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Whether you love business news or feel like you’re supposed to know it but hate it, Business Pants is business news for humans. Snarky and irreverent, deeply researched and factual, a podcast devoted to market quirks and the humans that make up companies. Investing isn’t a what, it’s a who.

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June 12, 20261 hr 5 min

SpaceX fetish IPO, Trump’s Chinese phone, beef vs. Ebola, AI religious exemption

Story of the Week (DR):SuperBroIpoDystopia: Some key facts: MMa record-breaking $135 per share with$1.8T valuationTo make that math make sense, analysts estimate the company needs to grow its sales by 50% every single year for the next decadeSpaceX lost  $4.9B last yearWall Street is Being Treated Like Order-Takers: Musk pre-set the IPO price strictly at $135 and dictating exactly which investors got allocations. This forced major investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to act as glorified order-takers without even knowing their exact compensation beforehandSaudi Aramco $1.7T; Alibaba: $237B; Facebook $118BNasdaq aggressively pushed through "fast-entry" rule changes specifically to allow mega-caps like SpaceX to bypass the traditional year of seasoning and enter the Nasdaq-100 in just 15 trading days. This forces passive index funds to buy in blindly to avoid tracking errorsMeme stocker bros: $100B in share orders30% of $75B offering is earmarked for individual retail investors. This effectively shifts late-stage, hyper-inflated valuation risk away from institutions and onto the public.BlackRock $5BInstitutional investors admitted that when they bought into SpaceX privately, they were given high-level revenue figures but were denied a copy of the actual balance sheet—an unprecedented lack of transparency for a company raising tens of billionsUniversity of Washington more than 10% of its $17B in assetsUNC about 10%SpaceX will make $75B in proceedsSaudi Aramco $26B; Alibaba $22BElon Musk’s Absolute Voting Tyranny (80% of voting power)personal net worth has officially skyrocketed past $1.1TSpaceX’s foundational scale was built on the back of the American public, securing over $20 billion in U.S. federal government contracts to fund its rocket developmentAntonio Gracias: personally lent Musk $1M to keep him afloat; his PE firm Valor gave $76MThat $1M lifeline and early institutional backing from 2008 have compounded into what analysts are calling the most lucrative return on a personal favor in business history.The Second-Largest Shareholder: Through various Valor entities, Gracias controls roughly 7.3% of SpaceX’s Class A stock (more than 500 million shares)Gracias’s stake is officially worth anywhere from $91B to over $140BThis single corporate listing instantly catapults Gracias into the ranks of the world's 50 richest people.The big party: combined valuation of $3.6TAnthropic ($965B) filed confidentially on June 1OpenAI ($1T) filed confidentially on June 8"We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company. But it's a complicated set of tradeoffs, and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best."What does it all amount to? 4 horrible objectives:Funding a Sci-Fi Passion Project with Public CashBecoming the Pentagon's Irreplaceable War MachineForget the folksy narrative that Starlink is just for connecting rural schools or isolated communities: SpaceX is systematically turning itself into the ultimate military contractorProject Starshield: Those satellites are the foundation for a highly classified, militarized version of the network designed for government surveillance, secure communications, and real-time battlefield tracking.Too Big to Regulate: By launching the vast majority of the world's payloads and controlling the dominant orbital communications network, SpaceX is making the U.S. military entirely dependent on its hardware. The ultimate point is to become so deeply embedded in national defense that the government can never afford to regulate, penalize, or dismantle Musk's empireAn Orbital Real Estate Land GrabBuilding a Borderless, Lawless EmpireSpaceX is attempting to build a tech infrastructure that exists entirely outside the jurisdiction of EarthUltimately, SpaceX isn't trying to save humanity from a dying Earth; it's trying to ensure that whoever controls Earth's future has to pay rent to Elon MuskIran threatens Elon Musk’s companies in Middle East: Iranian state mediaAll of Elon Musk’s companies in the Middle East are military targets for Iran as it retaliates against the U.S., Iranian state media outlet Fars reported.The targets include a regional Starlink ground station, according to Fars.Sen. Warren calls on SEC to delay SpaceX IPO, flagging concerns about valuation and governanceThe letter to the heads of the Nasdaq, S&P Dow Jones Indices, FTSE Russell and Morningstar Indexes sent on Thursday asked the companies whether they had made or considered rule changes based on lobbying from Elon Musk, other SpaceX officials or officials from OpenAI or Anthropic, and asked for any communications between the companies and the indexesLSEG, which owns the FTSE Russell, and Nasdaq declined to comment. Morningstar did not respond to a request from CNBC for comment.S&P Dow Jones Indices didn’t comment on the letter, but the company noted it had decided not to change its rules regarding indexes: “S&P DJI determined that exceptions to these requirements should not be granted solely based on market capitalization,” it said in a statement to CNBC. “The decision not to adopt the proposed exceptions preserves core index principles by maintaining consistent application of these key requirements.”Democrats ask Goldman Sachs CEO why he’s keeping lawyer who said she’d resign over ties to EpsteinGoldman Sachs CEO David Solomon is facing new scrutiny from congressional Democrats over his reported effort to retain the bank’s top lawyer months after she said she would resign over revelations about her ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey EpsteinIn a letter sent Wednesday:U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs CommitteeRepresentative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services on the House Oversight Committee“Ruemmler ‘educated (Epstein) on how the law differentiates between underage victims of sex crimes and adult prostitutes…’”In February, Ruemmler announced her resignation from Goldman Sachs, effective June 30, 2026: “At the time, you stated that you “reluctantly” accepted Ruemmler’s resignation. While Goldman Sachs has declined to comment on this matter, new reporting suggests that you ‘pressed’ her to reconsider her resignation and instead move to a new position within the firm.”Teardown of Trump Phone Reveals Incredibly Embarrassing SecretA recent teardown by repair company iFixit confirmed that the T1 is an almost entirely unmodified HTC U24 Pro, a two-year-old and mid-tier Android phone, with a cheap coat of gold colorationTrump is selling an entirely Chinese smartphone, despite waging an economic war against the country.Apart from minuscule changes to the speaker grille and a lengthened flex cable, iFixit concluded that “everything is the same, except the pattern of holes in the case.”Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Google and Meta denied new trial in youth social media addiction caseMM: In the United States, Solar Energy is Outpacing Coal for the First Time EverAssholiest of the Week - SPEED ROUND (MM):BP’s useless, reactionary board of directors: BP drops net zero division in wake of boardroom turmoil; BP’s new CEO Meg O’Neill rips up the energy giant’s playbook—and the ‘green’ era with it - 10Ryanair blowhard CEO Michael O’Leary: Ryanair investigated over charging parents to sit with children - 5EV killing GM and Mary Barra: GM is pivoting its battery expertise toward powering AI data centers and the grid - 10Every company that fired employees and replaced them with AI: Unfortunate Company Accidentally Blows Half a Billion Dollars on Claude in One Month; AI sticker shock hits corporate America - 10Everything out of Alex Karp’s fat mouth: Palantir CEO Alex Karp says executives who brag about their AI cuts might as well ‘sign up for the Bernie Sanders manifesto’; Palantir CEO says AI companies 'don't understand how unlikeable they are'; - 10Sorry Liz, this is investors job: Sen. Warren calls on SEC to delay SpaceX IPO, flagging concerns about valuation and governance - 0Every investor in SpaceX IPO: Franklin Templeton to participate in SpaceX IPO, CEO Johnson tells CNBC; SpaceX IPO demand is approaching four times oversubscribed, source says; Wall Street’s undignified SpaceX mania; SpaceX's president hints at a Tesla merger: 'That might make Elon's life a little easier' - 10Billionaires: Billionaires’ Billions Are Increasing Faster Than Ever - 10Beef (not Ebola): Elon Musk Faces Backlash as a Horrific Texas Screwworm Outbreak Follows Brutal DOGE Budget Cuts - 10Mark: Meta Furious Over Bombshell Smart Glasses Revelation“Last week, Wired reported that Meta discreetly moved to infuse facial recognition tech into its popular smart glasses, as evidenced by a piece of code discovered in the Meta AI app by the magazine’s journalists.” - 10Headliniest of the WeekDR: UBS CEO [Sergio] Ermotti hopes to step down before 2030MM: You Can Now Get a Religious Exemption From Using AI at Work“The funniest possible outcome of the AI mandate era is about to be HR departments discovering that ‘sincerely held religious belief’ under Title VII has a much lower bar than they assumed, and Pope Leo handed every Catholic employee a written excuse,” tweeted San Francisco-based startup founder Corey Quinn. (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination and retaliation based on race, color, national origin, religion, and sex.)MM: Furious Judge Cancels Entire Trial After Finding Out Lawyers on Both Sides Used AIWho Won the Week?DR: HTC U24 Pro, a two-year-old and mid-tier Android phone. Or maybe it was the cheap gold paint?MM: Everyone religious - what CAN’T you opt out of using a religious exemption?  PredictionsDR: Attacking dictator-run companies (i.e., Iran/Tesla) starts to enter the realm of normalcyMM: Atheists adopt a religion to opt out of tech bro oligarchies

June 2, 202644 min

BLAME: Carnival data breach, Danone methane reduction, GM loses a director

DAMIONCarnival Corporation's data breach exposed personal data of nearly 6 million customers: An April social engineering attack on an employee account compromised names, dates of birth, and government-issued ID numbers. WHO DO YOU BLAMESkills: Technology & Cybersecurity: Experience with information technology and cybersecurity matters is increasingly important to mitigate the risks our business faces, promote innovation and maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving technological ageLeast represented 5/11CEO Josh WeinsteinNO: at Carnival since 2002, started as General CounselSir Johathon BandNO: First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, the most senior officer position in the British Navy (2006 to 2009, when he retired); Admiral and Commander-in-Chief Fleet (2002 to 2006); Served as a naval officer in increasing positions of authority (1967 to 2002)Jason CahillyNO: CEO Dragon Group LLC, provides capital and business management consulting and advisory services worldwide; The NBA: CFO & Chief Strategic Officer; Goldman Sachs: Partner; Global Co-Head of Media and Telecommunications; Head of Principal Investing for Technology, Media & TelecommunicationsNelda ConnorsNO: CEO/Chair Pine Grove Holdings, a privately held investment company; CEO Atkore International, manufacturer of electrical, safety and infrastructure solutions; VP Eaton Corporation, electrical and automotive supplierLaura WeilNO: Founder Village Lane Advisory LLC, specializes in providing executive and strategic consulting services to retailers COO New York & Company, women’s apparel and accessories retailer; CEO Ashley Stewart, women’s apparel retailer; CEO Urban Brands, apparel retailer; COO AnnTaylor Stores, women’s apparel retailer; CFO American Eagle Outfitters, apparel retailerAudit Committee: Oversee management’s risk assessment processes to identify principal and emerging risks, including financial, IT, cybersecurity and non-HESS operational risksLaura Weil*: NOJason Cahilly: NOJeffrey Gearhart: NOWalmart Corporate Secretary and lawyerStuart Subotnick: NOCEO at Metromedia Company, wireless/communications, until 2010; Carnival director since 1987 Health, Environmental, Safety and Security Committee: Oversee management’s processes to identify principal and emerging health, environmental, safety, security and sustainability-related risks, including those related to ship operations and cybersecurity, RAAS health, environmental, safety, security audits, IAG and external investigations into significant ship incidents, and health, environmental, safety, security-related hotline complaints, and assess the steps management has taken to minimize such risks.Sir Johathon Band*: NONelda Connors: NOHelen Deeble: NOFormer CEO P&O Ferries Division Holdings, shipping and logistics businessKatie Lahey: NOExecutive Chair Korn Ferry Australasia, leadership and talent firmMicky Arison (75%): Exec Chair and former CEO and 7% stockholderThe CEO Pay Ratio1,063:124 retail CEOs made as much in a day as their typical employee earned in a year — and a big one didn't. WHO DO YOU BLAMEThe separation of CEO and Chair: Hamilton E. James Chair/Ron Vachris MMNot uniqueOnly 50% of the board is men. WTF?uniqueOne share = one voteNot uniqueState of HQ = WashingtonAlso StarbucksState of Inc = WashingtonAlso StarbucksPledge of allegiance to stakeholdersCostco generally has: Higher wages; Better benefits; Lower turnover; Higher sales per employee.Industry-leading employee compensation AND Self-imposed low-margin pricing philosophyWalmart only low-margin pricingOther comps:Todd Vasos of Dollar General, Shane O'Kelly of AutoZone, Gerald Morgan of Texas Roadhouse, Jack Sinclair of Sprouts Farmers Market, William Stengel of Genuine Parts Company, Michael Creedon of Dollar Tree, Ronald Sargent of Kroger, Lauren Hobart of Dick's Sporting Goods, Joshua Kobza of Restaurant Brands Inc., Kecia Steelman of Ulta Beauty, Scott Boatwright of Chipotle, Ted Decker of Home Depot, Bob Eddy of BJ's Wholesale Club, Corie Barry of Best Buy, James Conroy of Ross Stores, Chris Turner and David Gibbs of Yum Brands, Chris Kempczinski of McDonald's, Marvin Ellison of Lowe's, Brian Cornell of Target, Ernie Herrman of TJX Companies, Doug McMillon of Walmart, Brian Niccol of Starbucks, Hal Lawton of Tractor Supply Co, Laura Alber of Williams-SonomaFigma Gets an Activist Investor. Exhibit A on Why Companies Don’t Want to Go Public. Figma’s first year as a public company hasn’t gone well. Findell Capital Management said it needs to take steps to shed its unwarranted reputation as an artificial-intelligence “loser.” WHO DO YOU BLAME?Figma founder and CEO Dylan Field: Owns 10% of shares but 72% of voting power: Class B shares worth 15 votes per shareDylan owns 158 Class A Shares (or 0.00003556% of 444,278,887)And Chair$5B net worth$865M total summary compensation in 2025; $91M in 2024Nominating Agreement:Figma must nominate Dylan Field to be a director and include him in the proxy statementThe company must use its resources to back him up and actively convince other shareholders to vote for him In response to a question about how he was going to change the world, Dylan said he was going to build better software for drones.Bro fest sausage party2 of 9 directors are womenTop 5 NEOs all dudesPeter ThielForced Dylan to drop out of Brown for a dumb fellowshipVC Blowhardiness on the BoardVC dude John Lilly (Greylock): Lead Independent Director2nd longest tenure (2014)Member of the Audit Committee; Member of the Nominating Committee (only Lilly and Rimer)VC dude Andrew Reed (Sequoia)Director at debt-maker Klarna Group (also way down since IPO): down roughly 54% from its initial $40.00 IPO price, and down nearly 68% from its all-time highMember of the Compensation Committee (which modeled Dylan’s pay package after Elon Musk)VC dude Danny Rimer (Index Ventures)Director since 2014B.A. in History and Literature from HarvardMember of the Compensation Committee (which modeled Dylan’s pay package after Elon Musk)Member of the Nominating Committee (only Lilly and Rimer)Luis von AhnDuolingo co-founder and CEO2025: shared an internal email outlining Duolingo’s new "AI-first" strategy where Duolingo would “gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle”Stated that "AI is a better teacher than humans" and that the future role of teachers would be reduced to providing "childcare."Blamed the controversy on a "lack of context" in his original statements"AI-First" memo goes viral: $389; today $118MATTDanone, Starbucks shine in methane-reduction rankingDanone is the only company in the group aligned with the Global Methane Pledge, an initiative backed by 150 countries that targets a 30 percent reduction in global levels of the gas by 2030. The French multinational also leads the pack in progress toward its target, having come close to hitting it five years ahead of schedule.WHO DO YOU CREDIT?Chair of the CSR committee Lise Kingo (9% influence), one of three directors tagged as merit directorsmaster’s degree in Responsibility & Business from the University of Bathbachelor degrees in Religions and Ancient Greek Artbachelor’s degree in Marketing and Economicscertificate as International Director from INSEADEx Novo Nordisk environmental affairs, internal audit, compliance, human resources, communication, branding and sustainabilityHelped create the UN SDGs and the UN Global CompactSomehow only bats 559 on carbon intensity (career) and 415 for scope 1/2 (career)Also, using deference metrics, the ONLY DIRECTOR tagged as fully independentEmployee rep member of the CSR committee Bettina Theissig (5% influence) and the employees of DanoneThe committee charter mandates employees get a say: At least two thirds of the CSR Committee must be independent, as defined by the AFEP-MEDEF Code. At least one Director representing employees must be a member of the Committee.In France (Danone’s domicile), the European Investment Bank found that French employees were the most aware of environmental issues - 82% of French employees said they were highly concerned about environmental issues, highest in EuropeLead Independent Director and chair of the Nom/comp committee who put together the comp plan, Valerie Chapoulaud-Floquet15% influence, second to the 18% influence CEO (democracy!!), got 99.16% shareholder approval in April (even as CEO got 89.73% approval and pay got 93.19% approval)20% of short-term pay and 30% of long-term pay is based on hitting sustainability targetsWhen you pay a CEO to do a thing, they are more likely to do a thingEx-CEO Emmanuel FaberOusted in 2021 by the board of directors and activist investors, he transformed Danone into an “enterprise a mission” (a French version of a B corp)Investors voted 99% in favor of the move and a year later ousted Faber, the board resigned, and the new board and CEO are basically moving back towards being environmental leaders because it paid offShort term share price laggedHe said in 2024 that nature is “at the core” of Danone, It took the stock 3 years from Faber’s ousting to return to Faber levels - and in the meantime, they were sued for plastics and emissionsIsn’t this HIS win?Current CEO Antoine de Saint-AffriqueBecause CEOGM Board Director Jonathan McNeill Stepping DownCEO of DVx Ventures. Ex COO at Lyft Inc. and ex president, Global Sales, Delivery and Service at Tesla, current director at Lululemon, GM director since 2022, on the Governance and Corporate Responsibility committee and Risk and Cybersecurity committee.We know that half of boards on average think someone on the board should be replaced - did the GM board not like McNeill?WHO/WHAT WOULD WE BLAME FOR PUSHING MCNEILL OUT?Outsider dude bro DRLet’s be honest, McNeill worked at much more… modern?... companies than GMThe board is OLD SCHOOL - ex Northrop Grumman, ex Visa, ex Lazard, ex HP, ex eBay, ex Novartis, ex Walmart, other directorships at Goldman, Huntsman, P&G… these are professional, insular boardsMeanwhile, he’s investing as a VC in AI, other auto/mobility startups, comes from boards that are bro founder lead (Tesla, Lyft) He’s invested in AI, crypto, heavy tech, intertwined with VCs all overNot deferential enoughBarra is connected to 94% - THE ENTIRE - boardMcNeill has the highest network power on the board at $9tn, higher than even Mary Barra (who is super connected), but is NOT a power player in the board community of GM - the dominant board communities for GM are massive blue chip US companies, where McNeill has deeper connections in smaller IT/tech focused companiesHe doesn’t need the pay, he gets nothing for the connections really, he has connection to Barra but his network is different - was he too independent?Pissed he doesn’t have enough influence McNeill has the LOWEST influence on the GM board at 4%He’s relatively new, younger, working as a VC where you have a lot of power of capital allocation“I don’t need this shit” effect?Too many womenMcNeill’s dvX ventures portfolio team is 6 dudes and 1 womendvX entire operations staff is two woman - guess what they do“Chief of Staff” (ie, HR)Executive Assistant (yes, listed on the team)Board is 2 women, 3 men (McNeill not on board)This one seems unlikely I guess?Too busy, meh, move onOne of dvX portfolio companies is curbee, with GM Ventures’ Kurt Baumgarten on the board (and the dvX co-founder is founder of Curbee)McNeill on at least 3 of his portfolio boards or advisory committees, plus LULU and GM… 

May 29, 20261 hr 0 min

BP’s bully pulpit, index funds hate your rights, Dell buys a contract, and baby name lies

Story of the Week (DR):BP ousts chair over ‘serious’ governance, oversight concerns MMThe board said the decision was unanimous. In a statement, Amanda Blanc, BP's senior independent director, described the board as having been caught off guard by what it found: "The board has been surprised and disappointed to learn of governance oversight and conduct issues it deems unacceptable and has taken decisive action."The oil giant’s board removed Albert Manifold from his roles as chair and director this week, effective immediately. He faced a contingent of investor opposition at BP’s recent annual meeting.Internal leaks and a whistleblower report point to a pattern of "aggressive," "verbally abusive," and "bullying" behavior toward multiple colleagues, alongside accusations of withholding info from the board and leaking privileged data.Ousted BP Chair Hits Back at ‘Lies’ About His ConductThe boardroom turmoil at BP deepened after its ousted chair, Albert Manifold, claimed allegations about his conduct were “lies”.In a new and lengthy statement, Manifold disputed reports about his conduct, saying: “At no point in my tenure as chairman of BP has anyone raised with me any issue about my conduct or my relationship with my colleagues.”He also described media reports that he wanted to exert control of the FTSE 100 company like an executive chair as “nonsense”. Manifold said he had “many other commitments” and had only spent 13 days in BP’s London office so far this year.“What I do not accept is that lies can be told about me, nor that anyone should be allowed to hide behind anonymity when commenting on my time at BP.”Manifold conceded he may have “pushed hard and challenged people directly” amid his “determination to drive change on costs, performance, the balance sheet and shareholder communications”.However, he disputed reports from the company about his behaviour, adding: “There is a considerable distance between driving an organisation with urgency and the characterisation of my conduct that is now being put about.”He said such “accusations” had not been previously made about his behaviour during his 40-year career. He added that he “called out … unnecessary or excessive expenditure” but felt not everyone shared his priorities.Manifold said he turned down many of the benefits traditionally enjoyed by top executives, which he called a “culture of entitlement”, including chauffeur-driven cars, being flown by private jet or taking advantage of corporate hospitality: “I had no interest in having a dedicated chauffeur-driven limousine at my beck and call on the occasions that I was in London. I, like most people, walked, took taxis, trains, etc. I had no interest in taking private aviation nor in availing myself of corporate tickets for sports events. I made my own coffee, bought my lunch in the local cafe. I sat in a small office, eschewing the grand corner-office privilege of previous chairmen.”Ian Tyler has been named interim chair, BP said, with the board set to begin a formal process to identify a permanent successor: "The Board and leadership team have deep conviction in the strategic direction we have laid out, and the company is moving at pace to deliver it."This marks BP's fourth abrupt top-tier departure in three years, following the rapid exits of previous chair Helge Lund and chief executives Bernard Looney and Murray Auchincloss.BoardIan Tyler Interim Chair 2025Meg O'Neill CEO 2026Kate Thomson CFO 2024 (Interim in 2023)Dame Amanda Blanc Senior Independent Director 2022Dave Hager 2025Tushar Morzaria 2020Hina Nagarajan 2023Satish Pai 2023Dr. Johannes Teyssen 2021Manifold took up the chairmanship just last October. At last month's annual general meeting, just 81.8% of shareholders backed his electionAmong the most consequential decisions of Manifold's short tenure: pushing out former CEO Murray Auchincloss and overseeing the selection of Meg O'Neill to succeed him — a hire that marked the first time BP had recruited an external CEO and the first time a woman had led one of the oil industry's largest players.Dell wins a $9.7 billion Pentagon software deal after donating to Trump accountsDell stock skyrockets 32%, heads for best day ever as AI server revenue soarsMichael Dell added $35.8 billion to his personal fortune in a single day.Michael Dell pledged $6.25 billion to Trump AccountsThis greatly helps with $100M Dell ($4M personally for Michael) had to pay in 2010 for its Intel Cookie jar Scandal:  Dell was telling investors that its high profits were due to amazing management and great computer sales. In reality, a massive chunk of their profits came from secret exclusivity payments from Intel so that Intel could shut out their competitor AMD.SpaceX’s Unconventional Corporate Arrangements Favor Elon MuskDanish pension fund rejects SpaceX IPO over valuation and governance concernsStandard Chartered CEO apologises for ‘lower-value human capital’ remarksStandard Chartered CEO Bill Winters triggered a massive PR firestorm by describing the bank’s plan to replace back-office staff with automation as replacing "lower-value human capital" with financial investmentStandard Chartered is cutting roughly 7,800 jobs—representing about 15% of its global back-office corporate support roles—over the next four years to make room for AIJPMorgan's Jamie Dimon downplayed the viral backlash against Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters—calling it an "inartful" slip-of-the-tongue from a friend.Tyson Foods hands CEO role to directorIncoming CEO Jeffrey K. Schomburger is Lead Independent Director (2016-)Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Ride-Share Drivers in Massachusetts Formally Unionize MM DRDR: Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner stands by ad accusing Red Sox private equity owners of ruining the teamDR: Supreme Court lets Vermont’s Meta lawsuit proceed, opening door to 50-state legal waveThe Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a push to avoid a lawsuit alleging that Facebook and Instagram harmed young users, a decision that comes as social media companies increasingly face legal scrutiny.Meta had argued that it can’t be sued in Vermont court because neither the company nor the app design has specific ties to the state. Vermont countered that the sites’ large number of teen users gives its courts jurisdiction.DR: New Hampshire data center developer withdraws plans hours before opponents were to pack town meetingMM: The world’s largest data center was supposed to run on 100% natural gas. Utah’s Republican governor says ‘never.’Must include solar, geothermalMM: Labor union participation is on the rise even as U.S. companies spend $1.7 billion annually to halt union formation MM DRAssholiest of the Week (MM):Index funds should just quit pretending DRExxon wins shareholder backing for legal move to Texas71.3% supportWe know ~22% of that is BlackRock, Vanguard, and State StreetWe can GUESS that ~13% of that is retailEstimated 40% of shares are retail28% voted prior to retail vote capture plan by ExxonIf we GUESS that maybe only 10% of retail voters adopted vote plan when they sent it out at the end of 2025, and if we GUESS that half of them were non voters, we can figure that maybe 33% of retail voted this go around - giving management ~13% of the vote before the vote startedWhich means individuals with no idea and index funds voted 35% in favor - and the rest of investors voted 36% in favorYOUR INDEX FUNDS HATE YOUR VOTING RIGHTSThrow in that the SHP to add more options to retail voting plan - which included an option to default vote AGAINST management - only got 23.5% support, and we know that BLK/Vanguard/SS voted against it and retail voted with management, the real vote in favor: 36% - EXACTLY THE NUMBER OF REAL INVESTORS THAT VOTED AGAINST REDOMESTICATIONThis is unlikely a coincidence - ACTUAL INVESTORS with ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE like rights, but index funds and uneducated retail could fucking care lessSafe Harbor Financial Expands Board of Directors with Appointment of Tyler Klimas and Sean TonnerTwo dudes added to an all dude board overseeing weed banking at a non dual class company… because women don’t do banks or weed I guess?  Investors, what say you?Last year, they said “we don’t care” - 97% in favorMeanwhile, in the UK…Investors tell BP to fix shareholder rights and governance after chair removalTech bros should quit pretendingMeta commits additional funding to Oversight Board through 2028$13m - Zuck owns a $300m yacht and spent $13m for a bunch of well meaning reporters, academics, and human rights experts to help him decide what to do about horrible human behavior on his platformsWhen they decide, he listens… 42% of the timeHere’s one they listen to: from September 2025, decided in April 2026 (inside a year!), and Instagram post listed the reasons dating someone in a wheelchair is great, and a comment said it was also good because they can’t run away. Meta left the comment up, but the board found it in the appeals and said it should come down - and Meta took it down under its bullying policyMeanwhile, for AI driven fake content for war and conflict, Meta is considering it…  OpenAI Foundation is committing $250 million to help workers navigate AI disruptionOh, thank god, we’re savedMarc Andreessen Sputters Incomprehensibly at Question About How AI Will Actually Benefit Humankind"I mean, look, so it, it is, alright — I mean, alright I'm gonna give you the deepest of all pitches, I'm gonna give you the, the — okay."Just stop pretending it’s for “humankind” and not for YOU TO MAKE TRILLIONSThe NY Post and “baby naming expert”New York’s most popular baby names trend towards 'traditional' as reaction to woke Mayor Mamdani: expertLiterally everything in this headline is incorrect - and so is this quote from “baby naming expert” Taylor A. Humphrey: ““Mayor Mamdani is so divergent from tradition and I do wonder if that played some part in Gen Z parents moving back towards more traditional heritage,” adding that Mamdani was campaigning, and in the spotlight for much of 2025.”The data is very inconvenient for this narrative - 77 of the 100 names are exactly the same from 2023, and here are the different “new traditional” names according to Taylor:Archer, Arthur, August, Beau, Bennett, Brooks, George, Lincoln, Parker, and Rowan replacing names like…Abraham, Austin, Eli, Hunter, Ian, Jonathan, Jordan, Kai, Ryan, and ZacharyAdeline, Clara, Daisy, Delilah, Eden, Georgia, Iris, Kennedy, Margot, Parker, and Sloane replacing names like… Anna, Ariana, Ashley, Autumn, Bella, Hailey, Jade, Rachel, Rose, Sarah, and SavannahAlternate theory using spurious data, because yes, this is what I spend my time doing:I looked at all 2023 NY state names vs. all 2025 NY state names and compared them to the number of corporate board directors with those names at those times - I can show that the name changes are definitely positively for sure related to the rise or fall of that name on corporate boards because parents are increasingly focused on who runs their companies.  The biggest growth was in the name Zoe (ZOHRAN!  Not made up!) from 2 active directors to 7 in 2025!  In the top 10 of names includes… Amir!!!  From 18 to 22 names!Second biggest drop - the decidedly unwoke, “traditional” name Oliver, down 22%Headliniest of the WeekDR: New Website Detects Apocalypse If Billionaire Jets Start Fleeing en MasseMM: Kevin O’Leary slams people who want work-life balance: ‘I hope they work for my competitors’Who Won the Week?DR: BP Bully Albert Manifold’s now famous coffee maker. Or maybe Michael DellMM: Illinois state house of reps, lead by Daniel Didech, much to the annoyance of state senator Bill Cunningham who introduced SB 3444 to exempt AI companies from liability for mass death, passed one of the strongest laws in the country to force third party audits of AI companies, and it passed 110-0PredictionsDR: Based on the survey which reveals that 99 Percent of CEOs Are Preparing to Lay Off Workers and Replace Them With AI Within Two Years, it is revealed that the 1% of CEOs who are not preparing to lay off workers and replace them with AI understood AI to mean Actual IntelligenceMM: OpenAI’s upcoming S-1 filing reveals that, not to be outdone by Musk’s SpaceX insecurities, Sam Altman gives himself dual class shares worth 300 votes and 99% voting power, has a classified board, incorporates in Nevada, has mandatory arbitration clauses and a minimum lawsuit threshold of 100% of the stock ownership, and the first board member is Illinois state senator Bill Cunningham 

May 26, 20261 hr 4 min

Bezos spouts, CEOs hate employees, SpaceX IPO gaslights

ESG StuffBP removes chairman Albert Manifold over governance issues 9The board said the decision was unanimous. In a statement, Amanda Blanc, BP's senior independent director, described the board as having been caught off guard by what it found: "The board has been surprised and disappointed to learn of governance oversight and conduct issues it deems unacceptable and has taken decisive action."The company did not elaborate on the specific nature of the concerns.Ian Tyler has been named interim chair, BP said, with the board set to begin a formal process to identify a permanent successor: "The Board and leadership team have deep conviction in the strategic direction we have laid out, and the company is moving at pace to deliver it."Manifold took up the chairmanship just last October. At last month's annual general meeting, just 81.8% of shareholders backed his electionAmong the most consequential decisions of Manifold's short tenure: pushing out former CEO Murray Auchincloss and overseeing the selection of Meg O'Neill to succeed him — a hire that marked the first time BP had recruited an external CEO and the first time a woman had led one of the oil industry's largest players.Tulsi Gabbard Exit Marks Fourth Woman to Leave Trump Cabinet 0Apology TourBank boss sorry after describing workers as 'lower value human capital' 7Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters triggered a massive PR firestorm by describing the bank’s plan to replace back-office staff with automation as replacing "lower-value human capital" with financial investmentStandard Chartered is cutting roughly 7,800 jobs—representing about 15% of its global back-office corporate support roles—over the next four years to make room for AIAfter internal anger and blistering public criticism, Winters posted a formal apology for his "choice of words." However, he initially fueled the fire by attaching the full interview transcript to justify his broader context, drawing further criticism for being defensiveIn his first attempt to quiet the storm, Winters leaned heavily into the corporate strategy rather than apologizing for the specific phrasing: "I said that lower-value roles are more vulnerable to automation, and that we have a responsibility to help colleagues move into higher-value roles. That is what a responsible employer should do. We will continue to speak honestly about the impact of technological change, and we will continue to act responsibly in helping our people to adapt and succeed."After a barrage of negative comments on his first post, Winters returned to LinkedIn later that day to offer an explicit apology for his phrasing: "I have received a lot of support for the messages in my previous post but still get questions about my choice of words, which I know has caused upset to some colleagues. For that I am sorry.""I think the transcript makes it clear that I value our colleagues – all of them – most highly and that we are totally committed to helping them to cope with the accelerating pace of change in our industry."JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon says bank chief's viral AI comment was 'inartful' Dimon downplayed the viral backlash against Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters—who drew fire for saying his bank would replace "lower-value human capital" with technology—calling it an "inartful" slip-of-the-tongue from a friend.Neopbabies and Dropout babiesJames Murdoch to acquire New York Magazine and Vox Media Podcast Network -1Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 6Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow justified firing his entire Human Resources department by claiming they actively manufactured internal frictionThe aggressive purge follows a brutal 97% collapse in Bolt’s valuation—crashing from an $11 billion peak in 2022 down to $300 millionTraditional HR has been entirely swapped for a skeletal "people operations" team, shifting the focus away from employee complaints and internal processes toward basic compliance training and empowering managers to make split-second decisionsAlongside gutting HR, Breslow rolled back employee-friendly benefits like four-day workweeks and unlimited PTO, claiming a culture of complacency had taken over and that 99% of his legacy workforce was simply unwilling to work hardRyan dropped out of Stanford in 2014 to launch BoltThe Middle School Boy Man Babies Rule the WorldMan Drives Cybertruck Into Lake to Test Elon Musk’s “Boat” Claims, and It Went About as Well as You’d Guess -10"The passengers abandoned the vehicle and the driver was arrested."Tesla CEO Elon Musk:randomly tweeted that the vehicle would function as a rudimentary flotation device.“It will even float for a while.”“[The vehicle would be able to] traverse at least 100m [330 feet] of water as a boat.”“Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat, so it can cross rivers, lakes and even seas that aren’t too choppy.”Jeff Bezos urges US government to stop taxing 50% of America — and claims doubling his taxes won’t help ‘that teacher in Queens' 400Jeff Bezos backs Mamdani's tax on luxury second homes, but says Ken Griffin isn't the villainJeff Bezos on Zohran Mamdani’s big mistake: ‘When you don’t know how to solve a problem, create a villain, blame them’Jeff Bezos says there is ‘no truth’ to the ‘buy borrow die’ tax strategyBillionaires Openly Use It: Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has historically pledged over $30 billion worth of his Oracle stock as collateral for personal bank loans. Elon Musk has similarly pledged tens of billions of dollars in Tesla shares to secure lines of credit over the yearsHe said he was "skeptical that that's a true loophole," but added, "If it is, and we can fix it, then we should. I don't think such a loophole should exist."Jeff Bezos Praises Trump’s Second Term as ‘More Mature’ Jeff Bezos Says AI Will 'Elevate' Workers — Despite Amazon's 30,000 Job Cuts Amid $100 Billion AI PushElon Musk compares his company’s work to that of Jesus 0In an interview on Monday, the billionaire said his Neuralink brain-implant company is progressing in its development of ‘Jesus-like technologies’Although brain-computer interface (BCI) as a concept has been around since at least the 1970s, the push to commercialize the technology is more recent. According to data from market-intelligence firm Tracxn, more than 130 BCI startups have been launched since 2016.Why Is Mark Zuckerberg Taunting His Employees Before Firing Them? 20Back in April, Meta announced it was laying off 10 percent of its workforce, or around some 7,800 workers. Unlike traditional layoffs, which are enacted relatively quickly, Meta gave its employees a nearly month-long warning period without announcing who exactly would be headed for the unemployment line.In newly leaked audio from an all-hands meeting at Meta, released by More Perfect Union, the Meta CEO seems to actually be taunting the thousands of workers who were about to be let go by pointing to how the company was harvesting employee data to train its in-house AI models ahead of the massive layoffs.“So we’re in a phase where basically the AI models learn from heaving real, from watching really smart people do things. And if you’re trying to get it to be able to be able to do certain capabilities, having [AI] be able to observe really smart people doing those things is, is very important.”Going on, Zuckerberg explained that it was better to train AI on soon-to-be-former Meta employees, rather than “contract companies.”“In general, the average intelligence of the people who are at this company is significantly higher than the average set of people that you can get to do tasks if you’re working through… contractors,” Zuckerberg stammered. “So if we’re trying to teach the models coding, for example, then having people internally, um, build tools that, or, or solve tasks that, um, that help teach the model how to code, we think is going to dramatically increase our models coding ability faster than what others in the industry have the capability to do.”Intuit to Cut 17% of Staff, Invest in ‘Big Bets’ 3The restructuring cost is estimated at about $300 million to $340 millionAbout 3,100 employees: and invest the savings in “big bets” as it makes artificial intelligence a centerpiece of its business.Woke WarsTexas AG Sues ISS Over ESG Considerations 0Texas AG Ken Paxton (in a senate race) is suing ISS for allegedly “misleading” customers by pushing “radical political agendas” through its proxy adviceNotably, ISS has attempted to obstruct ExxonMobil's planned reincorporation from New Jersey to Texas“ISS has enormous influence over how billions of dollars are invested and managed across this country, and they have abused that influence in order to push woke ideology”Iowa AG Brenna Bird sues ISS, says advice risks retirement savingsIowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is suing the world's largest proxy-advice firm for abusing its influence and threatening Iowans' retirement savings by "lying" to investors.Stakeholders Rule!Wells Fargo must pay $100M to help homebuyers after discrimination lawsuit — 51 cities are eligible 7The settlement, which was recently approved by a federal judge in California, comes after four years of legal disputes involving Wells Fargo shareholders, former employees and job applicants who accused the bank of systemic problems in both lending and hiring practices.While Wells Fargo denied wrongdoing, the company agreed to the deal to avoid prolonged litigation and mounting legal costs.The case centered on allegations that Wells Fargo’s board failed to maintain adequate oversight of the bank’s mortgage lending operations, exposing the company to regulatory scrutiny and accusations of discriminatory practices.According to reporting from Realtor.com, plaintiffs accused the bank of “widespread and systematic discrimination in lending” and cited concerns over lending algorithms and refinancing approval patterns.The lawsuit stated that Wells Fargo was allegedly the only major lender in 2020 to reject more refinancing applications from Black homeowners than it approved.Airbus, Air France Hit With Manslaughter Charges Over Pilot Training Failures in Deadly 2009 Flight 447 Crash 1A Paris appeals court delivered a dramatic verdict in one of the longest-running and most complex legal sagas in aviation history. The court overturned a 2023 acquittal and found both Airbus and Air France guilty of corporate manslaughter for the tragic 2009 crash of Flight AF447.The ruling marks a massive victory for the victims' families after a 17-year legal battle. A lower court had previously cleared the European planemaker and the French airline in 2023, ruling that while errors were made, a direct causal link to the crash couldn't be proven. The appeals court completely rejected that logic, declaring the companies "solely and entirely responsible" for the disaster.Ride-Share Drivers in Massachusetts Formally Unionize 100The App Drivers Union said it was the first organization in the country to be formally certified to represent drivers for apps such as Uber and Lyft.In a news release, the organization, the App Drivers Union, said it would represent nearly 70,000 workers in Massachusetts who now have the power to collectively bargain.MATTA very special “who do we blame for SpaceX IPO governance” gameFirst, some S-1 highlights:“Starlink internet is what’s being used to pay for humanity getting to Mars.” - MuskTranslation: We don’t care much about Starlink, it’s just paying our AI billsHe’s not kidding: $3.2bn revenue for Starlink, net income of $1.2m$0.6bn revenue for rocket ship, net income of -$0.6bn$0.8bn revenue for AI, net income of -$2.5bnThis isn’t a space company - it’s classic Musk - you buy the vision (“To build the systems and technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary, to understand the true nature of the universe, and to extend the light of consciousness to the stars.”), but what you’re really buying is an internet company that spends all its money on AI and does some rockets on the sideLet someone else invent the car (Tesla) and make them sexy with “big visions” for “humanity”Let someone else invent the rockets, build new ones using someone else’s moneyLet someone else invent the satellites, put a whole bunch in space (and buy more satellites from someone else)Musk initially took the role of “Chief Engineer”, but every engineering task seems to have been the other employees - he supplied the moneyShoehorned AI into space exploration because…?Grok is designed as a truth-seeking AI model, built on our founder Elon Musk’s mission to enable humanity to understand the universe. We believe that accomplishing this mission requires a truth-seeking approach to AI. We define truth seeking as the active, relentless pursuit of what is objectively true about reality, and grounded in evidence, logic, empirical data, and first principles thinking.AI’s ability to revolutionize human potential is directly dependent on meeting exponentially increasing resource demands.We now must go to space to get more resources for AI so we can get to spaceNow the governance who do you blame gameMusk will get:85% voting power (dual class, he owns 94% of Class B 10 vote shares and 12% of Class A shares)The ability to nominate and vote exclusively on >50% of the boardA board which currently includes..TWO execs - Gwynne Shotwell (President) and Musk (three titles)Tesla mafia: Ira Ehreinpreis, Tesla board sycophant, director at the Boring Company and xAI, and longtime Musk hanger on, added Feb 2026Antonio Gracias, ex Tesla director who was explicitly called out in the Tornetta decision as corrupted, cross party transactions with Musk, on boards of Neuralink and Boring Company, added Oct 2010TWO VC bros from DFJ - Randy Glein (SpaceX board observer for 16 years, directors since Feb 2026) and Steve Jurvestson (former Tesla director, director since March 2009) who was ousted from the VC firm with his name on it for sexual harassmentPaypal mafia:Luke Nosek, co founder of PayPal, one of the founders of Founders Fund with Thiel and Ken Howery, invested in DeepMind, director since July 2008Donald Harrison - managed Google purchase of DeepMind, relationship with Nosek, director since Feb 2015Director relationship tenures to Musk: Shotwell: 24 yearsEhreinpreis: 21 yearsGracias: 21 yearsJurvetson: 17 yearsGlein: 16 yearsNosek: 26 yearsHarrison: 11 years (+1 if Nosek/Deepmind connection counts)Texas jurisdiction exclusively (judge shopped) - 3% to sue them, mandatory arbitration, anti-takeover statutes, special meetings ONLY CALLED BY MUSK (no one less than 50% of stock can call a meeting or vote)No written consent - no prior noticeAdvance notice bylaws for the zero shareholder proposals allowedFull omission of board liability - including a provision that automatically allows whatever the conflicts of interest they want with directorsWHO (WHEN) DO YOU BLAME?The US GovernmentDepartment of Energy - in 2010, the DoE gave Tesla a $465m loan, which basically paid for the Model S and helped it buy a factory 6 months before it went public - Musk has said Tesla would not have survived without the loanNevada - in 2014, Nevada gave Musk $1.3bn to build a factory, the most everNASA - spent more than $15bn over years on SpaceX and programs with themThe IRS/Congress - the EV tax credit for $7,500 single handedly pushed Tesla from losing money in 2020 to making money (they effectively got $1.6bn from the US government in 2020), and showing its first profit, which sparked the memefest during COVID and made Musk the richest man on earth - Musk then went on and called for an end to the tax credit since his “competitors” needed it more than Tesla.  Tesla made ~$11bn from tax credits aloneThe DoD - started paying SpaceX in 2003 for concept work - and even when the rockets didn’t work, the DoD and NASA awarded the company massive contracts anywayJeff Bezos said in 2016 that, “Elon’s real superpower is getting government money.”FOMOSpaceX LOSES MONEY - it does not make moneyIf it were a satellite internet company - and NOT THE FIRST - the first was HughesNet in 1996, and Viasat offered it in 2012 - it would make money ($1.2m in income!)Instead, investors are valuing SpaceX as THE LARGEST IPO IN THE HISTORY OF EVER despite the fact that they are burning money on AI, and arguably the worst AIIncluding spending the most on R&D, marketing, and acquisition of Cursor to make up for the fact that Grok suckedIn exchange for FOMO, investors have ENTIRELY GIVEN UP THEIR RIGHTSIt is 100% a private companyTornettaIf Tornetta hadn’t sued for Musk’s pay, would SpaceX be structured this way?The banks underwriting the dealWho AGREED TO BUY GROK as a term of getting the underwriting, because everyone bends the knee to moneyThe boardI guess

May 19, 202643 min

GOOD GAME: Booing AI, Musk loses, BYD and public transit win, empty Waymos

The Good GameFormer Google CEO Eric Schmidt booed by graduates at mention of AI And yet: College students are booing commencement speakers celebrating AI, but the wave of hate hasn’t stopped them from using it to cheat on their examsElon Musk loses court battle against Sam Altman and OpenAI after 3-week trialA federal jury in Oakland, California, on Monday said Elon Musk waited too long to sue OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman over claims they allegedly violated an agreement to run their artificial intelligence venture strictly as a charitable nonprofit.The advisory jury’s verdict, which came after less than two hours of deliberations, was immediately adopted by District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.In a post on his social network X, Musk called the decision a “calendar technicality … There is no question to anyone following the case in detail that Altman & Brockman did in fact enrich themselves by stealing a charity. The only question is WHEN they did it!”And yet: Jury Throws Out Musk's OpenAI Lawsuit in Under Two Hours, Clearing Path for Sam Altman's IPOPope Leo launches an AI commission days before he releases a papal letter alongside Anthropic cofounder Christopher OlahThe Vatican is treating AI as a core moral issue, not a side topic.Pope Leo is moving fast: a new AI commission lands just before his first major AI-focused encyclical.The message is clearly human-centered: dignity, justice, labor, and protection of people come first.Bringing in Anthropic cofounder Christopher Olah signals the Church wants direct dialogue with top AI builders, not just criticism from the sidelines.This looks like an attempt to shape AI norms early, before the technology’s social impact hardens into policy and cultureThe AI economy is rewriting the American Dream — and blue-collar workers are poised to winThe rapid spread of AI across corporate America is creating a crisis for young adults with college degrees who are finding a slowdown in hiring for entry-level positions in AI-exposed industries.And yet: Don’t hold your breath for the great AI job reshuffle, says Goldman Sachs—there’s little evidence of ‘too many coders and not enough plumbers’And yet: Despite degrees being slammed as ‘useless’ by Gen Z, data shows graduates have had the lowest unemployment rate of anyone for the last 20 yearsDSE, IFC host 'women on boards' session to strengthen female corporate leadershipDhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) PLC and International Finance Corporation (IFC) jointly organized an on-boarding session titled "Women on Boards (WOB)" aimed at enhancing women's participation in corporate leadership and decision-making processes.Starbucks Korea sacks CEO over controversial 'Tank Day' promotionStarbucks Korea thought it would be a brilliant idea to promote their new "Tank" line of coffee tumblers by declaring a special marketing event called "Tank Day." The catastrophic oversight? They launched it on May 18—the highly sensitive national anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. For South Koreans, the word "tank" on this specific day immediately evokes the horrific memory of the military dictatorship deploying actual armored tanks to brutally crush and massacre pro-democracy protestersThe promotion featured the tagline: "put it on the table with a sound of 'Tak!'" (or "thwack on the desk"). In South Korea, "Tak!" is chillingly famous. In 1987, when the military regime tried to cover up the torture-induced death of student activist Park Jong-chul, police absurdly claimed the student just suddenly collapsed and died because an investigator struck a desk, making a "tak" soundSon Jung-hyun (Sohn Jeong-hyun), the CEO of Starbucks Korea, was summarily fired within hours of the campaign going livethe retail conglomerate that operates Starbucks Korea (Shinsegae Group) also fired the unnamed executive who planned and oversaw the campaign, while launching disciplinary proceedings against every other employee who let this pass the review stage.Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin was reportedly "furious" and ordered the immediate sacking of the CEO to "make an example."South Korean President Lee Jae Myung them as "low-class peddlers" engaging in "inhumane, bottom-feeding behavior" that mocked a blood-stained struggle for basic human rightsStarbucks US headquarters reportedly apologized as well, saying it deeply regretted the “unacceptable” marketing incidentBYD surges, Toyota falters as oil crisis boosts EVs in Australia AND Gas prices are rising. So is public transit ridershipAnd yet: EPA Claims ‘Overwhelming Rejection’ of EVs as It Moves to Loosen Air Pollution RulesSPEED ROUNDFree gas from Cracker Barrel this summer: Here’s how you can get it Sports Illustrated Just Deleted Every Article by One of Its Writers After Accusation of AI PlagiarismMayor Zohran Mamdani says first of NYC's five government-run grocery stores will open in the Bronx next yearAI CEOs Baffled by Hatred of Their Technology Southwest Airlines is banning humanoid and animal-like robots from its flights after a robot flies to DallasSwarm of Empty Waymos Descends on Unsuspecting Suburb, Circle Cul-de-Sacs for Hours on End Like Strange GhostsBeing a Crappy Boss to AI Chatbots Pushes Them Toward Spouting Marxist Rhetoric and Organizing With Their Compatriots, Researchers Find Elon Musk Says If We Don't Do Something About Corruption And Waste, 'The Ship Of America Is Going To Sink' —And We're All Going Down With ItHantavirus Ship Has Docked in Rotterdam As Its Passengers Face a 42-Day Quarantine Amid Nonexistence Cure

May 15, 202658 min

Companies kill benefits, activist wants manly Victoria’s Secret, Buffett turns off the lights

Story of the Week (DR):Trump is bringing Tim Cook, Elon Musk, and a dozen other CEOs to Beijing for his Xi summitTechnology & AIElon Musk – CEO, Tesla and SpaceXTim Cook – CEO, AppleJensen Huang – CEO, Nvidia (joined as a last-minute addition after a personal call from the President)Cristiano Amon – CEO, QualcommSanjay Mehrotra – CEO, Micron TechnologyDina Powell McCormick – President, MetaJim Anderson – CEO, CoherentFinance & InvestmentLarry Fink – CEO, BlackRockStephen Schwarzman – CEO, BlackstoneDavid Solomon – CEO, Goldman SachsJane Fraser – CEO, CitigroupAerospace & ManufacturingKelly Ortberg – CEO, Boeing (reportedly finalizing a massive 500-jet deal during the trip)Larry Culp – CEO, GE AerospacePayments & ServicesMichael Miebach – CEO, MastercardRyan McInerney – CEO, VisaAgriculture & BiotechBrian Sikes – CEO, CargillJacob Thaysen – CEO, IlluminaPaypal agrees to $30 million settlement with Trump's Justice Department over 'illegal DEI'The company launched a $530M Economic Opportunity Fund in 2020 for Black and underrepresented minority businessesDid not fight this in court, just surrenderedTo make the DOJ happy, PayPal had to ditch its race-based criteria; instead, it now funnels that financial support to veteran-owned businesses and companies in farming, manufacturing, or technology. A direct “black” to “white” transferAny company that launched a race-specific grant or loan program after 2020 is now officially in the DOJ’s crosshairs, and "social justice" is being litigated as "civil rights fraud."PayPal board:“Independent” chair David W. Dorman (2015-; 17%)member of the Dell Technologies BoardMichael Dell and Donald Trump are BFFs: Dell pledged $6.25B to Trump AccountsJonathan Christodoro (2015-; 13%): a disciple of billionaire Carl Icahn (former Managing Director at Icahn Capital), one of Trump’s oldest and most vocal alliesFounder PayPal Mafia Trump BFFs: Musk (DOGE), David Sacks (AI and Crypto Czar), Peter Thiel (JD Vance creator)Frank Yeary (2015-; 12%): Intel director since 2009 and chair since 2023It Was One of DOGE’s Most Absurd Abuses. A Court Finally Exposed ItThis whole saga centers on a major legal showdown between the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The case is a consolidated lawsuit (often called the NEH-DOGE lawsuit) filed in May 2025 by groups including the Authors Guild, the American Historical Association, and the Modern Language Association.  On May 7, 2026, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon issued a massive 143-page ruling. She essentially nuked DOGE’s attempt to defund hundreds of humanities projects, calling their process a "textbook example of unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination."The AI Purge: Instead of a professional review, DOGE staffers (described in court as young "technologists" with no background in humanities) ran thousands of grant descriptions through ChatGPT.DOGE staffers—mostly described as 20-somethings with "zero experience in the humanities"—attempted to dodge government transparency laws by conducting official business on Signal with auto-delete enabled. The court found this was a blatant violation of the Federal Records Act, proving that "efficiency" is often just code for "avoiding a paper trail."The Woke Filter: They told the AI to flag anything related to "DEI." This backfired spectacularly when the AI flagged projects on Holocaust survivors, Appalachian history, and Italian-American archives simply because they used words like "identity," "culture," or "women."DOGE didn't actually read the grants they cut. Instead, they used ChatGPT and basic keyword searches to flag any program containing "incriminating" words like "history," "culture," "identity," or "BIPOC." If the AI thought it sounded "woke," the funding was axed—a move Judge Colleen McMahon called a "textbook example of unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination."In perhaps the most "mask-off" moment of the proceedings, it was revealed that DOGE staffers flagged and canceled a documentary about Jewish women’s slave labor during the Holocaust. The reason? Their AI-driven filter decided that focusing on "Jewish cultures" and "female voices" made it an illegal DEI program. Apparently, documenting Nazi atrocities is now "radical identity politics."The ruling highlighted a minor detail the administration seemed to forget: DOGE isn't a real government agency. The judge noted that DOGE had absolutely no lawful authority to terminate congressionally appropriated funds. They were essentially a group of private-sector bros playing President with the NEH checkbookThe Redirect: The court found that the $100 million "saved" wasn't actually returned to the Treasury. Instead, it was being funneled into the administration's own projects, like the "National Garden of American Heroes."Why Two Big Companies Just Cut Paid Family Leave MMFor the last decade, a tight labor market forced companies to compete for talent with generous perks. Now, with the job market cooling and employees having less leverage to quit, companies like Deloitte and Zoom are quietly rolling back benefits.Zoom, the company that became the face of remote work, has slashed its paid parental leave. Birthing parents saw their leave drop from up to 24 weeks to 18 weeks, while non-birthing parents were cut from 16 weeks down to 10.Deloitte is making deep cuts, but not for everyone. The reductions specifically target “Center” employees—the administrative, IT, and finance support staff who generally earn less—rather than the high-earning consultants. Their leave was halved from 16 weeks to just eight.Beyond just time off, Deloitte is axing its $50,000 reimbursement program for adoption, surrogacy, and IVF for these support roles.I Hate Working 5 Days': Zoom CEO Eric Yuan Says AI Could Shrink Workweeks To 3 Days In A Major Future ShiftGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Chipotle CEO [Scott Boatwright] tells customers to ‘just ask’ if they want bigger portions after downsizing accusations: “You should ask for a little more ... We serve big, beautiful bowls and burritos. Full stop, no questions asked. If you want more, just ask the team member. I promise you there’s never a team member on that line that’s going to say no.” 886 to 1MM: Oil shortages DR MMBeer demand stumbles as gas prices surge, data showsI mean, isn’t this the double best?  Less idiots driving drunk AND less idiots DRIVING!Oil shortages are even hitting colored snack bagsUgly snacks, maybe less eating!Assholiest TRIGGERIEST of the Week (MM):Brett BlundyVictoria’s Secret unveils allegations against activist investor, loses board directorBlundy, Australian billionaire who launched Bras N Things, a classy establishment sold to Hanes, and currently chairs Lovisa, a fast fashion jewelry business, bought 13% of VS and thinks he can run it betterHe’s disappointed with VS acquisition of Adore Me (online retailer) and the drop in earningsMeanwhile, Lovisa’s 1Y market returns: -22% vs. ASX +4% TRIGGERED:Blundy, a fucking Australian billionaire blowhard, chairs LovisaLovisa board: Blundy, Mark McInnes (“deputy chair”), John Cheston (CEO), Bruce Carter, Tracey Blundy (wife), John Charlton, Sei Jin Alt (woman, Asian)Brett and Tracey own 40%+ of sharesZero merit directorsExec team: John, Mark, Victor, Chris - zero womenBlundy is targeting VS, whose board is…Donna James, Hillary Super (CEO), Irene Britt, Sarah Davis, Jacqueline Hernandez, Rod Little, David McCreight, Mariam Naficy, Lauren Peters, Anne SheehanExec team: 4 women, 1 manThis is the ultimate mansplain - some chest thumping billionaire walks into a room full of women, pushes them out, takes over… and this from the filing:“On November 13, 2025, members of the Board held a videoconference call with Mr. Blundy to inform him that the Board had determined, in accordance with its fiduciary duties, that appointing Mr. Blundy to the Board would not be in the best interests of VS&Co or its stockholders. In an effort to reach amutually agreeable resolution, the Board proposed collaborating with BBRC and Mr. Blundy on (i) adding one mutually-agreed new independent directornot affiliated with BBRC to the Board, (ii) Mr. Blundy’s participation in a review with the Board of the Company’s capital allocation, (iii) entering into alonger-term information sharing agreement and, in the context of a negotiated resolution with BBRC and Mr. Blundy, an agreement on customary standstill restrictions, and (iv) taking down the Rights Plan. After this call, the Board delivered to Mr. Blundy the following letter explaining its rationale for rejecting his candidacy and proposing a new framework for a mutually agreeable resolution:“The potential for significant reputational and legal risk to Victoria’s Secret arising from (1) your pattern of hiring executives with a history of serious allegations of sexual harassment or other misconduct, and (2) the reported and alleged instances of harassment and highly inappropriate employee policies that occurred under your oversight at companies you controlled or effectively controlled.The proxy should just say, “Australian white male billionaire who is cool sexually harassing women while selling them underwear wants to take over massive underwear store run by women”Elon Musk and Sam AltmanMusk first…Sam Altman Accuses Elon Musk of Laughing at Memes During Important OpenAI MeetingsMusk's China trip during OpenAI trial prompts apology from his lawyer for CEO's absenceTRIGGERED: This is the man child trillionaire we’re supposed to take seriously - does his mom fold his socks for him?  Does he eat Cheerios out of a frisbee for breakfast?  These are our male adult role models?Musk apparently was too busy for the trial, but during talks of absorbing OpenAI into Tesla, he wasn’t too busy to spend a long time forcing everyone to look at his fucking dopey idiot manboy memes that made him laughReminder time: Musk is in charge of who gets internet in military conflict (Starlink), gutted the government (DOGE), is trying to implant chips in brains (Neurolink), and used everyone else to get his billions (Tesla was bought, subsidized, SpaceX subsidies, Boring Company steals municipal money to dig holes…)Altman next…Sam Altman faces awkward grilling over 'toxic culture of lying'ChatGPT Told a 19-Year-Old How to Mix Drugs — His Mother Found Him Dead the Next MorningWHEN YOU PUT A SOCIOPATH AND MANCHILD IN CHARGE OF A WORLD DESTROYING DEVICE, IT TURNS OUT IT’S BADWarren Buffett DRPut the folksy “I’m just a guy eating a werther’s original candy making money” schtick aside, where he says they pick great management and let them do their thing - this is “their thing”:TRIGGERED: Electric Company Says It’s Cutting Off an Entire Town So It Can Sell All Its Power to Data CentersThere is so much to hate here:Tech billionaires building data centers for AI: checkNV Energy is wholly owned by Berkshire Energy which is owned by Warren Buffett: checkTrump appointed asshole running regulatory agency that represented utilities: checkThe town is Lake Tahoe - 50,000 residents have to find a new source of electricity in ONE YEAR because Buffett/Berkshire/NV Energy decided the re-route all energy to data centers for AIGoogle, Apple, MSFT all have facilities, 12 data center projects in Northern NevadaNevada would have to ask woke California to build hundreds of millions of dollars worth of transmission lines in a year to get to Tahoe, FERC would have to approve other changes (Chair Laura Swett, Trump appointee, represented electric utilities and the firm wrote pieces about the glory of data centers - one of the Amicus Briefs they wrote in 2024 was on behalf of… NV Energy)Of the fines issued by FERC this year, 99% are one company: an energy efficiency companySince Trump was elected, FERC has issued fines targeting blue state utilities and renewables at a more than 2:1 rateSo the people are fucked - maybe Warren can tell them to power their town on See’s Candy sugar rushesHeadliniest of the WeekDR: Kids with fake mustaches can fool high-tech age verification systemsMM: Waymo recalls 3,800 robotaxis after glitch allowed some vehicles to 'drive into standing water'Who Won the Week?DR: Steve Roth, the CEO of Vornado Realty Trust, expressed his support for fellow billionaire and the Citadel CEO Ken Griffin: “I must say that I consider the phrase tax the rich — quote tax the rich — when spit out with anger and contempt by politicians both here and across the country, to be just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs”MM: Lawyers - literally everything now is a lawsuit and everyone is a lawyer. PredictionsDR: NYC Mayor Mahmdani asks Steve Roth for “just little more” and Roth replies: “I’m not a fucking Chipotle, commie scum.”MM: Chili's CEO wakes up at 5 a.m., runs daily, and uses that time to generate ideas for the business: On a run next Thursday, May 21, Chili’s CEO Kevin Hochman stops short and says out loud, “What if the Big Crispy Chicken Sandwich was BIGGER???”

May 5, 202659 min

BLAME: Coinbase’s AI job cuts, Starbucks’ $10 “affordable” coffee, Bezos at the Met

DRCoinbase cuts headcount by 14% citing AI acceleration. The shares are gainingCoinbase cuts headcount by 14% citing AI acceleration WHO DO YOU BLAME?Cofounder/CEO/Chair Brian Armstrong: 49.6% voting power MMIn 2020, amidst global protests for racial justice, Armstrong issued a blog post that effectively banned employees from discussing social issues or activism at work: "We don't advocate for any particular causes or candidates internally that are unrelated to our mission, because it is a distraction from our mission... we won't engage in broader societal issues."Brian is a proponent of "Freedom Cities"—privatized zones built on federal land that would be exempt from the laws that govern the rest of the countryMeta Platforms director Marc Andreessen:Impeding the development of AI in any way, he argues, “is a form of murder."Our enemies are 'social responsibility', 'stakeholder capitalism', 'Precautionary Principle', 'sustainable development goals', 'social justice', and 'environmental, social, and governance (ESG)'... These are all ideas that would lead to a stagnant, decadent, and ultimately dead society."The dual class share structure:The holders of our Class B common stock are entitled to twenty votes per share, and holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote per share.Jeffrey Billings, the independent trustee for certain trusts established by Brian Armstrong (representing 18.9% voting power)Co-founder/director Frederick “Fred” Ernest Ehrsam III (10.6% voting power)co-founder and general partner of the crypto-focused venture capital firm Paradigmco-founder and CEO of Nudge, a neurotechnology startup developing non-invasive brain–computer interfacesDuke UniversityWhile Fred is often seen as the quiet intellectual counterpart to Marc Andreessen, his philosophy is arguably even more dystopian to critics because it moves beyond just software—aiming to program human governance and the human brain itself.Fred is the Quiet Architect of a future where human systems are replaced by cold code.Fred is a major backer of the Prometheus Summit, a secretive gathering of tech elites focused on "longevity" and "assisted reproductive technologies."In 2026, Fred was appointed to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) by President Donald TrumpThe 2 women on the board, seems very DEI-ishThe shares are gaining WHO DO YOU BLAME?InvestorsUp 15$ in 2 days: $655M for brianDiary of a CEO founder says he hired someone with ‘zero’ work experience because she ‘thanked the security guard by name’ before the interview WHO DO YOU BLAME?The so-called “meritocracy” MM“I hired someone who’s CV was two lines. Their experience was zero”Elon Musk's SpaceX Could Be Fast-Tracked Into S&P 500 After IPO Under Proposed Rule Changes AND Elon Musk settles SEC lawsuit over Twitter purchase and agrees to pay $1.5m fineA trust in Musk’s name will pay a $1.5m civil penalty, without admitting wrongdoing. Musk won’t have to give up any money he allegedly saved from the delay. In its January 2025 lawsuit, the SEC said Musk’s 11-day delay in revealing his initial 5% Twitter stake in late March and early April 2022 let him buy more than $500min shares at artificially low prices, before he finally revealed a 9.2% stake.  WHO DO YOU BLAME?The SEC CommissionersJan 2025Chair Gary Gensler (D) Commissioner Hester Peirce (R)Commissioner Mark Uyeda (R)Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw (D)Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga (D)Today MMChair Paul Atkins (R)Commissioner Hester Peirce (R)Commissioner Mark Uyeda (R)VacantVacantSpecifically Paul AtkinsDuring his first stint as an SEC Commissioner (George W. Bush), Paul was famous for his dissent against large corporate penaltiesHe argued that fining a company for the "sins" of its executives just hurts the innocent shareholders a second timeRecently in the same Administration with Musk (DOGE)Generally believes the SEC overregulates; Musk has referred to the SEC as “bastards”Commissioner Hester PeirceThe perennial dissenter (pre-Trump 2.0): Whenever the SEC would sue a crypto firm or fine a high-profile CEO, Peirce would release a blistering public letter explaining why the SEC was wrong, overreaching, and "paternalistic."Hester is the primary author of the Token Safe Harbor proposal, which essentially argues that tech companies should be allowed to operate for three years without any SEC oversight to "find their footing."Hester has long argued that the SEC’s disclosure requirements are "bloated" and "immaterial." In her view, Musk’s failure to file a 13D form for his Twitter stake wasn't a crime—it was a failure to comply with a "clunky, outdated bureaucracy.""In our purportedly enlightened era, we pin scarlet letters on allegedly offending corporations without bothering much about facts and circumstances... After all, naming and shaming corporate villains is fun, trendy, and profitable."The S&P 500, managed by S&P Global Dow Jones Indices, on Thursday, announced it was beginning consultation on rule changes that could potentially help Elon Musk-led SpaceX gain an expedited entry into the index. The rule changes include letting IPOs enter the index six months after their debut on an eligible index instead of a 12-month period, according to current rules.The index also proposed eliminating a minimum Investable Weight Factor (IWF) of 0.10 for megacap companies. The IWF is a methodology used to calculate the number of shares of a company available to trade on the market.Notably, the proposed rule changes also eliminate profitability requirements for megacap companies. Current rules require a company to be profitable on a GAAP basis for 12 months to be considered for the index, but that rule could be eliminated.S&P DJI only accepts feedback during the announced consultation open period, which is generally one calendar month following the consultation announcement. The Index Committee considers the complexity of the change and the desirable implementation timing in determining the open window for the consultation, which is generally aligned, if possible, with the index rebalancing schedule. WHO DO YOU BLAME?S&P Global CEO Martina L. Cheung (31% no on pay last year) DEI? That’s all I haveS&P Global Chair Ian Livingston (Lord Livingston of Parkhead)Lord Livingston is also involved in a number of charities particularly in the fields of education, equality and social careLords are weird? That’s all I haveThe Index CommitteeThe S&P 500 Index Committee is one of the most powerful and secretive groups in global finance. To prevent insider trading and front-running (where traders buy a stock because they know it’s about to be added to the index), S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) keeps the names of the individual committee members confidential.“To mitigate even the appearance of a conflict of interest... all Index Committee meetings are confidential. Membership of the Index Committee is not disclosed, and voting members consist of senior S&P DJI staff who have no commercial responsibilities”The Committee Members: Usually consists of about five to nine full-time employees of S&P Dow Jones Indices.  Veto Power: Unlike other indices that use a rigid formula, this committee has discretionary authority. They can choose to ignore certain rules (like profitability) if they believe a company is representative of the U.S. economy.Who is probably partly on the Committee:Catherine Clay (CEO, S&P Dow Jones Indices): As the top executive, she oversees all index divisions. She joined in late 2025 with a mandate to modernize the indices for the digital and private-to-public era.Fiona Boal (Global Head of Equities): She oversees the entire equity index suite. Any proposal to change the "seasoning" or profitability rules for the S&P 500 goes through her office.Michael Orzano (Head of Exchange Products): He is the primary strategist for how major listings (like a $1.75T SpaceX IPO) integrate with the exchange-traded product (ETF) ecosystem.He was the lead strategist during the 2020 Tesla Inclusion, which was the most chaotic event in S&P historyHamish Preston (Head of U.S. Equities): He is the primary spokesperson for S&P 500 methodology. If the "SpaceX Rule" is adopted in June 2026, he will be the one explaining the technical justification to the media.Louis Bellucci (Head of Index Committee Management): As of 2026, he is the specific individual tasked with managing the various index committees and ensuring they follow the updated governance protocolsThe general concept of greed MMMM'Tone Deaf' Starbucks CEO Slammed for Justifying $10 Coffee as 'Affordable Premium Experience' - Niccol is so close to the human experience, he thought it was obviously “affordable” premium to pay $10 for a single cup of coffee.  WHO DO YOU BLAME?Mike Sievert, Jorgen Knudstorp, Neal Mohan, and Brian NiccolAccording to Free Float knowledge database, the only four directors with base knowledge of marketing in their backgrounds - all direct from their education and bios46% of SBUX influenceRichard Allison, Neal Mohan, Andy Campion, Beth Ford, Mike SievertMembers of the pay committee that graciously granted Niccol $96m such that a $10 coffee is an “affordable premium experience” for Niccol aloneMeanwhile, CEO Pay Surges 11% While Workers' Wages Stagnate at 0.5% in 2025: Report.In the last 5 years, EVERY director at SBUX was tagged as a “bottom payer” for employees using bottom quartile employee median pay relative to peers as a flagAt the same time, SBUX tagged as mildly atypical overpay relative to other paying directors, and the board average 5 year CEO Pay ratio ranking in the BOTTOM QUINTILE - not only do they love paying their employees as little as possible, the couple it with massive pay packages for CEOs everywhere they goBeth Ford, Daniel Servitje, and Neal MohanAccording to Free Float deference numbers, which use how directors get paid, the prestige of the directorship, the overlaps/reliance on the CEO, and social ties to management, these three are the only ones on the board tagged as “Deferential”For instance, Mohan has directorships at Chrome Holding and Starbucks… which one is a bigger deal?These are directors with the most to lose by dissenting - and risking getting replaced - at this board in particularMike Sievert, Daniel Servitje, Marissa Mayer, Neal Mohan, Brian NiccolEstimates of each of their net worth is in excess of $100m, with Servitje part of the nepo Grupo Bimbo money (he’s worth >$3bn)Mayer is the rare female fail up, with early Google and Yahoo money >$600mMohan got a $100m stock retention bonus in 2013 alone and is the CEO of YouTube, the ultimate in artist exploitation machineNeal Mohan, who is on every one of these lists DRBrian Niccol, for generating a record quarter, avoiding negotiating with the union, and calling $10 for roasted beans “affordable premium”Activists Protest Jeff Bezos at 2026 Met Gala with Symbolic 'Urine' Bottles - no one like Uncle Jeffe and his wife anymore!!!  WHO DO YOU BLAME?Zohran MamdaniHe skipped the Met Gala???  This was his one chance to show he actually DOES love Ken Griffin!WorkersIf they just accepted that they will all be fired by AI robots and take what their tech billionaire overlords bequeath them generously, they wouldn’t have to do this: While billionaires get ready for the Met Gala, their workers walk a different kind of runwayA protest fashion show by workers of Amazon, Whole Foods, Starbucks, Uber, organized by the SEIU and Amazon Labor UnionLauren Sanchez DRProfiled in the NYT saying the uber-rich should “stop apologizing” and “start enjoying themselves” - isn’t always the wife’s fault?Amazon’s board of sycophantsLabelled as “Structurally Deferential” in Free Float data, 5 of the 12 directors have been with Bezos for over a decadeThe rest are almost entirely connected to the directors who have been there for more than a decade7 of the 12 directors tagged as bottom payers, 6 of them at just AmazonEVERY DIRECTOR has been flagged more than once for Human Rights violations across all boards they’re on - literally they have overseen constant strings of human rights violationsUncle Jeffe - who still thinks you can buy things and make people like youGameStop is preparing offer for eBay, WSJ reports - the offer is for $56bn and would allow a failing brick and mortar video game company to buy a semi-failing 2000s internet auction company - WHO DO YOU BLAME?TD Bank directors Ana Arsov, Cheri Brant, Elio Luongo, Keith Martell, Frank Pearn, Paul Wirth - the TD risk committeeTD offered a “I guess so?” letter for financing coming in around $20bn in debt.  That amount of debt would make these directors - who are only active on the GameStop board - among the most indebted in our databaseThe risk committee is: accountant, compliance officer, ex-bank CEO, accountant, lawyer, someone from Moody’sRoaring Kitty Keith GillIsn’t this obviously all his fault?Last count, he has as many as 9m shares in GME in 2024…CEO Ryan CohenWhose deep experience selling pet food and video games has set him up to have just the ego to think he can run anything anywhereWho cares

May 1, 20261 hr 7 min

CEOs silent millions, DEI dies, Altman’s sorry, Gorman’s Disney problem, Chip Wilson won’t leave

Story of the Week (DR):Happy (?) May Day MMMay Day 2026: Top CEO pay increased 20 times faster than workers’ pay in 2025Rivian Sold 42,247 Cars And Paid Its CEO [RJ Scaringe] $403 Million, Or 15 Jim FarleysComcast Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh Lands $72 Million Pay Package For 2025Google co-founder [Sergey Brin] rips California billionaire tax: 'I fled socialism'ONE-TIME wealth tax: The proposal would impose a 5% tax on net worth above the $1 billion threshold for people who were California residents as of Jan. 1, 2026, with some assets like real estate and certain retirement accounts excluded~$13B, with certain exclusions this figure could drop to $9B (the approximate value of his real estate empire)This is the equivalent of $2,500 if you earn $50,000Ken Griffin slams Mamdani for singling him out as a 'profound lack of judgment,' ripping socialist bentBill Ackman to New York City Mayor Mamdani: Don't scare away the billionaires    CEOs got millions after boards ‘neutralized’ the impact of tariffs. Some won't say what it was worthRTX CEO Christopher Calio: $27.7 million in compensation last yearAt its January 2025 board meeting, the compensation committee of RTX pre-authorized the removal of tariff impacts on business metrics related to Calio’s pay months before President Trump announced a set of sweeping Liberation Day tariffs on April 2, 2025 that upended global supply chains. The RTX comp committee said that the tariff-cost impact “should be neutralized” for determining annual bonus payouts because the tariffs were “externally imposed, unpredictable and unrelated to operational execution.”Calio’s annual bonus hit $5.1 million, an 85% increase over the $2.76 million the company paid him the year beforeHow much of that growth was attributable to the tariff exclusion, RTX did not discloseWe spoke to over 30 CEOs and business leaders. Here's what worries them mostA world of constant shocksSupply chains are under strain and getting costlierInflation is testing the consumerAI is an opportunity, but also a threatCyber and trust are keeping CEOs upEnergy security is back at the centerThe leadership playbook is changingThe 'Dirty Secret' Behind AI Layoffs: Forrester Warns Tech Is Often Non-ExistentForrester finds most firms citing AI for job cuts lack the systems to back it up, deepening mistrust over how and why people are being let goExecutives are increasingly blaming artificial intelligence for sweeping layoffs even when the technology is barely in place, Forrester has warned, with analyst J.P. Gownder saying that in 'nine out of 10' such cases the AI capability behind those cuts simply does not existMeta says it doesn't know its ideal size as it prepares to lay off 10% of its staffBed Bath & Beyond CEO: AI will lead to ‘significant reduction in headcount’Sam Altman says he is 'deeply sorry' for failing to alert police ahead of mass shootingSam Altman Issues Grim ApologySam Altman is “the face of evil” for not reporting school shooter, says lawyerSam Altman apologized to the people of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, because OpenAI had flagged and banned the suspect’s ChatGPT account but did not alert police before the mass shootingApril 28, 2026: Our commitment to community safety“We assume the best of our users, but when we detect that someone is attempting to use our tools to potentially plan or carry out violence, we take action, including revoking access to OpenAI’s services.”“We use automated detection systems to identify potentially concerning activity at scale.”“When an account or conversation is flagged, it is assessed in context by trained personnel. These human reviewers are trained on our policies and protocols, and operate within established privacy and security safeguards”“When conversations indicate an imminent and credible risk of harm to others, we notify law enforcement.”Zero mention of the Tumbler Ridge massacre, the apology, the lawsuits, etc.Elon Musk's trial against Sam Altman to reveal the ongoing power struggle for OpenAIMusk is suing Altman, OpenAI, and Microsoft over the claim that OpenAI abandoned its original nonprofit, “benefit humanity” mission and instead became a profit machine, while OpenAI says Musk is really trying to slow a competitor he helped createThe courtroom tone has been described as unusually messy and theatrical, with the judge reportedly telling both sides to stop acting out on social mediaThe judge told Musk to cool it on the “robot apocalypse” and “Terminator” talk.Musk lawyer says OpenAI 'stole a charity,' as trial against AI firm, Sam Altman beginsWorld's Richest Man, Least Generous? Elon Musk Tops Forbes 'Least Philanthropic' ListForbes' analysis concludes that Elon Musk has given around $500 million 'directly to those in need' — a sum that sounds enormous in isolation yet, by the magazine's maths, represents just 0.06 per cent of his reported wealth. In other words, for every $1,000 attached to his name on paper, roughly 60 cents has so far gone, in clear line of sight, to people or causes that can be classed as receiving direct help.Jerome Powell says he will continue to serve as a Fed governor, calls Trump criticism 'unprecedented'Powell says he’s staying on as a Fed governor after his chair term ends, which blocks Trump from simply creating an empty seatPowell says the pressure campaign is unprecedented and threatens the Fed’s independence.Bessent Says Powell Staying On Is ‘Violation’ of All Fed Norms“It’s highly unusual for someone who says he’s an institutionalist and cares about norms at the Fed. This is a violation of all Federal Reserve norms.”“I think it is an insult to Kevin Warsh, Miki [Michelle] Bowman and Chris Waller to think that these other Republican nominees do not care about the institution of the Fed and that he alone can maintain the integrity of the Fed.”Trump Takes a ‘Wrecking Ball’ to Independent Scientific Advisory BoardThe DEI death blow: “We Could See the Largest Drop in Black Representation Since the End of Reconstruction”Much like dual class shares: The erosion of the Voting Rights Act directly dilutes the collective political power of Black communitiesThomas Dartmouth Rice ("The two most popular characters in the world at the present time are [Queen] Victoria and Jim Crow.") received some formal education in his youth, but ceased in his teenage years when he acquired an apprenticeship with a woodcarver named DodgePentagon inks deals with seven AI companies for classified military workOpenAI, Google, Nvidia and others agreed to ‘any lawful use’ of their tech. Anthropic, feuding with Pentagon over potential AI misuse, was not includedGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: France unveils plan to ditch all fossil fuels by 2050a “first of its kind” plan to phase out coal by 2030, oil by 2045 and gas by 2050 during a global conference aimed at breaking reliance on fossil fuelsMM: War on Social Media: Greece to ban anonymity on social media DRI seriously might move to GreeceMeta’s threat to quit New Mexico ‘is showing the world how little it cares about child safety,’ AG saysAssholiest of the Week (MM):Disney’s spineless chair James Gorman DRABC can beat Trump FCC's license threat if owner Disney is willing to fightThe man who was the savior picking the new CEO, when asked what he thinks of the attack on Kimmel and Disney’s ABC (again), said, “It’s the job of the CEO with their team to figure out the right answer and they’ll be guided by the board”, and then declined to say what advice he or the board would give regarding the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show.“We have a terrific new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, he’s world class so I’m sure he’ll rise to the occasion and do what the right thing is.”Here’s a glow up of Gorman choosing the new CEO:James P. Gorman, former head of Morgan Stanley, became Disney’s chairman a year ago with succession at the top of his to-do list. The 67-year-old Australia native comes with strong opinions and sterling credentials: He helped stabilize, then revitalize the Wall Street bank during his 14 years in the C-suite, retiring in December 2024 after orchestrating a seamless baton pass.“I don’t know that there’s anyone who could have navigated these kinds of leadership transitions better than James,” Wharton School Dean Erika H. James said in an interview. “He’s not afraid to do the hard things.”James was on the board of Morgan Stanley with GormanSo the board abdicates all responsibility?  They bow out?  Without Ken Doll Bob Iger around they have no part to play anymore?“Even after paying off the president last year, ABC is once again under attack by this administration,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) wrote yesterday. “This should be a lesson to all who capitulate to the president: You cannot buy his favor, you can only rent it.”Even the fucking CATO INSTITUTE weighed in: FCC’s Punitive Review of ABC-Disney’s Broadcast Licenses Shows Need to Protect Free Expression“Punishing a media organization, no matter what one thinks of their reporting or programming, is an affront to the right of Americans to speak and listen to whatever speech they wish”AI OverloadPopular pasta sauce brand is launching new device to record conversationsPrego owned by Campbells selling a puck that sits on your dinner table, records the conversation, and offers “conversation prompts”When a soup company thinks the answer to AI in soup is a fucking device sitting on your table, listening to you, when we’re already surrounded by our tech overlords doing the same thing, we know we’ve jumped the sharkChip Wilson and the male CEO industrial complexLululemon Founder Takes Aim at New CEO Pick, Escalates Proxy FightChip uses “governance” as his main angle of attack without acknowledging that 50% of the board he hates, including the chair, HE HAND PICKED HIMSELFWall Street sank the shares more than 13% on the announcement of Heidi O’NeillCritiqued her tenure at Nike pushing “direct to consumer” - without acknowledging that Nike is a dual class controlled company with the company founder’s nepo baby on the board AND an executive chair (Mark Parker) AND the current CEO (Elliott Hill)Do you think O’Neill made the decision in a vacuum by herself?  She’s an NEO under not one but THREE leaders - and in 2025 she got a massive stock award (11.4m) to keep her around.  She also has a babysitter - she was head of Consumer, Product, & Brand, but there was Craig Williams, Chief Commercial OfficerIs this anything but fucking white dude manbaby sexists anymore?60% female board who just added another woman of color to go above that, +8% gender power gap, 70% female influence - the analytics suggest they are not deferential to the CEO, the only merit director on the board are womenWhile dude analyst Bill Campbell at Paragon Intel said, “she does not look like the obvious architect of the deeper reset this moment demands,” William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia said, “She brings a significant breadth of knowledge in women’s performance apparel and her experience accelerating speed-to-market is particularly welcome at lululemon where lead times have ballooned to about 24 months.”Reading the timeline of interactions, Wilson just sounds like a fucking baby, complaining the board isn’t talking to his people enough, they don’t respond quickly enough, even as every time he doesn’t get his way he publicly says the board sucks but commits to the chair he wants to have “constructive” dialogue.  Then the board offers him board seats if he just shuts the fuck up, and he says he won’t agree to shut up but they should give him the board seats anyway.Headliniest of the WeekDR: Lululemon’s New CEO Is Already in the Hot Seat—and She Hasn’t Even StartedMM: 51% of U.S. employees have cried at the office within the last month, according to a new reportWho Won the Week?DR: Only Elon Musk can fire Elon Musk from SpaceX, filing showsMM: Earth - SpaceX ties Musk compensation to Mars colonization goal, which I assume can only mean if Musk himself colonizes Mars he gets paidPredictionsDR: Billionaires start to introduce their own taxes on “normal” people, like: Sidewalk Wear-and-Tear Tax: charged per step, tracked via mandatory Smart Shoes™ and a Public Bench Depreciation Fee: sitting longer than 90 seconds counts as an “asset strain,” tracked via mandatory Smart Boxer Briefs™MM: Because Jamie Dimon says bureaucracy sinks companies and the solution may be getting rid of the ‘jerks’ who don’t want to solve it, JPMorgan begins firing the 51% of jerks who cried in the office this month.

April 28, 202648 min

IN OR OUT: New Rexnord and AIG CEOs, Dana White, Autodesk board refresh, Spirit Airlines

Regal Renord [sic] Corporation Names Aamir Paul As New CEOIN: Louis Pinkham (24%) will also resign from the Board of Directors effective on his last day as CEO. ININ: Because of Chair Rakesh Sachdev (15%) OUTA powerful counterpoint to a new CEO’s powerAxalta Coating Systems (27%)Herc Holdings (14%)Edgewell Personal Care (13%)OUT: “On October 29, 2025, the Company announced that Mr. Pinkham, our CEO, will separate from his role with the Company in connection with a CEO search process being led by the Company’s Board. Mr. Pinkham’s separation from his role as CEO is expected to occur by June 30, 2026.” OUTWhat took them so long?And what’s wrong with their bench? ($8.775M golden hello)Brooke Lang: President, Power Efficiency Solutions (2022-)VP & GM of the Power Components DivisionEaton (2008-2016)Jerry Morton: President, Industrial Powertrain Solutions (2015-)served as President – Integration, Motion Control Solutions from 2021-2023, President of the Power Transmission Solutions from 2019-2021, Vice President, Business Leader of Power Transmission Solutions from 2017-2019, and led the global operations for Regal Rexnord's power transmission business from 2015-2017. Kevin Long: President, Automation and Motion Control (2025-)10 years at Dover Corporation, most recently as Group President of OPW, a global business serving the fluid handling, clean energy, cryogenics, and car wash markets.IN: Aamir spent years at Schneider Electric: essentially a AAA MSCI companyENVIRONMENT: Opportunities in Clean Tech 4.7 industry average/6.4 score (Regal is completely opposite here 4.7/3.0) INOUT: The Board is too entrenched: get rid of Rakesh Sachdev (15%, 18 years) Curtis Stoelting (21 years, 9%), Stephen Burt (15 years) and maybe this could work. OUTUFC CEO Dana White Says WHCD Shooting Was 'Awesome' and He 'Took In Every Minute' of the Incident IN: Dana White is Dana White. Works perfectly for TKO Holdings and Meta Platforms ININ: Because of Ari Emanuel (CEO/founder/Chair of TKO) and Zuck OUT (CEO/founder/Chair of Meta). Ari is the most powerful agent in Hollywood. Zuck is the king of social media addiction. They handle the “adult” business while Dana handles the “middle school” businessTKO Group Holdings: Ari Emanuel 67%Meta Platforms: Zuck  68%; Dana White 0%OUT: Dana White is Dana White. How are major sponsors like Disney going to feel about calling a shooting “awesome.”IN: Look at the Board: these are serious douches and they love this kind of behavior OUTAri Emanuel: known as being the a-hole of Hollywood.Silver Lake’s Egon Durban: VC bro, Elon bud, Dell buddy, say no moreTKO COO Mark Shapiro: Hollywood man has served wherever there are bratty boys in charge: TKO, Endeavor (re: Elon, Ar, Egon), Dick Clark Productions, Papa John’s, Six Flags, etc.TKO LD Steve Koonin is the CEO of the Atlanta Hawks and used to serve on the WWE and GameStop boards“The Rock”Former WWE CEO Nick KhanNepobaby Jonathan Kraft, NFLOUT: Look at the Board: these are serious douches and they love this kind of behavior. This is male toxic leadership that will eventually screw it all up. Ari Emanuel: known as being the a-hole of Hollywood.Silver Lake’s Egon Durban: VC bro, Elon bud, Dell buddy, say no moreTKO COO Mark Shapiro: Hollywood man has served wherever there are bratty boys in charge: TKO, Endeavor (re: Elon, Ar, Egon), Dick Clark Productions, Papa John’s, Six Flags, etc.TKO LD Steve Koonin is the CEO of the Atlanta Hawks and used to serve on the WWE and GameStop boards“The Rock”Former WWE CEO Nick KhanNepobaby Jonathan Kraft, NFL AIG names Andersen CEO as Zaffino moves to exec chairIN:  You’re getting a two-headed monster. Eric Andersen (ex-Aon President) handles the daily operations, while Peter Zaffino stays as Exec Chair to handle the high-level strategy OUTIN: Andersen spent years at Aon. OUTClimate Change Vulnerability 6.2/8.2 Human Capital Development 4.2/4.9 Privacy & Data Security 3.8/5.0OUT: AIG is already strong in the same places: OUTClimate Change Vulnerability 6.2/7.1 Human Capital Development 4.2/6.0Privacy & Data Security 3.8/4.9OUT: Peter Zaffino is a massive personality (32%). He’s going to backseat-drive every decision Andersen makes, leading to a paralyzed C-suite. OUTLD John Rice 14%, Diana Murphy 11% (4 boards), Linda Mills 11%No tenure above 10 yearsOUT: Crappy succession planning. Why ignore the bench? Anderson’s golden hello has not been disclosed yet but you know it’s going to be bad. What about? INCharlie Fry: EVP, Reinsurance and Risk Capital OptimizationJon Hancock: EVP & CEO, General Insuranceleads AIG’s three business segments: North America Commercial Insurance, International Commercial Insurance and Global Personal Insurance, and AIG’s Claims organization and Chief Underwriting Office.Previously, led AIG’s International Commercial Insurance and  Global Personal Insurance businesses; former CEO of International General Insurance from June 2020 to December 2023; Director of Performance Management at Lloyd’s of London from 2016 to 2020 with responsibilities including oversight of performance and risk management globally across the Lloyd’s market.Pearson CEO Omar Abbosh is up for Autodesk board seat as director exitsIN: Omar Abbosh led Microsoft’s Industry Solutions. Autodesk is desperate to become an AI software company: Omar is the guy who actually knows how to sell AI to enterprises. INOmar is “Hall of Famer”Autodesk already has 2 hall-of-famers: Ram Krishnan, Rami RahimStephen Milligan (who Omar is replacing) = ROTATIONOUT: Have a director named Jeffrey Epstein OUTIN: Chair Stacy Smith (12%; former CFO Intel) is cleaning up: replacing a hardware guy (Milligan) with a software/AI guy (Omar) OUTOUT: Despite what you might think, don’t invest because they have a female board chair: Stacy is a dude. OUTIN: Omar is CEO at Pearson, dealing with the ethics of AI in education: Autodesk is rapidly integrating AI into urban planning and architecture to foster more sustainable, equitable, and efficient cities. All boards need AI dudes like Omar OUTOUT: Omar is the CEO of Pearson. Pearson is in the middle of its own massive AI transition. He doesn’t have the bandwidth to be an effective director at Autodesk. He’s just a big name OUTOUT: Losing Stephen Milligan (ex-Western Digital CEO) could be trouble: will Autodesk overdo its AI hand? Spend too much, fire too many people? OUTTrump’s idea to ‘just buy’ bankrupt Spirit Airlines draws GOP backlashIN: CEO Dave Davis (45%) rescued Sun Country. OUTTransportation 12%Law and Government 2%Economics & Accounting 3%Sales & Marketing 0.4%IN: Director (and ALL STAR) Robert Milton (6%). Former CEO/Chair of Air Canada; led the restructuring there; isn’t at Spirit to watch it liquidate INOUT: CFO Fred Cromer is presiding over Spirit’s second bankruptcy restructuring in under two years OUTOUT: John Bendoraitis has been the COO since 2017. He’s been the architect of the operation during Spirit’s entire decline—the engine issues, the labor disputes, and the service meltdowns OUTOUT: Trump thinks it’s a good idea INSnap (SNAP) Appoints Doug Hott as New CFO.IN:  Doug Hott is coming from Amazon. He understands addicted customers.INOUT: former CFO Derek Anderson also came from Amazon. OUTIN: Evan Spiegel (40%) and Robert Murphy (36%), despite owning all the decisionmaking, finally have someone willing to do the dirty work and make decisions (Mr. “16% layoff” Hott is a real man.) INOUT: Former CFO Derek Andersen is bailing right as the company announces layoffs and faces activist pressure from Irenic Capital. Maybe that’s a sign? OUTOUT: Evan Spiegel (40%) and Robert Murphy (36%) needed Irenic Capital to realize they needed to fire CFO Derek Andersen OUTOUT: New CFO Doug Hott started by firing 16% of the workforce? He will be hated forever. Plus, why invest in another heartless finance bro treating human beings like line items to be deleted? OUT: Chair Michael Lynton (8%), the only adult with power on the board, was CEO/Chair of Sony Pictures (2004-2017), when the studio faced what is widely considered the most devastating corporate scandal in Hollywood history: the 2014 Sony Pictures Hack. Run. IN

April 24, 20261 hr 1 min

CEO turnover boom, Texas rejection, and white guy leadership victimhood (man feelings)

Story of the Week (DR):Apple names John Ternus as CEO to replace Tim Cook, who will become chairmanApple CEO Tim Cook is stepping downMeet John Ternus, the 51-year-old former swimming champ who will succeed Tim Cook as Apple CEOTim Cook to step down as Apple CEO. In letter, describes 15 years of emailsTim Cook’s exit is part of a CEO reckoning sweeping Corporate AmericaAre internal CEOs the way to go?Best Buy taps insider Jason Bonfig as new CEO, Corie Barry steps downShe’s actually leaving the boardLululemon names former Nike exec Heidi O'Neill as CEO MMLululemon CEO Pick Heidi O’Neill Faces Skeptical Wall Street AND Lululemon shares dive on new CEO pick — as investors fear she may not have chops to save struggling companyO’Neill brings more than 30 years of experience in performance apparel, footwear, and sports, including over 25 years at Nike, where she was credited with transforming their women’s business from a side-project into a global juggernaut. Her leadership spanned product creation, brand strategy, marketing, and global operations, making her one of the most influential executives in the company’s modern era. Most recently, she served as President, Consumer, Product & Brand, overseeing Nike’s global consumer and product engineGolden hello: $7M equity, $2M cashRoughly 75% of Lululemon’s customers are womenLululemon board: 7 of 11 FChair Martha MorfittCommittees:Audit: 2 of 3 F, including chairNomination: 3 of 5Pay: 3 of 5 F, including chairAlso: CFO, Chief Merchandising Officer, Chief People & Culture Officer, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, Chief Brand & Product Activation OfficerNow we get why Chip is so mad: Chip Wilson, Lululemon’s founder, largest shareholder and chief agitator, has not weighed in on the pick yet, although he previously advocated for waiting to name a new CEO until the board could be resetBest Buy taps insider Jason Bonfig as new CEO, Corie Barry steps downBest Buy taps insider Bonfig to succeed veteran Barry as CEO amid demand slowdownOil giant BP suffers shareholder revolt over climate transparency at tense AGM“BP suffered a shareholder revolt at its AGM over the election of a new chair and resolutions that included dropping some climate disclosure obligations”BP failed to get majority shareholder approval on two highly anticipated motions, which would have permitted online-only AGMs and retired two company-specific climate disclosure obligations. Each resolution received around 47% support, far short of the required 75% required to pass.Ahead of the AGM, BP’s board blocked a motion tabled by Follow This that would have required the company to share plans on creating value for shareholders under future scenarios of falling oil and gas demand.Resolution 1: Annual Report and Accounts – 98% For / 2% AgainstResolution 2: Directors' remuneration report – 95% For / 5% AgainstResolution 3: Directors' remuneration policy – 95% For / 5% AgainstResolution 4: To elect Albert Manifold as a director – 82% For / 18% AgainstSome activist investors had said even a 5% vote against Manifold, who has only been in post as chair since October, would represent a severe reprimand, particularly after a historic 24% vote against outgoing chair Helge Lund last year.Resolution 5: To elect Meg O'Neill as a director – 97% For / 3% AgainstResolution 6: To re-elect Kate Thomson as a director – 96% For / 4% AgainstResolution 7: To re-elect Dame Amanda Blanc as a director – 95% For / 5% AgainstResolution 8: To re-elect Tushar Morzaria as a director – 96% For / 4% AgainstResolution 9: To re-elect Ian Tyler as a director – 96% For / 4% AgainstResolution 10: To re-elect Satish Pai as a director – 92% For / 8% AgainstResolution 11: To re-elect Dr Johannes Teyssen as a director – 89% For / 11% AgainstResolution 12: To re-elect Hina Nagarajan as a director – 96% For / 4% AgainstResolution 13: To elect Dave Hager as a director – 97% For / 3% AgainstResolution 14: Reappointment of auditor – 100% For / 0% AgainstResolution 15: Remuneration of auditor – 100% For / 0% AgainstResolution 16: Political donations and political expenditure – 98% For / 2% AgainstResolution 17: Directors' authority to allot shares – 96% For / 4% AgainstResolution 18: Special resolution: Authority for disapplication of pre-emption rights – 99% For / 1% AgainstResolution 19: Special resolution: Additional authority for disapplication of pre-emption rights – 99% For / 1% AgainstResolution 20: Special resolution: Share buyback – 100% For / 0% AgainstResolution 21: Special resolution: Notice of general meetings – 94% For / 6% AgainstResolution 22: Special resolution: New Articles of Association – 47% For / 53% AgainstResolution 23: Special resolution: Revocation of previous 2015 and 2019 resolutions – 47% For / 53% AgainstResolution 24: Special resolution: ACCR shareholder resolution – 26% For / 74% AgainstNetflix authorizes $25 billion share buyback after stock dropPopulist Math Time:Employees: As of 2026, Netflix employs roughly 16,000 people. If you took that $25 billion and distributed it directly to the workforce = $1,562,500 per employeeAlternatively: They could fund a $100,000 annual salary for 250,000 new people for an entire year.Customers: Netflix has roughly 325 million subscribers globally. If they decided to use that money to subsidize the service instead of buying back stock: $77 per person.Netflix could give every subscriber on the planet roughly 4 to 5 months of service for free.Or, they could lower the price of every subscription by about $6.40 per month for a full year.Social impact:Various estimates (including from HUD) suggest that ending homelessness in the US would cost roughly $20 billion to $30 billion.It could provide a full four-year scholarship (at an average cost of $100k total) to 250,000 students.It could fund the eradication of several neglected tropical diseases or provide clean water infrastructure for tens of millions of people globally.For perspective, the entire annual budget for NASA in 2025 was around $25 billion. Netflix is essentially spending one "National Space Program" worth of cash just to tweak its stock price.Shareholders:If Netflix successfully retires that 6.4% of shares and the market maintains its current valuation, the stock price should mathematically rise by about 7% to compensate for the reduced supply.If the price jumps 7% (from $93 to roughly $99.50), here is the wealth jump:Vanguard: $2.5BBlackRock: $2.1BFidelity: $1.4BReed Hastings: $138MGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Lufthansa Cuts 20,000 Flights to Save Fuel Amid Iran War Price SurgeMM: The Onion Says It Has Again Struck a Deal to Take Over InfowarsMM: Texas Capital stays incorporated in Delaware after shareholders reject 'Dexit' voteAre investors waking up???  They rejected TEXAS CAPITAL redomestication to TEXAS!Assholiest of the Week (MM):White guy victimhood DR‘The disfavored groups, No. 1, obviously, would be white males’: Ron DeSantis is still signing anti-DEI legislationWhite males are…70% of governors70% of congress60% of US corporate boards31% of US populationWhat percentage of DEI programs for companies were designed by white male CEOs? 90% of CEOs in Fortune 500 are white guys - so ALL OF THEMSo when we read: White House study says DEI policies cost US economy by promoting unqualified managers…Even if the premise and math and methodology and concepts are literally all make believe, we SHOULD take away that “white men pretending to do DEI are bad for the economy” right?Federal Job Cuts Hit Black Women Hard—a Year Later, Unemployment Is UpDonald Trump 'Honours' UGA Women's Tennis Champions With Bizarre Photo Featuring Only Men In The ForegroundThe anti DEI, white male victimhood movement should entirely OWN DEI itself - this is the great blame transfer - somehow manage to blame black women and gays for the fact that white men running the world instituted shitty policies not meant to distribute equal opportunity, just meant for press releases - anti DEI is actually anti white male leaders.  Make every company CEO a black woman and then see what DEI looks likeWhite guy manifestosPalantir published a mini manifesto calling some cultures ‘harmful’ and ‘middling’ and said Silicon Valley has ‘a moral debt’ to the U.S.Why are tech bros so insistent we listen to everything they think?  Were you not listened to as a child?  Did no one ever validate you?  Is this just about sex?  Could you not get laid, and now because you have money you need to get everything you ever thought off your chest?Here are snippets of what Alex Karp, man who couldn’t get laid, thought so important that we know:The postwar neutering of Germany and Japan must be undone.The culture almost snickers at Musk’s interest in grand narrative, as if billionaires ought to simply stay in their lane of enriching themselves . . . . Any curiosity or genuine interest in the value of what he has created is essentially dismissed, or perhaps lurks from beneath a thinly veiled scorn.The ruthless exposure of the private lives of public figures drives far too much talent away from government service.Man who exposes private lives as a business model says it’s badWe, in America and more broadly the West, have for the past half century resisted defining national cultures in the name of inclusivity.All very important points from a man we should clearly listen to about everything - the lane I want you to stay in is “shut the fuck up” lane where, BECAUSE you have billions, I’m not forced to listen to you as if you matterWhite guy philanthropyJeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos Donate $34 Million in Fashion GrantsMacKenzie Scott’s latest donation takes her HBCU giving to well over $1 billionMacKenzie Scott has donated more than $26 billion—but it’s barely made a dent in her net worth because of the power of Amazon sharesHeadliniest of the WeekDR: The blowhards:Sam Altman opens up about the Molotov cocktail attack on his home: 'The way Anthropic talks about OpenAI doesn't help'Nvidia CEO says that AI agents will make workers busier than ever—they’ll ‘harass’ and ‘micromanage’ you, instead of take your jobMcDonald's boss on abuse claims: 'I don't want to talk about the past'Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says you won’t lose your job to AI—you’ll lose it to your coworker who uses it‘I think it’s a mistake’: Delta CEO Ed Bastian refuses to call it ‘artificial intelligence’ because it scares peopleAI will boost productivity so ServiceNow won't have to backfill open jobs, CEO saysDR: The Nutter Chutter Butter Double: Morgan Stanley biotech banker Jessica Chutter joins Tectonic board AND Tectonic Therapeutic Appoints Jessica Chutter to Board of DirectorsI screwed up: blanked and thought that was two different companies. But then I did 3 seconds of research and found that she had joined a second board: PTC Therapeutics on March 24, 2026.MM: Apple’s New CEO Needs to Be a ‘Cowboy’ — But Can He With Tim Cook Still There?MM: SEC Imposes Strict Nine-Year Cap on Independent DirectorsPhillipinesWho Won the Week?DR: Jessica ChutterMM: The Philippines, whose corporate boards will no longer be allowed to have Edward Sylvester of WestAmerica Bancorp, born in 1938 and on the board for 47 yearsPredictionsDR: Nobody ever talks about Jason BonfigMM: Edward Sylvester steps down as Lead Independent Director of WestAmerica Bancorp to take the role of Non Executive Advisor to the Lead Independent Director Emeritus of WestAmerica Bancorp, says the rise of AI calls fresh blood on the board