Good morning. US stock futures were mixed in Monday morning trading as investors awaited key inflation data and continued to digest earnings reports.

"When you quit, you live to fight another day. If we don't cut our losses when it's warranted, those losses will continue to accumulate"

Annie Duke

Top News

The US debt options are...none 

WHAT: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is making it crystal clear that the US finds itself between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the nation's debt situation. In fact, she's saying there are absolutely zero good options for resolving the debt limit conundrum in Washington other than the obvious one: raising the debt limit.

WHY: Delivering remarks on ABC's "This Week", Yellen said failure to raise the debt ceiling would become a "constitutional crisis". US President Joe Biden and Republicans are locked in a stare down over raising the $31.4 trillion debt limit, with Republican leaders demanding promises of future spending cuts before they approve a higher ceiling. 

ECB exec: More rate hikes coming in Eurozone 

WHAT: There's good news and not so good news in the Eurozone about interest rate hikes according to Dutch Central Bank President Klaas Knot. The good news: rate hikes seem to be working in cooling historically high inflation in the Eurozone. The not so good news: more hikes will be needed to keep inflation in check. 

WHY: Speaking on Dutch television, Knot said he was in support of raising Eurozone rates to 5% or higher from the current 3.25%, if that is what will be needed to contain inflation. 

China's forex reserves just keep growing 

WHAT: It looks like China's foreign exchange reserves are on the rise again. According to official data, the country's reserves rose more than expected in April thanks to the mighty dollar taking a bit of a tumble against other major currencies.  

WHY: The country's foreign exchange reserves — the world's largest — rose $21 billion to $3.205 trillion last month, compared with $3.192 trillion tipped by a Reuters poll of analysts, and $3.184 trillion in March.

When Was The Last Time We Upgraded The Combustion Engine?

Let’s face it, engine technology is stuck in the past.

Combustion engines are inefficient, converting just 15% of fuel into useful energy. Considering that the design of these engines is over 100 years old, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

But MIT-grad, Dr. Alexander Shkolnik, and his physicist father Dr. Nikolay Shkolnik, decided to do something about it.

They patented a new thermodynamic cycle that unlocks a more efficient engine with the same power from a much smaller and lighter package.

With their revolutionary XTS-210 engine, LiquidPiston has designed a product that has up to 5X the power-to-weight in 1/5th the size of engines of comparable power.

With 82 patents granted and pending and over $30M in contracts with the US Dept. of Defense to do everything from helping drones fly farther to making generators smaller, LiquidPiston is just getting started.

And you have the opportunity to invest as they disrupt a $400 billion market.

Click here to invest in LiquidPiston’s ride to the top!

*Thanks to our sponsors for keeping this newsletter free

In Other News

Buffett: In Apple We Trust! 

WHAT: The Oracle of Omaha Warren Buffett has spoken and declared Apple the best business in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio of businesses. "Apple is different than the other businesses we own. It just happens to be a better business" Buffett said as he delivered remarks at Berkshire Hathaway's annual general meeting.  

WHY: Berkshire revealed a $1 billion stake in Apple in May 2016, and by March 2023 has boosted that stake to $151 billion.  

Big search upgrade coming to Google 

WHAT: It looks like Google search is about to go through a transformation that would make a butterfly jealous! According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, the search giant is planning to turn up the heat on their visuals, making them more "snackable, human and personal" than ever before.  

WHY: The move comes as artificial intelligence application such as ChatGPT have been growing in popularity, highlighting a technological shift that could upend the way businesses and society access information.   

R.I.P Jenny Craig 

WHAT: Jenny Craig, the weight loss chain, is calling it quits for good after 40 years of operations. "It's with a heavy heart that we're announcing the close of our business" the company said in a note posted on its Facebook page. The company is expected to begin the process of liquidating its operations in the near future. 

WHY: The closure of Jenny Craig comes after a failed attempt to sell the US-based weight loss service which has been searching for a way to rework $250 million of debt amid cash flow pressures.  

Key Economic Events

• Monday - No Major Economic News

• Tuesday - Fed's Williams Speaks

• Wednesday - US CPI Y-o-Y

• Thursday - Bank of England Rate

• Friday - Fed's Bullard and Jefferson Take Part In Panel

Notable Briefs

• What kind of returns does the stock market provide investors?

• Just received a financial windfall? Here are 5 tips on how to manage it!

• Are you a "stress addict"? These 3 signs may hold the key

• Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here.

• Want to advertise in Daily Market Briefs? Go here.