TOGETHER WITH
Hey there weekday warrior,
China and Canada reciprocate.
Enjoy the next 4 minutes and 33 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
They hit us, so we hit em back
Anyway, welcome back to the tariff-dome.
On the same day an additional 10% tax on imports went into effect on China (bringing the total to 20%) the US got a taste of its own medicine (no, not fentanyl).
Beijing is clapping back by imposing an additional 15% tariff on chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton and an additional 10% on sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, seafood, fruits & veggies, and dairy. Imagine a dumber word than ‘sorghum’… you can’t.
Oh, and the Chinese Commerce Ministry has added 25 US companies to its export control and corporate blacklists, presumably for mentioning Tiananmen Square (*checks list for TWC*). Drone maker Skydio and AI startup Shield AI were among those blacklisted.
China lawyered up (again) too. It filed a(nother) lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against Donny Tariff’s new 10% “External Revenue Service” tax. This complaint should not be confused with the one it raised with the WTO back in February after round 1 of the tariffs.
Meanwhile in North America…
Yesterday also marked the launch of 25% tariffs on Uncle Sam’s Northern and Southern neighbors. Canada quickly announced 25% tariffs on more than $100B worth of US goods that will roll out over the next few weeks. And Mexico is just happy to be in the group chat (read: they’re still considering their options).
But… Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted that there may be some tariff relief for Mexico and Canada as early as… today.
Turns out, markets like this sort of uncertainty about as much as Tim Cook likes innovation. Shares got rekt again. And now the S&P has lost all of its gainz from the post-election Trump bump.
Apple’s Starlink Update Sparks Huge Earning Opportunity
Apple just secretly added Starlink satellite support to iPhones through iOS 18.3.
One of the biggest potential winners? Mode Mobile.
Mode’s EarnPhone already reaches +45M users who have earned over $325M, and that’s before global satellite coverage. With SpaceX eliminating "dead zones" worldwide, Mode's earning technology can now reach billions more in unbanked and rural populations worldwide.
Their global expansion is perfectly timed, and you still have a chance to invest in their pre-IPO offering at just $0.26/share.
Mode’s recent 32,481% revenue growth and their newly reserved Nasdaq ticker $MODE puts them one step closer to a potential IPO.
* See disclaimer below
+ “I’m not a regular CFPB, I’m a cool CFPB…”
Zelle's parent company Early Warning Services and some big swingin’ banks are off the hook for their consumer f*ckery. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dismissed the case brought against the CashApp for people who don’t sell drugs.
So far, Acting Director Russell Vought has tossed at least 6 major cases from the prior administration. CFPB gave Zelle and its alleged conspirators JPMorgan Chase (-3.9%), Bank of America (-6.3%), and Wells Fargo (-4.8%) a get-out-of-jail-free card. Somebody tell the Zelle interns they can stop getting their Greg the Egg on.
You might recall the CFPB had alleged that EWS/Zelle and the big banks failed to properly investigate fraud or provide reimbursement for some $870M of customer losses since 2017. With the case dismissed “with prejudice,” CFPB can’t bring these same claims up again. Tough luck, nana.
+ Kraft Heinz saw this skit and said ‘hold my hard seltzer…’
Kraft Heinz (-1.0%) is dropping its first-ever grocery-store alcoholic bev even though nobody asked. Its newest “innovation,” which, by my estimate, is approximately 6 years late to the game, is canned Crystal Light vodka hard seltzer in lemonade and wild strawberry flavors.
+ *hits ‘wrap it up’ box*
The US Treasury just set a hard deadline of April 3 for Chevron (-0.7%) to wrap up its oil production in Venezuela (fun fact: that process usually takes ~6 months). The move aims to put pressure on President Nicolas Maduro for failing to make promised democratic reforms. Remember when everyone got big mad because this guy was eating a Salt Bae steak while everyone in Venezuela starved? Simpler times…
+ Lockheed Martin (-0.6%) just announced its new “cheap” cruise missile (think: $150k). And the US government be like “Shut up and take my money…”
+ Target (-3.0%) CEO Brian Cornell admits he’s not as chill as Chipotle’s (-2.1%) CEO. He said yesterday that Target “guests” buying produce better get ready to ‘Expect Less, Pay More’ thanks to tariff-induced price hikes.
+ ByteDance is buying back shares of TikTok at an 11% higher valuation ($315B) vs. 6 months ago. Probably just a coincidence that its US operations may or may not be up for sale…
+ Hong Kong Co. CK Hutchison is selling the controlling stake in its Panama Ports Company operation to a collection of companies including BlackRock (-1.5%) after over 20 years of operation. *Google Maps changes its name to the America Canal*
+ To influence people, use 6 phrases, says leadership expert: ‘Just a few words’ can make a difference. “Stop or I’ll sho—”
FYI, TWC might be compensated if you click on the links above. So, what are you waiting for? Start clicking.
+ US stocks “are retreating as markets assess the likely impact of Trump's broad tariffs on America’s top trading partners. The measures — fresh 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and a doubling in China duties to 20% — were signed into effect at midnight ET on Tuesday.” (Yahoo! Finance)
+ The 10-year yield “edged higher on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China went into effect, escalating fears of a global trade war.” (CNBC)
+ Oil “prices swooned on Tuesday and settled close to multi-month lows after reports of OPEC+ plans to proceed with output increases in April and news of U.S. tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China as well as Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs.” (Reuters)
+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours were: 1) Visa -2.6% 2) Nvidia +1.6% 3) Hims & Hers Health -0.4%
⏪ Yesterday…
+ Target, On Holdings, Best Buy, Sea, Plug Power, AutoZone, and EVgo reported before the bell
+ CrowdStrike, ChargePoint, and Credo reported after the bell
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ Abercrombie & Fitch and Foot Locker report in the AM
+ Marvell, MongoDB, Zscaler, Rigetti, and Veeva drop earnings after the close
Yesterday, I asked, “Are you on board with $5M golden visas or not?”
Hell no won with 56.7% of the vote.
Here’s what some of you guys had to say…
Hell no: “Just more mouths to ‘feed’ by way of tax breaks for the uber wealthy, cuz we know damn well that none of it will actually go towards paying national debt. ”
Yup, let’s do it: “Minimum job requirements, new revenue stream, creating a higher valuation for our next capital raise... sounds like all the tech companies I invest in.”
Hell no: “This is a blatant attempt to increase the number of ultra rich in this country. An attempt to essentially buy a country for the oligarchs. ”
Yup, let’s do it: “Bring some rich people here to create jobs and tax them, what is there not to like?”
And here’s today’s question…
You can only drink one for the rest of your life. What are you taking?
The Lululemon strategy never fails
— #Nick Watts (#@NICKWATTS__)
8:55 PM • Mar 4, 2025
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.
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