- Balance Sheet
- Posts
- š If the shoe fits.
š If the shoe fits.
As a leading sports brand, Adidas is no stranger to kicks and whistles. But now itās also dealing with kickbacks and whistleblowers, as senior staff in China are accused of taking bribes, including millions in cash and real estate. Thatās one way of getting onto the property ladder.
Weekend roundup
Hereās what you missed while you were living your best life:
šļø The Fedās Kashkari said itās āreasonableā to predict a December rate cut. The Minneapolis Fed president told Face the Nation thereāll be one rate cut this year, and more evidence is needed that inflation is on its way down to 2%.
šØš³ China May retail sales beat expectations, but industrial output missed. Retail sales climbed 3.7% year-on-year, compared to estimates of 3% from a Reuters poll of economists. Meanwhile, a slowdown in the property sector showed no signs of easing.
šæ Inside Out 2 scored the biggest opening weekend since Barbie. The Disney and Pixar title raked in an estimated $155 million at the box office in the US and Canada. It was also the second-best domestic debut ever for an animated movie.
Featured weekend story
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/90fe3f92-aa5f-4560-93d8-3a613fa55c8f/christian-wiediger-8d8KfpYCQV0-unsplash.jpg?t=1718600545)
Adidas launched an investigation into bribery allegations in China
Adidas has launched a probe ($) into allegations of large-scale bribery in China after a whistleblower accused senior staff of embezzling āmillions of eurosā. The Financial Times reports an anonymous letter, which claims to have been written by āemployees of Adidas Chinaā, alleged that staff received kickbacks from external service providers.
The letter names several employees, including a senior manager involved with the companyās marketing budget. Another senior employee in a different unit is accused of receiving āmillionsā in cash and physical items āsuch as real estateā.
Adidas confirmed it had received a letter alerting it to āpotential compliance violations in Chinaā. The company said it was ācommitted to complying with legal and internal regulations and ethical standards in all marketsā where it operates and it was āintensively investigating this matter together with external legal counselā.
Adidas shook up its leadership in China last year in a bid to address slumping sales. The country had been its fastest-growing market until the Covid-19 pandemic. But sales fell drastically between 2019 and 2022 amid lockdowns and consumer backlash against Western brands that refused to buy cotton from the Xinjiang region.
Make your money rise and grind while you sit and chill, with the automated investing and savings app that makes it easy to be invested.
What to watch this week
US stocks enter a shorter trading week near record highs, but European and Asian stocks started the session muted, with Chinese data too mixed to provide any clear momentum.
ā² | Nasdaq | 17,693.43 | +0.15% |
ā¼ | S&P | 5,431.60 | -0.04% |
ā¼ | Dow | 38,589.16 | -0.15% |
ā² | 10-Year | 4.245% | +0.017 |
ā² | Bitcoin | $66,368.46 | +0.35% |
ā¼ | Oil | $78.22 | -0.29% |
Indices at 12:00 AM (ET)
Here are your upcoming market events:
š¦ BOE, SNB, RBA decisions. A flurry of central bank decisions this week, starting with the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday. The Swiss National Bank and the Bank of England follow on Thursday.
š US retail sales. Numbers from Walmart and Costco follow Tuesdayās May retail sales data, which will give an indication of how consumers are holding up amid higher rates.
š“ US market holiday. The NYSE, Nasdaq, and US bond markets are all closed Wednesday for Juneteenth.
Off-balance sheet items
Hereās what weāre reading this week:
š¬ Why American airports donāt sell anything you actually need (Quartz). From ownership structures to parking revenue, there are a range of reasons you canāt pick up the basics in many US airports.
š The age of envy: how to be happy when everyone elseās life looks perfect (The Guardian). Social media has created a world in which everyone seems ecstatic ā apart from us. Is there any way for people to curb their resentment?
š„ļø The Microsoft Excel superstars throw down in Vegas (The Verge). An elite handful of analysts, actuaries, and accountants have mastered Excel, arguably the most important software in the business world. So what do they do in Vegas? They open a spreadsheet.
Chart of the week
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/640d14bc-12a5-4b64-9c63-1c17bc2a9983/Capture-2024-06-17-070939.png?t=1718604597)
Source: Bloomberg
The bottom line
guys will get one finance internship and put a privacy screen on their phone.
yeah man weāre stealing your trade secrets about how to book a conference call.
ā low yield lucy (@picotop)
4:17 PM ā¢ Jun 16, 2024
Aquire new customers and drive revenue by patterning with us.
Balance Sheet is rapidly growing with 1,500+ readers working in the worldās leading organizations. You can learn more about partnering with us here.
Your feedback is crucial
How was today's email? |