Opening Comments
My last note was about the NYC condo vs co-op market, which received a very strong response. The theme was clear: people prefer condos and the amenities. Most folks just don’t want to go through the drama anymore. Even people who live in co-ops were unhappy. The most opened links were how often should you shower and the Pelosi winning AI trade chart. The 50 ft saltwater lap pool with views of the Empire State Building and Trump threats to ISIS were right behind the others. These politicians sure are good investors. They are allowed to trade on inside info, but if you do it, jail time.
I continue to get a lot of calls, emails, and texts about my short-term memory note about forgetting the score during my padel matches. I was laughing the other day when playing and the court next to mine was arguing over the score trying to recall each point for about three minutes. I started laughing. I am not alone.
I have long admired Jeff Bezos and what he has built at Amazon. He is arguably the biggest disruptor of all time and created a company worth $2.5 trillion. Amazon single-handedly changed how we shop and put countess retailers out of business. Several months ago, I wrote of buying a blood-pressure cuff at 10:30 pm and it arrived at 5:30 am the next morning thanks to Amazon. However, my recent experiences with the company have not been so great. More things I order are taking longer to be delivered. Even more than a week. I ordered new padel shoes and put in the correct size. They have now sent me the wrong size three times in week, and I have double-checked that the order was initiated correctly. What the hell is going on, Jeff? I am not buying the shoes on Amazon as the returns are a pain.
This is a reminder that my readers contribute by sending me story ideas. I look at ALL of them. With your assistance, I am able to uncover more interesting topics. Please send them to rosenreport@gmail.com. If you have strong thoughts on it, send those too. Also, remember many email servers truncate the newsletter and you need to hit “view entire message.”
Markets
Job Openings
Egg Surcharges
Immigration Cases
Blue Man Group Closes-I Was in a Show
Tariff Discussion
Awful Bathroom in NYC Apt for $2,100/month
West Village Kitchen So Small-NO Stove for $3,200/month
Most Expensive Cities Relative to Income
Most Popular Cities for Homebuyers
Picture of the Day-Most Profitable Companies
I am not very strong in my social media game. My manager has been pushing me to create more online content in short bursts. I am finally going to give it a college try and start posting a chart, picture, or short video daily. Some may make the Rosen Report. These will be very short topics, charts or restaurant reviews I find interesting. You can follow me on Instagram here which had only seen one post from me (a famous surf video from last April). This chart from Visual Capitalist shows the top 50 most profitable companies in the world by sector. The USA is well represented in all the sectors. Of note, the most profitable company is Saudi Aramco with $121bn in profits in 2024. The company went public in 2019, selling 1.5% of its shares for $25.6bn. The company is owned by the Saudi government and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) to the tune of 98.5%. No wonder the Saudi royalty lives in palaces and has all those luxury goods. The House of Saud, the world’s richest family, has over $1.4 trillion. Although the family has approximately 15k members, the majority of the wealth is held by about 2,000 of them. Also of note, Toyota is the most profitable auto manufacturer with over twice the profits as Tesla. However, the Tesla market cap is 4.3 times higher than Toyota’s market cap.
Uchi-Miama
I went to Uchi Miami a few years ago and was not blown away. I then went to the Uchi in Austin in 2023 and again was not overly impressed. Since then, I have heard from too many respected foodies that Uchi Miami is the real deal. My kids and I went to Uchi Miami on Saturday night in Wynwood to check it out. My expectations were sky high, and it was solid but fell slightly short of the lofty hopes. Expectations management is such a powerful thing to consider when you are experiencing something.
We need to start with the fact that Wynwood is bonkers and getting parking is not easy. The place is packed and the traffic is crazy. The streets are lined with people and the average age is probably closer to half of mine. Walking around is fun and the graffiti walls are quite interesting. Lots of shops. It is very cool and hip but not a place I could ever live. Of note, there were police everywhere.
I made the mistake of asking for outside seating when making the reservation. The outside is NOT the place to be, as the inside was bustling and full of young and hip people. However, the temperature in the dining room might have been 68 degrees and my daughter Julia wanted no part of that anyway. I presumed the outside would be happening on a nice night. WRONG.
We arrived early and luckily caught the tail end of an amazing happy hour special that offers two-for-one selected sushi/sashimi and discounts on a limited, but diverse, menu. We ordered from both menus and there was no shortage of food. The waiter was attentive but the service was slow given how packed the restaurant was at the time. He consistently apologized for the gaps between dishes. We waited an uncomfortably long time between some of the items.
They started with the gyu yaki skewers which were tender and tasty, but hardly a showstopper. However, the crispy rice and wagyu was very good and incredibly reasonable. The presentation was consistently solid, not amazing.
Next up were handrolls and we had salmon, big eye tuna, and hamachi (not pictured). I felt all were unique with different flavors and the hamachi had a good kick to it. I though the salmon stole the show.
The cut rolls were probably the best given a combination of the fish and the texture. I enjoyed both the spicy crunchy tuna and the softshell crab and might say those were my favorites. The avocado soy aioli for the softshell crab really added the proper flavor to the already amazing roll.
We then had some sushi and again, the salmon won. I would say the sushi was good, not elite. You cannot compare this sushi to a great NYC, San Fran, LA, Chicago sushi restaurant, but for South Florida it is good. The happy hour special made it very reasonable. The total was $300 including tip and one drink. I thought it was reasonably priced for the quality and quantity of food given some of what we had was discounted. I estimate that it would have been $100 more if it was full price.
We finished by cooking the hot rock wagyu at the table. Although it was fun, the meat was not nearly the quality you would find at a top sushi restaurant. But then again, the price was not very expensive despite being on the regular menu.
Wynwood offers a bunch of very good restaurants with a young and hip crowd. Some of my favorite Wynwood restaurants would be Doma, Doya, Hiden, Uchi and Zak the Baker. Would I go back to Uchi? 100%. I think it is solid, but when you factor in the happy hour special, it is far more interesting. Just be sure to sit inside and bring a sweater. If you want to fit in, dress very casually. No suits or blazers. Also, having a tattoo helps blend in with the hipsters.
Food 8.2
Ambiance-8.5 inside and 6 outside
Service-7
Price-Reasonable-One of the best happy hours around
For dessert, we hit Salt & Straw for ice cream as well as Fireman Derek’s. The two scoop ice cream cone was $12+. Very expensive, but the quality was high and very rich and creamy. You can’t go wrong with Fireman Derek’s other than the diabetes that is likely coming your way after eating it.
Quick Bites
Stock futures fell 1-2% on Sunday night on the heels of the tariffs, while the US Dollar was +1% and oil was +2% The US Dollar has strengthened sharply. Check out the chart of the Dollar/Euro which is approaching parity. In August of 2024, the Dollar was at .89 Euro and today at .96 Euro. A combination of higher US rates and tariffs are driving the move. However, markets reversed course as a 30-day delay in tariffs against Mexico and Canada was announced. Then, Alphabet missed on soaring AI investments and drove the stock -9% after hours on Tuesday, but markets were up slightly on Wednesday as of mid-day.
U.S. job openings fell by the most in 14 months in December, but steady hiring and low layoffs suggested the labor market was not abruptly slowing down and that the Federal Reserve probably can hold off on cutting interest rates until at least June. The Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday showed there were 1.1 job openings for every unemployed person, down from 1.15 in November. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters last week, "We do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance."
I have written a great deal about inflation and the impact on US families. I thought this CNBC story about Waffle House was interesting. When I would travel with Jack to his golf tournaments across the country, we ate at a shocking amount of Waffle House restaurants for breakfast and have plenty of fun stories about them. However, this one is no joke. The Waffle House restaurant chain is putting a 50 cent per egg surcharge in place due to the biggest bird flu outbreak in a decade. The 24-7 restaurant said that the resulting egg shortage has led to a dramatic increase in its costs. This article goes into details on other restaurants and how they are dealing with the egg issues. Organic eggs at Whole Foods are now $7-10+/dozen.
My readership is diverse and global. I am read in 50 states and 104 countries. A lawyer from Arizona sent me an article about the backup in immigration cases. I can write a lot on this topic, but I am going to let the pictures do most of the talking. It seems too many continuances and too many phony asylum claims are taking place.
Blue Man Group shows became a staple in NYC for over 30 years and more than 17,000 performances. However, the show came to an end on February 2nd. The Blue Man Group show combines art, music, comedy, and non-verbal communication to mesmerize the crowd. The show has been seen by more than 50mm people worldwide. You can get messy in the front row, so be prepared. In 2016, we took the kids to the show, and I was tapped to be part of the act. I told my wife so the kids would not freak out when they saw me on stage. The blue guys made me disappear and then I came out to bow to the crowd. Ever the showman, I was standing on stage with my hands raised in some kind of white jumpsuit. My kids were in shock and struggled to understand what happened. It was fun. Based on the quality of the photo, clearly we did not have great seats and phone camera quality has come a long way in eight years.
Politics
I am all for tough negotiations and putting America first. I feel we get run over far too often when negotiating deals with other countries and consistently help and fund other countries disproportionately. However, I also believe a prolonged trade war with high tariffs is bad for the economy and consumers already struggling with inflation. Although I felt the tariffs would be short-lived (4-8 weeks), I was not anticipating them to last hours. Trump agreed with both Mexico and Canada to delay the tariffs for 30 days and Mexico agreed to put 10,000 troops at the border. The truth is we lack the capacity to onshore a ton of manufacturing and our cost base is far higher given American wages and benefits. Even for much of what we make in the US, parts come from elsewhere. I made hats in Ohio and they cost $13 each with ground delivery. I made them in China with higher quality, more embroidery, and used air freight… and they were $5. Even a 50% tariff would not make the American hats competitive in price. Many factories have already moved from China to Southeast Asia to avoid the tariffs anyway.
Goldman Sachs flags up to 3% hit to its S&P 500 earnings forecasts from tariffs
China retaliates with additional tariffs of up to 15% on select U.S. imports starting Feb. 10
Patriotism Surges in Canada as Citizens Band Together to Fight Trump
Bitcoin drops, ether slammed after Trump’s tariffs cause global risk-off move
Vaccine stocks fall as Senate panel advances RFK Jr.’s nomination for HHS secretary
At least 20K federal workers take Trump buyout offer, with more expected to accept
Trump signs order establishing a sovereign wealth fund that he says could buy TikTok
White House preparing executive order to abolish the Department of Education
Given the per capita spend relative to outcomes, something needs to change. I don’t know the answer, but the status quo is not it. This is a concerning chart showing education staffing since 1970 with students +8%, teaching staff +60% and non-teaching staff +138%, yet outcomes are worse.
Marco Rubio says El Salvador's president agrees to house US criminals in his country's jails
Panama pledges to end key canal deal with China, work with US after Rubio visit
Denmark Says Open to Expanding US Military Role in Greenland
Karoline Leavitt highlights the waste and abuse of USAID, lists the top 4 most insane priorities.
Must watch short video about DEI spending for USAID of your tax dollars. I have written extensively about government waste and dedicated an entire piece to it. Musk is upsetting the apple cart for good reason. It is criminal how these politicians have wasted our hard-earned money for decades.
11 Insane Things Your Tax Dollars Paid For Thanks To USAID
The cover-up around the COVID debacle is amazing. I was vilified for my stance on the lab leak theory.
Trump to sign executive order banning men from women’s sports
Middle East
There are plenty of people who hate Trump, and I understand why. However, when it comes to the support of Israel and Jews, I do not get how you question his actions. The Abraham Accords and moving the embassy to Jerusalem were strong moves during his first term. Now, Trump is pushing back on schools that allowed Jew hate and has sent 2,000-pound bombs to Israel that the Biden Administration refused to send. His team was critical in negotiating the release of the hostages and to me, seems to support Israel at every turn. He is talking about taking over the Gaza Strip now as well. This is a very different tactic from the prior administration. I did not want my son to go to many colleges because of how they treated Jews. We focused on the South as a result, as those schools seem to be far less tolerant of Jew hate. I don’t agree with everything Trump does, but I do like his stance on Israel, Gaza and the consequences for antisemitism.
Trump says U.S. will own and develop Gaza Strip
I don’t understand who will take 2mm Palestinians. Historically, Egypt and Jordan have been adamant against taking Palestinians.
Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges including Columbia and Berkeley
Trump to urge universities to 'monitor,' 'report' Israel-Hamas protesters
Trump says he's given advisers instructions for Iran to be 'obliterated' if it assassinates him
Other Headlines
In 2025, $9.2 TRILLION of US debt will either mature or need to be refinanced
Remember, the Treasury Dept had the ability to refinance this debt at 1% or less but given they felt inflation was “transitory,” they passed costing the US taxpayer trillions. I have been critical of deficits and debt levels and Ray Dalio agrees.
Reid Hoffman enters ‘wondrous and terrifying’ world of health care in AI startup
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says everyone should get an AI tutor right away
Google opens its most powerful AI models to everyone, the next stage in its virtual agent push
Apple shares fall 3% in premarket after China reportedly considers probe into App Store practices
Palantir shares rocket 22% after company posts strong earnings and outlook
Spotify shares pop 10% after company reports first profitable year
Disney tops quarterly profit estimates, but starts to lose Disney+ streaming subscribers
UBS shares retreat 6% as fourth-quarter profit beat, $3 billion buyback fail to impress
Merck stops Gardasil shipments to China, hitting 2025 outlook; shares tumble
Toyota Motor posts nearly 28% drop in third-quarter operating profit, missing estimates
Bill Gates’ Harvard professor ‘wasn’t surprised’ he dropped out: ‘I just wish I’d invested in him’
L.A. wildfire victims face financial anxiety amid recovery: ‘The uncertainty is very unsettling’
Shocking video shows 78-year-old fatally shoot teenager who tried to rob him in Argentina
Medical examiner reverses suicide ruling in 2011 death of Philadelphia teacher Ellen Greenberg
I have followed this story for some time. This woman was stabbed 20 times including in the back of her head, and it was ruled a suicide. Nearly 15 years later it was reversed. It was obvious to anyone that this was not suicide. There is a massive cover-up here that I hope becomes public.
Former Barclays CEO’s Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein Ran Deeper Than Disclosed
The emails are concerning. I am shocked more people have not been charged.
Andreessen Horowitz Hires Daniel Penny After Subway Chokehold Acquittal
Mark Cuban: 3 Soft Skills Lead To Success — Why He Says They’ll Never Stop
I'm a heart surgeon. These are 6 things I avoid for my own heart health
Human brain samples contain an entire spoon’s worth of nanoplastics, study says
Scientists pour cold water on popular ice bath health claims
Good news, my record is 55 seconds as I am not able to handle them anyway.
We asked 10 travel agents: What’s the top under-the-radar destination? Here’s what they said
Some of these locations were shocking to me. Tunisia?
China’s ‘artificial sun’ fuels Western fears it has lost race to energy holy grail
Incredible images capture US Navy testing its new laser weapon that NEVER runs out of power
The future of warfare looks very different from the past. Guns, tanks and planes will be replaced by drones and lasers.
Spain Plans to Cut Workweek to Improve Work-Life Balance
The cap on hours will be 37.5 from 40 previously. How is this even possible?
Patrick Mahomes' GPA at Texas Tech Resurfaces Before Super Bowl LIX
One of the craziest trades in NBA history and I felt Doncic’s note to Dallas fans was very classy. Anthony Davis came out with a nice message as well.
Kanye is an antisemitic clown and his poor wife prances around naked everywhere. It is sad. What the hell is wrong with people? This is a well-educated woman with a master’s degree in architecture. According to this article, she wanted to back out and he insisted. It looks like a big Tokyo concert may be cancelled due to his antics and it would cost him $20mm. Then we had Jaden Smith wear a house on his head. Seriously?
Sir Stirling Moss’s Mercedes is sold at auction for a record £43m
Real Estate
I have been critical of NYC and many other major cities for many reasons. The quality of life, cost of living, crime, taxes, homelessness, traffic, woke teachings, and many other things drive me crazy. This NY Post article made me laugh. It is about a young woman’s Lower East Side apartment in NYC. She pays $2,075/month for a 570-square-foot apartment that has the worst bathroom. The sink and toilet are one unit. The bathroom is 2.5’ x 3’. Are you kidding me? The pictures don’t lie. In Miami, for that price you can get a larger apartment with two baths, and a bunch of amenities (large gym, swimming pool, tennis, racquetball, 24-hour concierge, valet, parking space, playroom and more. There are a ton of units with so many amenities relative to the crap in NYC and you get parking and ZERO income tax. No wonder why so many young people are leaving NYC. Look at the bathroom in the link. Awful way to live. In another example, a woman pays $3,200 to live in a NYC studio and does not have room for an oven! More pics in this link too. Welcome to the West Village.
This article outlines the most expensive housing markets are hurting buyers. In a survey of the country’s most overvalued housing markets, US News & World Report found a number of major cities where mortgage payers in late 2024 could expect to be squeezed to the too-damn high tune of 60% or more of the per capita income for the privilege.
This CNBC article outlines the 10 most popular US Zip codes for homebuyers. What is interesting is the list is dominated by the South. Texas has six of ten cities on the list. Not surprisingly, Florida and Tennessee are listed. I have never heard of Parrish, Florida. Turns out it is on the west coast south of Tampa and north of Sarasota.
© 2025 The Rosen Report LLC. All rights reserved. Does not constitute investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult with your lawyers and professional financial advisers. Rosen Report™ #759 ©Copyright 2025 Written By Eric Rosen.
