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- The Cynic: November 9
The Cynic: November 9
The Cynic
November 08, 2025
In partnership with
BUSINESS
This Week’s Business News
“Drill, baby, calendar.” The U.S. just locked in a big Gulf lease sale and teed up Alaska next.
REUTERS
The administration finalized a December 10 offshore oil-and-gas auction covering roughly 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico and proposed a Cook Inlet sale starting the 2026 cycle. Royalty rates were set at the legal minimum (12.5%) to attract bidders.
It’s part of a long-term schedule calling for 30 Gulf sales through 2040 and six in Cook Inlet from 2026 to 2032 — framed as “predictability” for drillers.
Climate folks will fume; oil folks will bid; everyone else will Google “Cook Inlet.”
“Grounded” isn’t just a parenting tactic — UPS (and FedEx) parked every MD-11 after the Louisville crash.
REUTERS | Jeenah Moon
After a UPS MD-11 crashed in Louisville, both carriers grounded more than 50 planes “out of an abundance of caution,” while investigators launched a full probe.
Early reports pointed to a left-wing fire and engine separation shortly after takeoff, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days.
Operational hit? Small but real. The MD-11 may be old, but peak-season logistics hate surprises.
Pfizer looked at the GLP-1 gold rush and said, “fine, we’ll buy the mine.”
REUTERS | Hemanshi Kamani
Pfizer won a roughly $10 billion bidding war for Metsera, edging out Novo Nordisk with a sweetened offer of cash and contingent value rights.
Metsera’s obesity drug pipeline is still early, but it’s Pfizer’s shot at the biggest pharmaceutical market since cholesterol meds.
Wall Street translation: profits later, stock pop now — and the diet industry just became biotech’s favorite gym.
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REAL ESTATE
This Week’s Real Estate News
Rightmove’s stock did a faceplant because AI spending will dent 2026 profits — the robots send regrets.
AFP | Getty Images
The UK property portal warned that its 2026 operating profit will slow to around 3–5% growth as it spends £18 million on AI, sending shares down nearly 25%.
Margins are expected to narrow from about 70% to 67%, even as revenue rises up to 10%.
Investors: “We love AI.” Rightmove: “Cool, please pay for it.”
Florida’s affordability squeeze has locals eyeing the exits — the moving truck is the new state bird.
Courtesy of Zuri Gardens
A new survey found that nearly half of Floridians have considered moving out due to rising costs, and one in four are seriously planning to.
Housing prices and everyday expenses are the main drivers, leaving many residents living paycheck to paycheck.
Florida still lures newcomers, but it’s starting to look less like paradise and more like a revolving Airbnb listing.
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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