Morning! Fall begins next week - time flies.

Interesting time fact: every now and then, we add a leap second to our clocks to synchronize them with the Earth’s rotation. The last leap second was on December 31, 2016 and 6:59:60PM UTC time. The next possible leap second will take place on June 30, 2025.

So, is time a construct? We don’t have the time to cover that in today’s update, just the news.

No time to waste!

***ALSO*** If you want to know how much money you need to retire, check out the free retirement calculator at the bottom. Just one referral gets you this handy tool!

Markets

Source: CoinGecko.com As of 9:09AM September 15th

World news

Top news stories of the past week

1) Harris vs. Trump debate: 67 million people tuned in to watch the showdown between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. The debate proved to help Harris, bringing her into the lead ahead of Trump according to polls. It may have also helped that Taylor Swift told her 284 million followers that she was supporting Harris. 

2) First civilian space walk: Over the weekend, a SpaceX capsule successfully splashed down off the Florida coast after the Polaris Dawn mission, which featured the first-ever spacewalk conducted entirely by civilians. The five-day mission included significant achievements such as reaching an altitude of 870 miles, allowing scientists to study space radiation effects, and showing off some seriously cool spacesuits.

3) Air Canada strike cancelled: One of the largest airlines in the world, Air Canada, has reached a deal with their pilots to avoid a strike. Pilots were seeking increased compensation, which they said was seriously below industry averages. For context, pilots in United Airlines earn 92% more than Air Canada pilots. In 2013, the pay gap was just 3%.

Top WEIRD stories of the past week

1) Here’s a tip: if you’re going to commit dozens of crimes, don’t film it! A Denmark man is facing 86 charges for stunt driving his motorcycle after filming himself popping wheelies and speeding more than twice the legal limit.

2) The 34th annual Ig Nobel Awards took place this past week. It’s a series of awards focused on ludicrous scientific studies. Some highlights from this year? Pigeon-guided missiles and the swimming abilities of dead fish.

3) The 2025 Guinness World Records book was released this week, with 2,115 world records. Some of the records are…interesting, like “the world’s largest electric toothbrush”. Useful? No. Dumb? Yes.

Chart

You like charts? Graphs? Ya you do

Inflation continues to plummet. Truflation, a service that provides more up-to-date inflation data, calculates that U.S. inflation touched 1% this week. That’s compared to the 2.5% quoted by the U.S. government.

Investment idea

What are we investing in?

Consumer discretionary companies

Consumer discretionary companies produce goods and services that are non-essential but desirable when consumers have some disposable income. These include industries such as automotive, apparel, hotels, restaurants, luxury goods, and entertainment.

Unlike consumer staples, which provide necessities, discretionary items are more sensitive to economic cycles and consumer confidence. Companies in this sector, such as Nike, Starbucks, and Disney, rely on consumers' willingness to spend on products and experiences that enhance their lifestyle but aren't crucial for day-to-day living.

Investing in consumer discretionary stocks can be particularly attractive in a falling interest rate environment, like we’re entering right now. As interest rates decrease, consumers typically have more disposable income due to lower borrowing costs and reduced mortgage payments. This extra cash flow often translates into increased spending on discretionary items, boosting sales and profits for companies in this sector.

So how can you invest in consumer discretionary companies?

1. Buy individual stocks: Companies like Amazon, Tesla, and Home Depot are all in the consumer discretionary category. You could pick your favourites from this list.

2. Buy an ETF: If you just want an easy way to get exposure to consumer discretionary companies, you can buy a passive ETF like iShares Global Consumer Discretionary ETF. It holds basically all consumer discretionary companies from around the world.

History

On this day…

…in 1620, the Mayflower left Plymouth England with 102 Pilgrims and about 30 crew for the New World. Crazy to think how many people can trace their roots to those OGs.

Music

Banger of the week

Most important thing

Meme? Nah. Art.