😎 The iPhone meets ski goggles

What’s going on here?

Apple unveiled its Vision Pro hardware this week, so it’ll only be a few months until you can watch your bank balance shrink from the comfort of a dystopian society.

What does this mean?

Apple’s CEO has been hailed as an operations genius since taking the shiny, minimalistic helm, pulling the goliath’s market value up from $350 billion in 2011 to $2.8 trillion today. And in a bid to keep the momentum, Apple launched its “mixed reality” headset this week: seven years in the making, the Vision Pro combines augmented reality with virtual reality. Gamers will be ready to click play on that bad boy, but Apple’s also set its sights on the workplace and hopes that software developers will whip up apps that could broaden the headset's capabilities. So with the potential to revolutionize both work and play, analysts are anticipating the Vision Pro will make up a hefty chunk of Apple’s sales within the next five years.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: A mega Quest.

Apple’s taking a massive risk here. At $3,499, the headset’s twelve times pricier than the current bestseller, Meta’s Quest 2. That’s a steep price tag for some souped-up ski goggles, and even Meta’s struggled to make its cheaper version mainstream. And while Apple did redefine an industry when it launched the iPhone, it’ll be a lot harder to disrupt a sector that even tech heads aren’t fully sold on yet.

For markets: Another mighty price.

Apple’s shares fell after the news, possibly because of that tear-jerking price tag. But they’re still in a lofty position: investors have been trusting Apple – with its solid revenue streams – as a safe haven to ride out these uncertain times, propelling its market value to more than the entire Russell 2000 index. But with the stock looking fairly expensive compared to the market and its own history, some reckon there could be a pullback to come.

What’s going on here?

Data out on Tuesday spells trouble for the eurozone, and the region’s regular savior isn’t coming to the rescue this time.

What does this mean?

Sturdy consumer spending is the backbone of most advanced economies, which is why economists use retail sales to gauge how countries are holding up. But the latest eurozone checkup was far from reassuring: Europeans are paying their bills, buying their increasingly pricey essentials, and saving the rest away for a recessionary day to make the most of higher interest rates. So despite expectations of a slight improvement, retail sales didn’t grow at all from March to April, with every category dropping from the same time last year.

Why should I care?

Zooming in: The golden child’s rebelling.

Tuesday’s data reinforces the idea that Europe’s stuck in a slump at the moment, after narrowly avoiding a recession in the first quarter of the year. And Germany – usually the powerhouse of the region – isn’t swooping in to help. The country’s in the midst of a recession, and data shows that its all-important manufacturing industry is stuck in the mud: factory orders fell unexpectedly in April and demand ate away at exports in May. So unless the problem child becomes the golden one, the eurozone will struggle to pull itself up anytime soon.

The bigger picture: Mob mentality.

There might be some light at the end of the tunnel though: the European Central Bank (ECB) released data showing that consumers’ expectations for inflation dipped “significantly” last month. That matters, since predictions shape behavior: you’re more likely to splurge on your wishlist if you think prices are about to swell big time, and when a bunch of shoppers all act the same way, you get a self-fulfilling prophecy of demand-fueled, pushed-up prices. So this news that folks are now expecting tamer increases may mean the ECB’s inflation-fighting efforts are bearing fruit.