Hello, N2K’ers!

Ozzy Osbourne knew that he would always be remembered as the man who bit the head off a bat onstage. Not many of us can be so sure how we’ll be remembered, and there’s perhaps a lesson for us all in that. Change starts today, my Cheddren. Be the bat-biter you want to see in the world 🦇.

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Amazon buys a tool that can hear everything

• The L.A. Times is going public, says owner

• Is Delta charging what it thinks you can pay?

• Empowering a next generation of day traders

• Return of the SPAC? The SPAC Strikes Back? SPACeba …

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▼ 0.37% ) $DJI ( ▼ 0.68% ) $NDX ( ▲ 0.14% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter*

$AMZN ( ▼ 0.26% ) , Bee, The LA Times, the Wall Street Journal, $DAL ( ▼ 1.18% ) , Wall Street Global Trading Academy and Apex Trader Funding, The Motley Fool, $SOFI ( ▲ 2.77% ) , $DKNG ( ▼ 0.39% )  

*We’re mentioning private companies here now, too.

Amazon buys a tool that can hear everything

Amazon is expanding its AI ambitions with the acquisition of Bee, an innovative startup specializing in wearable AI devices. Co-founded by the quotidienly named Maria de Lourdes Zollo, Bee has developed a $49.99 bracelet and an Apple Watch app capable of recording everything it hears — creating reminders, to-do lists, and acting as an "ambient intelligence" tool. Should we expect a bonnet in 2026?

“We believe everyone should have access to a personal, ambient intelligence that feels less like a tool and more like a trusted companion,” Bee says on its website, which is not BlackMirror.com. This vision aligns with Amazon’s growing focus on wearable AI, deviating from its traditional voice-controlled Echo devices, which, as we all know, are not intelligent.

My favorite phrase around such a device is: “Alexa, for the love of God, stop.”

Bee promises “robust” “privacy” “policies,” allowing users to “delete” their data and ensure voice recordings aren't stored or used for AI “training.” Still, as Amazon integrates Bee, questions loom over how your privacy will bee handled, given Amazon’s… let’s say…mixed track record. For instance, the Federal Trade Commission previously flagged Amazon for privacy violations related to its Ring camera footage.

While Bee’s innovative technology and low price point bring wearable AI closer to the masses, its success under Amazon will likely depend on consumer trust in privacy assurances and future device features. Of course, your phone is already listening to everything you say and selling advertising off the back of it.

Song of the day: Ozzy Osbourne, ‘Crazy Train’

Rest in peace, Ozzy Osbourne. He wrote and released this after getting fired from Black Sabbath for using too many drugs. Imagine for a minute how many drugs that must be—can you even count that high?—and consider that the man made it into his seventies. It’s remarkable. The song is at best passable, but that’s besides the point. The riff sorta works, I guess? Sing it with me…

🎶 “I’m going off the rails on a crazy train.” 🎶

The L.A. Times is going public, says owner

The L.A. Times has long been a cornerstone of American journalism, but recent years have seen turmoil within its newsroom — and billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong’s latest announcement has deepened the uncertainty. During a recent appearance on “The Daily Show,” the biotech entrepreneur revealed his intentions to take the paper public within the next year. “We literally are going to take the L.A. Times public and allow it to be democratized and allow the public to have the ownership of this paper,” Soon-Shiong said.

The did not sit well with the paper’s staff. Many were taken aback, not by the plan itself, but by the way it was revealed. “People are just bewildered, that’s really the best way to put it,” one unnamed staffer told Politico. “To hear a huge potential change in the future of the paper on a nationally aired show instead of an office memo or a newsroom-wide meeting, it’s insulting.”

The great thing about being a billionaire who owns a newspaper, of course, is that you don’t need to inform staff at that newspaper about your plans. Soon-Shiong, who acquired the paper in 2018 and was once viewed as a potential savior, has instead overseen years of financial struggles. His ownership has also sparked controversy due to his shifting political alliances. Recently, he accused the paper of being biased, calling it an “echo chamber for the left.” Last year he prevented the paper’s editorial board from publishing an endorsement of Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, leading to the resignation of multiple editorial board members in protest.

I’ve been to their Sacramento office. It felt like walking through a portal to 1983.

Today on the ‘gram: Check ur 401(k)

Post of the day: Don’t sue Rupert Murdoch

Quote of the Day

Is Delta charging what it thinks you can pay?

Delta Air Lines $DAL ( ▼ 1.18% ) is drawing scrutiny for its plan to expand the use of AI setting personalized ticket prices, a move three U.S. senators claim could invade consumer privacy and increase fares. In a letter to Delta, Senators Ruben Gallego, Richard Blumenthal, and Mark Warner expressed concerns over the airline's AI-powered revenue management technology, set to impact 20% of domestic flights by the end of 2025.

“Individualized pricing, or surveillance-based price setting, eliminates a fixed or static price in favor of prices that are tailored to an individual consumer's willingness to pay,” the senators wrote. They also warned that this tactic could push prices up to a passenger’s “pain point” during a time of rising costs for American families.

Delta President Glen William Hauenstein defended the strategy during a recent earnings call, noting that AI currently influences around 3% of ticket prices. “We like what we see. We like it a lot,” Hauenstein said, adding that the airline aims to roll out the model cautiously to avoid potential issues.

A Delta spokesperson refuted the senators’ concerns, stating, “There is no fare product Delta has ever used, is testing, or plans to use that targets customers with individualized offers based on personal information or otherwise.”

My pain point for air travel, of course, is: “We’re flying private, right?”

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Yes, sir or madam. Go forth!

Empowering a next generation of day traders

Wall Street veteran Peter Tuchman, known to Cheddar as the "Einstein of Wall Street," joined us at the New York Stock Exchange to discuss a significant new partnership between the Wall Street Global Trading Academy and Apex Trader Funding. Their collaboration aims to equip aspiring traders with the “essential tools and knowledge to succeed in the futures market.” #NotFinancialAdvice

Tuchman highlighted the academy's mission to address a critical gap in accessibility for young traders. He noted that many lack the substantial capital typically required to open a trading account. "Apex Trader Funding is a futures trading funding platform without all the barriers to entry for young traders who are trying to day trade the market who do not have the $25,000 to open up an account,” he said. “They get accessibility and funding by Apex."

The core of this partnership, according to Tuchman, lies in combining educational rigor with market access. He stressed that accessibility alone isn't enough for success, emphasizing the need for comprehensive training.

Their initiative directly tackles the high failure rate among day traders, which Tuchman attributes to a lack of proper education. "Most people, 80% plus of day traders fail. That is because they've never been taught how to day trade the market, right?" By providing robust education alongside funding, the partnership aims to foster a new generation of disciplined and successful traders.

Return of the SPAC? The SPAC Strikes Back? SPACeballs II?

Though the acronym is dull, the return of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies is genuinely exciting. After a notable boom and bust cycle in 2021, SPACs are making a surprising comeback. Matthew Frankel at The Motley Fool shed some light on the renewed interest and what it means for investors.

"We're seeing a renewed appetite for speculation given the looser regulatory environment that the new administration's bringing," Frankel explained, noting that 71 SPACs have already been announced this year, surpassing all of last year. He emphasizes the easier path to public markets via SPACs, as they are "structured as a merger, not as an IPO," allowing for forward projections not permitted in IPOs.

While the 2021 SPAC frenzy saw "big celebrity endorsements" and "high end projections," Frankel observes that the current resurgence is a "toned-down version." He cautions that many past SPACs are "trading well below the $10 price tag if they still exist at all," with a median value "close to zero." Successful examples like DraftKings $DKNG ( ▼ 0.39% )  and SoFi $SOFI ( ▲ 2.77% ) , he suggests, had a "better story to tell."

Investors should be wary of the "buy the deal, sell completion" pattern, where stocks spike after a deal announcement or completion, only to quickly sell off.

Poll of the Day: What’s your pricing pAIn point?

Poll Results: You’re very patient at the airport

I asked: They're calling your flight at the airport. You answered:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 You wait until your precise group number is called no matter how long it takes because this is America (694)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ You rush to board as soon as you can get away with it because this is AMERICA (102)

796 Votes via @beehiiv polls