Tariffs Dent Reputation

Tariffs have started to bite on U.S. importers, and the U.S. reputation as a trading partner slumps.

September 15, 2025

Silver banana goes to…

Your Daily Dose of Market & Career Clarity

📬 Delivered to 150,000+ ambitious readers

🎯 In this issue:

  • Banana Bits: Finance headlines that actually matter

  • Market Summary: The market clawed its way to a positive gain

  • What’s Ripe / Rotten: The tastiest and most disgusting stocks 

  • Technical Trip: Interview Q&A from Jane Street

  • The Daily Poll: See how you stack up

Market Snapshot

📉 Banana Bits

Market Recap

IPO is Back!!

This week seems to be an exciting week for investors with the S&P 500 up 1.33%, Nasdaq up 1.54%, Dow Jones up 0.89%, and Russell 2000 up 0.06%. 

What would have turned investors anxious all week has actually turned out well. Inflation numbers came in higher, but were offset by the significant increase in Jobless Claims, which came at 263,000 vs 235,000 expected. This has led to a higher stance for a Fed rate cut this coming September meeting.   

To take advantage of investors’ appetite, private darlings are starting to tap public market opportunities. 

This week alone, we got six companies tapping into the market and minted a total of $4 billion, making it one of the busiest periods since 2021. 

Fintech companies got the spotlight this week with Klarna Group Plc, Figure Technology Solutions, and Gemini Space Station Inc. making IPO debuts, a sign of growing optimism on cr*pto-related companies after Circle’s blockbuster IPO in June.

What's Ripe

IonQ Inc. (IONQ) 18.2%

  • IONQ surged 18% in Friday Trading.

  • This is after the announcement that it attained regulatory approval from the UK Investment Security Unit for its acquisition of Oxford Ionics, a British start-up.

Gemini Space Station (GEMI) 14.3%

  • GEMI is a cr*ptocurrency brokerage firm run by the Winklevoss twins.

  • The company made its debut on Friday, surging 14% to $37.01, up from 32% from its initial offering of $28.

What's Rotten

Moderna Inc. (MRNA) 7.4%

  • MRNA tumbled 7.4% after the Trump administration had decided to link COVID-19 vaccines to the death of 25 children.

  • Officials could include the claim in a presentation to an expert panel of CDC advisers next week.

RH (RH) 4.6%

  • RH dropped 4.6% after the home furnishing retailer missed consensus estimates and revenue came up short of Wall Street targets.

  • The company also slashed its fiscal year revenue outlook with a revenue growth of 9% to 11%, down from prior guidance of 10% to 13%.

🧠 Technical Trip

Q&A Interview with Jane Street

👉 Want 1-on-1 recruiting help from Jane Street bankers & 2,000+ top mentors? Apply to WSO Academy

🦈 Deal Dispatch

M&A, IPOs, And Other Notable Transactions

📊 The Daily Poll

IPO wave signals…

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Previous Poll:

September rate cut odds?

Locked in: 76.1% // 50/50: 14.9% // Not happening: 9.0%

Student Success Corner

👉 Are you next? Find out with WSO Academy

Banana Brain Teaser

Previous

At his regular hourly rate, Don had estimated the labor cost of a repair job as $336, and he was paid that amount. However, the job took 4 hours longer than he had estimated, and, consequently, he earned $2/hour less than his regular hourly rate. What was the time Don had estimated for the job, in hours?

Answer: 24

Today

In Town X, 64% of the population are employed, and 48% of the population are employed males. What percent of the employed people in Town X are females?

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There is no point in being confident and having a small position.

George Soros

How Would You Rate Today's Peel?


Happy Investing,
Chris, Vyom, Ankit, Mitchell, Colin & Patrick