This is Nick. This is Jack. And this is you headed to the bazillionth wedding of the season. But first, return that air fryer—85% of couples would prefer cash. So before you hit the dance floor, hit the ATM. The newlyweds just want to make a down payment, not crispy BBQ salmon bites.

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1) You Can Be a Part-Owner of Baseball’s No. 1 Team

The Atlanta Braves recently became the first publicly traded MLB team—here’s how they went from Cracker Jacks to the Nasdaq as the only pure-play pitcher stock.

Back in July, previous Braves owner Liberty Media spun off the Braves from its portfolio to create a new entity: Atlanta Braves Holdings. So non-billionaires can now be part-owners of Ronald Acuña Jr.’s lucky batting helmet.

Here’s the scouting report:

• The stats: The $2.8B company includes the Braves, their stadium, and their sunflower seeds.

• The field: 76 wins and 42 losses make the Braves top in the league right now.

• The revenues ⬆️: Sales are up 11% so far this year thanks to that winning record and MLB rule changes that shortened games for happier fans (9 innings, not 9 hours).

• But the costs ⬆️: Operating costs are up 19%. Scoring runs costs money, and the Braves roster is throwing around major $$$.

Add it all up: This winning team has swung a financial loss this year.

The Takeaway →

The Braves now have fan-vestors. Tesla stock benefits from having investors who are passionate fans of Elon. Their passion drives extra demand, which drives the stock price higher. Now Braves fans can do the same: become fan-vestors.

2) Girl Math Can Justify Your $400 ‘Fit

#GirlMath is TikTok’s favorite new way to justify a spending spree. It comically rationalizes the splurging we all do, guy or girl.

The 411 on girl math, which was coined by a radio show in New Zealand: 

1. Anything under $5 is free. Period.

2. If you buy something and then return it, you’re actually making money.

3. Big splurges are broken down into super small and easily justifiable units. Let’s say you buy a $400 dress and wear it to four of those bazillion weddings you’re attending this year. That’s $100 per wear, which is about what you’d spend to rent the same dress. According to girl math, that makes the dress free. You’re welcome.

This sounds fiscally ridiculous, but it’s universally relatable: #girlmath now has 40M views on TikTok. We think there’s a guy version—we’re calling it guy math:

• Buy an expensive toy and claim it’s not for you (it’s definitely for you).

• Example: “I bought Titleist golf clubs because golf clears my head, and that’s cheaper than therapy. So it’s free.”

The Takeaway →

Baked within girl math are some financially savvy concepts. Some criticize the concept of girl math for reinforcing negative stereotypes and promoting financial irresponsibility—but the idea can solve key financial challenges, like rent vs. buy. Think of that $400 dress…after four weddings, you hit the breakeven point and the end of your payback period. We could get used to this.

3) China Won’t Say What’s Up…So We Will

China’s youth unemployment rate hit an all-time high of 21.3% in July after climbing for seven months straight. But here’s the bigger news: China is just going to stop reporting it.

It’s the latest in a string of moves by Chinese officials to suppress negative data:

• Consumer confidence? There’s been a crisis, so China stopped publishing the report.

• Chinese authorities are asking (read: ordering) economists to put a positive spin on bad news.

How can you trust data that only says good things? You can’t (and analysts aren’t). China doesn’t want the world to know its real economic state. See: the above, which underlines and bolds concerns from businesses and economists that tightening government control is making China a no-go for global business.

The Takeaway →

China today looks like Japan yesterday. In 1989, Japan was an up-and-coming economic superpower. Japanese brands like Sony, Hitachi, and Toyota were what Apple, Tesla, and Microsoft are today. Japan was poised to pass America as the world’s largest economy…until it fell into deflation and never fully bounced back. Today, China’s the up-and-coming economic superpower. But just last month, China fell into deflation.

🧑‍⚖️ Former President Trump, ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and 17 other officials were indicted in Atlanta over their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.

🧠Artificial intelligence is a top job now. Netflix just posted a machine learning product manager job that pays $900K/year.

🏠 Home Depot's stock slid after the co. reported that homeowners cut back on big-ticket purchases last quarter. You never did build that deck.

🍄 Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen accidentally ate magic mushrooms on her policy trip to China.

🍟 Mark Zuckerberg eats a 4,000-calorie McDonald’s meal. Forget Elon, Zuck might challenge Michael Phelps to a lunch-off next.

🤖 AI has gotten so powerful these days that it has a 99.8% pass rate on those “prove you’re not a bot” tests. Scarier: Humans only pass 33% of the time.

⚒️ Warren Buffett’s newest investment interest is in homebuilders. Bob the Builder, what’s your ticker symbol?

⚡ Tesla launches cheaper versions of Model X and Model S with lower mileage ranges. It’s more of a mid-distance athlete.

🤳 Illinois becomes first state to give child influencers financial protection thanks to a 16-year-old who brought the idea to legislators.

🐊 On the pod today…Croc-Tarts: It’s a collab between Crocs and Pop-Tart. Notice more crazy collabs lately? It’s not just you. In this economy, collabs are king.

And one more thing. Tell us the best Venmo memos for newlyweds. Keep it PG-13.👇

—Nick & Jack