June 15, 2021 Sign Up

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"It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped."

Good morning! Bitcoin made a comeback yesterday as it flirted with the $40k mark, its highest level in three weeks, after Elon Musk hinted that Tesla could accept the cryptocurrency again and MicroStrategy also completed its $500 million junk bond offering to buy Bitcoin.

If you have not subscribed to Short Squeez yet, now is the time and this is the link.

1. Story of the Day: Musk Sells It All

Elon Musk cannot stay out of the news. It's not Bitcoin this time, it's the stuff he owns, since everyone loves to talk about billionaire possessions. Yesterday, he tweeted that he has decided to sell the last of his remaining homes in San Francisco. 

Musk and fellow billionaires (Bezos, Buffet, etc) have been in the spotlight lately after a ProPublica report was released disclosing that billionaires paid little or no income taxes for several years. Musk paid no federal income tax in 2018 and less than $70k in 2015 and 2017. Last week, an IRS official said that the ProPublica data has been referred to the FBI. (yikes)

Musk, in true Musk fashion, first announced his plans to sell all his homes and possessions a year ago, and within days put two of his California houses on the market. Musk currently lives in a $50k house in Boca Chica that he rents from SpaceX. He's not complaining though, he tweeted: "It's kinda awesome."

Short Squeez Takeaway: Haters will say the move is a publicity stunt, after the recent ProPublica report and the constant criticism of how much wealth he has amassed (~$150 billion). But if the 2nd richest person in the world can stay in a $50k house, you can probably too.

2. Markets Rundown

• S&P 500 climbed slightly for its third consecutive record as investors await the outcome of a two day Fed meeting

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Square ($SQ) +5% after Deutsche Bank reiterated its buy rating on the stock.
• (+) Lordstown Motors ($RIDE) -19% after their CEO and CFO resigned.
• (–) Oatly ($OTLY) -5% after JPMorgan initiated coverage with a neutral rating, saying competition is set to increase in the space.

3. Top Reads

A Message from Polymarket: NYC Mayor Race

With Bill de Blasio’s second term coming to an end, New York City will decide on its new mayor on November 2nd, following the primaries next Tuesday. The top five candidates are Eric Adams, Kathryn Garcia, Maya Wiley, Andrew Yang, and Scott Stringer. They're vying for the chance to lead the largest city in the US, as it faces a host of issues such as rising crime rates, a housing crisis, and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Polymarket, over $800,000 has been traded on Andrew Yang’s candidacy as the Democratic pick. Traders are currently pricing in a 15% probability that he will win the primary, a huge drop-off from one month ago when he was trading at 60%. Think he’s undervalued? If he wins, you can make a 5x return. Trade here.

4. Book of the Day: Facebook: The Inside Story

As of March 2021, Facebook had 2.85 billion monthly active users giving the company direct access to 36% of the global population. Needless to say, Facebook has a lot of power.

The author (Steven Levy) was given special access over a multiple year period to Mark Zuckerberg and other executives. Levy dives into the good, the bad and the ugly, giving us an inside look into the issues surrounding Facebook such as fake news, Russian presidential election meddling, the manipulation of advertisers and the handling of its users’ data.

Recommended for anyone wanting to learn more about the inner workings of a platform so addictive, we’re just now realizing its dangers.

5. Daily Visual: The GOAT Race: Grandslam Singles Titles Won

Source: Statista

6.  Daily Acumen: Talk to Anyone

Meeting people and making small talk can be awkward and stressful. One way to reduce conversation anxiety is to think of the conversation like a friendly game of ping pong. Serve up a conversation and then keep the rally going. Here’s how to do it.

The Serve: Start with a “we” or “us” statement. For example, if you’re waiting for a keynote speaker at a conference, you can turn to the person next to you and say “I hear she’s a great speaker. We are in for a treat.” When you say “we” or “us”, it subliminally hints you are already friends.

Keep it Going: Keep the conversation going by smoothly returning the conversation back to them. Listen to their response to your serve. When you detect a word or topic you sense they are eager to talk about, lob it back to them in the form of a question or comment.

For example, if they mentioned that they went to an amazing golf tournament last weekend, you can ask them what made it so great.

7. Memes of the Day

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