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- đ° Maniac Minute: Could Oil Hit $90?
đ° Maniac Minute: Could Oil Hit $90?
Stocks ended the week in the red as Middle East tensions flared, a flight to safety took hold, and oil lit a fire under markets. Despite early-week optimism, Fridayâs missile exchanges between Israel and Iran sparked a sharp selloff.
Good morning, Maniacs!
Middle Eastern missile strikes sent the market into a selloff. Oil went flying, markets turned red, and investors fled for safety in gold.
But there were some glimmers of good news.
Oracle blasted past expectations, Chime made a splashy IPO debut, and a nuclear startup backed by Sam Altman just landed a deal with the U.S. Air Force.
This weekâs issue unpacks all the drama: the winners, the losers, the scams (thatâs not Warren Buffett DMing you), and the wild story of the man in seat 11A who walked away from Air Indiaâs crash.
Letâs dive in! đ

Market Recap đ
Despite early-week optimism, Fridayâs missile exchanges between Israel and Iran sparked a sharp selloff. Defense stocks rallied, but most of the market turned risk-off.
Oil briefly touched $77 a barrel on fears that Tehran could disrupt the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that handles 20% of global supply. Analysts now warn crude oil could hit $90 if the conflict escalates.
Gold, meanwhile, flirted with record highs and officially surpassed the euro as the worldâs second-largest reserve asset, with only the dollar ahead.
A cooler-than-expected inflation report revived hopes for two Fed rate cuts this year. Still, with oil climbing and tensions rising, the central bank is expected to hold steady at this weekâs meeting.
Tariff headlines, a blockbuster IPO from Chime, and Warner Bros. Discoveryâs plan to split into two companies added to the weekâs excitement. But once again, geopolitics stole the spotlight.
Will the U.S. get directly involved in the IsraelâIran conflict? |

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Winners & Losers đ
This week brought a nuclear liftoff, a cloud comeback, and a warning bark from Wall Streetâs favorite pet stock.
Winners
1. Oklo ($OKLO) â Market Cap: $8.9B (+26.6%)
Oklo $OKLO ( Ⲡ4.66% ) soared after landing a deal to supply nuclear energy to a U.S. Air Force base in Alaska. The Sam Altmanâbacked startup, aiming to bring its first commercial unit online by 2027, will design, deploy, and operate a small modular reactor (SMR) to provide both electricity and heat.
But just as investors started to cheer, Oklo tapped the brakes. It announced a $400 million public equity offering to dilute shareholders capitalize on its all-time high stock price. Although with shares up 524% over the past year, most shareholders arenât complaining.
2. Oracle ($ORCL) â Market Cap: $603.5B (+23.7%)
Turns out âlegacy techâ can still grow like a startup. Oracle $ORCL ( Ⲡ3.19% ) blew past earnings expectations and forecasted âdramatically higherâ cloud growth through 2026. Its infrastructure revenue jumped 52% year over year, and execs say AI workloads are just getting started.
CEO Safra Catz raised full-year guidance, while founder Larry Ellison saw his net worth balloon by $26 billion in a single dayâvaulting past Bezos and Zuckerberg. That leaves only Elon Musk in his crosshairs.
Losers
1. GameStop ($GME) â Market Cap: $9.9B (-25.2%)
GameStop $GME ( âź 1.5% ) tumbled after the company announced a $1.75B convertible debt offering to fund crypto purchases, M&A, and whatever else falls under the vague banner of âgeneral corporate purposes.â
The company hoped to channel its inner Michael Saylor. But running a leveraged âbitcoin treasuryâ strategy on shrinking fundamentals is risky business, especially when revenue has declined consistently since 2023. If Bitcoin stumbles and interest payments pile up, bankruptcy risk isnât just theoretical.
2. Chewy ($CHWY) â Market Cap: $17.3B (-13.6%)
Chewy's Q1 report had investors expecting steak and getting kibble. While revenue beat, executives hinted that this quarter may be the yearâs peak.
Margins slipped, customer growth was sluggish, and free cash flow took a hit. $CHWY ( Ⲡ0.76% ) , up 80% over the past year, was priced for perfectionâbut got a lukewarm reality check instead.

Celebrity Endorsements You Canât Trust đŠ
If you've scrolled Facebook lately and seen Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, or CNBC hosts hyping a âcanât-missâ stock pick... youâre not alone. And youâre not seeing the real deal.
A bipartisan coalition of 42 state attorneys general just called out Meta for failing to stop a surge in fraudulent investment ads across Facebook and WhatsApp.
These scams use fake celebrity endorsements to lure users into WhatsApp groups. Once inside, scammers promote obscure penny stocks, claiming theyâre the next big thing.

Example of a fraudulent investment ad
As group members buy in, the stock price rises, creating artificial hype. Thatâs the âpump.â Then, the scammers sell their shares at the inflated price. The stock tanks, and everyone else is left holding the bag. Thatâs the âdump.â
Ultimately, money flows from unsuspecting victims straight into the scammersâ pockets.
Although Meta uses automated ad reviews, scammers continue to slip through the cracks. Some even use AI-generated voices or cloned websites to appear legitimate, preying on anyone whoâs not paying very close attention.
How To Avoid Getting Played
Donât Trust âCelebrity Picks.â Warren Buffett doesnât moonlight on Messenger.
Avoid Private Investment Groups. Real investing rarely happens in group chats.
Watch for Urgency. If someone says âbuy now or miss out,â walk away.
Check the Source. If the link leads to WhatsApp, itâs probably not a real CNBC article.
A Word To The Wise
Chasing hot stock tips rarely ends well, even when they arenât outright scams.
Youâll notice this newsletter focuses on long-term trends and emerging themes, not clickbait trades that promise the moon.
Hereâs why: Almost all active traders underperform the market. Even among the pros, 94% of fund managers lag the S&P 500 over time.
And the rare few who beat it? Theyâre busy running multibillion-dollar firms, not sharing âsecretâ trades on social media.
So stick to your plan, stay skeptical, and invest for sustainable growthânot get-rich-quick plays.

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Worth The Read đ
đ The man in seat 11A survived a crash that killed 241 others, including his brother. His storyâand the rescue chaos around himâhas captivated a grieving nation.
đŤ Minnesota lawmaker shootings point to a suspect with a double life: part-time pastor, eye donation worker, and now accused assassin with a political hit list.
đŁ Liberation Day 2.0 is coming, but no oneânot even Trumpâs teamâknows if itâll bring trade deals, tariff hikes, or just another deadline extension.
đď¸ Trump says âitâs possibleâ the U.S. joins Israelâs strikes on Iran.
đł Coinbaseâs new Amex credit card will offer 4% bitcoin rewards and perks for staking.
đď¸ Chinaâs economic outlook is dragging under the weight of falling exports, an aging population, and a property market still deflating.
âď¸ The World Bank is lifting its nuclear project ban after 12 years, marking a major pivot in its energy strategy as power demand surges in developing countries.
đ Americans failed a retirement quiz, scoring just 2 out of 6 on basics like Social Security and Medicare. Financial literacy isnât just lowâitâs dangerous.

The Week Ahead đ
A fresh batch of housing data and retail sales kicks things off on Tuesday. The main event follows on Wednesday as the Fed delivers its latest rate decision, just before markets close for Juneteenth. Earnings highlights include Lennar, Kroger, Darden, and Accenture.
Monday
Earnings from Lennar
Tuesday
May Retail Sales (est. -0.5% MoM, 4.9% YoY)
May Export Prices (est. -0.1% MoM, 1.7% YoY)
May Import Prices (est. -0.2% MoM, 0.2% YoY)
May Industrial Production (est. 0.1% MoM, 1.1% YoY)
April Business Inventories (est. 0.2% MoM)
June Home Builder Confidence (est. 36)
Wednesday
May Building Permits (preliminary est. 1.42M)
May Housing Starts (est. 1.36M)
Fed Interest Rate Decision (est. 4.5%)
Thursday
Markets closed for Juneteenth
Friday
Earnings from Accenture, Kroger, Darden, and CarMax

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Keep stacking,
The Money Maniac đ¸
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DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets. All opinions expressed are those of the author and are subject to change without notice. Please do your own research or consult with a licensed professional before making any investment decisions.
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