Hey there weekday warrior,
I can’t wait to tell my grandkids about what it was like to live through the DeepSeek bloodbath of 2025 the great trade war of 2025.
Enjoy the next 4 minutes and 6 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
It’s happening, isn’t it?
Let’s play a game of “Who said it?” I give you a quote, and you guess who said it. First up: “We are still in the earliest stages, the beginning of the first act, of a revolution that will play out over years and decades.”
Was it (A) A Son of Liberty in protest of British taxation circa 1774 or (B) Alex Karp during Palantir’s earnings call yesterday?
It’s easy to deliver a Herb Brooks pre-game speech during an earnings call when you b*tch slap the haters with an earnings beat of epic proportions. Isn’t that right, Alex Karp?
Not only did AI darling Palantir (+1.5% // AH:+22.7%) beat easily (seriously, it wasn’t even close), but its guidance for the upcoming quarter and year made analysts’ estimates look like a bad use of an Ivy League education.
PLTR is firing on all cylinders, taking advantage of the demand for AI-powered data solutions from government and civilian clients.
The CEO of Palantir’s victory lap continued by reminding everyone that the “business results continue to astound, demonstrating our deepening position at the center of the AI revolution.” Karp went on to share that the company has been preparing for this moment for more than 20 years.
And every time I see a video of Karp, I can’t help but think he was the guy in high school who gave lone wolf vibes that you stayed friendly with, you know, just in case…
Palantir $PLTR CEO Alex Karp just said this to retail shareholders
— #Evan (#@StockMKTNewz)
11:28 PM • Feb 3, 2025
+ Tariffs be like, “I usually last way longer, I’m just nervous ‘cause you’re so pretty…”
Donny Tariffs just shook up North America’s economy in the shortest (read: 2 days) trade war of all time. After imposing a 25% tariff on our neighbors to the north and south, both Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached agreements with #47 to pause the import taxes for 30 days.
Mexico committed 10k troops to secure the border from illegal aliens and drug trafficking… because it’s always the fentanyl consumer that pays.
Trudeau managed to hold out till COB before backing down and securing his own 30-day pause. The PM agreed to appoint a Fentanyl Czar and implement a $1.3B border security plan.
Meanwhile, no word yet on how the People’s Republic will negotiate their own peace deal on the 10% tariff DJT dropped on them. One idea: shut down DeepSeek.
+ This might be the most exciting thing to happen to Bogleheads since they learned about daily Baby Aspirin.
Vanguard is cutting fees on 87 different funds across 168 share classes. It’s the biggest fee cut Vanguard has ever rolled out, with an average of 20% cut per share class. The move will reduce fees by ~$350M in 2025.
CEO Salim Ramji wants to keep Vanguard relevant for stuffed shirt 401k plan admins everywhere. Things have been dicey at Vanguard lately. The ETF peddlers recently settled out-of-court on a $100M suit brought by the SEC alleging that Vanguard failed to disclose changes to its target date investment funds. The suit may have had Ramji’s PR team searching for a W.
Of course, Vanguard has a long history of bargain-basement fees. Its average fee expense ratio is 0.1% compared to the industry average of 0.53%.
+ Babe, it’s not gambling, it’s an ‘events contract’…
Robinhood (-0.1%) is a gambling app again. Degens in all 50 states will be able to bet on “events contracts” for the winner of the ‘Pro Football Championship’ aka the Super B*wl. Vlad’s been eyeing expanding HOOD’s event contracts presence ever since the election. “I did my research” - everyone betting the house on T. Swift’s boyfriend’s team.
+ Well, if Elon can have 9 jobs… Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been appointed acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
+ Donny TikTok signed an executive order that outlines a government-run sovereign wealth fund, which could potentially be used to buy TikTok. Imagine the returns if we put Paul Pelosi at the helm.
+ PDD Holdings (-5.9%) (read: Temu) shares sank after Trump’s 10% China tariff closed up a trade loophole that allows packages worth less than $800 to be imported duty-free. Price hikes on cheap cr*p incoming.
+ Nearly 1 in 5 eligible taxpayers miss this 'valuable credit' worth thousands, IRS says. Enjoy staying poor.
+ House-hacking strategy can help transform tax season into a gold mine. Enjoy staying (house) poor.
+ Get away with 75k bonus points from arguably the greatest travel rewards card of all time. It’s time to make your credit card rewards your entire personality.
🔥 Here’s what could get more expensive under Trump’s tariffs. Spoiler: you might want to skip the table-side guac. (FYI, this has changed quite a bit in the past 24 hours)
FYI, TWC might be compensated if you click on the links above. So, what are you waiting for? Start clicking.
+ US stocks “fell sharply early Monday after President Donald Trump over the weekend signed executive orders calling for 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 10% tariffs on China, all of which were due to go into effect early Tuesday.” (Investopedia)
+ The 10-year yield “[was] mixed on Monday as investors weighed U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on goods from key trade partners and their effect on the economy.” (CNBC)
+ Oil “prices edged up in volatile trade on Monday but closed at a one-month low on the expiration of a higher-priced contract, as the market digested U.S. President Donald Trump's planned imposition of tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.” (Reuters)
+ Bitcoin “bounced back on Monday, February 3, rising above $100,000 once again after falling to nearly $90,000 over the weekend.” (Forbes)
+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours were: 1) Palantir +1.5% // AH:+22.7% 2) Nvidia -2.8% 3) Tesla -5.1%
⏪ Yesterday, Tyson Foods reported before the bell, and Palantir and NXP Semi reported after hours.
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ PayPal, Spotify, Pfizer, Ferrari, Pepsi, Merck, Estee Lauder, UBS, KKR, Cummins, Marathon Petroleum, and Apollo Global report before the bell
+ Google, AMD, Chipotle, Snap, EA, Mondelez, Amgen, and Lumen report after-hours
+ IBM holds its investor day and Texas Instruments holds a capital management day
Yesterday, I asked, “How much cash do you usually carry on you?”
$0-$20 won with 28.4% of the vote, followed by $51-$100. Something tells me the handful of you carrying $1k+ in cash are the same people that have flip phones (see: drug dealers).
Here’s what some of you guys had to say…
$0-$20: “Cuz why? To tip my bartender in advance for the debauchery that’s about to ensue so they’re on my side when the bouncers try and drag me out? That’s the only reason I can think of.”
$51-$100: “Take $100 at the ATM, literally carry it around for the next month.”
$51-$100: “Carry a $100 bill and then whatever change comes from it, add $100 bill to wallet when cash falls below $20”
$251-$500: "I'd carry more, but I work in New York where you get lit on fire for having $0. Walking around with $1,000 might get you skinned alive.”
$251-$500: “I also drive a Ford Raptor and no, it is not to accomodate insecurities in other areas........”
$1k+: "Cash is king, plus how else would I pay if I happen to lose on the golf course"
And here’s today’s question…
The WSJ decided to be a Debbie Downer. So…
Oh, and one more thing…
What did you think about today's newsletter?
Does this look like the face of a guy you should take financial advice from?
No, it’s the face of an individual who is financially irresponsible/dumb enough to be talked into spending money on a family photo shoot that he could have just done with his iPhone. So, act accordingly...
This is not financial advice. Nothing in this newsletter is an investment recommendation. All content is created for entertainment, educational, or informational purposes only. Do your own research, or do yourself a favor and hire a professional.