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- The Cynic: November 5
The Cynic: November 5
The Cynic
November 05, 2025
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BUSINESS
This Week’s Business News
Tesla board tells shareholders: pay Musk, or he might actually leave.
REUTERS
Tesla’s board is urging investors to reapprove Elon Musk’s record-breaking $56 billion (not trillion) compensation plan, warning that rejecting it could risk losing him to one of his other empires.
The board insists the package—originally voided by a Delaware judge—reflects Musk’s “extraordinary achievements.” Critics call it a hostage note wrapped in a stock grant.
Either way, it’s the only job on Earth where “focus retention” costs more than a mid-sized country’s GDP.
Supreme Court weighs Trump’s tariff powers in a constitutional showdown.
REUTERS | Jeenah Moon
The Court is reviewing whether Trump overstepped by using emergency powers to impose sweeping tariffs under a 1977 law. Some conservative justices sounded wary of giving presidents an open checkbook on trade.
Lower courts already called it an overreach, but the White House argues the authority is necessary for “national economic security.”
Translation: if Congress won’t raise tariffs, the president might just do it himself—with a pen, a phone, and a faint smirk.
Wall Street braces for New York’s mayoral election like it’s a midterm stress test.
REUTERS | Hemanshi Kamani
Traders and bankers are watching the city’s race for signs of tax, housing, and crime policy shifts, while governor contests in key states hint at next year’s national mood.
Markets crave predictability, but “predictable” and “New York politics” rarely appear in the same sentence.
If campaign season had a ticker symbol, it’d trade at record volatility.
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REAL ESTATE
This Week’s Real Estate News
Industrial outdoor storage is now an institutional asset class—yes, gravel lots.
AFP | Getty Images
Alterra IOS’s CEO told CNBC the niche of truck yards and open-air logistics space is attracting private-equity and REIT money. Zoning scarcity and last-mile demand make dirt surprisingly lucrative.
Cap rates are compressing faster than pavement can crack, and investors are calling it “a recession-resistant play.”
The American dream: fewer offices, more fences.
Mortgage demand cools as rates swing, proving chaos is still bad for homebuyers.
Courtesy of Zuri Gardens
Mortgage applications fell last week as rate volatility spooked both buyers and refinancers, reversing some of the gains from earlier in October.
Refi activity is still up from last year, but buyers aren’t rushing back until rates pick a direction—and stay there.
In housing, uncertainty is worse than pain; at least pain comes with a payment plan.
Commercial real estate deals dry up—but data centers and student housing still have a pulse.
REUTERS
Moody’s reports that overall CRE transaction volume has slowed sharply, with investors retreating from offices and retail.
Yet specialized assets like data centers and student housing are thriving, fueled by AI demand and enrollment booms.
The rule of 2025 real estate: if it plugs in or drops out, it cash-flows.
“You guys cheer me up.”
FUN
Riddle Me This
I rise when others fall,
I’m watched by millions but built by fear.
I make the bold rich, the calm secure,
And I vanish when the news gets clear.
What am I?
Reply to this email with the answer for a chance to win a surprise
ADVICE
This Week’s Business Advice
“If your company needs a new meeting to talk about the last meeting, you don’t need better strategy—you need better people.”
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