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- 💦 Satya Nadella is Mr. Steal Your Talent
Hey there weekday warriors,
Quick programming note: no regular newsletter tomorrow, Thursday, or Friday. But keep an eye out for something special on Black Friday (hint hint)…
This year when I’m asked what I am thankful for at Thanksgiving dinner, I will name all 130k of you guys (kidding, that data is private). Truly appreciate all the support and love over the past few months.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving (and for people outside the US… enjoy your totally normal Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday).
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
+ US stocks “closed higher Monday, ahead of the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's September meeting and earnings from Nvidia that will likely set the tone for big tech in a holiday-shortened week." (Investing.com)
+ The 10-year Treasury yield "declined Monday following a Treasury Department auction that saw solid demand, as investors assessed the chances that the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hiking cycle is over." (CNBC)
+ Oil "climbed more than 2% on Monday as further supply cuts in OPEC+ production are expected to be announced following a meeting of member countries early next week." (Reuters)
+ Bitcoin bulls are going to be so cocky at Thanksgiving if it hits $40k…
+ The three most talked about stocks on WallStreetBets in the past 24-hours were: 1) Nvidia +2.28% 2) Microsoft +2.05% 3) C3.ai -4.33%.
Mr. Steal Your Talent
Satya Nadella be like… (Source: Giphy)
Oh, you thought your job was tough to explain to your relatives at the Thanksgiving dinner table? Try being Sam Altman…
In yesterday’s newsletter, we covered Sam Altman’s departure from OpenAI (spoiler: he was ousted by the board for not being “consistently candid in his communications with the board”) and what many (including me) thought would be his triumphant return.
Last night Sam was back at OpenAI HQ reportedly negotiating a comeback. Turns out that never happened…
Why?
Because he got poached by Satya Nadella, who knows once-in-a-generation talent when he sees it. Early yesterday AM Microsoft’s CEO announced that he was bringing on Sam, his right-hand man Greg Brockman, and others from OpenAI to run a new advanced AI team at Microsoft.
Translation? Microsoft just “acquired” OpenAI for a few fat salaries and presumably a sh*t ton of MSFT stock. This Netflix docuseries is going to be so good.
It’s complicated…
Things are about to get weird. You see, Microsoft owns 49% of OpenAI after having invested nearly $13B in the AI company. This means Nadella just hired OpenAI’s ousted founder and former CEO… but needs to play nice with the ChatGPT maker.
For what it’s worth, Satya said he remains committed to OpenAI and looks forward to collabing with the new CEO. This just reeks of broken home/two Christmases.
So, how are things going at OpenAI?
tbh, the only place that things might be worse is at Google. OpenAI is currently attempting to suppress a full-fledged mutiny. More than 700 employees have signed a letter demanding the ouster of the board that fired Sam. In case you were wondering, there are about 770 employees at the company…
MSFT climbed 2% on the news.
TWCPrimePlus+ is LIVE…
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WATCH LIST: stocks to keep an eye on
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+ Harvard-trained parenting expert shares No. 1 message for her own kids: There’s no such thing as a ‘good college’ (Read)
+ 401(k) balances shrank in latest quarter as more Americans took ‘hardship withdrawals’ (Read)
+ ICYMI yesterday... How Americans Spend Their Money, Broken Out By Generation (Read)
+ In extreme Heath Ledger Joker voice: “And here we go…” Layoffs have begun at Citi… starting with ~300 managers, which tells me that a bunch of worker bees are about to have an awesome Thanksgiving week without that insufferable micromanager breathing down their necks. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though. The company is expected to lay off tens of thousands (so, probably those worker bees). (Read)
+ Bayer has roughly 1.5B more reasons to regret buying Roundup from Monsanto in 2018. It took another L. A court ordered the maker of Aspirin to pay out $1.5B to 4 plaintiffs who claimed Roundup weed killer gave them cancer. This is the fourth case in a row that the company has lost after a string of nine victories. Friendly reminder: it settled around 50k claims for $10.9B in 2020 but continues to face one-off suits.
And now investors are starting to apply pressure to Bayer to begin more aggressively settling the complaints. Because nothing screams good PR quite like going full alpha on a bunch of cancer patients. (Read)
+ Good news for all 7 people waiting to get their hands on the Apple Vision Pro… you’ve got more time to save up. The $3.5k device will now reportedly launch in March… instead of January as expected. (Read)
+ Name a company with a better name at this current moment in time than C3.ai… I’ll wait. Shares of C3 are up more than 150% YTD. Shares were moving higher in early trading, fueled by the Sam Altman/OpenAI drama. That is until news broke that the company is planning layoffs, citing the need to cut costs. Shares closed down 4% on the day. Woof. (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).
+ Yesterday, we discussed the latest snafu for Tiger and Rory’s indoor golf league. Now it looks like they’ve made a decision on the future of the TGL… (Read on the TWC Blog)
Here's what I'm keeping an eye on for the rest of the week...
Today
+ Nvidia, Lowe's, Medtronic, Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, Burlington Stores, HP, Baidu, Nordstrom, Jack in the Box, Kohl's, and Abercrombie & Fitch report
+ Fed Minutes drop
Wednesday
+ Deere earnings
Thursday
+ Markets are closed for Thanksgiving
Friday
+ It’s Black Friday and markets close at 1 PM EST
Yesterday I asked Is Thanksgiving week the best week for someone working in corporate America?
I am man enough to admit when I am wrong (I thought Thanksgiving week was the best). You guys seem to think the week between Christmas and New Year is better.
Here’s today’s question…
What are you guys buying on Black Friday/Cyber Monday?
Reply directly to this email and I’ll share the best answers Monday.
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 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.