TOGETHER WITH
Hey there weekday warrior,
Here’s what’s on tap today… Palantir gets a little help from its biggest fan, the US and Iran call it quits after a 21-hour marathon sesh, and consumer sentiment is down horrendous.
Enjoy the next 3 minutes and 6 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
Thanks, Pal
Gif by allsxxing on Giphy
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin brass gotta be big mad that they aren’t getting love from the commander-in-chief for all of the innocent women and children they’re slaughtering…
On Friday, President Trump pumped Alex Karp’s bags. Donny Defense posted this on TRUTH Social…
In case you were wondering, the President’s social network does not automatically embed ticker symbols. So, DJT went out of his way to do Palantir $PLTR ( ▼ 1.86% ) shareholders a solid. It helped reverse a deep selloff in early trading, but the stock still finished down 1.8% on the day.
That added to Palantir’s brutal week. The stock shed more than 15% over the past 5 trading days. Woof.
Why?
Maybe investors finally decided to look up the AI surveillance company’s PE ratio (~200)?
Of course, it probably doesn’t help that it’s gotten grouped in with software makers that have been selling off like game-used props from Sydney Sweeney's S3 Euphoria scenes (you know the ones I’m talking about).
Oh, and did I mention Michael Burry said earlier this week that Anthropic was eating Palantir’s lunch? He’s been particularly bearish on the defense tech that is the stuff of terrorists’ nightmares.
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+ “Ok, hear me out… we blockade the blockade.” - POTUS
US-Iran peace talks went about as well as you’d expect. JD Vance and his squad left Pakistan after 21 hours of negotiations in hopes of catching the tail end of Justin Bieber’s Coachella set after failing to reach an agreement.
And you’ll never guess the sticking point. According to POTUS, the Iranian regime wouldn’t relent on pretty much the only thing that matters: its nuclear capabilities.
So, what’s the leader of the free world to do?
POTUS Truthed…
“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz
At some point, we will reach an ‘ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT’ basis, but Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying, ‘There may be a mine out there somewhere,’ that nobody knows about but them.
THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted.
No one who pays an illegal toll will have safe passage on the high seas.”
It’s not entirely clear what this means for the ceasefire, but it’s probably about to implode more epically than Eric Swalwell’s life.
+ Live look at Dario Amodei…
Shares of CoreWeave $CRWV ( ▲ 10.87% ) popped 11% on news that it had inked a huge deal to provide Anthropic with more GPUs.
You see, CoreWeave has become pretty popular. It’s the proud owner of sh*t loads of Nvidia GPUs sitting in data centers around the country that have become the bane of local residents’ existences.
The Anthropic news comes just a day after Zuck expanded its deal with CW by $21B.
+ Call the wah-mbulance. The haters are out in full force…
This is not a drill. The University of *****gan’s (I don’t forgive easily) Consumer Sentiment Survey dropped to its lowest level on record. That’s the lowest in the post-WWII era. Overreact much, you guys?
Sentiment declined 11% among your fellow Americans. Something about the war in Iran and soaring gas prices…
I’ve been writing The Water Coolest for 8 years
That includes two years as head of newsletters at Barstool. And today, I help some of your (other) favorite newsletters create must-read content (you’re welcome).
Now, I’m pulling together all of my thoughts about creating killer newsletter content and building an audience the right way in the Chief Newsletter Officer newsletter.
If you’re a serious newsletter operator (think: head of content, editor, CMO, creator), this is be your cheat sheet.
Every Thursday, I’ll send an email with playbooks and war stories from nearly a decade in the newsletter trenches. No filter, just like TWC.
> Sam Altman’s Home Attacked With Molotov Cocktail, Suspect Taken Into Custody (WSJ) // We have exclusive video of the culprit…
> Barron Trump preps for launch of Yerba Mate beverage company in May (NY Post) // If I had a dollar for every NYU student who started a CPG brand…
> White House warned staff against Iran war bets on prediction markets (CNBC) // “Ok, but Congress is still cool, right?” - Nancy Pelosi, probably
On Friday, I asked, “What's the plan when you finish a long a** day (in a long a** week) and then realize you have no food?”
44.5% of you said, “Get food from an actual decent restaurant (maybe even dine in).” What a classy crowd.
Here’s what some of you guys had to say (and my response in italics)…
Skip dinner (or just drink booze instead): “Makers Marks 46 with one ice cube Sipping in the recliner with the Stl Cardinals game on.” Oddly specific… happen a lot?
Pantry raid for random snacks and call it a meal: “Who doesn’t love a good game of Expired Food Roulette?” Consequences can be dire…
Get food from an actual decent restaurant (maybe even dine in): “No need to slum it after doing your best all week. Go have a steak and declare the week a win.” Look in the mirror and buy that man a steak.
Terrible fast food: “Dine in? In this economy?! Just give me my CFA or Domino's and let me have my pauper's meal.” It’s important to live your truth.
Grocery store and cook something: “Costco Rotisserie Chicken to the rescue.” Loophole.
Here’s today’s question(s)…
How do you handle weekend work?
- Avoid weekend work at all costs. Get it done Friday no matter how late it takes.
- Wake up early Saturday and git it done right off the bat
- Do it later Saturday so that Sunday is all clear
- Early Sunday (avoid the Sunday scaries)
- Late Sunday in full Sunday scaries mode
- Forget or procrastinate fully and end up doing it Monday morning
- Other (write-in)
+ US stocks “closed mixed on Friday, with investors pressing pause as they headed into the weekend and kept an eye on ongoing Middle East peace negotiations.” (Reuters)
+ The 10-year yield “rose slightly on Friday after the latest inflation print showed core prices rising less than feared, given the surge in energy prices from the Iran war.” (CNBC)
+ Oil “settled lower on Friday and posted their biggest weekly decline since 2022 ahead of talks between Iran and the U.S. aimed at securing a permanent ceasefire.” (Reuters)
+ The “smart” money (prediction markets) thinks that there’s a 51% chance that Bob Menery actually enters the ring with Johnny Manziel. (Polymarket)
⏪ On Friday…
+ The Consumer Price Index report for March dropped
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ Goldman Sachs and Fastenal report before the opening bell
+ OPEC will publish its Monthly Oil Market Report
+ The four-day CinemaCon event in Las Vegas begins
Oh, and one more thing…
What did you think about today's newsletter?
Sent from my Amazon Fire Phone. Please excuse any mistakes and typos.
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