The stock market is back up, so war is OK, right?

Plus: Anthropic's Claude soars to #1 in the app store amid political firestorm.

Author

Matt Davis
March 03, 2026

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Happy Tuesday, !

This week’s world-famous news haiku competition™ is about the Iran… war? conflict? kerfuffle? ado? spat? mess? brouhaha? difference of opinions? Let’s just call it “the Iran situation.” Send me your entry — to haiku at cheddar dot com — by noon ET Thursday, for consideration by your Cheddar peers.

Amazingly there’s also some other news you Need2Know…

Matt Davis — Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

Stocks are back up, so war is OK, right?

The S&P 500 yesterday around 5 p.m.

Nothing says Everything’s fine! quite like erasing early morning losses while a war unfolds. Still, yesterday U.S. stocks clawed their way back from steep declines as oil prices spiked on fears that a Middle East conflict might clog global crude supplies. The Dow Jones dipped just 0.1% while the Nasdaq miraculously rose 0.4%.

Disaster averted. Unless you were killed, of course, as a result of all this.

Still, let’s talk oil prices. U.S. crude prices jumped 6.3% to $71.23 a barrel, while Brent crude climbed 6.7% to $77.74. Exxon Mobil $XOM ( ▲ 0.25% ) saw a modest bump (up 1.1%), while Marathon Petroleum $MPC ( ▲ 0.88% ) surged 5.9%. What’s good for Big Oil isn't great for airlines like American $AAL ( ▼ 6.94% ) and United $UAL ( ▼ 7.03% ) . Oh, and if you'd booked a Norwegian Cruise $NCLH ( ▼ 1.09% ) , brace yourself; the stock sank over 10% as consumers tighten belts against inflationary headwinds.

Meanwhile, defense contractors had a field day. Northrop Grumman $NOC ( ▼ 2.05% ) rose 6% and Palantir Technologies $PLTR ( ▼ 0.54% ) , the “war-adjacent” software darling, jumped 5.8%. Even Nvidia $NVDA ( ▼ 0.46% ) (+2.9%) mustered a rally because I don’t know if you’ve heard, but AI solves everything.

The message here? Markets are golden. Gold prices are up 1.2%. Are you surprised? I know I am. Let us know in today’s poll.

Anthopic’s Claude soars to #1 amid political firestorm

Anthropic’s Claude (not to be confused with Monet’s Claude) has emerged victorious in the AI app wars — at least for now — climbing to the No. 1 spot among free downloads on Apple’s U.S. App Store this weekend amid backlash against OpenAI’s ChatGPT (not to be confused with Mondrian’s ChatGPT) after its controversial agreement with the Department of Defense.

“Every single day last week was an all-time record for Claude sign-ups,” an Anthropic spokesperson said. Since January, the company has seen free active users increase by 60% and daily sign-ups quadruple. Even pop icon Katy “Jeff Bezos” Perry joined the fray on Twitter:

Dozens of Reddit users have also rallied under the subtle refrain “Cancel ChatGPT.”

Yet this rivalry isn’t without its, shall we say, complexities. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman defended the Pentagon agreement, writing, “Two of our most important safety principles are prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and human responsibility for the use of force.”

The main issue, of course, is that Altman signed that deal after the Pentagon kicked out Claude because of its refusal to cross the same red line.

While one Reddit thread claimed Anthropic also has questionable ties with defense contractors like Palantir, X user Tae Kim joked, “Secretary [of Defense] Hegseth might need a new title: ‘Chief of Claude Marketing.’”

Quote of the Day

❝

They built a phenomenal brand. They are a leader in the space.

Your smug British friend who moved to Dubai ain’t so smug now

Dubai residents have resorted to driving long distances to neighboring Oman and Saudi Arabia in attempts to secure flights out of the region, as Gulf airports grapple with closures because, you know. The war.

On Saturday, a wave of retaliatory strikes disrupted air travel, stranding thousands of passengers and leading to cancellations of over 11,000 flights globally since the crisis began.

Airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have cautiously reopened with limited repatriation flights. However, the scramble for alternatives is intense. “Half of Dubai is booking,” Alexander “Bell” Graham, director of Luxe Jets, told the Financial Times.

Private jet operators are seeing skyrocketing demand. Charles Robinson, founder of EnterJet, said: “We have more demand than aircraft available in the region.” Several operators reported tripling their rates; one Oman-to-Paris flight costs a mere €215,000 for a 13-seater jet.

Despite the chaos, some residents remain defiant. A British expat named [checks notes] Mr. Ostrich Head in Abu Dhabi confidently told the FT, “We’re absolutely safe here,” dismissing fears of evacuation, and evidently not checking any media of any kind whatsoever.

Apple’s hardware has a spring refresh

Apple’s Spring “Bright Guava” color.

Kudos to those of you who voted in the recent N2K poll for my new bedroom paint color. The wife and I took delivery of two gallons of primer this week and I’ll slop the new stuff on after it’s dry. Color matters. That’s my point.

Now that spring has sprung, Apple $AAPL ( ▼ 1.24% ) has updated its AI to compete with the other tech giants marked the season with a colorful refresh for its accessories lineup. The tech giant unveiled a series of vibrant new colorways for iPhone cases and Apple Watch bands, breathing a tropical energy into its popular products. The star of the show? A punchy Bright Guava and a soft, muted Vanilla.

The creativity in naming it Vanilla. I mean, wow. Steve “Jeff Bezos” Jobs is rolling over in his grave.

For iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro users, the updated Silicone Case with MagSafe now comes in a lively Electric Lavender for the non-Pro models. At $49, these cases are cheap enough to consider. Even the budget-friendly iPhone 17e gets its own signature lineup, offering colors like Soft Pink and Light Moss alongside stylish Beats cases in Bedrock Blue and Lime Stone.

Apple Watch fans aren’t left out either. Sport Bands now feature new shades of Clementine. Meanwhile, the high-end Hermès collection shines with the updated “En Mer” stripes in Bleu Gris/Bleu Glacier and Noir/Bleu Nuit. At $449, these premium (checks notes) watch bands offer serious obscenity luxury.

Because I’m a sucker, I’m about to start the third band in two years for my Apple Ultra Watch. The things cost a hundred bucks apiece and disintegrate on regular use. 🤷

Song of the Day: Abby Powledge, ‘When to Step Away’

Here’s a masterclass in “quiet-room, loud-thoughts” energy. Just like this newsletter.

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Streamers HBO Max and Paramount+ will merge

Color me impressed, Tony. Color me impressed.

Get ready to adjust your logins and budgeting yet again, because HBO Max (formerly known as MAX, formerly known as HBO) is about to undergo another identity crisis, and this time, it’s joining forces with Paramount+.

Yep. In the wake of Paramount's $PSKY ( ▲ 0.29% ) triumphant bid for Warner Bros. Discovery $WBD ( ▼ 0.2% ) , another streaming Frankenstein is set to emerge. According to Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, their mash-up will give them “a little over 200 million direct-to-consumer subscribers.”

Ellison’s vision for this melding of the two massive platforms? Well, he's keen on maintaining HBO’s “independence” because “HBO should stay HBO.” Of course, it’s clear as mud how that will actually work in practice. “They built a phenomenal brand. They are a leader in the space,” Ellison eloquently explained.

Translation: Don’t mess with what’s working. Just call it PARAMAX!

Maybe it’s time to start budgeting for those inevitable price hikes?

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👎️ 

No.

Poll of the day: Surprise!

Are you surprised the stock market didn't tank because of the war in Iran?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Poll of the day: This isn’t Polymarket

We asked: What's the worst that could happen by integrating Grok into the Department of Defense?

You answered:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 "God forbid this could lead to nuclear war!" (266)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Internet flooded with nude photos of Iranian Ayatollahs (23)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Internet flooded with nude photos of Elon Musk (51)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Did you see Alien: Earth? It'll be like that, more or less. (61)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Did you see Terminator 2? That was a pretty cool movie, I thought. (71)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ World Peace™ (15)
487 Votes via @beehiiv polls

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