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 “closed mostly lower Tuesday, but downside momentum was curbed by rising tech stocks as Treasury yields fell after data showed labor demand fell to a two-year low." (Investing.com)

+ The 10-year Treasury yield “slid below a closely followed level on Tuesday after fresh job openings data hinted at a cooldown in what’s been a tight labor market." (CNBC)

+ Oil "fell to a near five-month low on Tuesday on a stronger U.S. dollar and demand concerns, putting the market down for a fourth day in a row on doubts over OPEC+ announced voluntary supply cuts last week." (Reuters)

+ “A quick surge in bitcoin (BTC) early Tuesday afternoon lifted the price above $44,000 on some crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, for the first time since early April 2022 as the largest crypto extended its rally supported by declining interest rates and anticipation for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the U.S.” (Coindesk)

+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours were: 1) Visa +0.06% 2) Tesla +1.33% 3) Nvidia +2.33%.

Mark Cuban’s full-court press

“Ok, hear me out… we stop lying to the American people.” - the guy pitching CVS CostVantage

CVS is pouring it on thick with its latest hearts and minds campaign. During its analyst day, the pharmacy chain announced that it plans to make its drug pricing more fair and transparent. Notably absent from its announcement: “cheaper.”

The new model called CostVantage (…which gives major supplemental Medicare insurance being pitched by a geriatric athlete or actor vibes) will use a simple formula to price drugs: the cost of the drug + a clearly defined markup + a handling fee. You know, how most companies price most things in this world…

Pharmacies and their co-conspirators (looking at you big pharma and health insurers) have used complex formulas to price drugs since the beginning of time. The black box methodology allowed the entire industry to have its way with the end consumer.

Don’t get too excited…

When the new pricing goes into place on January 1, 2025, you might have a better idea of how much your syphilis treatment is going to cost… but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will cost less. CVS said that some drug prices will drop. And some will rise. Going to go out on a limb and assume more will climb…

Oh, and this isn’t exactly out of the goodness of their heart…

Sure, CVS will spin this as a way for your grandma to better manage her budget, but the reality is that the pharmacy chain was facing pressure on multiple fronts. Like from Mark Cuban. Yes, that Mark Cuban.

The Shark Tank host-backed pharmacy Cost Plus Drugs done changed the game. It charges users the cost of the drugs + 15% + a handling fee. Hence the name. And it’s catching on. Some major employees have already turned their back on traditional pharmacies.

And DC has turned up the heat on the prescription drug industry. Their ask? Controlling prescription drug prices. POTUS is already making moves. As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Federal government will now negotiate the price of certain drugs that are included in Medicare plans.

CVS stock was up nearly 4% on the day.

🔥Tyler’s take… Ok, hear me out… bring back cigarette sales at CVS. Not only can CVS offer lower Rx prices (because it will be offset by cigarettes) but there will be an increase in demand for drugs related to lung ailments and other diseases associated with smoking. A real win-win (win-win-win if you count the nic stick addicts getting their fix…)

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+ There’s now a juiced-up way to get 4 times the return of the S&P 500 — but it comes with many risks (Read)

+ Microsoft Brings Copilot To Everyone Using Windows: Here Are Four Cool Things You Can Do With It (Read)

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

+ Those ‘5 signs you’re about to get fired’ articles need to add this to their list: your CEO warning about massive severance costs.

Speaking at a conference, Wells Fargo’s CEO said “We’re looking at something like $750 million to a little less than a billion dollars of severance in the fourth quarter that we weren’t anticipating, just because we want to continue to focus on efficiency.” Spoiler: there are lots of layoffs inbound.

Granted, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise considering Wells has already laid off about 5% of its workforce in 2023, mostly because it’s pumping the brakes on underwriting mortgages Shares were down 1.2% on the day. Company morale presumably plummeted much, much more. (Read)

+ It’d be a lot cooler if you did…

Nelson Peltz already has a major ally in his corner for his proxy fight against Disney. Another activist investor, Ancora, is recommending that the DIS board add Nelson or a “qualified designee.” No pressure, Bob… (Read)

+ What’s bad news for jobseekers is good news for the rest of us. Isn’t that right, J-Poww?

The JOLTS report showed that job openings in the US fell to a 2.5-year low. And the print came in well below expectations (8.7M vs. 9.4M consensus). The Fed keeps a close eye on the report, and the news points toward J-Poww feeling comfortable in his decision to pause rate hikes. (Read)

+ Venezuela out here taking a page out of the US’ playbook. Turns out its neighbor Guyana is oil-rich. So what’s a President/dictator to do? Venezuelan President Maduro has decided to annex the portion of Guyana that is home to roughly 15B barrels of oil… (Read)

Meanwhile, on The Water Coolest blog…

+ Elon’s raising $1B… (Read on the TWC Blog)

+ ICYMI… You’re not going to believe where Humana’s corporate jet was last week… (Read on the TWC Blog)

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

+ Brown-Forman, Campbell Soup, Chewy, GameStop, and ChargePoint report

+ McDonald’s and Peloton hold investor days

+ AI Summit NY gets started

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

The top answer by far was the NCAA Football ‘25.

Here’s today’s question…

What’s the best GIF of all time?

Drop links or GIFs. Yes, I will be using them in the newsletter.

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.