Hey there weekday warrior,
Here’s what’s on tap today… Spirit finds a new sugar daddy, Kevin Warsh thinks he’s better than core PCE, and Microsoft is thrilled to announce its new LinkedIn boss.
Enjoy the next 3 minutes and 16 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
Too bad to fail
JetBlue: *tries and fails to acquire Spirit because of the government*
Uncle Sam: “Hold my beer.”
We’re one step closer to nationalizing air travel… (sup, Emirates)
And there’s only one organization that could possibly make the domestic flying experience worse than the folks at Spirit $FLYYQ ( ▲ 150.0% )…
The United States government (USA, USA, USA!)
Turns out, Donny Air has been in advanced talks to put together a financing package for Spirit Airlines. To be fair, he knows a thing or two about running an airline (see: Trump Shuttle)…
Trade offer: $500M in government financing in exchange for an equity stake.
Friendly reminder: JetBlue $JBLU ( ▼ 6.96% ) attempted to acquire Spirit two years ago, only to have its plan c*ckblocked by the courts. And you just know this news has gotta make them furious…
Per WH spokesman Kush Desai: “Spirit Airlines would be on a much firmer financial footing had the Biden administration not recklessly blocked the airline’s merger with JetBlue.” Which… fair.
But why the rush?
Apparently, Spirit’s been facing imminent liquidation for some time after filing for its second Chapter 11 last August. The big brains at Spirit HQ just can’t figure out how to bring in revenue.
Have you guys tried not being a terrible airline?
I pulled some strings for you guys...
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This invite won't last. And when you sign up through TWC, you get 75% off (told you I pulled some strings). When spots fill, they pull the link.
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+ Low standards met
Tesla $TSLA ( ▲ 0.28% ) dropped earnings yesterday, and it was what the kids are calling “mid.” Elon delivered a surprise slim earnings beat but fell short of revenue expectations (think: $22.3B vs. $22.6B expected). Shares jumped after hours, likely thanks to revenue increasing 16% compared to last year.
Meanwhile, Tesla’s energy dept. (read: solar and home batteries) dropped 12% from the same period last year. Makes sense, I hear door-to-door solar sales is brutal work...
+ “Small? Bro, that’s average…” - Kevin Warsh trimming PCE, probably
Incoming Fed Chair K. Warsh wants to rethink the Fed’s current preferred inflation gauge. Rich boys, amirite? Apparently, core PCE just isn’t good enough for Kev. He’d rather see a “trimmed average” of prices, taking out “all of the tail-risks, all of the one-off items” that typically get prices shook.
If Kevin gets his way, today’s inflation would look more like 2.3% vs. 3%, which is where it currently sits.
+ Thrilled to announce…
White smoke rose from the Microsoft $MSFT ( ▲ 2.07% ) HQ today, and Dan Shapero has been selected by the LinkedIn conclave to replace Ryan Roslansky as head of the try-hard LinkedIn division. Danny Boy has some big shoes to fill after Ryan’s 6-year tenure and growing membership from 700M to 1.3B users.
Friendly reminder that LI saw revenue increase 11% YoY in Q4. And here’s what that taught me about B2B sales…
+ Remember when it seemed like the Strait was gonna open? That was a nice coupla hours…
Ship traffic is still pretty, pretty light, despite the whole extended ceasefire thing. Looks like only around 6 ships made it through yesterday, including 3 oil tankers, but that’s a drop in the figurative bucket of oil.
Let’s not forget the Strait used to see over 100 ships per day using it… putting up numbers like your mom.
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> Lululemon Is Picking a Former Nike Executive to Be Its Next CEO (WSJ) // “My first order of business will be to cut costs by making the pants even more see-through.”
> Boeing CEO says ‘all systems are go’ to increase 737 production as company narrows loss (CNBC) // Inspirational. Never give up on yourself, Boeing.
> Outsiders breached Anthropic’s Claude Mythos same day ‘potentially dangerous’ AI model was revealed (NY Post) // My bad, guys. I told Claude I would die if it didn’t give me access to Mythos.
> Rivian hits production milestone for R2 EV ahead of customer deliveries (CNBC) // We’re getting the R2 before GTA VI.
> That’s a lot of code…
Yesterday, I asked, “What's the best gaming setup right now?”
60% of you said, “I don’t ever game, so I have no idea.” But… out of those who actually voted for real, PS5 won by a good margin.
Here’s what some of you guys had to say (and my response in italics)…
I don’t ever game, so I have no idea: “I haven’t gamed since the original NES, the GOAT of gaming.” Madden 26 would blow this guy’s mind…
PS5: “GTA 6 is coming! Right?...RIGHT???” You want good news or you want the truth?
Xbox Series X: “I’m probably still holding onto the nostalgia of playing games like Halo/CoD/GTA V on the 360 with the fellas growing up, but I’ll keep beating the drum for Xbox.” There is literally nothing that compares to those days.
PC gang: “The Console Boys have bought 3 consoles in the time I have had my PC just to play worse games and be locked behind exclusivities.” Sigh. The classic PC line (from people with no friends).
I don’t ever game, so I have no idea: “No time to game…my available 3+mins is all spent reading TWC.” TYFYS.
Here’s today’s question(s)…
Based SOLELY on a personal experience, which domestic airline has given you the worst travel experience? (Share your trauma)
+ US stocks “gained ground on Wednesday following U.S. President Donald Trump's unilaterally declared ceasefire extension in the Iran war, and oil resumed its upward climb after Iran challenged the fragile truce by seizing two cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz.” (Reuters)
+ The 10-year yield “moved higher on Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced an indefinite extension to the ceasefire with Iran.” (CNBC)
+ Oil “settled up by more than $3 on Wednesday after a surprise gasoline and distillate stock draw in the U.S., and on reports of gunfire attacks on at least three container ships in the Strait of Hormuz amid a lack of progress in peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.” (Investing.com)
+ The “smart” money (prediction markets) thinks that there’s a 68% chance SpaceX goes through with acquiring Cursor. (Polymarket)
⏪ Yesterday…
+ Vertiv, GE Vernova, Boeing, AT&T, Philip Morris, Moody's, Boston Scientific, Elevance Health, CME Group, and TE Connectivity reported before hours
+ Tesla, ServiceNow, IBM, Lam Research, Texas Instruments, Quantumscape, Southwest Airlines, Kinder Morgan, Crown Castle, CSX, United Rentals, Medspace, Molina Healthcare, Las Vegas Sands, and Rollins dropped earnings after the bell
+ The three-day Google Cloud Next event in Las Vegas began
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ American Express, Lockheed Martin, Nextera, Honeywell, Blackstone, American Airlines, Nasdaq, Thermo Fisher, Comcast, Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc., Union Pacific, Mobileye Global, Nokia, Dow, ST Microelectronics, PulteGroup, Keurig Dr. Pepper, Iridium Communications, and Roper report before the bell
+ Intel, SAP, Newmont Goldcorp, Comfort Systems, Digital Realty Trust, Kinsale Capital Group, Baker Hughes, and Edwards Lifesciences report after the opening bell
+ Shareholders with Warner Bros. Discovery will vote on the buyout by Paramount
+ The NFL draft will take place at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh
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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