โ You know how Google do. They got the money, the users, and a history of making things free until the competition canโt breathe.
โ Adobe (ADBE) felt the heat too, down about 4% those same two days.
โ Adobe once tried to scoop Figma up for $20 billion back in 2023 but regulators killed the deal. Now both of them are standing there watching Google pull up, for free.
โ When Figma went public in July 2025, CEO Dylan Field stood on the NYSE floor and told investors AI tools were their advantage, not their threat.
โ That pitch is getting harder to make.
โ ๐ฅก The Takeaway: Watch FIG and ADBE for more movement as the market decides how serious Google is about Stitch. If Google starts charging or expands access, these stocks move again.
โ
๐ Uber's putting up the bag...
And Rivian's got the wheels to back it up.
โ Uber Technologies (UBER) is investing up to $1.25 billion in Rivian Automotive (RIVN) to put 50,000 robotaxis on the road by 2031.
โ Uber (or its fleet partners) will purchase 10,000 autonomous versions of Rivianโs R2 SUV first, with an option to add 40,000 more starting in 2030.
โ The first $300 million check is ready to go, pending regulatory approval.
โ The robotaxis will be exclusive to Uberโs platform in 25 cities across the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
โ San Francisco and Miami are first up in 2028.
โ This isnโt Uberโs first rodeo in the robotaxi space.
โ They already have deals with Amazonโs Zoox, Lucid, Stellantis, and Nvidia.
โ And Rivian?
โ They came into this deal fresh off a $5.8 billion software partnership with Volkswagen in 2024 and their R2 SUV launched this spring starting at $57,990.
โ The robotaxi race is real.
โ Alphabetโs (GOOGL) Waymo logged 400,000+ rides per week across six cities and has since expanded to 10 U.S. cities.
โ Everyone else is playing catch-up.
โ ๐ฅก The Takeaway: RIVN shot up 10% on this deal and UBER is stacking more robotaxi partners. Watch for the regulatory approval on that first $300M tranche as the next move that tells traders if this story has legs.
๐ฎ Wish you had a crystal ball to predict the market?
โ Yeah, donโt we all. But letโs be real. There's no such thing. So, while you're over there reading tea leaves, weโll be over here using actual data.
Meet Swingset, the swing trading app that digs through 15+ years of stock prices, uncovering trends that repeat over 70% of the time. Itโs like that โfriendโ who always has insider info. Except legal.
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โ Back in 2024, their auditor Ernst & Young walked out, refusing to sign off on their books.
โ Now SMCIโs back in the headlines and this time, federal prosecutors showed up.
โ The U.S. Attorneyโs Office for the Southern District of New York dropped an indictment Thursday, charging three people tied to SMCI with smuggling Nvidia (NVDA) chips to China without a license.
โ Wally Liaw, a co-founder of SMCI who controls $464 million in company shares.
Steven Chang, a sales manager in Taiwan.
Willy Sun, a contractor.
โ Three names. One indictment. Zero chill.
โ Hereโs how they did itโฆ
โ A Southeast Asian company acted as a middleman, filing fake paperwork and placing dummy servers at storage facilities to fool SMCIโs compliance team and a U.S. export control officer during an inspection.
โ The real servers were already in China.
โ The scheme pulled in $2.5 billion in sales since 2024.
โ When a broker sent Liaw a link about Chinese nationals arrested for chip smuggling, he responded with sobbing emojis.
โ Liaw and Sun were arrested Thursday. Chang is a fugitive.
โ SMCI fell 12% after hours when the indictment dropped.
โ ๐ฅก The Takeaway: This is SMCIโs second major compliance crisis in two years. A co-founderโs in handcuffs, an exec is on the run, and the stock fell 12% after hours. Watch SMCI for continued pressure as more details surface.
$SMCI stock over the past year
๐ซ TMYK โA quick pop quiz to help you learn about the market. The more you know!โ โ
A ______ gives someone the right (but not the obligation) to buy a stock at a set price before a deadline.
a.) call option
b.) bond
c.) dividend
โ Scroll down for the answer!
Gimme some mo' โMore news from 'round the market. โ
๐ป NVDA sees $1T orders Nvidia (NVDA) says purchase orders for Blackwell and Vera Rubin could reach $1 trillion through 2027 [Link]
โ ๐ช Zuck cuts to pay AI โ Meta (META) is planning layoffs of over 20% of staff as it ramps AI spending to $115B to $135B this year [Link]
โ ๐ Lilly gets downgraded Eli Lilly (LLY) dropped after HSBC warned Wall Street may be overpricing the GLP-1 market and flagged pricing and cash-pay risks [Link]
โ โฝ Iran hits UAE energy โ Occidental (OXY) got pulled into the story after Iran hit UAE energy infrastructure and disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil higher [Link]
โ ๐ฆ Amazon, USPS talks break downโ Amazon (AMZN) says the U.S. Postal Service walked away from contract talks in December as Amazon bids again ahead of its September contract expiration [Link]
โ ๐ Wegovy gets a higher doseโ Novo Nordisk (NVO) got FDA approval for a higher-dose Wegovy as it tries to win back share from Eli Lilly (LLY) [Link]
๐คณ๐พ Let me check my palm pilot โEarnings events on deck this coming week.
โ โTuesday 4/14: CarMax (KMX), Citigroup (C), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC)
โ Wednesday 4/15: ASML (ASML), Bank of America (BAC), Kinder Morgan (KMI), Morgan Stanley (MS), PNC Financial (PNC), Progressive (PGR)
โ Thursday 4/16: Abbott (ABT), Alcoa (AA), Bank of New York Mellon (BK), Charles Schwab (SCHW), Netflix (NFLX), PepsiCo (PEP), Prologis (PLD), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), Travelers (TRV), U.S. Bancorp (USB)
โ Friday 4/17: Ally Financial (ALLY), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), Regions Financial (RF), State Street (STT), Truist Financial (TFC) โ
โ Copyright Simply Put 6935 Aliante Pkwy Ste 104-236, North Las Vegas, NV 89084 โ
This newsletter is by no means a solicitation to buy or sell any of the above-mentioned securities. It is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any affiliate. Expressions of opinion are as of this date, are solely that of the writer and are subject to change without notice. All investments involve risk including the loss of principal and past performance does not guarantee future results. Always do your own research and due diligence. This newsletter may contain affiliate links and we may receive commissions, at no cost to you, for purchases made through links in this email. The MRKTcap team often invests in the same stocks that we cover.
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