🍋 Adam Neumann is Not F***king Leaving

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Good Morning! The Great Resignation keeps getting greater. A record 4.53 million workers quit their jobs in November, an 8.9% increase from October and broke September’s high-water mark of 4.36 million. Restaurant and health-care workers were responsible for much of the rise in "quits." Fake meat also keeps getting bigger. KFC is launching a plant-based fried chicken in partnership with Beyond Meat nationwide. The US reported a record 1 million Covid cases as most states worked to clear backlogs after pausing during the New Year’s holiday.

For those looking to invest their (hopefully BIG) bonus checks, check out today's sponsor Masterworks, which allows you to invest in blue-chip art.

1. Story of the Day: Adam Neumann is Not F***King Leaving

Adam Neumann is not going anywhere. Well, he's left WeWork but he still hasn’t gone to an island in the Caribbean where we never hear from him again.

Neumann is the disgraced WeWork founder that sweet-talked his company into a $47 billion valuation and raised more than $10 billion in the process. He positioned WeWork as a tech company despite it being a real-estate company. Softbank aped into the deal and is sitting on massive losses with the $7 billion WeWork is worth today after going public in Oct ’21.

Neumann got a fat check to break-up though ($1.7 billion), which he is actively putting to work into apartment buildings across the country. He has acquired majority stakes in ~4,000 apartments valued at more than $1 billion in Miami, Atlanta, Nashville, Fort Lauderdale, and other US cities.

According to reports, he’s told people in his circle that he plans to build another company that would shake up the rental housing industry (oh lawd). How exactly? No one is sure but he has talked about his plans to create a recognizable apartment brand with amenities (think Equinox for rental apartments).

Despite what happened to WeWork, Neumann helped charge the co-working craze in America. Will he be able to do the same with apartment rentals?

Short Squeez Takeaway: Neumann might be onto something with rising investor interest in real estate due to rising rents and housing shortages. Cities where he is investing, like Miami, are also facing a large influx of migrants. He might have to keep investing his own money though, as outside capital supply will be low after defrauding investors. Still Neumann is doing a lot better than his fellow fraudster Elizabeth Holmes, who faces up to 20 years in prison for misleading investors for her failed blood-testing start-up. If only lying to investors was a crime…

Source: WSJ

2. Markets Rundown

Stocks finished mildly lower amid newfound selling in government debt that drove long-term yields higher and interest-rate sensitive tech shares lower.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Ford Motor ($F) +12% after announcing plans to nearly double the production of its new all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck to 150,000 annually by mid-2023.

• (+) Toyota Motor ($TM) +7% after reports it plans to launch its own automotive operating system by 2025.

• (–) Warner Music ($WMG) -4% after announcing a sale of 8.56 million shares by affiliates of Access Industries.

3. Top Reads

• Progress isn’t linear (AOM)

• 30% gains, 70 record high closes, no corrections (TRB)

• Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes: Inside her weird lifestyle (Fox)

• A booming startup market prompts an investment rush for early-stage companies (WSJ)

• Why it’s great to fail your new year’s resolutions (RR)

• Warren Buffett makes over $120 billion on Apple’s rise to $3 trillion, among his best bets ever (CNBC)

• Resolve isn’t just a January thing (TBB)

• Why you should ignore the metagame (ODD)

• Alphabet grants tens of millions of dollars in stock awards to top execs (CNBC)

A Message from Masterworks: 2022 – The Year of Investing in Art

Stocks are set to have a nasty hangover in 2022. Inflation is at 6.8%. The Fed will hike rates soon. And since stocks are at record highs, Wall Street expects growth to slow. 

With this in mind, now may be the perfect time to invest in alternative assets like blue-chip art.

Blue Chip art prices have outpaced the S&P 500 by 168% since 1995 according to Citi.  Art showed little correlation to stocks over the same period. How can you add art to your portfolio without dropping $100M on a Picasso?

With Masterworks!

Masterworks is the fintech unicorn that lets you invest in multimillion dollar works at a fraction of the cost. And Masterworks has results: they've sold two paintings that netted their investors a 30%+ IRR in 2020 and 2021. 

Their offerings sell quickly. Last week, their $7.4M Banksy sold out in less than three hours.

If you want to join me and get priority access – click this Short Squeez link.

4. Book of the Day: The Art of Business Wars: Battle-Tested Lessons for Leaders and Entrepreneurs from History's Greatest Rivalries

Business is a fight for survival. In business as in war, leaders match their wills in pursuit of opposing outcomes, they devise strategies, and marshal resources for victory. Success can turn on the smallest of details; a single tactical blunder can topple an empire. Ultimately, one side triumphs—and victory is all that matters.

David Brown, host of the hit podcast Business Wars, masterfully frames some of the biggest business rivalries in history using revered Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu’s insights and pragmatic advice. Each rivalry he examines tells a story of combined wits, strategies, and resources. Brown chronicles the rise of companies as they vanquish rivals, formulate innovative plans, and adapt to keep up with shifting societal needs. The goal? Stay ahead of the competition and emerge victorious as an industry titan.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”

5. Short Squeez Picks

• Join the 50k other investors bout to invest in VC with Sweater Ventures, the first VC fund for the retail investor

• Where does Jeff Bezos actually live? Well, here, in one of the properties that make up his $587 million real estate portfolio.

• The David Bowie catalog has sold for some $250 million

6. Daily Visual: Change in Price of Selected Assets

Source: Axios

7. Daily Acumen: Get Your Circadian Rhythm Back on Track

It’s not just blue light, it’s all light: Biology says when the sun goes down, you should too. Do the next best thing: kill overhead lights and dim everything else.

Your stomach is not an all-night diner: You want to be eating all your calories in less than half the day and none 3 hours before bed. Apparently, starving in the dark is good for you.

Be consistent: Sleeping in on the weekend means you’re doing it wrong during the week. Your physiology does not like an unpredictable schedule and it will seek vengeance.

The most important event of the day: Wake up, go outside, and get some sunlight into your eyeballs. 

Best time for brain work: 10AM to 3PM. 

Exercise keeps the rhythm: Best time to work out is after 3pm but before dinner. If you have to work out late, take a shower before hitting the sack to cool down your body. 

Source: Bakadesuyo

8. Crypto Corner

• OpenSea eyeing raise that would value it at $13 billion

• ‘We are 50% of the way there,’ says Vitalik on Ethereum’s development

• Bitcoin is set to take further market share from gold, according to Goldman Sachs

• Altcoins turn bullish even as Bitcoin price slips below $46K again

• Crypto funds attracted $9.3B in inflows in 2021 as institutional adoption grew

• 3 reasons why Ethereum can reach $5,000 in Q1

9. Memes of the Day

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