Hi! Ever flicked back through the book you’re reading after realizing you’ve taken nothing in for a couple pages? Spotify is now offering the audiobook equivalent, introducing a “Recap” button to go back over the story you’ve heard so far. Today we’re exploring:

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TOGETHER WITH

Skims hits a $5 billion valuation — right before activewear’s peak sales season

If you’re a celebrity with a large following, how do you cash in? The old path was to promote someone else’s product — but, in the new economy, big names are turning brand equity into equity equity.

And right now, the biggest in the fame-lending game is Kim Kardashian, whose shapewear brand, Skims, announced on Wednesday that it’s raised $225 million in new capital at a kolossal $5 billion valuation.

Celebrity Skim

The successful funding round led by Goldman Sachs Alternative marks one of the biggest this year for a US consumer brand, with cofounder Kardashian describing the expansion push as a step toward becoming a “global omnichannel retail brand.”

Skims expects to top $1 billion in net sales in 2025 — a mere six years after its inception — as the all-important holiday season approaches. Meanwhile, long-suffering premium athleisure giant Lululemon will also be looking to the weeks ahead to boost its bottom(s) line.

Looking at Lulu’s slumping sales, the uplift the brand typically sees in Q4 could help to cushion a string of disappointing results; however, data from Google Trends shows defined spikes in search volume during the major winter sales events... perhaps indicating consumers don’t want to pay the full price for $100-plus yoga pants.

Break the internet

As interest in luxury Lycra rivals Alo and Vuori has also mounted, Skims' success can be in part credited to its viral campaigns (searches for “skims” rose 278% week over week when that thong launched in October), as well as partnerships with brands like Nike — buzz that Lulu could be trying to replicate with its new NFL collection.

Still, no company is flexing its star power quite like Skims, which might be the most valuable celebrity-backed brand ever, topping Beats by Dre (bought by Apple for $3 billion back in 2014) and Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty (worth approximately $2.8 billion).

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Italian pasta could cost twice as much in the US under new tariffs

Americans may soon have to say arrivederci to their favorite Italian penne, fusilli, and more, as new US tariffs threaten to price them out of reach — or push them off shelves altogether.

In early September, the US Commerce Department proposed a 91.74% “antidumping” duty on 13 Italian pasta makers after a year-long probe into their pricing practices. While Italy’s pasta producers have often been accused of “dumping,” this marks an unprecedented escalation, possibly bringing total tariffs on Italian pasta imports to around 107% when combined with the existing 15% EU import duty.

Commerce officials said the steep penalties reflected the companies’ “uncooperative” responses during the investigation, while Italian officials condemned the decision as “hyper-protectionist.”

Indeed, such a levy would be a major blow to the world’s pasta capital, which also happens to be America’s biggest pasta supplier. Roughly half of Italy’s US-bound pasta (and 90% of premium lines) could be hit if the new duties stick, according to Italian industry group Filiera Italia.

For decades, American kitchens have had a soft spot for Italian noodles. Per data from the US International Trade Commission, the country imported nearly $750 million worth of pasta from Italy last year, up more than 4x since 1994 — and well above the combined imports from the next four largest suppliers, including South Korea and Canada.

Despite the best efforts of marketing departments to associate their products with the boot-shaped nation, most pasta on American shelves is actually homegrown: The Washington Post reported that Italian pasta imports represented only ~12% of the $6.2 billion US market. For those who insist on the authentic stuff, though, brace for sticker shock: Italy’s biggest agricultural organization warns the new tariffs could double the cost of that plate of spaghetti — and some brands are preparing to exit the US market in January, per the WSJ.

The new ~92% tariffs are still “preliminary,” with Italian companies given up to 120 days from the September ruling to respond. The Commerce Department is expected to issue its final decision in January 2026, unless the deadline is extended.

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Institutions are increasing digital asset integration — and enterprise solutions are making it happen

A 2025 Institutional Investor Digital Assets Survey of 352 decision-makers at various firms reveals growing confidence towards cryptocurrencies and digital assets in 2025, with the majority planning to increase their digital asset allocations.¹

There are a few reasons for this momentum. A progressive regulatory environment. Growing institutional adoption. Also — importantly — a more developed infrastructure.

Widespread blockchain adoption relies on easy implementation and solutions for technical challenges, like managing keys and maintaining robust security and compliance. Ripple Custody allows complex institutions to manage these solutions without developing in-house infrastructure, meaning there’s less friction and lower costs associated with integrating blockchain.

Interested in how infrastructure is making it easy to adopt blockchain? Check out Ripple’s commuter-friendly Block Stars podcast, with industry expert David Schwartz. 

Which professional services America’s multimillionaires are spending their money on

While it might not feel like it for everyone, America has never been richer... at least on paper. Thanks to a surge in stock prices and home values over the past decade, total household net worth now sits at a record $167 trillion, with nearly a third of that wealth controlled by the top 1%  — a group that has helped lift the country’s overall consumption this year.

Beyond boosting their wealth portfolios through various assets, where is all that spending actually going inside the most affluent households in the US? According to a new survey from Long Angle, a private community platform for high-net-worth individuals, less than a third (32%) of them use a wealth manager, while they outsource a large share of the tasks that keep their day-to-day lives running.

Indeed, a majority of households with over $2.2 million in net worth rely on financial and property services: 82% use CPA and tax services, 52% work with a trust and estate attorney, while housekeeping has become a “staple,” with two-thirds employing a home-cleaning service. Lawn care and gardening are also common, used by 52% of respondents.

Money can’t buy...

But that heavy spending doesn’t necessarily mean they’re happy with the service they get: financial and home services score among the lowest in the survey’s satisfaction rankings, with respondents citing slow responses, low-quality work, and high costs as the main drivers of discontent. 

On the other end of the spectrum, wealthy Americans seem most happy with services tied to personal and family well-being: personal trainers top the list with a satisfaction score of 9.3, while pet carers (8.5), academic tutors (8.5), and a range of childcare and education services also sit among the highest-rated.

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An enormous 86% of institutional investors reported either current exposure to digital assets or plans to initiate allocations during 2025, according to Coinbase.² Get your global blockchain update from the Block Stars podcast.

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Off the charts: What is the only top podcast genre where female hosts outweigh their male counterparts? [Answer below]. 

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