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Greetings N2K reader!

This week’s world famous News Haiku™ competition is about the last U.S. penny ever being minted (it’s true, they are no more!). Send me your entry — to our spiffy new email address, haiku at cheddar dot com — by noon ET on Thursday for consideration by your Cheddar peers. And now for something completely different!

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Novo Nordisk slashes Wegovy and Ozempic prices

• Larry Summers “steps back” after Epstein fallout

• Robinhood takes prediction markets to pop culture …

• Is this brain controller the future of video games …

• Beating self-doubt and building big ideas with 'He …

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▼ 0.83% ) $DJI ( ▼ 1.07% ) $NDX ( ▼ 1.21% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$NVO ( ▼ 1.88% )  $HOOD ( ▼ 1.44% )  $LLY ( ▲ 0.82% )$COST ( ▼ 1.92% )$GDRX ( ▼ 2.11% )  $WW ( ▼ 5.73% )

Novo Nordisk slashes Wegovy and Ozempic prices

Novo Nordisk $NVO ( ▼ 1.88% ) is slashing direct-to-consumer prices for its popular weight loss and diabetes drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic. As of Monday, existing cash-paying patients will see the price of these treatments drop from $499 to $349 per month. However, the highest dose of Ozempic will remain at $499 per month. To entice new patients, the Danish pharmaceutical giant has also unveiled a temporary introductory offer, with the two lowest doses priced at $199 per month for the first two months. The promotion ends on March 31.

Holiday deal!

The price cuts coincide with President Donald Trump’s agreements with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly $LLY ( ▲ 0.82% ) to make GLP-1 obesity drugs more affordable. Trump’s upcoming direct-to-consumer website, TrumpRx, will further decrease costs, with starting doses priced at $350 per month and plans to lower them to $245 over two years.

Novo Nordisk’s new pricing model is accessible via Wegovy.com, Ozempic.com, and through partners like Costco $COST ( ▼ 1.92% ) , GoodRx $GDRX ( ▼ 2.11% ) , and WeightWatchers $WW ( ▼ 5.73% ) .

Song of the day: Robyn, ‘Dopamine.’

Robyn’s single “Dopamine” marks a triumphant return, blending jubilant, dancefloor-focused production with complex emotions. Featuring Giorgio Moroder-style synths, Daft Punk-esque robotic vocals, and a catchy chorus, the track contrasts neon-hued euphoria with deeper introspection. Ostensibly about the thrill of falling in love, its lyrics balance scientific rationality with spiritual depth, exploring themes of fatalism, desperation, and connection. Both a pop banger and a layered narrative, “Dopamine” reflects Robyn’s enduring influence on contemporary pop and her ability to challenge mainstream conventions. I know because Alexis Petridis in the Guardian told me so.

Larry Summers “steps back” after Epstein fallout

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers announced he is “stepping back from public commitments” following the release of controversial emails linking him to Jeffrey Epstein. “I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” Summers said. The communications, revealed by Harvard’s Crimson, show Summers seeking advice from Epstein about personal relationships years after Epstein’s conviction for sex offenses.

Summers is hoping to continue teaching at Harvard and serves on the board of OpenAI. He’s also a columnist for Bloomberg. Critics, including Senator Elizabeth Warren (a former Harvard Professor), argue that his past ties to Epstein disqualify him from such positions of influence.

In one email, Summers described his romantic creepy pursuit of a mentee and received advice from Epstein, who referred to himself as Summers' “wing man.” 🤮 

Summers wrote, “I think I’m right now in the seen very warmly in rear view mirror category,” while expressing uncertainty about the situation. Warren said: “For decades, Larry Summers has demonstrated his attraction to serving the wealthy and well-connected, but his willingness to cozy up to a convicted sex offender demonstrates monumentally bad judgment.”

Quote of the Day

Robinhood takes prediction markets to pop culture and beyond

“Prediction markets” (which used to be called “gambling,” by any other name, and critics say, still are…) are no longer confined to traditional finance or politics; they’re rapidly expanding into entertainment, sports, and pop culture. Robinhood $HOOD ( ▼ 1.44% ) is leading the charge with its new prediction markets hub. Users are now engaging with “event contracts” (remember, this is different from “betting…”) covering everything from football games to the Grammys. As their website advises,

Sounds rather like gambling to me. But whatever. #NotFinancialAdvice

According to JB McKenzie at Robinhood, the motivation was simple: client engagement. "What we wanted to do was build a very intuitive hub that allows them to access these markets very cleanly and easily," McKenzie told us. "So whether they're interested in trading economic, sports, financial, or even cultural, we provide them that ability to access it."

The user interest has been explosive. McKenzie highlights a recent surge, noting that after a record Q3 with "over 2.3 billion contracts traded," they then "surpassed that number alone at 2.5 billion contracts" in the month of October. This demand prompted a massive expansion into new, diverse areas. "We went from around 300 different events to well over a thousand," McKenzie said. The company's careful, customer-focused approach ensures they are "not here to make headlines," but rather to "provide product that our customers want to trade."

For those new to event contracts, McKenzie offers a clear warning on misconceptions and risk. "You should always take the time to understand how these contracts work," he advises, particularly asking investors to consider, "where does it sit in your overall financial portfolio, and why or what's your purpose behind the trade?" To support this, he notes, "we have a lot of education out there in our Robinhood Learn to really understand these contracts and then decide which ones make sense for you." By offering both education and highly demanded products, Robinhood aims to keep its users as "educated investor[s] and that just that investor will be here for a long time going forward."

Now, does anyone fancy making a bet prediction about the outcome of the Oscars? Here’s the current list on my Robinhood app:

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👎️ 

I get the sense it’s gonna be a while, honestly.

Is this brain controller the future of video games?

Deep tech company Snap Discovery is pioneering a brain controller that allows users to control games and software with their minds. “We have an AI pipeline, which is trained on the user's thoughts and you can, for example, think of moving your left hand or moving your right hand, and it’ll happen,” said co-founder Corinna Weber.

Currently, the technology "could just control any game" by emulating keystrokes, but the ultimate vision is to shift game development "so that the games will be more designed for the brain." Beyond gaming, it "also helps people with disabilities who cannot move their arms and/or hands anymore correctly."

The biggest current hurdle is hardware: "The hardest part right now is the hardware to bring it into a nice usability," moving from research devices to an "everyday system," she said. The long-term vision includes "silent speech" and controlling the smartphone so "our thumb gets a little rest."

I like the idea of our thumb getting a little rest, honestly.

Beating self-doubt and building big ideas with 'Headamentals'

Startup founder Rhett Power is digging into an issue rarely discussed in the business world: negative self-talk. In his new book, “Headamentals: How Leaders Can Crack Negative Self-Talk,” co-authored after a "painful seven year process," (sounds like he probably was talking negatively to himself during the writing process) Power argues that our inner conversation directly "impacts how we lead."

This journey began when Power, an executive coach, realized that "a repetitive theme was self-talk" among the executives he was coaching. This struggle is not limited to those climbing the ladder. Power reveals that even highly successful figures grapple with it. "Howard Schultz...has negative self-talk around an imposter syndrome," he says, and "Oprah Winfrey has negative self-talk about her success." Even "Einstein didn't believe that he was the smartest person in the room."

Or was he just being modest? I believe I’m the smartest person in the room at all times. Maybe there’s a different book for geniuses like me?

For entrepreneurs and leaders looking to change their inner narrative, Power offers the simple yet difficult 3C Method: Catch, Confront, and Change.

1. Catch it: This involves admitting you have a problem and starting to track those instances. Power suggests: "get a journal and start tracking when you have these negative thoughts in your mind."

2. Confront it: Once you've identified the narrative (e.g., "I'm not good enough"), you "have got to confront that narrative that you're having with yourself."

3. Change it: This is about replacing the negative thought with a positive, evidence-based affirmation. "When you have that negative thought, can you turn it around in your mind and say, ‘Well, I do deserve to be here. I've worked really hard... I do deserve to have this title.’”

You can do it!

Power also touches on the "self-talk monster" in entrepreneurship, which is often characterized by self-doubt and imposter syndrome — thoughts like, "Do I deserve to be here? Did I earn this?" He offers a final, empowering perspective: "Your self-talk is there. It dates back to prehistoric times. It's there to keep you safe, and if you realize that those negative voices or that negative self-talk is there to protect you, then you can have a different conversation." 

Or can you? I dunno. Maybe you can’t?

YES YOU CAN! GO GET ‘EM, TIGER! 🐯

Poll of the day: That’s a cheap shot

Poll results: Get out of my damned office

We asked: Do you "domain stake" at work?

You answered:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes. This is my office. Put that coffee down. On a coaster, please. (98)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ What is this "work" of which you speak? (69)

 🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No. I like to "hot desk" because my work is more important than my domain. (24)

🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ I'm master of my domain! (87)

278 Votes

via @beehiiv polls

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