double my efforts. It’s from the BBC too, not some alternative medicine nut.

The bottom line