• Investinq
  • Posts
  • 👀 Uber & Ex-CEO Travis Kalanick

👀 Uber & Ex-CEO Travis Kalanick

+ Federal Reserve Proposes Loosening Bank Leverage Rules

In partnership with

Good afternoon! The ocean economy is undefeated: Carnival just reported its fattest margins in nearly two decades and raised its profit forecast like it’s coasting through calm waters. Bookings for 2026 are already matching record highs, customer deposits hit $8.5 billion, and last-minute vacationers are still throwing money at sea-bound buffets and balcony rooms.

Royal Caribbean hit an all-time high on the news, and Regent Seven Seas said “why not” and rolled out a $1.7 million cruise for two—140 days, 40 countries, all vibes. Land-based economy? Struggling. Cruises? Literally selling out for 2027.

MARKETS

  • Record highs just out of reach: The S&P 500 came within three points of a new record close, ending the day up 0.8%. The Nasdaq gained nearly 1%, and small caps roared back with the Russell 2000 jumping 1.7%.

  • Rate cut buzz builds: Traders are now pricing in over 65bps of Fed cuts by year-end, up from 50bps just weeks ago. A softer stance on trade deadlines also helped keep the rally alive.

Get access to the most exclusive offers for private market investors

Looking to invest in real estate, private credit, pre-IPO venture or crypto? AIR Insiders get exclusive offers and perks from leading private market investing tools and platforms, like:

  • Up to $250 free from Percent

  • 50% off tax and retirement planning from Carry

  • $50 of free stock from Public

  • A free subscription to Worth Magazine

  • $1000 off an annual subscription to DealSheet

  • and offers from CapitalPad, Groundfloor, Fundrise, Mogul, and more.

Just sign up for our 2-week free trial to experience all the benefits of being an AIR Insider.

STOCKS
Winners & Losers

What’s up 📈

  • Core Scientific exploded 33.01% after the bitcoin miner was reported to be in acquisition talks with AI company CoreWeave. ($CORZ)

  • Worthington Steel surged 20.49% after the company posted better-than-expected earnings and said it’s gaining market share in key sectors. ($WS)

  • Enphase Energy popped 12.83%, SunRun gained 6.46%, and SolarEdge Technologies rose 5.11% as solar stocks rallied on hopes the Senate will preserve clean energy tax credits. ($ENPH, $RUN, $SEDG)

  • MillerKnoll jumped 12.49% after reporting an 8% YoY jump in net sales last quarter. ($MLKN)

  • AeroVironment gained another 15.93%, extending a two-day rally sparked by strong earnings and guidance. ($AVAV)

  • Serve Robotics climbed 9.87% after the robot delivery company launched its service in Atlanta. ($SERV)

  • H.B. Fuller rose 10.78% on better-than-expected earnings and strong full-year guidance. ($FUL)

  • Southern Copper Corp. jumped 7.79%, Anglo American plc rose 7.15%, and Freeport-McMoRan gained 6.85% as copper prices climbed. ($SCCO, $NGLOD, $FCX)

  • Penn Entertainment rose 4.94% after an analyst upgrade from Citizens, which called the stock undervalued. ($PENN)

  • McCormick gained 5.31% after the spice maker beat Q2 earnings expectations. ($MKC)

What’s down 📉

  • Equinix sank 9.56%, extending losses after disappointing guidance triggered a wave of analyst downgrades. ($EQIX)

  • Kratos Defense & Security Solutions slid 2.36% after announcing a $500 million stock sale. ($KTOS)

  • Micron Technology lost 0.98% despite beating both revenue and earnings expectations in Q3. ($MU)

ACQUSITION
Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick in Talks to Acquire Pony.ai’s U.S. Unit

Kalanick’s Backseat Comeback: Travis Kalanick, the controversial cofounder and ex-CEO of Uber, is quietly plotting a return to the self-driving space and Uber might be his wingman. According to The New York Times, Kalanick is trying to acquire the US arm of Chinese autonomous vehicle startup Pony.ai, and Uber is reportedly in early talks to help fund the deal.

Pony.ai, which went public last year with a $4.5 billion market cap, began prepping its US unit for a spinoff back in 2022, going as far as creating a forked version of its codebase. If the deal goes through, Kalanick would run Pony.ai while still heading his ghost kitchen company, CloudKitchens.

A Reboot of the Self-Driving Dream: Kalanick was ousted from Uber in 2017 amid scandals and power struggles, but self-driving tech has always been unfinished business. Uber ditched its in-house AV efforts after a fatal crash and sold the unit to Aurora in 2020. Since then, Uber has taken a platform-first approach, partnering with companies like Waymo and, most recently, Tesla to offer driverless rides.

This move signals Uber’s growing anxiety over a robotaxi future increasingly dominated by Waymo and Tesla. The timing tracks: Waymo just expanded service to Atlanta, and Tesla launched its own robotaxi pilots in Austin. Uber’s stock jumped 3.8% on the report; Pony’s surged over 20%.

Ride-Hail Rivalry Reloaded: Pony.ai isn’t some science project. It holds permits to operate autonomous taxis and trucks in the US and China, with Toyota as its top shareholder. Uber has already partnered with Pony abroad and may now be looking to go deeper. If Kalanick pulls this off, it’ll mark a dramatic return to the driverless arena he once tried to dominate.

And in a poetic twist, he may need the very company that once forced him out to help fund the comeback.

NEWS
Market Movements

BANKS
Federal Reserve Proposes Loosening Bank Leverage Rules

The Federal Reserve just moved to loosen a major rule that’s kept big banks in check since the 2008 financial crisis. The central bank proposed easing the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio, or eSLR, which limits how much banks can borrow relative to their capital. Translation: banks may soon be allowed to take on more risk in the name of bigger profits.

The eSLR was introduced to ensure megabanks like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs held more of their own money as a safety cushion. Under the new proposal, the minimum capital requirement could drop from 5 to 6 percent down to a range of 3.5 to 4.5 percent. That would free up over $200 billion across large banks, though much of that can’t go straight into shareholder pockets.

Why it matters: The Fed argues this change will help banks act more freely in the $29 trillion Treasury market, especially during times of stress when liquidity can dry up. Chair Jerome Powell and Vice Chair Michelle Bowman support the move, claiming it reduces the chance the Fed will need to step in and backstop the market during chaos.

But not everyone is on board. Two Fed governors voted against the proposal, warning that weakening capital requirements could increase the chance of another banking crisis. Senator Elizabeth Warren called the leverage rule a critical safeguard and blasted the rollback as reckless, especially amid ongoing global uncertainty.

Markets were into it: Bank stocks have been on a tear. JPMorgan Chase ( $JPM) is up 47 percent in the past year. Morgan Stanley ( $MS), Goldman Sachs ( $GS), and Wells Fargo ( $WFC) aren’t far behind. Financials have been the best-performing sector in the S&P 500, rising nearly 25 percent over the last year.

Even the financial sector as a whole is on a heater, up almost 25% in the past year, outperforming every other sector in the S&P 500. Coinbase ( $COIN), boosted by new crypto legislation, has been the top performer, jumping over 65% in that stretch.

The bottom line? Wall Street is back in Washington’s good graces and the new rules could turn the banks into even bigger players in the bond market.

Calendar
On The Horizon

Tomorrow

The week ends with the Fed’s favorite number: Markets are bracing for Friday’s PCE report, the inflation gauge the Fed watches closest. April’s numbers showed cooling momentum, with core PCE dipping to 2.5%—its lowest in over a year.

Eyes on the print: Economists expect May’s core PCE to tick up slightly to 2.6%. A softer reading could fuel hopes for rate cuts and give markets a boost. And if it comes in below forecasts, don’t be surprised if Trump takes credit and takes it straight to social media.

NEWS
The Daily Rundown

REFERRAL
Share Investinq 🤝 Acquire Swag

If you love reading our newsletter, don’t be selfish — share it. Odds are your favorite finance bro, trader, investor, or stock market fanatic will too.

Don’t keep all the market news to yourself — share the love using the unique link below.

We deliver you all the news for free every single day (go on… help us out ;)

And here’s the kicker: every referral you make gets you entered into a raffle to win some awesome prizes listed below. Just share the link below and you’ll be entered once they sign up.

RESOURCES
The Federal Reserve Resource

Join our small yet growing subreddit 🚀: https://www.reddit.com/r/investinq/

Wall Street Reads 💎 (Best Books):

Check out our latest issues 🎯: https://investinq.beehiiv.com