Today we’re celebrating the DOJ suing Live Nation, breaking down the likelihood of Ethereum ETFs & a whole lot more.

Enjoy the next 4 minutes and 27 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.

Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,

- tyler

+ US stocks “faced a significant sell-off, with major indices closing lower amid concerns over rising interest rates and the Federal Reserve's prolonged efforts to control inflation. The broad-based decline saw all components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending in negative territory for the first time this year. ” (WSJ)

+ The 10-year Treasury yield “rose Thursday following better-than-expected economic data." (CNBC)

+ Oil “fell for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday and settled at multi-month lows as the prospect of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates raised worries around demand growth in the world's biggest oil market.” (Reuters)

+ Bitcoin “dropped below $68,000 during the early U.S. trading session from around $70,000 earlier in the day, sliding almost 3% over the past 24 hours.” (Coindesk)

+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours were: 1) Nvidia +9.3% 2) AMD -3.0% 3) Tesla -3.5%

The market moves you need to know about…

+ Nvidia (perhaps you’ve heard of it?) rose 9.3% after reporting blowout earnings and announcing a 10-for-1 stock split.

– Cracker Barrel fell (again) on Thursday after its CEO admitted that it just isn’t as relevant as it used to be. Shares were down 2.0% on the day, but have fallen 41% this year…

+ 23andme *checks notes* jumped 3.6% after reporting a *double checks notes* beat on the top line despite declining to provide guidance for its fiscal 2025 as it undergoes a strategic review. Can’t miss goals you don’t set…

On Saturday, I sent an update on the F*CK ZUCK WATER COOLEST REFERRAL PROGRAM. Last month, you guys raised $154 for the Shriner’s Hospital by referring 154 people to The Water Coolest.

That’s pretty f*cking awesome.

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Hell hath no fury like a Taylor Swift fan scorned…

It appears that T-Swift’s next breakup song will be about Ticketmaster and Live Nation. You see, in 2022 Ticketmaster totally botched ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. That led to butthurt Swifties… and a Department of Justice investigation. And it appears the DOJ didn’t like what they saw…

Uncle Sam is suing to break up Live Nation (-7.8%), the parent company of Ticketmaster. Add trust-busting to T-Swift’s resume.

What is Live Nation accused of?

When Live Nation and Ticketmaster combined forces in 2010 it began Eiffel towering pretty much everyone involved in the live events ecosystem, including fans and artists.

Its circle jerk of a business model disguised as “vertical integration” is pretty much run like a terrorist organization at this point. Here’s how it works…

Live Nation’s fat ticket profits (and absurd fees) and ad revenue are used to lock artists into contracts that only allow them to play at Live Nation venues/sell tickets through Ticketmaster.

Of course, artists want to get in bed with Live Nation because the company has exclusive deals with most of the concert venues that matter. Obviously, Live Nation turns around and uses its roster of artists to secure exclusive deals with the best concert halls. And around we go…

Oh, and just in case all that didn’t tilt the odds in its favor, Live Nation has also reportedly retaliated against anyone who even considered working with competitors and has pressured artists into signing contracts. You know, real monopoly 101 stuff.

The model appears to be working. Live Nation controls about 60% of major concert promotions and provides primary ticketing services for 80% of major events.

As you might have guessed (if you ever bought a ticket to anything), this allows Live Nation to charge whatever it damn well pleases (and add egregious fees with reckless abandon).

What did Live Nation have to say for itself?

It went with the “ackchyually ticket prices would be more expensive without us” defense. And claims that the move by the DOJ is anti-business…

TYFYS, Taylor.

+ Bitcoin walked so Ethereum could run…

Yesterday, the Shortseller Enrichment Commission took a major step towards approving Ethereum ETFs. The order will allow asset managers to apply for ETF approval… but it isn’t exactly clear if or when they’ll get the green light.

All of the usual suspects are lining up to launch an ETHTF. Think: Grayscale (which already offers an Ethereum Trust product), BlackRock, and Galaxy Digital. And don’t for a second think Cathie Wood and Ark aren’t going to try and get in on the action.

Obviously, crypto investors have been more horned up than Vitalik in that one pic (you know the one… that is safe for work, for the record). Ethereum has surged more than 20% in anticipation of the approval over the past week.

+ What could possibly go wrong?

Last night, the NCAA and the Power 5 conferences announced plans to settle a handful of antitrust cases for $2.8B. The massive sum will be paid out to former and current college athletes over the next 10 years. Reggie Bush is punching air right now…

Oh, and as part of the agreement, schools can set aside up to $21M to distribute amongst athletes… and by athletes, I mean football and basketball players. The power players are still dotting Ts and crossing Is, but student-athletes could start cashing checks (and snapping necks) as soon as the fall semester.

+ The only thing less surprising than the fact that it was a Boeing (-7.5%) jet involved in the Singapore Airlines turbulence sh*tshow, is that the aerospace company’s financial situation is going to get worse before it gets better.

BA shares fell after the company’s CFO reversed course on his promise that it would generate free cash flow in Q2. In addition to burning cash, the dude who definitely regrets his career choices expects deliveries to remain flat quarter over quarter. Friendly reminder: Q1 deliveries hit the lowest level since the pandemic.

+ James Gorman be like “F*ck You... f*ck you... f*ck you... you're cool... F*CK you... I'm out.” The former Morgan Stanley CEO said he’ll officially step down as exec chairman at the end of the year.

+ Burger King (-1.5%) just cucked McDonald’s (-2.9%). It plans to roll out a $5 meal ahead of Mickey D’s planned launch. Did I mention it is exactly the same?

+ Amazon CEO: An ‘embarrassing’ amount of your success depends on this one skill (Read)

+ Millennials are ‘quiet vacationing’ rather than asking their boss for PTO: ‘There’s a giant workaround culture’ (Read)

+ Founder and CEO Mike Novogratz on the best way to learn about crypto (Read)

Yesterday we were keeping an eye on earnings from Deckers. PMI data was also on our radar.

+ Shares of Deckers Outdoor (+1.3% // +8.6% after hours) jumped following a beat and guidance hike. Turns out people still wear Uggs…

+ S&P Global PMI hit its highest level since April 2022. Spoiler: that’s not a great sign for inflation.

Here's what we’re keeping an eye on today...

+ Booz Allen reports

+ The FTSE announces additions and deletions

+ Consumer sentiment data

Yesterday, I asked, “What helps you golf better?”

The top 3…

The best write-in: “An 'Athlete' at the turn: Tito's & Gatorade.”

Here’s today’s question…

Before you go…

“How much it costs to fire different US Navy weapons” is why we will never have free healthcare (Watch on Twitter)

How I expect people to react when I drop Warren Buffett quotes in normal conversations (Check it out on Twitter)

Oh, and…

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.