Hey there weekday warriors,

Welcome back, and happy Cyber Monday.

Before we get into it today, a friendly reminder that one of the best ways you can support this newsletter is by showing our sponsors some love (clicking and checking out their offers). They’re how I keep this newsletter free af.

You guys know what to do…

Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,

- tyler

+ US stocks “closed mixed on Friday amid a low-volume day of trading following the Thanksgiving holiday." (Yahoo! Finance)

+ The 10-year Treasury yield "were broadly higher early Friday as markets reopened following the Thanksgiving break." (CNBC)

+ Oil "fell on Friday as the release of some hostages in Gaza reduced the geopolitical risk premium, but prices notched their first week of gains in over a month ahead of next week's OPEC+ meeting to decide on production cuts in 2024." (Reuters)

+ Bitcoin hovered around $37.5k for most of the weekend.

+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24-hours were: 1) C3.ai +0.31% 2) Nvidia -1.93% 3) Tesla +0.53%.

Oh f*ck, you’re gonna make me come back

OpenAI’s holiday party is going to be so awkward…

Last Wednesday, when you were deciding if you should text your ex or not, Sam Altman’s career was coming full circle.

Less than a week after being ousted by the board at Open AI (and following a short stint at Microsoft) Sam Altman was anointed CEO of the ChatGPT maker… again.

Greg Brockman, Sam’s ride or die, who followed him to Microsoft, also inked a new deal with OpenAI.

Why the triumphant return?

It was simple, really.

The walls were closing in on the board that booted Sam. Pretty much every employee at OpenAI threatened to bail and head over to MSFT. Even the new CEO allegedly pushed the board for documentation about why Sam was fired… although, I’d say that too if I wanted to make sure I was portrayed favorably in the Netflix docuseries.

Then there were the investors who had funneled billions of dollars into Sam’s vision.

“I don’t want to play with you anymore…”

You might not believe this, but… there were wholesale changes to OpenAI’s board, too. In fact, the entire board was wiped off the face of the earth, save for one poor holdover, kept presumably to tell the new guys what not to do. The other two members? Bret Taylor, the former co-CEO of Salesforce, and Larry Summers, the former US Treasury Secretary and President of Harvard.

The three plan to work on the company’s governance (probably a good start) and build the board out to 9 members. Spoiler: it will likely include Sam and MSFT CEO Satya Nadella. Other investors may weasel their way in as well, to make sure something like this never happens again.

Remember that time the Shark Tank investors passed on Ring (which ended up selling to Amazon for $1.8B)?

In 2013 the Sharks heard a pitch for Doorbot, a smart doorbell company. That company went on to become Ring, which sold to Amazon for an estimated $1.8B. Sucks to suck, Mr. Wonderful.

And how did Ring change the doorbell game? Two words: Best Buy. Specifically, retail distribution deals with Best Buy.

Early investors (but definitely not the Sharks) earned massive returns. Of course, the opportunity to invest was limited to a select, wealthy few. Because, you know, elitism.

But the game has changed…

And investors like you and I have the option to invest in a company that’s gearing up for a massive retail rollout.

RYSE is launching in 100+ Best Buy stores, and you can still invest at $1.25/share before it becomes a household name.

They have patented the only mass-market shade automation device, and their exclusive deal with Best Buy smells a lot like that which led Ring to their billion-dollar exit.

But time is ticking – you have less than 3 days to seize this chance. Don't end up like the Sharks.

This is a sponsored post. The best way to show TWC love is by showing our partners some love.

+ Gen Z, millennials are ‘house hacking’ to become homeowners in a tough market. How the strategy can help (Read)

+ Biden proposes ban on cable cord-cutting fees (Read)

+ Warren Buffett shared timeless investment wisdom in his first-ever national TV interview nearly 40 years ago. Here are the best 9 quotes. (Read)

+ ICYMI yesterday... Harvard-trained parenting expert shares No. 1 message for her own kids: There’s no such thing as a ‘good college’ (Read)

+ “Nvidia’s stock only goes up.” - people who look really dumb right now

Fresh off of an epic earnings report that showed revenue had tripled year over year, Nvidia showed it was human after all. It reported delays in launching its H20 AI chip in China. Previously slated to drop in November, the chips will now be available in “early 2024.” Who’s to blame? The manufacturers, of course (as you learned in this weekend’s TWCPrimePlus+ deep dive, most chip “makers” don’t actually manufacture their own semiconductors)…

This is a bfd since the H20 is one of the 3 chips Nvidia has built in response to US sanctions on which can be sent to China. The delay could give Huawei and other competitors more time to gobble up market share. Shares of NVDA fell ~2% on the news. (Read)

+ Always be closing. Right in time for the holidays, it appears that Amazon has gained the final approval needed to close its deal for iRobot, the maker of Roomba. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has decided it won’t play Buzz Killington and will approve the deal.

Now, keep in mind the US equivalent (the Federal Trade Commission, which sounds infinitely less important than the UK Competition and Markets Authority) still has to sign off. Shares of IRBT closed up 39% on the day at $42, still well below the $61 purchase price… (Read)

+ Today in things that American consumers dgaf about: soaring credit card balances and crippling debt. Humans of America spent like they just got fresh stimmy checks on Black Friday. According to Adobe (which apparently does shopping data in addition to PDFs) e-comm spending grew 7.5% vs. last year to $9.8B. A whopping $5.3B of that was attributed to mobile shopping.

Thanksgiving Day put up numbies too ($5.6B in online sales).

According to a different study (because Adobe ain’t got time for brick-and-mortar), in-store sales grew by 1% on Black Friday vs. last year. (Read)

Meanwhile, on the TWC blog…

(Going to start putting some stuff on The Water Coolest blog to make sure the newsletter stays short and sweet).

+ It appears that Sam Bankman Fried is following in Bernie Madoff’s footsteps by getting entrepreneurial in prison… (Read on the TWC Blog)

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

+ Zscaler reports

+ The AWS re:Invent conference gets underway (spoiler: lots of AI talk)

Here’s today’s question…

It’s company holiday party szn…

What’s the worst thing you’ve seen/heard happen at a company holiday party?

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

Oh, and two more things…

Did you check out today’s partner RYSE yet?

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.