FRIDAY WRAP: Money and drugs at Tesla, NH doesn’t criminalize ESG, Exxon’s investors love a board that sues them, Southwest’s tiny butt seats

Introduction

IT’S FRIDAYYYYY!!! And we are LIVE, and ALIVE. This is Ari the Data Queen, joined by AnalystHole Matt Moscardi, Jessie the Money Whisperer, and Hazelnut Rallis. On today’s weekly wrap up: Mark Zuckerberg is mortal, Tesla sales update from SK, and Exxon outexxoning himself

Story of the Week (DR):

1. Meta Warns That Mark Zuckerberg Could Die At Any Moment

2. WSJ: The Money and Drugs That Tie Elon Musk to Some Tesla Directors AB MM

3. Proxy game over at Disney?

1. Disney shares notch best day in more than three years after earnings bonanza

2. $1.5 billion stake in Epic Games, the maker of blockbuster Fortnite.

3. ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery to launch joint sports streaming platform this year

4. Launch an ESPN streaming service in 2025; stream an exclusive version of musician Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie on Disney+; and release a “Moana” sequel this year.

4. People don’t matter? Kenneth Frazier, Joseph Bae to Join Harvard Corporation Ahead of Presidential Search JS

1. KKR co-CEO Joseph Bae and former Merck CEO Ken Frazier

5. Over 2 percent of the US’s electricity generation now goes to bitcoin

Goodliest of the Week (AB):

1. Tesla sold only 1 car in South Korea last month MM AB

1. NEED I SAY MORE

2. 2024 start: 2 different recalls, production pause at a factory in German, worst performing stock in the S&P500

2. Cryptocurrency Companies Must Now Report Their Energy Use to the Government

1. The Energy Information Administration will begin collecting the info to more accurately map energy usage from mining, due to concerns that this could potentially threaten the grid.

2. In the U.S. 137 mining facilities were responsible for the same electricity demand as the state of West Virginia. Worldwide = Australia.

3. McDonald's is promising 'attention to affordability' after the price of Big Mac meals hits $18 JS

1. customers have slammed its on-off Dollar Menu for not having a single $1 item.

2. customers making less than $45,000 per year in particular have stopped ordering from McDonald’s. Instead, many have turned to home cooking as inflation has eased and the cost of groceries has come down.

4. New Hampshire Rejects Republican Bill Criminalizing ESG Investing, Highlighting Ongoing Debate Over Socially Responsible Investment DR

Assholiest of the Week (MM):

1. “I don’t really think about boards before I invest” AB

1. Behind Credit Suisse’s Fall: A Chairman’s Lasting Mark on the Culture

1. Covers the culture sowed by Urs Rohner, the chair of CS board, who undermined all risk management and pushed for more aggression

2. Despite micromanaging the collapse of Credit Suisse, Urs managed a really disappointed 91% FOR vote - NINETY ONE FUCKING PERCENT - reelection at Glaxosmithkline

2. The Money and Drugs That Tie Elon Musk to Some Tesla Directors

2. Arjuna WTF

1. Exxon is taking its shareholders to court as the anti-ESG backlash escalates into a civil war between the proponents of shareholder primacy

1. Here was the ask: Resolved: Shareholders support the Company, by an advisory vote, to go beyond current plans, further accelerating the pace of emission reductions in the medium-term for its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across Scope 1, 2, and 3, and to summarize new plans, targets, and timetables. 

2. Arjuna Capital, Follow This pull Exxon climate proposal after lawsuit

1. WHY DID YOU PULL IT?

3. Investors voting for the board of Exxon who’s suing investors they don’t like DR JS

1. Nov 7, 2023: “We welcome Dina to the ExxonMobil Board as the company executes its strategy to grow shareholder value by playing a critical role in a lower-emissions future, even as we continue to provide the reliable energy and products the world needs,” said Joseph Hooley

2. Dec 2, 2022: “We welcome both Larry and John to the ExxonMobil board, as the company executes its strategy to grow shareholder value by leading a thoughtful transition to a lower-emissions future, while providing the reliable energy and products the world needs,” said Joseph Hooley

3. March 1, 2021: “Their contributions will be valued as ExxonMobil advances plans to increase shareholder value by responsibly providing needed energy while playing a leadership role in the energy transition.” 

4. From the lawsuit: “This sweeping intrusion into ExxonMobil’s ordinary business operations is designed to substitute Defendants’ preferences for the judgment of ExxonMobil’s management and board in determining how best to operate the company in an efficient and environmentally-conscious way,”

6. Also, all the “environmentalists” had to approve this: 

1. Kaisa Heitala - added by Engine no 1! - 

2. Greg Goff, oil man - added by Engine no 1!

3. Alex Karsner - added by Engine no 1!

1. From 2021: The Little Hedge Fund Taking Down Big Oil

4. Jeff Ubben - environmental friendly investor!

5. Susan Avery - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute!  Environmentalist!

Exhausting-est of the Week (JS):

1. New study says the world blew past 1.5 degrees of warming 4 years ago

1. Limiting average global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels has been the gold standard for climate action since at least the 2015 Paris Agreement.

2. A new scientific study published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Climate Change, however, suggests that the world unknowingly passed this benchmark back in 2020.

3. Meaning the pace of warming is a full two decades ahead of projections

4. Deduced this from studying…. SEA SPONGES!

2. Followed up by yet another climate target delay: Duke Energy seeks to delay its 2030 climate target in North Carolina

1. Facing a massive projected increase in electricity demand, last week Duke Energy proposed what advocates called a ​“tripling down” on new gas plants- scrapping a 2030 deadline to significantly curb its carbon pollution.

2. To meet the increased demand in the near term while preparing for decarbonization mandates in the long term, Duke wants to build two more large ​“hydrogen-capable” gas plants than it proposed in August. Some hydrogen fuel could theoretically be zero-emitting, but it is not yet commercially available, and critics call the technology speculative.

3. Southwest Airlines can soon cram more customers onboard with thinner seats AB DR MM

1. Southwest Airlines unveiled a redesigned cabin featuring new Recaro seats, and while they have a clean modern look, they’re as thin as an ironing board.

2. The chairs, clad in artificial leather, feature a thin foam cushion in the front. As with most modern economy seating, the inflight entertainment system has been ripped out of the back and replaced with a “personal device holder.” The holder is just a higher tray to put a smartphone or tablet.

3. The Federal Aviation Administration considered mandating seat sizes in 2022, but nothing came of it. Airlines are going to continue pushing for thinner and lighter seats to generate as much revenue per flight as possible.

Who Won the Week?

1. DR: Disney/Beautiful Bob

2. AB: Disney. Bob Iger announced on Wednesday during an earning’s call that Taylor Swift’s concert film will start streaming on Disney+ in March. They needed to win that bidding war.

3. MM: Tim Cook!  As Elon saw a $56bn clawback due to a drug induced coma both his board and investors have been in, Tim Cook won his lawsuit to keep his paltry $90m per year!

4. JS: Reddit: for their 5 second Super Bowl ad that hasn’t been bashed yet

Predictions

1. DR: Nelson Peltz drops proxy contest and takes FULL credit for everything Disney has ever done, including giving birth to company founder Walt Disney

2. AB: 

3. MM: Kimbal Musk wins reelection at the next AGM

4. JS: