Axios

The average ticket price on Vivid Seats for the 2024 NBA Finals is $1,459.

Why it matters: That's 33% more expensive than last year's Finals series, according to the ticket marketplace.

Big Lots today reported a punishing loss and plunging sales as the discount retailer careens deeper into crisis mode.

Why it matters: Discount stores catering to lower-income shoppers are under pressure as their target audience is increasingly pinching pennies.

Driving the news: Big Lots recorded a net loss of $205 million in its fiscal Q1, while comparable sales fell 9.9%.

• CEO Bruce Thorn acknowledged the company missed its sales goals: "We still have a lot of work ahead of us," he said.

GameStop shares rocketed anew today, as retail investing guru Keith Gill (aka Roaring Kitty) scheduled a YouTube livestream for tomorrow.

Why it matters: Gill's return to social media last month sparked a meme-trade resurgence, prompting renewed questions about whether any of this could be considered market manipulation.

The answer? Probably not, lawyers told the Wall Street Journal.

• For manipulation, securities regulators would need evidence that Gill deceived the market, they told the publication.
• Leveraging celebrity to influence other meme-stock traders, however, doesn't necessarily qualify.

Yes, but: Companies around this most recent meme-stock run are starting to exert more caution.

Dolly Parton has been workin' 9 to 5 on this.

State of play: The country music legend said today that she's writing a Broadway musical based on her life.

• "Hello, I'm Dolly — An Original Musical" will debut in 2026, featuring a mix of Parton's hits and new tunes, Variety reports.

Fun fact: "Hello, I'm Dolly" — a play on the 1964 Broadway hit "Hello, Dolly" — was the title of Parton's debut album in 1967.

💭 Nathan's thought bubble: Dolly Parton is a national treasure, so I'm thinking this is a guaranteed hit.

"Sportsbooks are an easy target for politicians."

Anything in the real world from steak and eggs to real estate, to pharmaceuticals and stocks and bonds — can be made token and tracked on a blockchain.

Why it matters: Whether that presents a vision of a more efficient, futuristic world, or a risky proposition to marginally improve a working system, is what's up for debate.

Neither the threat of enforcement action nor a civil lawsuit seem to have derailed Robinhood or Coinbase shares.

Zoom in: COIN's up almost 400% one year after the SEC sued it.

• HOOD's up more than 25% since it said the SEC said it might be suing it.

💭 Our thought bubble: Wowowowowow.

Free and discounted doughnuts are on the menu Friday for National Doughnut Day, or National Donut Day in some circles.

The big picture: June 7 is the made-up food holiday for one of America's favorite treats. It was established in Chicago in 1938 to honor the Salvation Army Donut Lassies who served the treats to soldiers during World War I.

It's the end of global synchronization as we knew it. After moving in lockstep the last two years to raise interest rates in hopes of controlling inflation, the world's major central banks are diverging on when and how to ease up.

Why it matters: Decisions by the European Central Bank on Thursday and the Bank of Canada on Wednesday to cut rates put them distinctly out of step with the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is set to leave rates unchanged at a policy meeting next week.