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Hey there weekday warriors,

You guys might find this hard to believe, but big tech is having its way with the little guy.

Back in the year of our lord 2021, Apple launched a new “privacy” feature. Unfortunately, it makes it hard for people like me to tell who is actually opening emails.

In fact, the only way for me to tell if you’re actually reading is if you respond to an email or click on something.

So, IF YOU WANT TO KEEP RECEIVING THE WATER COOLEST, YOU NEED TO CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW…

Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,

- tyler

+ US stocks “ended lower Monday, though cut some losses into the close despite weakness in tech amid rising Treasury yields ahead of the monthly jobs report later this week." (Investing.com)

+ The 10-year Treasury yield “advanced on Monday as investors digested Friday’s comments from Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell and fretted over the outlook for interest rates and central bank policy." (CNBC)

+ Oil "fell on Monday on concern about a drop in demand and on continued uncertainty about the depth and duration of OPEC+ supply cuts." (Reuters)

+ Bitcoin moved past $42k on Monday (see more below)…

+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours were: 1) Visa -0.78% 2) Nvidia -2.68% 3) Coinbase +5.48%.

HODL my beer

Honestly, I’m just happy that Charlie Munger isn’t alive to see this…

The only thing Charlie hated more than societal change of any kind was Bitcoin. And the OG crypto briefly topped $42k on Monday. That marks a 150% increase year to date. And the highest price in 18 months.

To be fair to the permabears, the current level is still well below Bitcoin’s all-time high of $69k.

Is crypto winter over?

Bitcoin has overcome some pretty bad press over the last few months. Think: the very public SBF trial, and the fall from grace of his arch nemesis CZ Binance.

It probably doesn’t hurt that one of the darkest chapters in crypto history is behind us. But the rally has been driven mostly by a heroic dose of hopium…

The recent move up and to the right has a lot to do with something that happened over the summer. An appeals court ruled that the SEC’s denial of Grayscale’s request to launch a spot bitcoin ETF was “arbitrary and capricious” (not unlike the bag cousin Greg’s date brought to Logan’s birthday party). Since then, a bunch of asset managers have applied for bitcoin ETF approval, including BlackRock.

And BTC investors liked what they heard from J-Poww on Friday.

J-Poww told investors not to get too excited about the Fed cutting rates any time soon… which markets inexplicably interpreted as the Central Banking pinky promising that it’s done hiking.

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Critical questions impacting the long term health of your portfolio, Rainbook delivers you the answers.

If your Advisor Score isn’t up to par, Rainbook can pair you with a new vetted advisor to ensure your financial health is in good hands.

+ Jeff Bezos Says He Doesn't Think About Amazon's Daily Stock Price — 'When The Stock Is Down 30% In A Month, It's Not Going To Feel So Good To Feel 30% Dumber.' (Read)

+ Want a job or promotion? Know the correct way to brag, Wharton professor says (Read)

+ ICYMI yesterday... Dave Ramsey Says It Doesn't Matter Where You Live — The Same Budget Rule Applies: 'Math Works In Every City And Every State. You Don't Get A Pass On Math Because You Live In Washington, D.C.' (Read)

+ Spotify just laid off (another) 17% of its workforce… because do you know how expensive Alex Cooper is?

Shares rose nearly 8.5% on news that it was cutting 1.5k employees after hiring too many damn people in 2020 and 2021. The creator of Spotify Wrapped already laid off ~800 employees this year in two different rounds of downsizing.

According to CEO Daniel Ek, the company is preparing for tough times in the ad market ahead. Of course, this might be a tough pill to swallow for outgoing employees, given that the company just reported a $70M profit for its most recent quarter.

The talent pipeline for Tidal has never been girthier… (Read)

+ Richard Branson is like a rich dad cutting off his deadbeat son whom he’s given too many chances to…

Shares of Virgin Galactic (the company that will fly you to the edge of space for like $450k) cratered on news that Branson would stop investing in the company. The stock fell more than 10%. He offered up the news during an interview where he also indicated that his empire no longer has “the deepest pockets.” You hate to see it…

It probably doesn’t help that Virgin Galactic is pausing flights starting next year through 2026 in hopes of building a more bad*ss spacecraft. (Read)

+ Gen Z broccoli heads and boomers have never had more in common…

Zoomers are watching crypto moon. And their grandparents haven’t been this bricked up since a certain little blue pill was introduced. Gold prices hit an all-time high of $2.1k per ounce late Sunday. It was hovering around $2.05k most of yesterday. (Read)

+ Need proof that health care costs are out of control? During the same month Zuck needed surgery to repair a torn ACL, he sold $190M worth of Meta shares. That’s his first sale in more than 2 years. Probably not a terrible idea considering shares are up 170% in the past year. (Read)

Here's what I'm keeping an eye on today...

+ AutoZone, Box, MongoDB, Toll Brothers, NIO, J.M. Smucker, Rent the Runway, and Stitch Fix report

+ Shopify holds its Investor Day

+ Microsoft kicks off its 3-day AI and cloud conference

On Friday I asked What’s the worst state in the US and why?

This proved to be an incredibly popular question. The winner, by far, was Ohio. It wasn’t even close.

Second was Cali, followed by Mississippi. You guys also really dislike NY/NJ (most people just kinda grouped them together) and CT.

Here’s today’s question…

The GTA 6 trailer dropped early (after it was leaked), and it looks pretty awesome. So…

What release/drop are you looking forward to most over the next year?

Could be a game, new music, sneakers etc.

Reply directly to this email and I’ll share the best answers tomorrow.

Oh, and one more thing…

Does this look like the face of a guy you should take financial advice from?

No, it’s the face of a God-fearing family man with sh*t-for-brains. 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.