👀 Netflix Gets Scammed $11M

Good afternoon! Elon Musk told Tesla employees to “hang on to your stock” at a surprise all-hands meeting, despite the stock losing 50% since December. Musk hyped up Tesla’s future, promising that the Optimus humanoid robot and Cybercab robotaxi would “bring the company’s value to new heights.” He claimed Tesla could produce 5,000 Optimus robots this year and potentially scale to 10 times that next year.

Musk also teased a “revolutionary manufacturing process” that could build a Cybercab in under five seconds. He said the robotaxi could hit the market by 2026 for around $30,000. The late-night timing of the meeting raised eyebrows, with analysts like Dan Ives questioning how much time Musk is spending on politics instead of Tesla’s future.

MARKETS

• The S&P 500 managed to close in the green on Friday, breaking a four-week losing streak despite a choppy session. Triple-witching day — when $4.5 trillion in options contracts expire — added some volatility, but a late-session rally helped all three major indexes finish higher for the week. The S&P 500 ticked up 0.1%, the Nasdaq gained 0.5%, and the Dow eked out a 0.1% rise.

• Markets remain on edge over President Trump's trade plans, with reciprocal tariffs scheduled for early April and the EU threatening retaliation. Investors seemed reassured after Trump signaled he might soften his stance, but uncertainty remains high. All three indexes snapped their losing streaks, posting a rare coordinated weekly gain.

STOCKS
Winners & Losers

What’s up 📈

• Luminar Technologies soared 32.96% after the lidar manufacturer reported stronger-than-expected sales and earnings for the last quarter. ($LAZR)

• Alnylam Pharmaceuticals gained 11.75% after the FDA approved its new heart disease medication Amvuttra. ($ALNY)

• Adaptive Biotechnologies jumped 8.39% following an upgrade from Goldman Sachs, which cited the company’s strong market position. ($ADPT)

• Super Micro Computer climbed 7.80% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to neutral, noting a direct benefit from higher sales of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips. ($SMCI)

• Boeing rose 3.06% after winning the contract to build the U.S. Air Force’s new advanced fighter jet, known as Next Generation Air Dominance, beating out Lockheed Martin. ($BA)

What’s down 📉

• Lockheed Martin sank 5.79% after losing the contract for the next-generation fighter jet to Boeing. ($LMT)

• Nucor tumbled 5.78% after issuing weaker-than-expected first-quarter guidance. ($NUE)

• FedEx dropped 6.45% after cutting its full-year profit and revenue forecast, citing ongoing weakness in the U.S. industrial economy. ($FDX)

• Nike fell 5.46% after warning that sales would decline in the current quarter despite beating third-quarter earnings expectations. ($NKE)

• Micron Technology slid 8.04% despite beating second-quarter earnings estimates, as guidance for future quarters disappointed investors. ($MU)

• Lennar dropped 4.04% after providing weaker-than-expected guidance for new home orders in the fiscal second quarter. ($LEN)

• Nio lost 4.46% after the Chinese EV maker provided weaker-than-expected guidance despite beating earnings estimates. ($NIO)

ENTERTAINMENT
Hollywood Director Defrauded $11 Million From Netflix

Hollywood producer Carl Erik Rinsch just gave “high-stakes drama” a whole new meaning. Rinsch, known for directing 47 Ronin, was handed $11 million by Netflix to finish a sci-fi series called White Horse (later renamed Conquest). But instead of putting it toward the show, he went all in on the stock market — and promptly lost most of it on risky biotech trades. Not exactly the production budget Netflix had in mind.

Crypto comeback — and a spending spree

Here’s where it gets wild: after blowing the cash on bad trades, Rinsch turned to crypto — and actually hit the jackpot. The crypto boom in 2021 allowed him to make back almost all of the lost money. But instead of quietly returning the funds to Netflix and walking away, Rinsch did what any newly flush gambler might do: he went on a spending spree. Think five Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari, $3.7 million on furniture and antiques, and $1.7 million on credit card bills. He even dropped $638,000 on two mattresses and nearly $400,000 on luxury bedding — because apparently, the guy needed to sleep really well.

Legal trouble enters the chat

Not surprisingly, Netflix was not amused. Prosecutors are now charging Rinsch with wire fraud and money laundering, and he could face decades in prison. According to the indictment, Rinsch had told Netflix the series was “moving along well” even after he’d lost most of the money — and was spending what was left on his luxury lifestyle. The FBI called it a “deliberate scheme to defraud.”

High-stakes ending: Rinsch isn’t the first person to try to recover from bad decisions with crypto — but unlike others, he actually succeeded. Unfortunately, the problem with hitting the jackpot is knowing when to walk away. If Rinsch had cut his losses and handed the money back, he might still be making movies today. Instead, he’s starring in his own legal drama — and this one doesn’t have a happy ending.

NEWS
Market Movements

• 🚗 Musk Tells Tesla Employees to Hold Stock Despite 40% Drop: Elon Musk urged Tesla employees to hold onto their stock despite shares plummeting over 40% this year. At an all-hands meeting, Musk touted Tesla’s potential in the robotaxi and humanoid robot markets, claiming a future of "abundance" driven by AI and autonomous vehicles. Tesla shares

• 🎟️ StubHub Files for IPO Under ‘STUB’ Ticker: StubHub filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “STUB.” The company reported $1.77B in 2024 revenue but posted a $2.8M net loss. StubHub had previously shelved its IPO plans due to weak market conditions but aims for a summer debut ($STUB).

• 🛫 Boeing Sued Over Whistleblower’s Death: Boeing is being sued by the family of whistleblower John Barnett, alleging that workplace harassment led to his suicide ($BA).

• 🚗 Tesla Recalls Over 46K Cybertrucks: Tesla recalled over 46,000 Cybertrucks — nearly all such vehicles on the road — due to a faulty windshield panel, marking the model's 8th recall in 15 months. The news comes as overall Tesla trade-ins hit record levels this month ($TSLA).

• 🧪 Nvidia Partners With Pasqal on Quantum Computing: French quantum computing firm Pasqal partnered with NVIDIA to integrate its systems with NVIDIA’s quantum platform, aiming to accelerate quantum application development ($NVDA).

• ⛽ Oil and Gas Firms Wary of Trump’s Policies: Oil and gas corporations, such as NextDecade and Devon Energy, are increasingly wary of Trump’s cost-cutting and tariff-heavy policies, with agency layoffs risking permitting delays ($NEXT, $DVN).

• ✈️ Delta Flight Crash Linked to High Descent Speed: A preliminary report found the Delta Air Lines jet that crashed in Toronto in February was descending at nearly double the threshold for a hard landing before it flipped and caught fire. Lawsuits and investigations are ongoing ($DAL).

• 💊 AstraZeneca to Invest $2.5B in China: AstraZeneca will invest $2.5B in a new R&D hub in Beijing, expanding its China workforce to 1,700 as part of its long-term growth strategy ($AZN).

• 🚢 BP Sells Pipeline Stake to Apollo for $1B: BP offloaded a $1B stake in a company holding a 12% interest in a Turkey-Azerbaijan gas pipeline to Apollo Global Management as part of its $20B divestment plan to cut net debt ($BP, $APO).

EARNINGS
Rundown Of Earnings From Nike, FedEx, Micron & Nio

• 👟 Nike stumbled 5.46% today after reporting a 9% drop in Q3 revenue yesterdat despite beating expectations — proving that even the swoosh isn’t immune to market turbulence. While EPS (earnings per share) topped forecasts, the real problem was management’s gloomy Q4 outlook, blaming weaker consumer demand and looming tariffs. With 24% of Nike’s suppliers based in China, those tariffs could turn into a painful kick in the shin. Management warned that sales would likely come in at the lower end of the “mid-teens range” next quarter, and investors laced up their running shoes — to head for the exits. ($NKE)

• 📦 FedEx crashed 6.45% after slashing its full-year outlook — for the third quarter in a row. That’s not exactly the “Express” service investors signed up for. Management now expects adjusted earnings between $18 and $18.60 per share, below the $18.95 estimate. Weak industrial volumes, the loss of a key USPS contract, and Trump’s proposed tariffs added extra baggage to FedEx’s delivery route. Looks like this package got lost in transit. ($FDX)

• 🖥️ Micron Technology slipped 8.04% after turning in a mixed Q2. Revenue surged 38% year-over-year and data center sales tripled — sounds like a win, right? Not so fast. Gross margins came in at 37.9% versus the 38.4% expected, which analysts chalked up to weak NAND pricing (NAND flash memory is the type of memory used in smartphones and laptops). Management says AI demand will drive growth later this year, but the softer margin outlook for Q3 was enough to make investors hit the eject button. ($MU)

• 🔋Nio skidded 4.46% after reporting a wider-than-expected Q4 loss, proving that even EVs aren’t immune to speed bumps. Despite a 15% revenue jump, costs from launching two new brands ran off with the profits. Nio’s battery-swapping partnership with CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world’s largest EV battery maker) could help it get back on track, but it’s still trailing rivals like XPeng when it comes to profitability. Investors are hoping the company figures out how to put the pedal to the metal soon. ($NIO)

Calendar
On The Horizon

Next Week

The week kicks off quietly with the S&P services and manufacturing PMI reports on Monday, followed by the Case-Shiller home price index and consumer confidence data on Tuesday. Durable goods orders land on Wednesday, giving markets a midweek pulse check.

Thursday brings a little more action with initial jobless claims, a second revision of US GDP, and the advance goods trade balance. But the main event is Friday’s PCE report, the Fed’s go-to inflation gauge, which could steer market sentiment for weeks. As earnings season winds down, only a handful of stragglers are left to close things out.

Earnings:

• Monday: KB Home ($KBH)

• Tuesday: McCormick & Co. ($MKC), GameStop ($GME)

• Wednesday: Dollar Tree ($DLTR), Cintas ($CTAS), Chewy ($CHWY)

• Thursday: Lululemon Athletica ($LULU)

• Friday: Looks like everyone’s taking an early weekend—no major earnings reports scheduled.

NEWS
The Daily Rundown

• 🚀 Trump Moves to Dismantle the Education Department: President Trump signed an executive order yesterday to strip down the Department of Education, fulfilling a major campaign promise. The order would shift management of the US’ $1.6 trillion student loan balance and other core functions to other federal departments. Congress would need to approve the full abolition of the department, but the White House plans to keep Pell Grants and special education funding under a scaled-down agency. Critics warn that moving student loan management to the Treasury could create more complications.

• 🚨 TikTok to Integrate AMBER Alerts in User Feeds: TikTok announced a partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to display AMBER Alerts in user feeds. The feature will include details like a child’s photo and last known location to leverage TikTok’s large user base in locating missing children.

• 🌌 Oxygen Found in Farthest Known Galaxy Challenges Galactic Formation Theories: Astronomers detected oxygen in JADES-GS-z14-0, a galaxy 13.4 billion light-years away, suggesting heavier elements formed earlier than previously thought. The discovery, using data from an interferometer telescope in Chile, challenges current models that posit young galaxies mainly contain light elements like hydrogen and helium.

• 🍰 Cheesecake Factory Cuts 13 Items From Menu: The Cheesecake Factory is trimming its menu to improve efficiency, cutting items like the Loaded Mashed Potato Omelette and SkinnyLicious Spicy Shrimp Pasta. The move aims to simplify operations and improve customer satisfaction.

• 🌿 Edible Arrangements Expands Into Hemp Products: Edible Arrangements’ parent company announced a new e-commerce platform for hemp-based products. The company hopes to leverage its brand recognition to diversify beyond fruit arrangements.

• 🍪 Snack Sales Drop as Prices Continue to Climb: General Mills reported a 5% drop in global net sales last quarter, driven by lower snack demand. US consumers have pulled back on buying snacks as grocery prices rise. Dog treat sales have also declined, signaling broader financial pressure on consumers.

• 🌍 EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs on US Goods Until Mid-April: The European Union postponed new tariffs on US imports until mid-April, giving negotiators more time to resolve trade disputes. The delay signals both sides are working toward easing tensions after years of tariff battles.

• 🏡 Home Sales Jump 4.2% in February Despite High Rates: Existing home sales increased 4.2% in February as buyers tired of waiting for lower mortgage rates re-entered the market. The rise in sales suggests housing demand is holding up despite elevated borrowing costs.

RESOURCES
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