We Need To Talk

20th May 2025

Hey there, friends—old and new!

First off, a huge thank you to each of you—yes, all 100+ of you—for being part of this growing community. When I started Read It And Eat, I wanted to create something more than just another finance newsletter. I wanted it to feel like a conversation over coffee (or a late-night snack, depending on when these emails hit your inbox). And thanks to you, we’re doing just that.

So, what’s on the menu?

🍽️ Your Daily News Fix – The newsletter you’re already getting delivers the big (and sometimes quirky) business headlines, with links to dive deeper. Think of it as your morning briefing, but with a side of personality.

💼 M&A & VC Deals – For the deal junkies, we’ve got daily scoops on who’s buying, selling, or betting big.

📊 New This Week: Earnings Roundups – Because nothing says drama like quarterly reports. We’ll break down the wins, the losses, and the "wait, what?" moments.

💡 The Crown Jewel: Expert Analysis – This started as a small section in our daily email, but you all loved it so much it’s now a standalone weekly deep dive. We simplify the complex—index funds, Berkshire Hathaway’s future, wild housing market ideas—so you can walk away feeling smarter, not overwhelmed.

If this sounds like your kind of thing, keep an eye on your inbox (and maybe forward it to a friend who’d love it too). If not? No hard feelings—there’s an unsubscribe link somewhere in here (but we’ll miss you!).

Thanks for being here. Let’s keep making finance fun, one email at a time.

NOVO NORDISK FORMER CEO

Major Headlines 

• Novo Nordisk Shares Fall 3% as CEO is ousted

• Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, the steady hand behind Novo Nordisk’s meteoric rise with Ozempic and Wegovy, is stepping down—a move the company attributes to “recent market challenges.” And those challenges are real: Novo’s stock has shed more than half its value in a year, its weight-loss drugs are losing ground to Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro (which boast better trial results and a pill version in the works), and cheaper knockoffs have nibbled away at its market share. Even its next-gen treatment, CagriSema, failed to dazzle in trials. Once Europe’s most valuable company, Novo now looks like it’s been on its own drugs—slowed, stumbling, and in need of a reset.  

  Yet this isn’t a collapse—it’s a recalibration. Jorgensen will stay until a successor is named, giving Novo time to find a leader who can reignite growth. The weight-loss gold rush isn’t over; it’s just getting crowded. The question is whether Novo’s next CEO can outmaneuver Lilly, fend off generics, and restore the Danish titan to its former glory—or if this marks the end of its dominance. Either way, shareholders should brace for a bumpy ride.  Shares fell 8% when the news broke and is now down around 2.5%. CNBC

• Boeing Could Walk Awake In A Not Guilty Deal With The DOJ

• The Justice Department and Boeing are nearing a deal that would let the aerospace giant sidestep a guilty plea or trial over the 737 Max crashes—a move that’s sure to ignite outrage. This comes after Boeing already agreed to plead guilty last summer for misleading regulators about a flawed flight-control system tied to 346 deaths, only for a judge to reject the deal over concerns about its leniency. Now, with negotiations back on, Boeing may once again dodge full accountability, opting instead for financial settlements with victims’ families.  

  For a company that pledged transparency after two catastrophic crashes, this feels like déjà vu. The DOJ’s soft touch raises questions: Is Boeing too big to face real consequences? Or is this just bureaucratic wrangling? Either way, the families of those lost deserve more than a paycheck and a paperwork resolution. The skies might be safer now, but justice? Still waiting for clearance to land.  CNBC

• 23andMe Sells to Regeneron for $256 million 

• In a move that could reshape the future of personalized medicine, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is scooping up embattled genetic testing firm 23andMe for $256 million through a bankruptcy auction. The prize? A treasure trove of 15 million customer DNA profiles, a potential goldmine for drug discovery. But this isn’t just a business deal; it’s a high-stakes wager on trust. 23andMe, once a pioneer in consumer genomics, has been reeling from weak demand and a devastating 2023 data breach that exposed sensitive genetic information. Now, Regeneron must convince skeptical customers (and lawmakers) that it can ethically harness this data while avoiding the pitfalls of its predecessor.  

  The drugmaker has pledged to uphold privacy policies and submit to court oversight, with a transparency report due by June 10. But the real test will come in the lab: Can Regeneron turn 23andMe’s genetic database into breakthrough therapies? Analysts warn returns could take a decade, if they materialize at all. Meanwhile, 23andMe’s telehealth arm, Lemonaid Health, will be spun down, marking the end of an era for a company that democratized DNA testing but couldn’t outrun its own vulnerabilities. For Regeneron, the acquisition is a bold step into the genomics frontier, one where science, ethics, and profit must carefully coexist.  Reuters

• CrowdStrike Could be On The Hook For $550 Million Or More

• A Georgia judge just handed Delta Air Lines a runway to pursue its high-stakes lawsuit against CrowdStrike over last summer’s catastrophic tech meltdown—one that grounded 7,000 flights and left 1.4 million passengers stranded. The ruling lets Delta argue that CrowdStrike was grossly negligent in rolling out a botched Falcon software update, which crashed 8 million Windows systems worldwide. Even CrowdStrike’s president admitted the company did something "horribly wrong" a rare mea culpa that now hangs heavy in court. Delta’s claim? A simple test on one computer could’ve prevented the disaster.  

  But this legal dogfight is just warming up. CrowdStrike’s lawyers insist the case is meritless (or at least capped at "single-digit millions" in damages), while Delta eyes its $550 million in losses like a bullseye. Meanwhile, stranded passengers are piling on with their own class action, accusing Delta of stiffing them on refunds. The real question: If CrowdStrike’s software was the spark, who’s holding the extinguisher? One thing’s clear, when tech fails at 30,000 feet, the fallout doesn’t land gently.  Reuters

Minor Headlines 

• Costco’s Kirkland Brand alone generated $86 Billion. Yahoo Finance

• Trump blocked from restarting Alien Enemies Act deportations by Supreme Court Axios

• JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon’s time as bank CEO starts to wind down. Yahoo Finance

• Trump Concludes Arabian Tour, with Trillions pledged and billions signed. The New Arab

• Nvidia forced to walk away from up to $15 billion worth of sales from China. Yahoo Finance

• Moody's downgraded JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo. Reuters

• Klarna losses doubled after more consumers fail to repay BNPL loans. Financial Times

• Britain and E.U. Strike Landmark Post-Brexit ‘Reset’ Deal. New York Times