Transcript
How to wake you up? Yeah. Sometimes I think he falls asleep as soon as the music starts. Is he present? Yeah, it's just thinking live. From your ESG, candy. Hangover three times this week, I've gone to bed with the stomach, a cause I'm eating so much Halloween candy. It's a business can't Friday show here at November 3rd Studios featuring all your favorites are the data Queen, just see the money whispered and all this whole mattress When my like my login is automatically set to analysts hole now and they look at, they were like, analysts. Told what is that like a play on words and I was like, yeah, clearly it's not my name. Hello. I mean, I think to show True commitment to this company, you should legally change your name. Someone has to commit to this company. That's today's weekly wrap up. Union victories. SBF defeats Uber driver victories. 2050 Target defeats weight loss drug victories and glass Cliffs CEO. Rollercoaster, we're going on a roller coaster. Hey, usually it's so awesome. So horribly negative at least. There's some good things in there. Uh, actually this week I've had a hard time with assholes and I won't lie. I only have one depressing story. I only have one depressing story. All right. Well, let's get to that story first. Actually, my third story, let's get to a third. Late breaking news last night. FTX founder. Sam Bateman fried. I don't know why anyone, why I'm the only one with this dumb joke. I don't really get that why they wouldn't get found guilty of all charges and one of the biggest Financial frauds in American history. A jury found. Oh shut up. You weren't paying attention A jury found SPF guilty of seven counts of Fraud and conspiracy after deliberating for about five hours, less than five, that's quick well. How many counts was he? Was he up for that? I don't know. I'm guessing it's seven out of bed, this all charges for everything and I heard his max sentence could be 110 years. Well, yeah, it's almost no faces up to 110 years. He's gonna get a pretty stiff penalty because they're gonna use them. Yeah, but he's gonna be in a minimum security prison with, like, that's good. As long as he has access to Internet, he'll be fine. You know, we're getting this. I thought of a new idea actually. Let me test this thought a punishment for you guys but for when a CEO like does that does something like this does something heinous? Why not? They're clearly good Builders of something. I'm thinking of like Elizabeth Holmes and banking fry, why don't we why don't we just put them in prison? A minimum security prison where they're already gonna be and let them and make them. Let them build a company. We're all the profits go to good like some altruistic company that that be as simple as cleaning. That's their motivation will change. I don't care and then they won't make any, you're talking about labor, camp, I think you're so labor camp. I think you're wrong. Actually, I think they're motivational calendar Camp to get rid of their horrible reputation. Like, you know, I don't know why you would dismiss this idea. Honestly, I think if he had access to Internet and access to computer in prison, he will build something from prison. So yeah, that is my prediction bills doing Bitcoin where no one can find it. Company take that prediction. I don't have, can I just tell you that the great CNBC has above the SPF story? They have a big picture of Jeff Bezos and the headline is Amazon founder. Jeff, Bezos is leaving. Seattle for Miami. Oh this is how much the business news cares about this story. So I did read a story that was like Silicon Valley, shrugs at SPF, because the perfect, he's the perfect Fall Guy, he's the perfect foil, he's a perfect like he's the one bad apple, right? It's only happening. Oh, because Matt it was just him. Right. Matt. There was no other friends. Don't forget his girlfriend. No other co-conspirators. There were, there was no Capital being given to him. There was no one looking the other way. It's just this one Jewish kid who screwed up. I do have to say I'm 75% of the way through Michael Lewis's book and there was a Lot of critics of the book saying, like he went really soft on SPF and like, you know, painted him, this really good light and he clearly liked it actually, they're all wrong. And I've never heard, I've never read a thing that made someone look like more of a dick and an asshole. This book does in every subtle way possible because you read the book and you're like, I know this person, I've met this person, he goes to like, all the best schools. He's got that casual White Privilege about him. He thinks everything can be distilled down to a probability as like, he's because he did because that's that was his reality though. Yeah. Well people don't hate assholes and dicks. They hate math. I mean yeah, I'm the analyst whole, so, yeah. Wait, do they hate me? Not all. Oh, someone here to say that, hey, you have somebody there. Tell me. I'm an, that's the first, big story of the week, second big story of the week, which I think probably other people will cover. So I can go quickly. The United Auto Workers, reaches a deal with GM, which means that they're ending this strike against all three, Detroit automakers. And this is not just like, this is a victory, this is a clear Victory. The the concessions. They're getting are not like, you know, it's not like an 8% raise their laughable. Yeah, this is a true labor win over there. How long from now do we have to wait to say that? Everything GM Ford Stillness? They were saying about like how this will kill EVs and like they already have they already had that but no wait. But how long do we have to wait before we can call them? Call it all bulshit, right? Like, call it all. Negotiating tactics that failed because in the history, I think that I can think of one labor strike that actually killed the company. And that was Hostess Twinkies, went down good. And then got bought by a private Equity Firm and you can still get Twinkies, right? So it didn't really go down. This is this is not to mention, this is like good news. I'm excited for what's gonna happen to Tesla though. Oh okay. That's actually my prediction and I will say that you AWS already gearing up to organize other non-union automakers Tesla being one of them but that's part of my prediction and Matt was the only American one that doesn't have a union. Yeah it's not gonna ever change. Matt to your point, those three companies early reports that they spent at least three. Billion dollars. They lost three billion dollars, dragging their heels on the strike. So I mean like the the pay that they were trying to avoid is roughly what they lost overall, isn't it? Like what are we doing? That we're hating on labor, I guess, I guess that's, they were doing what? We're trying to send a message. Yes. All right. Moving on. What's next third? Biggest story of the week. This is the only depressing one. I really have. The this was this story was the best way to summarize, a lot of the headlines. I've seen over the last three weeks since the war has broken out in the Middle East. The headline is the biggest threat to Global Order since the 1930s is underway, and every CEO is talking about it. Featuring this from JP Morgan. Uh, the JPMorgan CEO. Jamie dimon said, this may be the most dangerous time. The world has seen in decades. He said this in a statement that a company, the banks recent earnings release. So this so this is like part of actual like, alright. So this is like, this is not just him talking to some dope at CNBC. So anyway, I thought this was the best way to kind of summarize all the anks going on, kind of in the CEO world and they're fighting students and they're worried and there's just a lot of weirdness going on. In fact, there was even a story that will be buried that no one will talk about other than us, probably that LinkedIn. Co-founder Reid Hoffman, who's now on the board of Microsoft Office is now going after. And of course, this overlaps with part of our conversation with Nell yes. Yesterday, we talked to the great now, yesterday, Matt, which will release next week, but he's targeting women of color representatives in the Congress, including to leave out of Michigan and Corey bush. In Missouri. He's targeting their seats in Congress. Democrat, he's a Democrat. He's targeting these Democrats because he's pissed off about their response about their points of view on geopolitics. But but there's a lot of craziness going on the CEO world. That's that's all I I do feel like the biggest threat isn't like, because the quote is, like, geo-politics is coming into the boardroom. In a way, it hasn't in my lifetime, that's what Jamie dimon said. And I I actually feel like it's not so much the geopolitics is in the boardroom. It's that geopolitics, thanks to social media and sort of knee-jerk outrage. Woke anti-woke, is binary. Now there's like you can't have an opinion. Unless it's the right one and you don't like and that's right in the air quote, either, you're for anti. Yeah. It's there's never any, there's no conversation, there's no, like, you know, there's no middle ground. There's no like, well, it's possible that this, you know, it was a horrible thing, but also another horrible thing, you know, like it's no conversation. I was gonna say, this is the perfect example that map because the reality of this situation is that it is like a shining example of fraud. It is with confusion. Like it, I am like, like I along with Jamie dimon have been like uber depressed over the last three weeks, but most of it is because most of it is because I have so many complicated feelings trying to figure out how to feel about any of this. But partly based on my identity, partly based on my politics probably based on a lot of things, but there is no black and white on this. Like you're not human. If you have a black and white responds to this, it is because that's not how tragedy works. It's much more. But that's what Like, that's what, like, Reid Hoffman is turning it into, I know, right? I don't like what to leave said. Yeah, primary or get her out. And don't forget to leave Talib is a Palestinian. She is the only Palestinian representative in our Congress. Yeah. But she also happens to be a woman of color. And as we pointed out yesterday, the anti-woke who do they target mostly with this new anti ESG campaign. They target women of color, like that's that might have been the only thing, and you'll hear this in the interview when we drop it next week with Nell. The only thing we said to now that Nell was surprised by when we said that strive Asset Management the anti-woke, we can demonstrate show disproportionately targets women and women of color. Yeah, I think she was a surprise that we that we had a brain cell between the two of us. Oh, was that it? Yeah. Cuz she did. She did she prayed our research? At the end of the show. Me like I'm surprised you guys showed up with a thought. You read a thing which is fine and I don't really care for Fourth, big story of the week. I always pick a just a dumb CEO story. But this, I like this one. HBO CEO, Casey, bloys and one again. Tough name people who write about business, hello? Like if you were writing about the Boston Celtics, like they're great player Jayson, Tatum you wouldn't say the headline, wouldn't say, Boston Celtics starting forward scores 35. I drives me crazy. HBO, CEO, Casey blows admits. He used fake Twitter accounts to troll critics who left negative reviews. And the reason why I picked this story is because he is self owning. This one saying it was a very, very dumb idea to vent my frustration while working from home and doing an unhealthy amount of scrolling through Twitter. So he's admitting that, he's not even doing his job. That's part of his job. I think actually his job should not. It should be not on Twitter though. Like don't scroll Twitter. Absolutely this again, was like this one to me, was there a like anti-semitic tweet that he did to troll was there? Because it seems like he might be apologizing. In like it's like um you know the the guy who Jay walked on Twitter apologizing for jaywalking, meanwhile Nazis are on Twitter, right? Like I don't that is true. It seems a little like, who cares, like if you're on Twitter this is not the worst you could possibly do is nothing. In fact, I found one of the the instances where he created this fake account and this is who he pretended to be one of the troll accounts he created. Was the name of a fake. Texas mom named named Kelly Shepard who's bio describes her. That's really hit him, obviously. Yeah, as a vegan aromo, Aroma therapist and herbalist in Texas, like a red flag. This is a not a real account. And here's what Kelly said, Kelly went after two critics at the New York Times and responded to their lukewarm review of some series called the Nevers and Kelly said, how shocking, that two middle-aged white men are shiting on a show about women. I mean I wish you had just put his actual name attached to that comment. Yeah. Why not? This is all kinds of wrong because can I can I just you know the subtext here that needs to be brought up is that that show he's talking about was created by Josh. Us Wheaton. Who originally created the show? Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yeah, Jaws Joss is is Infamous for a slew of sexual harassment. Yes. So he was like a me too. Yeah. In the production of Buffy and other production so he's actually defending this this as a woman saying that these two men are shiting on a show about women. Like I'm so confused. Right? That's part of the story are, he's actually did. He tried to Outsource the show? He made some of his staff, do some of the trolling and that's how this came up because one of the stuff is suing him. So suing him. Oh, come on. Yeah, you did get this done an upwork for like 80 cents. So we got FTX founder SBF is guilty all charges, UAW reaches the deal and the strikes the biggest threat To humanity since the 1930s and HBO CEOs. Fake, Twitter trolls. And what do you got? Forget about climate change, right? I think the story of the week this week was the UAW. Yeah Union. Yeah it seems like a slam dunk until SBI came, right. I know that was late hard one. It's a hard one. It's just it's not anybody else? Jessie. So Damian doesn't yell at me I'm going to choose ffmpeg The penultimate governance failure and we do governance data. We do people data. It does feel to me like this is the one we should be celebrating we celebrate anything? So I'm going to go with SPF. I mean, did we think he was not going to get found guilty though because no we didn't have a doubt? I didn't either. But I think the Press played a good hand in that. I think the way they portrayed him up until the up until the trial made him seem really guilty. I guess, I don't know, but it's hard. It's hard to see any, you know, any other person getting blamed right? I mean he ran the Enterprise, but yeah. Hey, I got some good news. By the way, in honor of good lies. I have some good news for all the, the people listening to show. This is actually the last Friday I show that I'm gonna be hosting and that Matt's gonna have control over his horrible, son, because I am officially handing this over to Either some combination of Ari and Jesse to host this show. And I'm gonna, I'm gonna sorry next week and I'm gonna say to both of you, I don't know what you're going to work out here. Is that please feel free to throw away. Matt's horrible transition sound effect. Well, you try that one and then they came back with a vengeance. But I'm saying I'm saying, you got you Back and post. I'm saying that's true. That's not one of you knows how to edit a file because I've got sort of do I've got a lot of feedback from fans over the last few days that they are really tired of my voice and my personality. So I'm gonna hand it over. That's true. That is true and you're here. I was wondering if you were just like giving up or no, he's the reality about. You just see the reality is that Matt and I are excited to announce that we're doing on yet. Another Show featuring our horrible voice is called something about the proxy show. We haven't named it yet, but it's gonna be a weekly look into how to vote your proxy and what's going on in annual meetings. So really, it's just, it's just time anyway for this show to, to go over to some better people. I don't. Anyway, we got you, no worries. Well, let's start by doing good list of the week and see if they're actually better. I'm gonna shut up. Oh my stories. No pressure. I probably sent her these stories. So who knows? Here we go. Oh, Uber and Lyft will pay New York 328 million dollars to settle wage theft allegation is that my is that my woman, Letitia not Leticia at work. Yeah. Yeah. Latisha James. So Damien, I don't know about you, but if you drove for Uber or left between 2014 and 2017, you can check if you're eligible for a payout yesterday, New York aged you should James. She announced of this settlement. Because Uber and Lyft stole drivers pay by deducting sales tax, black car, fees and administrative charges. This should all have been paid by the writers Uber when the extra mile here and they LED drivers to believe that they were entitled to charge the writer for any tolls. However, They did not have a way to actually charge the writers for the tolls. So, there were liable. This one, the settlement also includes paid sick, leave and earnings floor, proper hiring, and earnings notices at all. And, you know, this, if you're not sold yet, this is really important. And this is good because two thirds of New York. Gig drivers actually do this full-time. Wait, so this, this is New York. I read this is New York City. This is the entire state of New York. Is that was going on the entire statement. Okay? Can you can we just pause for a second? These two companies you keep talking. First of all, they spent a hundred million dollars in California to stop like to Lobby against the bill that was going to make gig workers effectively labor for the companies. Their entire business model is built on the fact, That these gig workers are contractors. They're not labor, right? It's got to change and meanwhile, they figured out a way to rip off. Yeah. The not labor, labor, right? Like, it's not even like a normal, like we're just gonna rip off our employees because they're not your employees. They're just ripping off everyone. And this is from 2014 to 27, Uber just had its first profitable quarter. This year hey it really needed to apparently maybe it's all a signal that they shouldn't exist. What's the surprise? I agree. I agree. Yeah. Jesse. Didn't you you presented a story about a month ago about a company that is looking to compete with Uber and Lyft using actual drivers as employees, right? Yeah, yeah, that's Ari that won't work. What's the price of me here is that I'm not surprised by Uber, but so both so lift copycat at Uber they're both doing the same exact. They were, they were stealing wages in the exact same way. That's, that's yep. Called it administrative charges. While Uber just went with taxi taxes, and black car fees, okay. And they're told that's the president, it's depressing. I don't know why. This money will go straight to the drivers and they said that, you know, upwards of 100,000 people are entitled to apply for this. Yeah. I mean if its 100,000 that's 3,000 dollars. Oh, that much. Okay. That's something. Yeah. That's good holidays. See that be like if you know you don't hear about that happening. Very often usually it's like here's your one dollar, that's true. I don't know if this one, maybe feel good or depressed. So let's do the next. I feel good. oh this next one, I don't know about if it made me feel good or depressed but Black Rock study finds companies with more women and Workforce outperform rivals, yeah, this because we studied to save these things in order to justify. Yeah tell me about the study Equity so this study looked at data from the last 10 years and found that companies with a greater number of women and management. Yes. Higher standard of maternity policies. They outperformed companies who lag in this area by an average of 29% seems important. This is their returns seems like an important study know my wrong. It's been done before. Okay, why can't we obviously hasn't gotten through to people? We literally did it at msci, this was like our paper, okay? You need to keep listening to. You need to keep it, you need more 29%, I feel like significant, I love, I don't part of the problem is if I when I looked at the paper it was they took like the middle quintile and they didn't adjust for Are like sectors and they included the entire Workforce, right? So it didn't say like it didn't just say, gender parity and management. They didn't use something like influence and power, right? Like they look the ways that they looked at this could buy a certain sectors that have larger female workforces and those sectors could have just outperformed over time. There's a lot of ways that you could like, look at a study like this, and rip it apart. That's why these shows are still sectors, doing the best like Tech, which is dominated by men. I don't know about that, they're not looking at education, I'm just nominated and I women getting paid pennies. Say something even more important to this, because I'm like, guys are boring me with your your making this good story about how dare you make this bad man. From the ESG data perspective, this this speaks to something that's always irritated me, is that? Yes we have great. Here in the US in the west, we have really easy access to the boards of directors at this company's, right? So we can collect a lot of data. We can do a lot of analysis, but what we don't have easy access to is Senior Management. Is it is a other than the top five, highly paid, you know, Executives in the America you don't get this information which is always pissed me off. Like, I we need access to Executive data executive information. We need this. I agree with you, but I do think the good is part of this story is not the findings for BlackRock, but the fact that in the midst of like, hard-line conservatives in America targeting women and people of color and Dei and the whole thing BlackRock, actually published the study that basically a middle finger, all of them like a big fuck you. Because they think that was their intention. No, I don't think that was their intention, but they could have shelves it, right? Like, they're not even talking about ESG. Anymore, give them that much credit. I just think it's a bigger deal that they actually published the study, then then the findings of the study right? I mean, hopefully I like both Of course, of course, you know, their portfolio, managers diversify a little, right? And by the way, BlackRock people buy our data block, I will say this, that we dig pretty deep for our stories around here. I mean, I spend an inordinate amount of time. Looking for stories to tag for our long for our Enterprise. Is this came from didn't come from, CNBC didn't come from Ford didn't come from business inside or Wall Street Journal like came from investment week.co so it's not exactly. This is why this is why not screaming they're not shouting this from the rooftops? Yeah I mean this is why you need more studies like this because people need to know these things. Anyway, keep going. All right. E-cigarettes used to climb declines among high school students. FDA and CDC says, are you feeling good or depressed? I think you want a vaping stories. Are what is that about? You know, you vape pens have batteries in them. So it's really just an extension of a battery. Are you a former Vapor re be honest? No, no, never have. All right, but the 2023 National Youth tobacco survey findings released yesterday showed that between 2022 and 2023 E6. Use among high school students declined from 14% to 10%. And I want to remind you that in 2019. It was 28%, sales reported recently, the alcohol use is dropping with young kids too, right? Like beer. Oh no that they're rejecting here. They they favored non-alcoholic yeah. Okay yeah I I will tell you you there was that like in people in their 20s. Yeah well those are young people that's me Jesse. I will say the only thing I ever praised America for is I am, I am always exhilarated impressed. I don't know what the word is. I I can't believe that we seem to be the only country that has solved the cigarette problem. Like, Americans don't seem to smoke anymore. What is amazing? I don't try to make a comeback with Jewel and vaping. That's why a bunch of kids ended up in the hospital. I believe it was July of 2019 with lung problems. A bunch of kids actually died from vaping. They didn't realize that there was nicotine in vaping and one of the things that the FDA did was banned flavors. So you couldn't like Vape your mango. Or cotton candy or whatever. Alright alright this is the one thing that's actually helped this is the one that gives me hope because this is why I like to refer to social media. I put it in our drugs category because if we can if we can regulate the hell out of tobacco and have some effect here, then we can do other things we can that's actually doing something with you and you know granted, even though For example, fbar this Chinese brand Vape. It has been banned by the FDA but you can still find it on shelves around the country. The CDC trying trying to or CDC and FDA are trying to fight. All right, stop legal, stop me with your vape stores. What else? Come on. Well, I think the UAW, yes. And what we talked about this, I don't know if we talked about this no or Wednesday map, but also just the strategy used for this picture right was just incredible. The dude was playing chess. It was awesome. Really awesome. And every and and Mary Barra was was she was busy being like I didn't get like a 40% increase. I got a 30s from each company, there is literally no comeback for CEOs making like roughly 40 million dollars a year, because of equity, because of getting options. When the market is down. There's no comeback for that. That's why. So, that's my vote you, of course, I don't think even read Damon when you when you talked about it I think you mentioned that the starting wages increased by 68%. Yeah they got your path to top wages went from eight years to three years which is that over time though or it's like no immediately and because I know something was like over 10 years and I was like well that's annoying know. There's Jesse, there's really nothing. There's nothing annoying about this Victory, they all reinstated cost of living adjustments that got rid of tiered pay they have the right to strike over plant closure. There's so much they're getting, it's just it's good. It's good stuff. I don't think this is it. I think it's gonna keep going. I don't think it's the top. I actually don't, I think this is gonna be the model. I've been reading a little bit about the types of people. They use to, you know, they the types of people, the UAA W hired to help organize and help make this fight. I think they're going to use this model. I think the billionaires know now. I think actually like their marshaling it okay, they're all narcissists. You think that? They're like oh this Happened to me. I'm gonna pay attention 100%. Oh, 100%, you've got a billion. Have never happened. No, it could happen to Tesla because they're so busy washing unions from even starting that they're terrified. That it could happen. That's why they do all the quashing, that's why you have Amazon killing unions. You've got musk killing unions everybody, trying to kill unions, there were all trying to kill it because they know that this is, this is a potential outcome. So, I think the that this is like, this is like not a shot across the bow. This is like, okay, this is a real problem. I'm incredibly about this because there's clearly a strategy that other unions can use here clearly. So this was a sweep. The UAW is the win, which means we're on to First asshole, you're gonna have to I'm gonna force you to listen to this full list. Oh boy. Please don't please don't do that. I wish you had the leaders of these companies. Well, were you doing in between explosion? Now, I wasn't going to but now I might know here here but I will make it a little bit more entertaining for you. Here we go. These people. Yeah, Lightspeed Venture Partners. New Enterprise Associates, Sequoia Capital Insight Partners, Thomas Bravo. Third Point van X. Soft Bank. Circle Financial Group, Ribbit Capital altimeter Capital, Willoughby, Capital Hudson River, Trading Senator Investment, Group, multicoin, Capital coinbase, Ventures bond price, Capital standard Investments Paradigm Casino, Global capital, Institutional Venture Partners to temasek Holdings. Ontario teachers, Pension Plan tiger, Global Management, BlackRock iconiq, Capital C, capital steadview, capital and SB and investment advisors and finally Paradigm, you forgot why you forgot Insight Partners. How dare you. I think I said them twice. That's why they were at the top. That is the list of assholes who did literally zero, due, diligence at all, because they were so found or fetishized, they demanded no books, no accounting, and they cave to whatever the founders demands were in that founder was Sam. Bankman freed who's found guilty on seven counts of Fraud and conspiracy so they gave him money, they gave him billions know, I'm up is this the list of investors that we need to hit up, right? Yeah but no we have the billions but they they were willing to look the other way without no risk. In place. The government. It was a governance shit show and they were willing to look the other way. They didn't care. I can't I cannot fathom and now they're all in line as you know, assuming obviously and trying to get like a claim on ftx's payouts, they probably won't because their Equity holders. So that these are losses for them. The customers should get made whole first and anyone who issued a bond. But the fact that I just listed, it's a lot, 25 funds that's a while. Like that's, that's a joke. It's a joke that that many firms were so fucking focused on the fact that FTX was pulling in billions. Despite the fact that I had no governance, no books, no audits, they did. No due diligence on anything they just gave him money because they thought that guy's making money handle this. And he seems so cool. You know, who agrees with you? Charlie Munger. He's calling out. Venture Capital firms this week. Yeah, for one I agree with Charlie. So tangentially here. Along the lines of your talking about founder fetish. We work according to the Wall Street Journal set to file for bankruptcy early next week so yeah, another one yeah, congratulations to Everyone who's failed everywhere. Now, like a part of this was like a culti thing too, because when you in Michael Lewis's book, he spends a lot of time, talking about the effective, altruists. The effective altruism movement. And it's it's it's it's a fucking cult. It's like, it's designed for specifically, for effectively white billionaires to feel like, well I can use my mathematical god-given, you know, a genius to really Target the most effective philanthropy. Not like you pee owns who work with humans. I'm going to use probabilistic models to say. This is how you should give your money away. And by the way, in order to get to that state, I need a tremendous amount of money to do it. So I will kill pillage and rape all along the way anyone in my way to get the money so that I can donate it to the people like killing pillaged in. This is a great model, isn't it? Like I, I will steal the collective well and so that I can give it back to you in a way the ID necessary and Lewis points out in the book, too. That like that, that in, there are few places that he's ever seen where people fought about having more money than themselves individually, then effective Ultra who All like have this narcissistic belief that they and only they are the ones who can Dole out the money effectively, right? Which means there's it should be well, we all believe in the same kind of movement, which means we should collectively pull the money and we should use it for good. No, you know, sandbank been free. Gave no one equity in the company. He like until he sold off bits of it to venture capital, he like, he wanted to keep every dollar for himself. Like it was crazy best because he really speaking to the raw of the VC World in general map because you a lot of it is they're looking for the unicorns, right? They're looking for the Adam Newman's in the FBI's because you they know that if you invest in 100 companies and you've been 100 nurses, one of these nurses is going to figure out how to make that company. Yeah, it's right become worth 60 billion dollars. So they they're basically betting our narcissistic behavior because that's the only way you can grow to Else so quickly and ignore the rest of the world, while you just like, chew them up, like, you know what? It says Uber really depressed. It's know. It says, to me, it says, to me, I need to go like, like to more VC calls. Go ahead shirtless talking about how if you didn't get a massage, if you didn't invest in me, you're the biggest idiot that I've got. To do that, you're joking. But there's a lot you know, I'm clearly there's a lot of Truth to that statement. I mean there's it's not completely unfounded what you're saying. I I know because I was on a call with a shirt listening. That's true. We already talked about Right. But Uber was created by that behavior, right? Travis kalanick, right? I'm who was eventually ousted from his own company because he's such a poor. I started a new firm, such an important person things, but I'm saying that that that's what made Uber into what it is today. It was that that narcissistic behavior and that's why he was so heavily invested in anyway. So that's asshole number one, that list of 25 people who haven't given money to free flow to do governance work, but they gave money to SBS. I don't have money for governance because they know governance Works true. Yeah, maybe Jesse's right. Maybe they just didn't have a budget for just have money for gaming. Well, that actually is bad for us. All right, number two, I read this headline and it made me realize every company with a 2050 carbon Target is still an asshole because this is been in the asshole the week before. The headline is in early, 2029 Earth will likely lock into breaching. Key warming threshold scientists calculate. So, here's a quick calculation for you. There are 2800 company, constituents of the msci, acwi index that is the basically Global large cap index by msci. 574 of those companies have set 2050 targets, so 574 of you will be approximately 21 years too late to do anything about climate change. Meanwhile, 1300 of those companies have set targets after 2029 so 2030 targets 2040 targets. So fully one in two companies on the msci ACT, we index have targets after we've locked in death. Congratulations, idiot companies, and that doesn't even count the companies. They are company that set. No target, you kind of look better at this point better off. At least you're not promising, you didn't make it matters. I mean you're giving credit to Starbucks, who was promising to have recycled Lids by 2027? Are they all gonna be the same size as an interchangeable? These are strictly carbon targets. Not come on, what else? Lid Target. Come on. Alright, number three, And we talked about this a couple of times, but I'm just making an asshole this week appointing directors. Notice, I didn't say electing directors, I said, appointing directors because I got all excited. This is, this is an insight into how nerdy I am. Last night, I'm reading stuff and I'm looking through SEC Edgar. As I do on a Thursday night is one would and the Winnebago proxy dropped last night, Winnebago. Yeah. The the RV company. It dropped like a hot record by Drake, DJ Diesel, and then I was looking through their filings because I saw that their proxy dropped, and I was gonna go look through it. And when I found out there was an 8K that I missed from October 11th, 2023, this was the 8K, Winnebago Industries, a point, Stacy kroon to board of directors, a points. So the proxy dropped last night. Last night, in case you're calculating is not October 11th. This is actually November 2nd. And the AGM where they elect directors is that for December 14th. Stacy crone. Gets to serve on the board for two full months before she's elected to the board. Yeah. Somebody explained to me how this is allowed. Can we use? What is this? Where the president? Can I appoint the next president before the election? I have some ideas. Unbelievable. Like why don't we? Like, that's this is supposed to be a democracy worse. She got put on the comp committee before the proxy dropped, which means there's a chance before the proxy dropped that she had to vote for CEO. Michael Happy's pay. She was appointed by this board who Michael happy sits on the board. Was she feeling a seat? I don't understand. Probably, I mean, it almost doesn't matter, though. I can't. They just wait two months. Yes, the answer is. Yes, absolutely can. Wait, two months. Yeah, we talked about this too much work here. Did we not talk about this all with? No, I'm plugging her interview again. See we did. We did talk to her about it and I think she was as baffled as we were that it happened. Although she did not like my idea of having everybody at the annual general meeting like five candidates, have to like get up and give a stump speech like to have like stand there. And be like, oh, as a member of this board, I promise that I will reign in spending and like that one. That's why. Oh, that's what it was. So I'm making a pointing director's a, and asshole the week. I mean, she just as a side note, she got to vote on the 19th, increase in the CEO stock award pay. And this is the same CEO whose 2022 option award. The strike price of the options was below market price on the day. They granted him though. So so all he had to do was not tank the company, he didn't have to grow anything, he didn't have to do anything, he had to exist for three years to get or like to make money on that or just hope the General market goes up. And then he just benefits from just being there, right? So appointing director's is an asshole and finally because the good news here is that as we've learned The people who vote their proxies and the proxy advisors they don't care. Anyway, they're gonna tell you to vote for her, no matter what. So, yeah, that 96% doesn't matter. No one cares. We've been told repeatedly to suggest otherwise would be rude. Aggressive aggressive, oh, bad, party Behavior. Finally, the man directly responsible for the Ducks of college students across the country for having dumb ideas is decrying, the amplification of idiots. Oh, no, humanity is on a rapid path to Oblivion. Billionaire investor, Bill Ackman, urges, Mark, Zuckerberg and Elon Musk to stop amplifying hate for dollars. I mean, I can't like that though, except that he's on Twitter saying, the things about dogs, Twitter, he's on Twitter, he's doing this stuff on Twitter and saying, stops amplifying hate on Twitter, on an anti-semites platform. About raving about anti-Semitism anti-Semitism. I'm really really to me that little does to me is still the story that I can't believe more people don't talk about that these CEOs who are, you know, very rightly fighting against anti-Semitism, I get it, I get them, I get what Bill ackman's doing, but to do it on Twitter, on this, this rabbit. This is one of the most rabid anti-semites I've come other than, maybe, Kanye West. This dude is a piece of shit, and to do it on his platform is not, it's just on top, just top it off with the ask of names of children, so that you can never hire them. Again, like, names of children. Bill, you've never said anything. You wouldn't take back like they say, no critical thinking going. It's all their emotions. They all need deep deep therapy and public. Not to. Yeah. Go ahead. Jessie. I was gonna say, stop. Stop reacting, like They should not be allowed to say shit, so she just turn off his finger, they're not mature enough, not to maturity the emotional intelligence as a being Jewish in America. I could Damian is one of the few safe places for Jewish people in America. So it's like it's ironic that they're coming after Academia. Like it's they don't know what the hell they're doing on sleep. Well, here's the second headline from this past week. Billionaire. Bill Ackman calls on Harvard to suspend students who allegedly remove Jewish student from protests. So now he's intervening with the Harvard Administration. Yeah, with a punishment is crazy, dude. Crazy. He doesn't, he doesn't agree with. I mean like, like and this is like, this is what you're doing with your time. It is really really don't have any fucking other thing to do, don't you? Don't you have to be busy, losing your Herbalife? That's now like again, what does he need to do again? What makes me says that he could be taking this? And I get I again, I get yes exactly. Yes. I get the anger. I just don't get the target. It makes absolutely no sense. So billionaires are they're all big bullies that have no emotional intelligence and no maturity honestly, at some point. So right, just do they have to stop living and like a Judd? Apatow movie. Can we all stop being diapers? Like movies. So your assholes are the list of people who find it SBF. Every company with a 2050 carbon Target, giving that we're dead by. Then appointing directors and said of electing them and the man responsible for ducks in college students, still running his mouth. What do we got? This anybody want to go first, I don't want to go first to me, it's between that that initial list and I enjoyed the theater of that. By the way, I'm at congratulations that initial list That supported SBF and then of course, Bill Ackman. That's for me. That's what I'm debating. I'm gonna go. I think that the list, the SBF list is a bit more. Timely in the sense that this story is about to die forever. Whereas the Bill Ackman thing is gonna keep going for months. Yeah. So I'm voting for The the list. That was sad statement. No risk management shit show of corporate governance and I'm sure most of these people on their websites. Probably praise their ESG programs and they they virtue signal their, you know, their ESG departments. And so it's all that's my vote Jesse. I am actually gonna go with the 2015 carbon. Oh, trying, but actually not trying at all hard enough or none of the things that they're trying are going to actually positively affect where we are. We'll start to vote differently. So, you know what is just is that it's because it's entered in that, like, most exhausting category that people are, they don't even know how to talk about this anymore. But yeah, Ari. I'm gonna go with appointing directors. Yeah, that's just because like good day for Matt telling everybody, we're gonna assume that this person will be elected because that's just like, they're so out in the open with it, I hate it. The assumption is a pure asshole move. There's no way, you'd vote against whatever he said, I hate that. And that was, I'm glad you are, because that was exactly knows Point. There's a, there's an arrogance because we, the CEO creates the board, and there's an arrogance behind it, right? That's the part. That is most troubling. Matt, you gotta break the time. Wow, that I didn't want to break a tie because I chose the mall, and I think they're all legitimate get to it. I'm gonna go with. I'm gonna go with Ari, and a pointing is what I'm gonna go with this. I'm gonna go over that every even though that's every week, but look investors, You don't have to vote for the director who got appointed, you can vote them out. I don't care that they've been there for two months, in management, chose them. And it feels like icky, you don't, you don't owe them a thing like you vote them out. Just say, you know what? I'm not cool with you were pointing a director without me getting a vote, so don't do it anymore. Vote them out. Vote every new appointed director out, then you've got a direct or slot for you to fill that. Yeah. Say, no. I think part of the problem is a, it's this is like a human resources issue because maybe you would be awkward for direct to the your first day on the job is the annual meeting is not like that's a lot of pressure right, man. I know you're making like I know you're making 400,000 dollars to show up three times a year, but there's got to be a lot of pressure when you show up all the shareholders are there, they put the best bagels around like they put that director and like the farthest seat at the end of the really long table. And they're like, oh thanks to Stacey for joining us today, and they wave at the end of the table and Stacy raises her glass of tea and that's it. That's all she has to do. She has to get asked a question because everyone's like, she just got here, don't ask her anything ever. She just Where the microwave is? Yeah, exhaust us. Yeah. Come on. Depress me, Jesse. Oh, I will not ready. First up, one of my favorite companies, McDonald's are suffering difficult consumers suffering. Different can actually be a good thing for his business during the cute. Three earnings. Oh, yes. Is that considered a joke, Max? Remember, we covered CEO. Joking. That earnings call their, for the stock price. Know, I know, I think he was actually legitimately excited. This? Yeah. This is serious. He said it's clear that consumers continue to be more discriminating about what and where they spent. However, he continued in a difficult and difficult, Economic Times, the McDonald's brand, and our positioning on value is an opportunity. Wow, this is this is downturn. Something that can only be said by someone making 21.5 million dollars last year going for you. Also my interject as a person who probably frequency McDonald's the most out of everybody. Oh, it's not cheap. Yeah, I was gonna say Jesse that one of the reasons why they're getting a stock bump is because they're showing the raising prices have helped them this year. They're making a shit ton more money by prices. Yeah, Like when I'm done I'm like I might as well have gone to Chipotle know you're right, you're crazy right about this. What's crazy to me about this is, can we just subsidize healthy grocery store? Just what a socialist. Oh God. What's your next Story? Come on. My next story, is very closely related to this. Well, it's tangential to this, meanwhile, Novo Nordisk Lily. I know this is the insatiable demand for weight loss. I mean they must they must be colluding on this. Well, just fascinating about these weight loss drugs is that it's not like the way it works is that you eat a ton and then you take the pill and you lose the weight. It's it actually makes you kills your appetite right? You know. Yeah. So you're disgusted by the thought of McDonald's. So what's happening? Oh, they can't afford shopping at the grocery store. So they're going out, they're buying their McDonald's. And then a several Months later they're like oh I'm really, really large. Now I need to go ask for My weight loss drugs. Yeah. And then not eat for a little while, but then once they stopped taking them all day, you're imagining by the way? Yeah, McDonald's consumers. McDonald's. By the way, they're bored is one of the most interconnected incestuous boards in the United States. So congrats to them for stepping out ahead of coming out of Chicago. That's no surprise. I will say like I I feel strongly against these weight loss, drugs, I do know that there are certain purposes where they can be beneficial. Like if people are diabetes and they will diabetes, of course, that's what they're made for. But if people are very obese and they need to drop some weight fast in order to be able to continue on, like, a more sustainable, regiment fine, but they're being way abused and overused. So this is exhausting to me. Especially piggybacking off of that other hat. Don't say piggy while doing this. Oh, all right and then this last one it's kind of long so you gotta stick with me here but great. The headline is Qantas Quantum. Yeah, burns, the remaining Goodwill as new CEO. Vanessa, Hudson sticks to Allen Joyce's old script. So we talked about Vanessa Hudson, right? We were all like Okay, Glass cliff and sucks for her because one of the first things, if not the first thing she did was apologize. For literally the entire history of Alan, Joyce, when she took over a CEO, something that we didn't discuss. And that kind of was skimmed over in a lot of the articles, I read, when I covered that story, it was the fact that she was the CFO and very much like kind of a right hand man to him. So she did take part in some of his she definitely had the position to, like, challenge him and the decision to was making and she didnt. So point that out, but She's gone around the whole first few months that she's been CEO, she's gone to the customers. The staff shareholders saying that she's gonna Resurrect The airline's reputation and all of that she was building up some good will if you will and then no puns. This article said, She opted to detonate the sliver of Goodwill during this past week because she lodged a highly technical defense against the Australian competition and consumer commission legal action. Alleging that Qantas sold thousands of tickets to unsuspecting customers on flights that are already apologized already and Goodwill. Why are they mounted a defense right? So she did that which is Shady right. Okay. So that's an alarm, and then Hudson and goiter had to stand in front of like all of these angry people at their annual general meeting and Try to be honest and truthful and transparent and instead or at least they had the opportunity to be and instead they were vague, they were shutting people down. Goiter, tried to stifle questioning particularly around, how he let Joyce self 17 million worth of Qantas shares, right before he left, like just being grimy. So chairman goiter is actually leaving. So really, this detention really is on Hudson here. So the truth comes out on what type of person. She is becoming and that maybe her act over the past few months was just that. But I did want to point out a silver lining here. The AGM culminated in 83 percent vote against the airlines information report, which is close to record. Yeah, but I will say this, can I make it a bit of a bronze lining though, Jesse because? Okay, because I will say this about that and we're talking next week. I think we're gonna have Rachel Alan Bacchus on the show. She's a managing editor of FS sustainability. Yeah. So she'll go more deeply into these Australian topics but the way it works in Australia is this is that you need two consecutive votes against say on pay the first vote. Although alarming is not binding, unfortunately. But if you have a second vote against it, what it allows you to do as a shareholder and Australia, is you get the opportunity to vote against the whole slate of directors, you're allowed to vote out the directors. So you get two negative votes creates this third option, to vote out the entire board. So, we'll see what happens vote against her pay. No. All pay. All the whole, the whole day. Yeah. So but it's her Plus board, right? Because Joyce is the one who walked away with the money. And she, I read her contract. She got half of the money offered that Joyce got. Like she basically took a 50%. Pay cut to do all of this horrible work and now goiters leaving too. He's already made Millions for me, didn't he say he wasn't going to step down. Know he was then he now he says he is in 2020 because my guess is just spend more time with his family. Yeah. Yeah. I think anyways, we should set up for failure. We knew this. So just goes through the point and just exhausting, you're right to point out though. She is a life for a contest. She's been their CFO. Wow, this whole thing about the tickets was happening. You don't think she knew what they were that they were selling tickets for flights that were canceled. It is a bit unusual because usually in this clean up situations and his glass Cliff CEO situation, you do find outside her to take all the. Yeah. So she she does deserve some of To see. All right. All right. So we've got McDonald's, really excited about McDonald's. Difficult time. We are not, we have the weight loss drug demand and we have Qantas. Goodwill exploding, no, wait, not exploding. That native? I don't like that. I don't like that. You know, I find the McDonald's story refreshing, not exactly. Like you are just excited to eat there. It's just you know honestly is oh that's one way of looking at this. Yeah. Play book. That's true. That's true. That's one way. You know what? It's true. See that that's not your vote. I'm guessing that's capitalism in a nutshell. How are the Qantas story? Definitely exhausted me. So I'm gonna go with that. It is getting exhausted. We're covering Qantas more than anyone on the planet. There was a lot of Qantas headlines, to be honest. I'm gonna go with McDonald's because and Ari's wrong, because this, it may have been unspoken before but it's not unspoken in. If you like look at the stock prices, if you trade like the history of economic downturns, how people's behavior changes during downturns, they know people turn to fast food and cheaper food and like more soda, more like a household name. So I actually think that this is like part of an ongoing, you know, multi-decade little Process. That feels much more exhausting than the other two. Oh, you're exhausted by the cycle. Yeah, this is like another cycle. He has lived through more of those and we have Oh, I will say this, Matt, I I do want to vote for McDonald's because can we add to that the way we pray on people in this economy, right? Could we add to that places? Like Walmart and Target that sell shit? That just fails after like two months or like last appliances, clients is now last like two years. And that's okay. Meanwhile, my mom had a dryer from Kenmore that lasted her like 30 years, but now it breaks out in three years, it's like, oh, you know, but it's true. Like we we find these price points that's just below quality to prey on people who can't afford things that actually lasts. And it's it's It's really, really, it's not that people can't afford it. I feel like people are always looking out for deals, like Black Friday deals. For example, TV manufacturers, makes specific Black Friday TVs to sell that are lower quality. Yeah, I absolutely did not agree with you already. I the pricing is, is intentionally leading people who can't afford things who live week to week on their paychecks. They're, they're pushing them towards the crap, I don't think they'll throw away. Connie is started with people who can't Forte. I think it's started people that can't afford too much shit and they don't care. Well they have so yeah, go ahead. Let's just say that no one's right but Damien, all right. Moving on to even We didn't even oh wait, you didn't vote, I didn't vote. We don't like consensus voted. Yeah I wanted I because I really I'm gonna vote for. I'm getting tired of hearing about this weight loss drug. It's like, every new song Jessie Break the tie quickly. Oh, geez. Oh, Quantus and predictions. I have a quick winner. Now the queen of good corporate governance. We interviewed her yesterday we'll put out the shows next week. For this reason alone, she's probably the only person we're included in this. She's the probably the only person who can talk about corporate governance and I'm actually interested. It's like she's so good. No, she's really so good at what she does. She's so just media friendly listenable, she's really just a great Storyteller. A few stories and the episode went way long because Damien would not shut because she interesting, she's actually a fanboy. I have a winner. It was announced this week that Taylor Tomlinson is slated to have her very own late night show first BBS. Yeah. First one to do that right? Yes. Network Know, first female, Knight nighttime, shows the youngest Joan Rivers. She's the youngest that's on a network. That's the CBS. This is the first like big Network woman, right, please? What century do you live in? Like good, like, CBS ABC, NBC are like they matter anymore. I'm trying to give her some credit. Just get over. I saw her. I saw her perform live a few months ago. So, yeah. So she will be the youngest by 20 years at least and the only woman by the time she's on TV. So this is great. That's good. I my winner is as you sow. As you sell, which is a non-profit. Based in California, they actually file a lot of proxies and aldair, always targeting things. Like, you know, give us a report that on how you're dealing with diversity issues inside your company or carbon or things like that. They're like, they're one of the woke, just got subpoenaed by Jim Jordan for potential antitrust violations. And and I mean all they they're not profit, right? Like so the Antichrist violation is like they are coalescing. Investors around a social good to stifle competition and it's the most heinous like stupid subpoena I've ever read. That's created had no hint of irony and where does a badge of honor as you sow? Because the idiots, think you're a threat, the idiots think you're the threat. I know, right? I'm jealous. Justin sorry, 13, victims of sexual assault. Finally get some justice 2020. 20 came forward but 13 were cited. Oh, management to close after sexual assault allegations. I know I'm surprised a whole company. Crispin odey has already been ousted the founder. He already, he's already been ousted, but five months after the allegations these 20 women came forward odey. Asset management is too close. Yeah, he's alive. And I want to read this quote because I wasn't sure like, oh, is this good. But here's a quote from one of the women. My overriding reaction is one of hope. I pray not naive. Hope the fact that his demise once it started was so Swift and clear, does give me hope that attitudes are changing. And that women might start to believe that they can speak up. So I haven't read anything else about any CEO founder that has committed sexual assault. Having their company closed. This quickly. They don't even get to, they don't even mostly have to like, pay money or do it. Like sometimes they just sell off to myself. Anyways, I loved this. I thought that was great. Was this? Get with the week into predictions? Damian your prediction. Yeah, after yours at the United, Auto Workers successfully unionizes, more non-union, car companies, I know they're going out for Toyota and others. We're about to be flooded with 10,000. Horrible, Elon Musk headlines on why unions are evil. We're here, we're gonna hear every opinion about why he hates his workers and why he hates unions and are they leaving, are they going to leave the US, like, manufacturing wise? How are people gonna still work there so much more money at the other three? Because it's a cult of Elon. They're gonna stay because they worship The Cult of Elon. I believe. Jesse are you guys have predictions Tesla's? You know, Tesla's Union since we're like way over that I'll have the last short prediction here which is The weird music. Oh, wait prediction. That's the wrong music. My final prediction is free floats. New proxy driven show on the alternative democracy is a massive hit an anticipation of that. A sponsor emerges to be our key partner in delivering literally the best and only proxy recommendation show in the history of shows. Is that you listening, are you That sir. Know any inquiry. Like we'll take a t-shirt for it. That is Jesse. The money was for Ari the data Queen. Damien. The guy who says stuff and I am an analyst whole we are free float. Come back next week with more stuff until then good. Bye.