Three Things (7/13)

1) NASA releases new telescope images: NASA unveiled its hotly anticipated batch of pictures from the James Webb Telescope. The $10 billion telescope captured the deepest infrared images of the cosmos yet, capturing photos of the universe as it was nearly 13 billion years ago. The new telescope is the world's largest and most powerful space observatory.

Titan's Takeaway: Moments like this take can take your breath away. We quite literally looked back in time yesterday. NASA's dazzling new technology reminds us of how fast technology is evolving and make us wonder- is anything possible?

2) Lego lets go of Russia: The largest toymaker in the world ended its sales deal with the operator of 81 lego stores in Russia. The move to shutter operations comes after Lego stopped shipments of products to Russia after their invasion of Ukraine.

Titan's Takeaway: The move from Lego follows a chorus of other large companies ending ties in Russia. We question if the Danish toymaker can actually keep its products out of Russia after the government canceled customs duties and legalized parallel imports.

3) Euro reaches parity with dollar: The U.S. dollar and the Euro achieved parity for the first time since 2002. A historic energy crunch from Russia's war on Ukraine and rising U.S. interest rates have pushed investors toward the dollar in favor of the feeble Euro. For U.S. travelers vacationing in Europe, the precipitous decline in the value of the Euro equates to roughly a 15% discount from the same time last year.

Titan's Takeaway:The flood of capital into the U.S. for the safe-haven currency and to take advantage of rising interest rates could tame inflation as a stronger dollar makes for lower import prices. However, the dollar's rise is a double-edged sword as emerging economies holding American debt are now paying a premium.