The Best Newsletter Yet

Happy Saturday Besties,

Let’s play 2 truths and 1 lie, the answer is at the end.

• Brands are turning to turtles instead of bunnies this Easter

• The earth is spinning too fast

• 7-Eleven is selling hot dog sparkling water

This week’s newsletter is 10% of the best of the pod and 90% things we had to share off the record. 

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• 🔺The S&P 500 rose 11% for its best 1st quarter in 5 years. With the buzz that the Fed will likely cut rates this year, investors are feeling the vibes.

• 🔻Canada Goose, the luxe parka label, announced layoffs of 156 employees this week. The stock is now down 34% in the past year.

  • Big picture: This represents a greater trend in the slowing demand for high-end brands.

  • Aaaand the weather: The warmer winter also meant thick jacket sales were slimmer than forecast (literally).

  • 🚨 BTW: This site, while grim, is where we go to track all layoffs.

• 🔻DraftKings stock fell 7% this week after NCAA Prez Charlie Baker pushed to ban college prop bets (bets on any part of the game except the final score… like “will Caitlin Clark where yellow shoes”). And sports gambling scandals are running up the score…

  • 1: The news of the MLB’s Shohei Ohtani’s now-fired interpreter alleged theft rocked the world.

  • 2: And now the NBA’s Jontay Porter is under investigation for leaving 2 games citing injury.

  • 3: Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff says that gamblers got his phone number and have threatened his family.

  • 🚨 The Takeaway: The legalization of gambling came fast, the unintended negative consequences are coming faster.

🥞 Pancake problems: Canada, the world leader in maple syrup production, has reported its major reserve in Quebec is at a 16-year low — It’s at just 7% of what it was 4 years ago. The Quebec province alone produces 90% of Canada’s total syrup, so this is extra sticky.

• Experts are citing rising demand and climate change messing with trees’ sap production. We haven’t seen any Maple-flation yet, but it might be time to learn how to tap a tree.

• Modern Retail: It’s a hub for innovative retail stories. We just “bull penned” a story from it about how food & beverage brands are creeping into beauty…

  • Like Liquid Death’s collab with E.L.F Beauty on new “Corpse Paint” ☠️ or Kosterina Extra Virgin Olive Oil for your face 🫒

Last week, on news that Ranch had become America’s #1 sauce/dressing, we asked you: What is the supreme sauce?

• “Ranch makes everything better. Hot sauce leads to antacids.”

• “Hot sauce is winners”

• “The real winner is a combo of ranch and Sriracha to get the best of both world.“

🌶️🌶️🌶️

Larry Fink’s annual letter to investors: We’ll share the points we found most interesting.

• Our attitude towards retirement savings & weight loss drugs are conflicting … Fink says, “as a society we focus a tremendous amount of energy on helping people live longer lives. But not even a fraction of that effort is spent helping people afford those extra years.“

• What Fink calls the most concerning data point in his 50 years in finance: “Young Americans today are 50% more likely to question whether life has a purpose (compared to 20 years ago) — 4-in-10 say it’s ‘hard to have hope for the world.’”

• The Netherlands’ appropriate approach to the retirement age. “The nation automatically adjusts the retirement age as the country’s life expectancy changes.”

• Pinterest’s “Envy Office” in Chicago: This office space is what dreams are made of. But the snack situation (what really matters) is the real highlight.

  • The spirit is “finding ways to make every space multifunctional,” says the head designer. In snack terms, that means employees can get their RX Bar and use the space to record cooking demos or create mocktail content. This is a peak perk.

• The Best Fact about Perks: A 2023 study revealed that the most appreciated work perk is food. Not shocking, but it’s often overlooked and Pinterest’s spread (see pic) addresses that. Free food at the workplace resulted in…

  • Job acceptances (50% reported it played a role)

  • Staying at a company (46% reported this is a factor)

  • More productivity (53% reported this feeling)

💰 If you invest in your retirement, you pay less taxes.

Here’s how:

• When you invest in stocks through a regular brokerage account, you pay taxes twice:

  • 1st on the wages you earned that you now invest, then 2nd on the investment gains you make when you eventually sell at a gain.

But if you invest in stocks through a retirement account, you only pay taxes once:

• 401k skips the wage tax part

• IRA skips the investment gains part

The Best part? The government wants you to invest in retirement, that's why they're tempting you with the tax hall pass.

• Business: Earnings from Levi👖 and Lamb Weston (America’s biggest potato company) 🍟

• Holiday: Easter Sunday

👂 Monday: The Best startup to extend your dog’s lifespan

👂 Tuesday: The Best update to the Spotify app

👂 Wednesday: The Best way to save for retirement

👂 Thursday: The Best flavor of flamin’ hot controversy

👂 Friday: The stock market was closed and so were we

 👀 Next Monday’s pod: #EclipseBoomTowns — The local cities and towns benefitting big from the Solar Eclipse $$

And one more thing. Want to see what we got into over our 3-day weekend?? Reply “3 DAY WEEKEND.” (spoiler: Peeps vs Reese’s)

🍬🐰🐣

2 Truths and a Lie answer: Hot dog bubbly — Truth, Spinning fast — Truth, Easter turtle — Lie.

—Nick & Jack