Empire Financial Daily Newsletters

September. 2020

A Slot Machine in Your Pocket

By Alex Griese

Empire Financial Daily,
Thursday, September 24, 2020
►Like many liberal arts grads, I (Alex Griese) had few classic “hard” skills when I graduated from college… Even though I was a computer science major, my coding skills were weak – I focused more on classes at the intersection of math and computer science, like algorithms. While I’m grateful, I’m still puzzled about how […]

Big Tech's Big Problem

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
► ‘QAnon’ has been gaining popularity in recent months… The most important thing to know about the conspiracy theory is that it’s completely divorced from reality and facts. QAnon followers believe that many of the world’s elite, liberal politicians, entertainers, and billionaires are part of an international child sex trafficking ring that controls the globe. […]

This Is the Biggest Winner From the Booming 'Gig Economy'

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
► We hear the term all the time… but what is ‘gig work’? Anyone who performs a job for compensation but isn’t a salaried employee receiving a W-2 is a gig worker. Gig work can be full-time or part-time, and can be a primary source of income or a supplemental source of income. But the […]

This App Is Your VIP Pass to the Celebrity World

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Monday, September 21, 2020
► A celebrity connection marketplace offers anyone with a credit card the opportunity to interact with the A-list… Cameo lets you buy personalized video messages from actors, athletes, social media influencers, reality TV stars, comedians, Broadway veterans, models, and pop stars. It has a section featuring popular animals from Instagram and elsewhere. And I even […]

The Update Issue: Peloton and the Fitness Revolution, Back to School Drama

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Friday, September 18, 2020
► Peloton (PTON) blew away expectations when it reported earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter last week… In the June 9 Empire Financial Daily, I wrote that Peloton “could be the Netflix of fitness.” Based on the quarter the company reported last week, I am more confident than ever in that prediction. Peloton beat expectations […]

The Second-Most Watched Sport in America Will Shock You

By Alex Griese

Empire Financial Daily,
Thursday, September 17, 2020
► Any time I (Alex Griese) ask my colleagues at Empire Financial Research for a book recommendation on investing, one name always comes up: Peter Lynch… Lynch is a legendary fund manager who grew Fidelity’s Magellan Fund at an astounding 29% per year from 1977 to 1990. He attributes much of his success to one […]

Extraordinary Events May Improve This Pandemic Winner's Longer-Term Outlook

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
► Grocery stores have received a windfall from the COVID-19 crisis… Spring lockdowns forced Americans back into their kitchens. Long work hours in dual-income households, frenetic after-school schedules, an increasing number of single Americans who don’t want to cook for one, and a proliferation of affordable prepared food options were all factors in the long-term […]

The Scary Reality for Small Businesses

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
► Thousands of small businesses are quietly shutting down… While high-profile bankruptcies at big firms like car-rental agency Hertz (HTZ), department store J.C. Penney (JCPNQ), and offshore driller Diamond Offshore Drilling (DOFSQ) continue to be the headline-grabbers, these are swamped in number by the scores of small, independent businesses that are permanently closing their doors […]

An E-Commerce Breakout Star Emerges in an Unexpected Place

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Monday, September 14, 2020
► Could Redbubble (RBL.AX) be the next Etsy (ETSY)? A couple of weeks ago, my colleague Whitney Tilson asked me if I had heard of the Australian e-commerce company Redbubble, since a friend had pitched the stock to him. Not only had I heard of it, I used to own it. I had been forced […]

The Update Issue: The LVMH/Tiffany Breakup, Tenet's Opening Weekend

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Friday, September 11, 2020
► On Wednesday, LVMH (LVMUY) called off its merger with Tiffany (TIF)… In June, I wrote about the first cracks to appear in the Paris-based luxury giant’s $16 billion deal for the U.S. jeweler. The long-speculated tie-up was first announced in November 2019, but the world has clearly changed since then. Boston Consulting Group predicts […]

What to Make of Diageo's Stock Today

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Thursday, September 10, 2020
► In yesterday’s Empire Financial Daily, I wrote about the marketing success of celebrity-backed liquor brands… Clever marketing has propelled the growth of brands like Aviation gin and Casamigos tequila, both of which were acquired by global beverage giant Diageo (DEO). But there was one thing these brands had in common other than famous owners… […]

Diageo's Latest Splashy Hollywood Move

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
► Last month, global spirits giant Diageo (DEO) cut a deal to buy Aviation gin from private investors including actor Ryan Reynolds… The London-based beverage firm will pay $335 million for Aviation and its parent company Davos Brands, with future payments of up to an additional $275 million if Davos meets targets for future sales. […]

Crowning the Winners and Losers of Summer 2020

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
► This summer probably wasn’t the one most of us entered the year dreaming of… With canceled European vacations and bored kids who didn’t go to camp, it was a summer of disappointment in many ways. But I also saw plenty of friends, colleagues, and acquaintances make lemonade out of lemons… With a need to […]

The Update Issue: Beyond Meat, Carnival, and Facebook

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Friday, September 4, 2020
Editor’s note: The Empire Financial Research offices are closed for Labor Day. Look for your next Empire Financial Daily on Tuesday. Have a great holiday weekend. ► Sales results at Beyond Meat (BYND) increased my conviction that the company has big – and profitable – growth ahead… Last month, the alternative-meat maker reported second-quarter sales […]

Back to School: K-12 Winners and Losers

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Thursday, September 3, 2020
► The back-to-school shopping season has been turned upside down this year… The shift to fully remote or “hybrid” learning hasn’t just wreaked havoc on the lives of working parents across the country… it has also upended the important back-to-school shopping season for retailers. This is retail’s second-biggest selling season of the year, after the […]

Back to School: The K-12 Edition

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Wednesday, September 2, 2020
► Devoting most of this week’s Empire Financial Daily real estate to a ‘back to school’ theme turned out to be an ironic choice… The tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut always goes back to school late, but I thought – or perhaps more accurately, I hoped – this was our last […]

Back to School: The College Football Edition

By Berna Barshay

Empire Financial Daily,
Tuesday, September 1, 2020
► What will the college football season look like? The sport is a massive moneymaker… and things are decidedly in limbo. In mid-August, two of the Power 5 football conferences – the Big Ten and Pac-12 – canceled their fall seasons and indicated they might consider a spring 2021 season, pending the state of the […]
Whitney Tilson

Get Whitney Tilson’s Daily delivered straight to your inbox.

About Whitney Tilson

Prior to creating Empire Financial Research, Whitney Tilson founded and ran Kase Capital Management, which managed three value-oriented hedge funds and two mutual funds. Starting out of his bedroom with only $1 million, Tilson grew assets under management to nearly $200 million.

Tilson graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a bachelor’s degree in government in 1989. After college, he helped Wendy Kopp launch Teach for America and then spent two years as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1994, where he graduated in the top 5% of his class and was named a Baker Scholar.

Click here for the full bio.