💳 Maxed out

…and Christie’s art-auction drama (Artur Widak/Getty Images) The FICO score suffers in silence   Sponsored by Yesterday's market moves Dow Jones 39,869 (-0.10%) S&P 500 5,297 (-0.21%) Nasdaq 16,698 (-0.26%) Bitcoin $65,474 (-1.16%) Dow Jones 39,869 (-0.10%) S&P 500 5,297 (-0.21%) Nasdaq 16,698 (-0.26%) Bitcoin $65,474 (-1.16%) Hey Snackers, The iconic Chuck E. Cheese animatronic band is [breaking up]( at all but two of the chain’s locations. The Beatles of robots will be replaced with jumbotrons and dance floors. The major US indexes ticked down yesterday, but don’t let the ho-hum close fool you. The Dow briefly [hit 40K]( for the first time, as traders trounced the “sell in May and go away” adage. Meantime, shares of AMC and GameStop [extended]( their losses. ☔ Quizzin’ in the rain: Gloomy days call for joyful quizzes. Our forecast: you’re going to ace our weekly [Snacks Seven](. Here’s the first Q: - GameStop rallied after Keith Gill aka “Roaring Kitty” posted what? ([Check your answer](.)   MAXED [1 in 5 Americans is maxed out on their credit cards as nest eggs crack]( Reusable plastic… is getting a lot of use. Years of climbing prices and high rates have Americans increasingly relying on their credit cards. That’s not inherently bad, but one person’s travel miles are another person’s high-interest debt. A New York Fed [report]( this week said that nearly one in five US cardholders is using at least 90% of their credit limit (aka “maxed out”). That’s far above the 30% rate experts recommend, and it's leading to more past-due bills: about 9% of card balances fell into delinquency last year. “Serious delinquencies” (90+ days late) hit their highest level since 2010. - Age gap: Young people are more likely to max out their cards because of lower credit limits, student loans, and smaller paychecks. 15% of Gen Z is maxed out, compared to 12% of millennials and fewer than 5% of boomers. - Imbalance: About 44% of borrowers roll their credit debt over month to month instead of paying in full. Making minimum payments at 20% interest would take 18 years to pay off the average balance of $6.2K. - Fee’d up: Last week, a federal judge blocked a Biden-admin rule that would’ve capped credit-card late fees at $8 (some are as high as $30). The tab runneth upward… Total US household debt rose by $184B last quarter, to $17.7T, as more price-pinched folks fell behind on bills. Delinquencies rose on both mortgages and car loans (by 40% and 19%, respectively). And other payment options like buy now, pay later (for example: Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay) are said to be adding to the debt burden: Bloomberg said 43% of BNPL users were behind on their IOUs. THE TAKEAWAY Rainy-day funds are in a drought… Near-zero interest rates, stimulus checks, and a student-loan pause had credit-card delinquencies at historically low levels during the pandemic. Now they’re climbing, in a sign that Americans’ pandemic-padded savings have dried up. In March, the personal saving rate fell to 3.2%, the lowest since 2008 (except for a 2022 dip). Sponsored by RAD AI ✅ The Future of Marketing and AI Strategic Buyouts The AI era… Right now, new AI tech is hitting the market daily. They’re not all created equal… but execs from Google and Meta have [invested in RAD AI](, an AI tool delivering 3.5X ROI across campaigns and marketing channels. Plus, for a limited time, investors get a 20% discount on the current round. Booked…RAD AI’s booked revenue growth is equally impressive at ~3X over the last 12 months, while landing major clients like Hasbro, Skechers and Sweetgreen. In short, it's proven and working, backed by 6500+ investors and the Adobe Fund for Design. Acquisitions…Now, RAD AI is using its award-winning tech to power strategic AI buyouts (AIBOs) in small-to-medium-sized marketing agencies that need differentiation. Leadership believes AIBOs will result in material revenue and operational efficiencies, and will drive RAD AI shareholder value. Limited time at this round's valuation— [Invest before May 24th and get a 20% discount on your share price.](* Sponsored by RAD AI ✅ The Future of Marketing and AI Strategic Buyouts The AI era… Right now, new AI tech is hitting the market daily. They’re not all created equal… but execs from Google and Meta have [invested in RAD AI](, an AI tool delivering 3.5X ROI across campaigns and marketing channels. Plus, for a limited time, investors get a 20% discount on the current round. Booked…RAD AI’s booked revenue growth is equally impressive at ~3X over the last 12 months, while landing major clients like Hasbro, Skechers and Sweetgreen. In short, it's proven and working, backed by 6500+ investors and the Adobe Fund for Design. Acquisitions…Now, RAD AI is using its award-winning tech to power strategic AI buyouts (AIBOs) in small-to-medium-sized marketing agencies that need differentiation. Leadership believes AIBOs will result in material revenue and operational efficiencies, and will drive RAD AI shareholder value. Limited time at this round's valuation— [Invest before May 24th and get a 20% discount on your share price.](*   LONELY-ART [Christie’s hack-threatened auction spotlights cracks in the art market]( Art breaker… Christie’s, the prestigious auction house, nearly had its big May sale [disrupted]( by an apparent hack. Its website went down in the days leading up to the auction, causing folks to question how digital buying (which made up 18% of global art sales last year) would be affected. Even though the site remained down, online bidders were sent a special link to raise their digital paddles. But while the auction proceeded, any hype from the dramatic downtime failed to heat up the lukewarm market. - Bidding snores: The second part of Christie’s auction — featuring usually popular contemporary pieces — fell flat. It was expected to tally between $104M and $155M, but brought in just $80M. And three works were withdrawn — likely a sign of low interest. The canvas has shifted… Mid-pandemic, when even “Animal Crossing” paintings were a hot commodity (not to mention NFTs), art sales surged. But with today’s high interest rates and inflation, buyers want a discount, while sellers are reluctant to list for less. Last year, auction sales dropped 27% from 2022, the market’s first squeeze since 2020, and average prices plummeted 32%, the most in seven years. The rut continued this year, with May sales from the Big Three (Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips) expected to fall 18% annually. - Different strokes: Auction houses say the sales slump isn’t a demand problem. Buyers are bidding, but owners are waiting for the economy to improve before listing their works. THE TAKEAWAY A Monet stores money… Some collectors see art as an alternative investment that could carry its value through tough economic times. Collectors who saw how much their works could fetch during the pandemic could be waiting for frothier markets to list in. Auctions can be risky because sales are decided dynamically. One bright spot: private sales are strong. In January, Citadel boss Ken Griffin bought a Mark Rothko painting through Christie’s for $100M+.   WHIRL The Crypto Catch-Up… 💰 Spendy… Peter Thiel’s VC firm reportedly led a $45M [investment]( into Polymarket, an ethereum-based prediction market (picture: bets on US elections, “Dune” box-office #s). Meanwhile, the CFTC’s [considering]( a crackdown on event contracts. 📜 Policy… Pro-crypto PACs have [raised]( $100M+ ahead of this year’s US congressional elections. Two crypto cos, Coinbase and Ripple, have contributed about half of that $$ as they angle for industry-friendly rules. ⚖️ Judgy… The developer behind Tornado Cash, a privacy-focused smart contract on ethereum, was [sentenced]( to five years in prison. Officials said Tornado was used to launder criminals’ coins, but crypto advocates called the sentence a blow to online privacy.   What else we're Snackin' - [r/AI](: Reddit made a deal with OpenAI to surface its social content (including posts in real time) on ChatGPT. Reddit’s trying to diversify its revenue beyond ads, and the stock popped 12% after hours yesterday. - [WalMore](: Walmart shares hit a record high after America’s largest retailer unboxed strong growth (fueled by ecomm), and hiked its outlook. Walmart said it had gained market share among households earning $100K+. - [Stuffed](: Canada Goose shares popped 15% after the maker of $1K status-symbol ski jackets unbuttoned a quarterly profit and sales growth, led by surging demand in China (a key market for luxury). - [Sit](: Wayfair’s opening its first large-format physical store so shoppers can try out furniture. Other online-first cos like Warby Parker and Casper have moved into IRL spaces as ecomm-petition intensifies. - [Booked](: The EU’s investigating whether Meta’s FB and Insta cause addictive behavior in kids. If Meta’s found to be in violation of the Digital Services Act, it could be fined up to 6% of its revenue.   Snack Fact of the Day [2M+ people watched Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut — an ESPN record](   Friday - International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia - F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix weekend starts - Earnings expected from RBC Bearings Authors of this Snacks own ethereum and shares of: Reddit and Walmart *Advertiser’s Disclosure: INVESTMENTS IN PRIVATE PLACEMENTS ARE SPECULATIVE, POSSESS A HIGH LEVEL OF RISK, ARE HIGHLY ILLIQUID, AND THOSE INVESTORS WHO CANNOT HOLD AN INVESTMENT FOR AN INDEFINITE TERM SHOULD NOT INVEST. NO ASSURANCE CAN BE GIVEN THAT INVESTORS WILL RECEIVE A RETURN OF THEIR CAPITAL. PLEASE CAREFULLY REVIEW THE [TERMS OF THIS OFFERING](, INCLUDING FEES, RISKS, AND INVESTMENT DETAILS BEFORE INVESTING.   [Instagram]( [Twitter]( [Sherwood Logo](sherwood.news) Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... [See more]( [Sherwood Terms and Conditions]( [Our Editorial Standards]( [Contact Us](mailto:hello@sherwood.news) [Advertise With Us](mailto:advertising@sherwoodmedia.com) [Unsubscribe]( [Privacy Policy](