A World War I-era poster advertising US gov’t bonds (Pierce Archive LLC/Getty Images)

The US gets a rare credit-rating downgrade after the debt-ceiling drama

Iced

Starbucks grows with iced drinks, tasty add-ons, and a roaring China rebound

SQUINT

Worldcoin hits roadblocks as regulators eye the iris-scanning crypto biz

Dow Jones

S&P 500

Nasdaq

Bitcoin

The only time the US was completely debt-free was in 1835

💳 America’s credit-score downgrade

When “skip ad” is impossible (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

AdMart

Ads hit the aisle as Walmart and other retailers shop for a new income stream

Meet Upway - the certified e-bike expert. 

Zzzs

Pokémon Sleep tries to capitalize on the gamified wellness craze as apps embrace health

DEFI(NE)

Heard on the Block: “attestation”

🛒 Walmart’s in-store ads

#BookTok haul incoming (Noam Galai/Getty Images)

Bookmarked

Barnes & Noble tries to capture some indie-bookstore magic to compete with Amazon

ASAP

Amazon's doubling down on same-day delivery as ultra-speedy shipping becomes the norm

Snacks Unpacked

The Biden admin’s new plan for student-debt repayment

AMC said it had its best week ever for box-office sales thanks to Barbenheimer

📚 Barnes & Noble goes “indie”

Hot world summer (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Sizzle

As Earth’s hottest month on record wraps up, heat safety takes center stage in the US

These everyday people are benefitting from a $45 million Banksy collection

Events

Coming up this week

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Stories we’re watching

ICYMI

Last week’s highlights

☀️ Heat protection

Cannabis is cash biz (Kamil Krzaczynski/Getty Images)

Cannabiz

Mastercard cracks down on pot purchases, leaving the industry with few payment options

eBay invests in luxury to stand out from rivals like Amazon as usage trends down

The Crypto Catch-Up…

If the Dow had risen yesterday, it would’ve been the index’s longest win streak since 1897

🍃 Mastercard’s canna-biz crackdown

The summer of picket signs (Frederic J. Brown/Getty Images)

Delivered

UPS’s historic deal with the Teamsters shows hot strike summer starting to yield worker wins

TokShop

TikTok could join the "Made in China" online-shopping craze to take on Shein and Temu

Heard on the Block: “cryptojacking”

AI was mentioned 90 times in Google’s Q2 earnings call, and 73 in Microsoft’s

💪 Hot strike summer

How it feels deciding between 18% and 25% (Liz Hafalia/Getty Images)

Guilt-Tip

“Tip fatigue” is spreading as Americans grow frustrated with ubiquitous prompts

When incredibly rare and valuable assets come up for sale, it's typically the 1% of the wealthiest people that end up taking home an amazing investment. But not *always*…

One platform is taking on the billionaires at their own game, buying up and securitizing some of history’s most prized blue-chip artworks for its investors. So, instead of hanging on the walls of a $500 million yacht, these world-class assets are collectively owned by tens of thousands of everyday investors.

It's called [Masterworks](https://www.masterworks.com?utm_source=snacks&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=7-26-23&utm_term=Snacks+subscriber&utm_content=vangoghmoney_775billionaires_14sales_test_150_skip). Their nearly $1 billion collection includes works by greats like Banksy, Picasso, and Basquiat. You know, the same artists in *their* collections. Then, when Masterworks sells a painting – like the 14 it's already sold – investors reap their portion of the net proceeds.

It's easy to get started but offerings can sell out in minutes. However, as a trusted partner, Snacks readers can [skip the waitlist to join with this exclusive link](https://www.masterworks.com?utm_source=snacks&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=7-26-23&utm_term=Snacks+subscriber&utm_content=vangoghmoney_775billionaires_14sales_test_150_skip).*

vangogh-rotation-16x9

How 775,000 everyday people are beating billionaires at their own game

Taxnation

IRS stops surprise tax visits as part of a digital makeover to collect big-time debts

As of Monday, nearly 80% of US companies that reported Q2 earnings had beat estimates

👛 Tip anxiety

Come on, Barbie, let’s go franchise (Lia Toby/Getty Images)

Pinktastic

“Barbie” becomes a box-office bombshell as brands cash in on the franchise flywheel

Billing

Streamers including Spotify jump on the price-hiking bandwagon, ending the discount era

BLINK

Eyeball-scanning Worldcoin launches as AI hype converges with crypto

Americans’ personal savings have plunged by $5.5T since April 2020

👙 Barbie’s dream weekend

Soft-landing summer? (Georg Wendt/Getty Images)

Soft

Recession fears ease thanks to promising economic data, in a boost for “soft landing” hopes

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Last week's highlights

A 10-day UPS strike could cost the US economy $7B

🍦 Soft-landing vibes

JPow in the bank group chat: “FedNow me” (Jim Watson/Getty Images)

Real-time

The FedNow instant-payments network finally launches — but not to replace Venmo

US antitrust watchdogs amp up their corporate crackdown with new merger guidelines

MUSKED

Barbenheimer opening weekend could rake in $200M

💸 FedNow, now live