- The Water Coolest
- Posts
- 💦 Media "merger"
Sponsored by
Before we get into it, make sure to check out today’s sponsor, The Oxford Club, by clicking the logo above.
Hey there weekday warrior,
Disney resorts to an interesting legal strategy.
Enjoy the next 4 minutes and 12 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
+ US stocks “largely rose on Monday as chip names popped and investors awaited the release of key monthly jobs data later this week.” (Yahoo! Finance)
+ The 10-year yield “moved higher on Monday ahead of a series of key jobs data set to be published throughout the week.” (CNBC)
+ Oil “prices eased in volatile trade on Monday as some bearish economic news from the United States and Germany offset bullish support from a weaker U.S. dollar and forecasts for increased heating demand for energy from a winter storm.” (Reuters)
+ Bitcoin “reclaimed $100,000 Monday and continued climbing as the U.S. dollar weakened, following a report that President-elect Donald Trump’s team is considering a pared-back tariff plan.” (Decrypt)
+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24 hours were: 1) Nvidia +3.4% 2) Advanced Micro Devices +3.3% 3) Tesla +0.1%
The market moves you need to know about…
+ US Steel shares rose 8.1% after filing two new lawsuits in the Nippon Steel buyout drama. The new suits are aimed at President Biden, Dave McCall, the president of the steelworkers union, and competitor Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves, alleging that the trio conspired to block the $14B purchase.
+ Uber announced an accelerated $1.5B stock buyback program Monday, as part of a larger $7B buyback program launched in early 2024. Shares jumped 2.6% on the news. CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah said the stock is “undervalued” as Uber dives deeper into the world of driverless tech… despite having given up on their in-house autonomous ambitions 5 years ago.
Unlock the Next Wave of Wealth with AI Stocks
Are you ready to discover the next big investment opportunity that could change your financial future?
The original “Magnificent Seven” stocks generated an astounding 16,800% return over the last 20 years. Now, a new set of AI stocks is emerging, and Alex Green calls them “The Next Magnificent Seven.”
With just $1,000 in each stock, you could potentially turn your investment into over $1 million in less than six years. Watch his breakdown of these seven stocks here.
🛑 Let’s make a deal for 2025. Every damn day I’ll bring you markets news, insights, and low-brow humor you love. The only thing I ask in return? You support TWC’s sponsors. Check out the Oxford Club by clicking the link above.
Media “merger”
Source: Giphy
“I’m gonna pay you $100 to f*ck off.” - Disney CEO, Bob Iger
The House of Mouse (-0.9%) just put on a clinic in throwing money at its problem until they go away. You see, Disney just passed off a hush money payment as a merger.
Allow me to explain…
On Monday, Disney said it would combine its Hulu+ Live TV offering with Fubo TV (+253.8%), bringing together the Hotmail and AOL Mail of linear TV streamers (think: cable TV, but make it a streaming service). Keep in mind, this does not include Hulu’s traditional streaming service… which is equally pathetic.
Disney will own 70% of the combined company that will still operate as Fubo. Did I mention the two services will still operate independently (for some reason)?
Tell me you’re about to lose a lawsuit without telling me
Confused as to why Disney would give a damn about a streamer with a focus on sports and news (friendly reminder: it owns ESPN and ABC) that only has 1.6M subscribers?
Welp, it has everything to do with Venu.
You might recall that Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery joined forces to create a Dream Team combining their respective sports rights on one platform.
Just one problem: Fubo, which would have been bent over and shown the 50 states by Venu, filed an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the new service. And it had legs. A judge partially blocked the launch of the new streamer last year.
So what’s a media giant to do? Lawyer up and have its day in court. Make the company standing in its way an offer it can’t refuse.
And just in case it wasn’t abundantly clear what Disney was doing, in addition to the “merger,” the 3 creators of Venu will pay Fubo $220M in straight cash, homie… and offer up a $145M term loan, presumably with favorable terms.
This might come as a shocker, but Fubo also dropped its lawsuit yesterday.
+ Vail Resorts has f*cked around and found out.
Vail Resorts (-0.1%) shares are melting as Park City Mountain ski patrol continues to strike for higher wages. The Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association is demanding a wage raise from $21 to $23/hour for those working on the Utah mountain, the busiest in the US. The strike has rekt the availability of ski patrollers on the slopes, forcing Vail to close down trails and slow the flow of skiers.
But now, Vail Resorts has gone and pissed off its wealthy clientele, too. Despite the strike, Vail has been acting like the mayor in Jaws, allowing visitors to keep booking trips. Skiers have been throwing shade at Vail for the insane lines interrupting their expensive vacations during peak ski season.
+ Boeing to investors: “You guys, it could be worse, we could be Sierra Space…”
Apparently, Sierra Space is facing some pressure to actually, you know, get to space. CEO Tom Vice is stepping down from the helm after a 3.5-year run, with Chairman and Co-Owner Fatih Ozmen taking over. Privately owned and valued at over $5B, Sierra Space has been on the struggle-shuttle, trying to get their reusable cargo space plane “Dream Chaser” (irony not intended) off the literal ground.
The original Dream Chaser plane (now renamed Tenacity) was scheduled to fly in 2021, but missed the deadline by *checks watch* 4 years. NASA has contracted Sierra for 7 cargo missions to the ISS, and the Pentagon doled out a $740M deal for Sierra to create satellite buses, both of which would require a working spaceship. Still, Sierra Space is considering an IPO in late 2025. Jesus take the joystick.
+ Semiconductor stocks (think: Nvidia (+3.4%) and AMD (+3.3%)) all mooned on Monday after Chinese electronics manufacturer/sweatshop Foxconn (+2.7%) put up massive Q4 numbers. Foxconn reported $63.9B in revenue for the quarter, up 15% YOY.
Foxconn is Apple’s (+0.6%) main hardware supplier, but it was AI companies that put the team on its back.
Bonus: After hours, Nvidia’s titty-signing, rock star CEO casually announced a new GPU line, the RTX Blackwell, during his CES keynote late Monday.
+ It appears that Joe Rogan and Kid Rock are not currently seeking any board seats…
Meta (+4.2%) settled for Dana White to join its board of directors. Zuck just announced it was adding John Elkann, Charlie Songhurst… and Dana White to its board. Partially because Zuck wants to be a UFC fighter when he grows up, and mostly because Zuckerbot isn’t about to let Jeff Bezos curry all the favor with the Trump administration. Friendly reminder: Amazon announced late last week that it’s producing a Melania documentary.
+ Need to Get Noticed at Work? Do This First. Wear something unforgettable like a Patagonia vest and Lululemon pants.
🔥 Driving into Manhattan? That’ll cost you, as new congestion toll starts Sunday. I have a funny feeling the MTA CEO’s "sign unveiling ceremony” is going to age about as well as George W. Bush’s ‘Mission Accomplished” moment.
FYI, TWC might be compensated if you click on the links above. So, what are you waiting for? Start clicking.
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ Cal-Maine Foods reports
+ This is not a drill… McDonald’s launches its McValue menu today, which includes the "Buy One, Add One for $1” offer
Yesterday, I asked, “Picture this: every time you go to the liquor store (I'd say "package store" but everyone will get mad at me) there are huge labels on alcohol & signs around the store warning you that booze can give you cancer. How do you think your habits would change?”
69.0% (nice) of you said your habits will NOT change.
Here’s what some of you had to say (and my thoughts in italics)…
No change: “booze is an escape from all worries, including cancer”
No change: “I go by the motto that all warning labels are ‘suggestions’”
No change: “Everything gives you cancer… including stress about things that can give you cancer! I need a drink!!”
No change: “Daddy needs his medicine.”
No change: "Next the nanny state will tell me there's too much fentanyl in my cocaine."
No change: "What happened to the health benefits of wine? Surgeon general must be short the booze stocks."
No change: “I'm no quitter.”
And here’s today’s question…
Let’s keep it booze-related… mostly to ruin Dry January for some of you guys.
How many beers is the best amount of beers to drink? |
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.