Good morning, Munchers! 🙏

Hope your partying went well. Wishing y'all a relaxing weekend ahead.

As always, here is your daily dose of the news that matters - from Wall Street to Dalal Street, in 5 minutes and 2 seconds.

Let’s dive in.

What’s hot, what’s not?

Market Commentary

• Both the SP500 and Nasdaq had their worst week of trading since markets slumped earlier this year.

• Indian stocks tumbled in afternoon trading as fears of rate hikes globally jolt markets. Fitch also cut India's growth forecasts from 7.8% to 7%.

• Crypto is still subdued - ETH down almost 20% from the 'Merge'.

Story Roundup

1 - South Korea imposes record fines on Big Tech. 📲

Google and Meta were slapped with almost $100m of fines from South Korean regulators over violations of privacy laws.

The government is angry that Big Tech is collecting user data without consent, and then using it to spam them with targeted ads.

These fines are the largest ones every imposed by South Korea - and with good reason.

Abuse of power is a growing problem between a few Big Tech companies, and it looks like regulators are putting their foot down. 🦶

2 - FedEx shares slump after disappointing shipping volumes. 📦

FedEx stock was down 22% as sales dropped and a gloomy macro outlook was given.

They "expect business conditions to significantly weaken" next quarter and are refusing to give more guidance on profits for the rest of the year.

Management will also be- shutting down offices to save cost- freezing hiring/culling low performing employees- parking aircraft as fuel costs surge

Sticky situation. ✈️

3 - Woes intensify for British Pound. 📉

The Sterling hit it's lowest level in 37 years after some weak economic data.

Poor UK retail sales amplified worries that Britain is heading towards recession.

Total quantity of goods bought in the UK fell by 1.6% - almost triple the 0.5% expected by economists around the world.

Rising costs and higher price pressures are squeezing the customer more than ever. 😳

4 - Carbon dioxide shortages lead to drink makers' bankruptcies. 🥤

A shortage of CO2 is forcing drinks manufacturers to cut production and issue bankruptcy warnings.

CO2 is a byproduct of ammonia production - and the fertilizer industry has been having it's darkest days.

Record gas prices have been forcing fertilizer companies to reduce output - and Germany's largest ammonia producer cut output last week too.

Only 30-40% of usual CO2 supplies are available - that too at "immense cost", according to Eichele.

Here's to better days. 🍻

5 - Kahoot shares surge after General Atlantic wants a bite. 🧩

If you're under the age of 18 and go to school, you have used Kahoot.

Kahoot is a company that lets you create education-focused games. SoftBank just sold a 15% stake in them to General Atlantic for a $152 million payout.

This brings SoftBank's total loss on Kahoot to about $60 million, as tech businesses face the pinch of this year's tighter environment.

Kahoot stock is down almost 70% this year, even after including yesterday's investment.

Puzzling. 🧸

Hope you enjoyed this issue of the Market Munch. If you've got any feedback - good or bad (😏) you can hit reply to this email. Thanks a ton for reading!

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Cheers, and have a lovely day. 🙏

Aryaansh