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🍋 SBF: "I've Had a Bad Month"

🍋 SBF: "I've Had a Bad Month"

The founder of the now-bankrupt FTX gave an interview at the DealBook Summit yesterday. But he seemed pretty chill and nonchalant given the circumstances.

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"I f--ked up and should have done better." — Sam Bankman-Fried

Good Morning! We’re finally out of a bear market - the S&P 500 had the first streak of back-to-back monthly gains since 2021 after Jerome Powell signaled a slowdown in pace of rate increases.

Musk's Neuralink announced plans to start putting chips into human brains within six months. Amazon set Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales records this year. But not all companies are doing too hot. Doordash and CNN both announced layoffs yesterday. Airbnb will make it easier for apartment renters to sublet, and McDonald's is giving customers a chance to win free food for life with its McGold Card, with reported owners including Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

Twilio stock has fallen off a cliff this year, down more than 80%. If you'd like to model out where it goes from here, Daloopa is giving away Twilio's model. Download here.

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1. Story of the Day: SBF: "I've Had a Bad Month"

Sam Bankman-Fried definitely had a bad month - he went from being worth over $20 billion to close to $0. He won’t stop talking - and it’s driving his lawyers crazy.

The founder of the now-bankrupt FTX gave an interview at the DealBook Summit yesterday. SBF reiterated that he was sorry for what happened and that he never tried to defraud anyone. But he seemed pretty chill and nonchalant given the circumstances.

Experts don’t think the interview went well. SBF admitted to making critical mistakes like comingling funds between FTX and Alameda, and one lawyer called the conversation a “litigation suicide.” SBF will inevitably face a slew of legal battles, and any contradictory claims will be held against him.

And the interview definitely didn’t help SBF’s public persona. He came across as laid-back and indifferent to the billions of dollars lost. But while SBF is apparently cool with losing his entire fortune, angry FTX and retail crypto investors alike are not.

Meanwhile, a couple of billionaires were quite happy with his performance, tweeting: "Call me crazy, but I think @sbf is telling the truth." Kevin O'Leary added: "I’m in the @billAckman camp about the kid!"

Takeaway: To say SBF is unusual would be an understatement. But providing lengthy interviews while under a potential federal investigation takes things to a different level. It's tough to gauge what exactly SBF was trying to accomplish with this interview. While he was able to impress Bill Ackman and Kevin O'Leary, many disgruntled customers would rather see him behind bars than at the DealBook Summit explaining how he lost their money.

2. Markets Rundown

If you want access to Wall Street insider interviews, industry deep-dives, and investment ideas, check out our Insiders newsletter.

Stocks rallied after Jerome Powell suggested a potential pause to rate hikes.

Movers & Shakers

(+) Build-A-Bear Workshop ($BBW) +23% after crushing earnings.
(+) Workday ($WDAY) +17% because the enterprise management company had a strong Q3 and will buy back shares.
(–) CrowdStrike ($CRWD) -15% after the cybersecurity company's Q3 revenue missed estimates.

Private Dealmaking

Rubicon Carbon, a carbon credit company, raised $300 million
Cajal Neuroscience, a biotech startup focused on treating Alzheimer’s, raised $96 million
Deepgram, a speech-to-text platform, raised $47 million
Djamo, an African-based consumer finance app, raised $14 million
KKR bought April Group, a French insurer, for $2.4 billion
Disney bought out its remaining 15% stake in streaming company BAMTech for $900 million

A Message from Daloopa: Update Models With 1-Click

Part of being a finance professional consists of being one of the world's best-paid data-entry professionals.

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Thomas Li (CEO) puts it best: "Daloopa collects literally everything a company discloses."

Twilio stock has fallen off a cliff. It's down 81% YTD and 35% over the last month.

If you are interested in modeling out where Twilio goes from here, Daloopa is giving away Twilio's detailed financial model to Short Squeez readers.

Download TWLO's model.

4. Book of the Day: Rigging The Game

Why do some always seem to win while others always seem to fail? And why do others win and then fail to maintain their spot at the top?

Is it luck?

Not to spoil the contents of this book, but no...it isn't.

To see consistent success in your own business, you're going to have to turn the magnifying glass on yourself.

Because the fact is, nothing you do-no action you take, no strategic financial decision you make-matters if it doesn't bring you closer to the things you really want.

So how do you ensure that you can ultimately reach (and fund) your priorities?

Rigging the Game is here to help you create and follow a path to the things you truly value, whatever they may be, and eliminate the risk and financial uncertainty that commonly plague business owners every single day.

“Dan Nicholson delves into tips and strategies that can help entrepreneurs get what they want.”

A Message from Arrived Homes

Investing in rental homes is one of the most tried and true methods of building wealth over the long term, as this asset class has outperformed the stock market over the last 20 years with less volatility.

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6. Daily Visual: Top Butter Buying States

Average ounces of butter purchased (via Instacart) per customer in Nov '21

Source: Axios

7. Daily Acumen

“Many ideas get dismissed because they come from someone we don't like.

You would never choose to only use half your talent but that is effectively what you're doing when you dismiss useful ideas from people you don't like.

You can agree with the idea without needing to agree with the person.”

Source: Farnam Street

8. Crypto Corner

Crypto collapse leaves media companies with budget holes as advertising dries up
Crypto lenders woes deepen as miners struggle to pay off debt
Why Cathie Wood still thinks Bitcoin will hit $1 million by 2030
European Central Bank says Bitcoin is on the road to irrelevance
FTX had plans for its Robinhood shares
Crypto exchange Kraken cut 1,100 jobs

9. Job Board

Hilbert Trading Inc. - Core C++ Software Engineer - New York, NY
Bank of America - Hedge Funds Associate, Global Markets Credit - New York, NY
Bloomberg - Senior Software Engineer - Fixed Income Core - New York, NY
BNY Mellon - Senior Auditor II - Digital Assets/Cryptocurrency Specialist - New York, NY
Octopus Energy - Financial Controller - Houston, TX
AMEX - Senior Financial Analyst - New York, NY