September 21, 2026

Presented By

Hello there. ICYMI, the autumn squash soup is back on the menu boards at Panera, and your favorite septuagenarian would probably appreciate a get-together. Just remember that the Venn diagram of people who love this soup and people who will ask you pointed questions about your love life is basically a circle.

—Brendan Cosgrove, Holly Van Leuven, Neal Freyman

In today’s newsletter, we’ll get into:

AI assistants in the time of sandbox-breaking
Paramount’s advanced settlement negotiations
The highest-returning stock in the S&P 500

Markets: Year-to-Date

Nasdaq

26,522.54

+14.11%

S&P

7,650.5

+11.76%

Dow

51,682.64

+7.53%

10-Year

4.998%

+83.5 bps

Bitcoin

$81,268.01

-7.13%

Sandisk

$1,791.82

+654.83%

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 11:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

Markets: With last week’s interest rate hike firmly in Wall Street’s rearview mirror, geopolitics will be in the driver’s seat this week, with President Trump set to meet with a slew of leaders from around the world (more on that later).
Stock spotlight: Memory storage company Sandisk is getting promoted to the S&P 100 today after a stunning rise over the past year. Last Friday, the stock jumped nearly 11%.

double agents?

AI can’t be controlled, so give it your credit card

Yana Iskayeva/Getty Images

AI may leave civilization in a burning heap of rubble, but until then, our monthly protein powder shipments will be completely frictionless. At least that seems to be the pitch from Big Tech companies that simultaneously warn about the dangers of rogue AI while trying to convince us they can be trusted assistants on par with Alfred or Jeeves.

AI with the assist. Tech companies have long talked of personal AI assistants that could buy your groceries, book a trip, and schedule appointments, but they finally seem to be at a watershed moment:

Muse, Meta’s personal AI agent, recently became the No. 1 free app in Apple’s US App Store.
AI assistant startup (and Silicon Valley darling) Instinct is reportedly in talks for funding based on a $10 billion valuation.
Google is testing a new AI assistant for families, all while OpenAI, SpaceXAI, and Apple each make moves of their own.

Going rogue

But while the technology is there, the trust may not be. AI assistants often require access to your schedule, medical history, and credit card information. That’s a lot to hand over to a bot, especially when rogue AI agents are escaping sandboxes more often than Tommy Pickles.

Just look at the OpenAI–Hugging Face hack, or Google’s acknowledgment on Friday that its Gemini model hacked its way into three companies in May. (Not to mention, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s recent prediction that rogue AI agents could soon team up and eat through the internet.)

There are smaller stakes, too. According to ABC News Australia last month, an Australian man asked his AI assistant to get him a good spot in a Pilates class, so the OpenClaw agent hacked into the gym, deleted another person’s reservation, and signed him up.

So, what’s the solution? Testing and adding safeguards, though tech execs acknowledge that won’t completely solve the problem. In the meantime, be sure your AI assistant asks for permission before setting the world on fire.—BC

Reader Poll

Have you used or are you using AI agents for personal chores?

Yes, they’re OK.
Yes, they save me a lot of time.
I tried them, but I don’t use them anymore.
No, too techy for me.
No, because I read the news.

Sponsored By Skybound

Studios pay billions for what this company creates

How much will premium buyers spend to acquire a story library instead of building one? Paramount spent $110.9b when they acquired Warner Bros. Discovery.

Skybound Entertainment took another path.

They own 250+ IP properties outright. No acquisition required.

They built The Walking Dead, the most-watched cable show of all time, with $10b+ in franchise revenue. Next, Invincible, Prime Video’s #1 show for multiple seasons and one of the platform’s most valuable original franchises.

Skybound’s primed for a potential third straight win with Stillwater, the horror series based on their original comic—greenlit by Amazon MGM Studios.

Big studios have spent 11 figures to get what Skybound’s been building for years. These are the final days to become an early-stage Skybound investor.

World

Tour de headlines

🎥 Paramount discussed $1.5 billion CA investment as part of settlement negotiations, WSJ says. In an exclusive, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company talked about potential concessions as part of a possible settlement of the antitrust lawsuit brought by 12 state attorneys general led by CA Attorney General Rob Bonta over Paramount’s $81 billion merger with Warner Bros. The WSJ’s sources said a $1.5 billion investment by Paramount into production in California and a promise by Paramount not to move out of the state were discussed this weekend, but a final deal wasn’t reached. Deadline reported that four of the 12 attorneys general have split with Bonta’s faction: Per the outlet, the AGs of Minnesota, New York, Connecticut, and Washington state are urging Bonta not to rush a settlement.

🤖 President Trump said he would make AI task force but wouldn’t permit “decimation” of the industry. On Saturday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that he would form an AI Force modeled after the Space Force he created in his first term, and that he would soon announce his selection for “AI ‘Czar.’” Trump predicted that up to 25% of the US GDP would come from artificial intelligence after the AI revolution swept through. He said, “We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry. Rather, we will cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows!” It remains unclear if the AI Force will be a branch of the military, as the Space Force is.

🎤 Ed Sheeran apologized for tour controversy on first stop since Macklemore was dropped. The music superstar appeared in Philadelphia on Saturday, but without any opening acts or his guest band, all of whom dropped out in solidarity with Macklemore after he was removed from the tour for his pro-Palestine remarks on stage. Sheeran told his audience, “I am making mistakes and I’m so, so sorry,” and that he “never wanted to be an activist musician.” Sheeran condemned both the October 7, 2023, Nova Music Festival attack in Israel and the “catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate” loss of life in Gaza. Near the end of the show, he gestured toward the audience and said, “The world is a scary place right now, America is a scary place right now, this gives hope.”—HVL

bookshelf

Lady Diana’s brother is releasing a memoir about her

Cover image of of ‘Swan Song: Diana, My Sister’ on a screen

Ben Montgomery/Getty Images

Tomorrow marks the release date of Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, about the late Princess of Wales.

The author, Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, is Lady Diana’s younger brother. He memorably delivered the eulogy at her funeral in September 1997.
He chose the title because he considers this his final public account of his sister’s life and untimely death. Spencer described the new book as “a brother’s simple tribute to an extraordinary sister.”

A Spare moment?

Swan Song is being published by Penguin Random House (PRH), which released Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, in 2023:

That tome broke the record for the fastest-selling nonfiction book ever, with 1.4 million copies sold on its first day. It went on to sell over 6 million copies.
PRH’s revenue jumped 13.2% the year Spare came out compared to the prior year, helped largely by that memoir.

Zoom out: There’s been plenty of royal drama leading up to the new release, and advance copies were stolen out of a truck in the Netherlands.—HVL

Sponsored By PwC

’Tis the season for presents + presence. PwC notes that AI usage is on the rise. The holiday spending outlook? It’s looking holly jolly. Shopping wish lists, though, highlight something a little more old-fashioned: unplugged time, in-person experiences, and a memorable season. Understanding these desires can help your brand do more with your products. Read on.

calendar

The week ahead

a brown bear from Katmai National Park and Preserve

The Washington Post/Getty Images

Trump meets with the world: President Trump will address the UN General Assembly tomorrow and will hold a series of meetings with global leaders, including UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. While there, he’ll also sit down with Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, for the first time since the capture of Nicolás Maduro. On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Washington for a state visit. On Thursday, Xi and his wife will attend a state dinner at the White House, along with a who’s who of tech execs.

The Zuck stops here: Meta Connect, the company’s biggest event of the year, starts on Wednesday, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg slated to take the stage for a keynote address. Things got awkward at last year’s event when technical difficulties spoiled a live AI cooking demo faster than you could say “smokin’ these meats.” This year, industry watchers expect updates on AI, virtual reality, and Meta glasses. The company may even present a new model of glasses without a camera, since some people find being covertly recorded by a stranger a little creepy.

Bullish on bears: Hide your honey and picnic baskets—it’s Fat Bear Week, and the contestants are hungry. The friendly competition, now in its 12th year, pits brown bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve against one another (figuratively) as they bulk up for winter hibernation. Fans can vote on their favorite bear starting tomorrow via this official bracket. It’s not just a big deal, it’s Ursa Major.

But wait, there’s more:

Have a seat and watch Robert Pattinson star as To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen in Primetime, hitting theaters on Friday.
Cintas, Paychex, and Cracker Barrel report earnings on Wednesday, while Costco and Darden Restaurants follow suit on Thursday.

Brendan’s Got Good News

Home Depot built something big

a Home Depot bucket in an aisle of the store

Mondays are bad enough, so the Brew’s own Brendan Cosgrove scoured the internet for a positive news story to help you start the week off right.

It turns out, you can build decks and generational wealth at the same time. Over the past 45 years, the highest-returning stock in the S&P 500 has been Home Depot. According to the Wall Street Journal, if you invested $1,000 in the home improvement retailer in 1981 when it IPO’d, and then reinvested the dividends, it would be worth about $16 million now. If you did the same with Apple stock, it would only be worth around $4 million, per the WSJ.

Building more: All of that DIY homebuilding has also been a good foundation for…foundations. Earlier this year, the Home Depot Foundation said it surpassed $1 billion in charitable giving, which is more than just a drop in the orange bucket. And company founders Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank’s foundations have donated billions more, according to their websites.—BC

Timely trivia

It’s about to be the 21st night of September, but how well do you know the Earth, Wind & Fire song beyond that famous lyric?

Fill in the missing line from the beginning of the song:

Do you remember

The 21st night of September?

Love was ______________

While chasin’ the clouds away

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Answer

Changin’ the minds of pretenders

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: tome, meaning “book.” Thanks to Kenn from Folsom, LA, for the grandiloquent suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.

✢ A Note From Skybound

This is a paid advertisement for Skybound Holdings’ Regulation Crowdfunding offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.skyboundentertainment.com.

✳︎ A Note From T-Mobile

If you cancel the entire account before receiving all bill credits, credits stop and balance on required finance agreement is due (e.g., $1,199.99—Apple iPhone 18 Pro 256GB). Bill credits end if you pay off device early. Tax on pre-credit price due at sale. Limited-time; subject to change. Qualifying credit and service ($100+/mo. plan w/AutoPay, plus taxes & fees), & eligible trade-in (e.g., Save $1,200: iPhone 16; Save $930: iPhone 14; Save $500: iPhone 6) required. Trade-in terms and conditions apply. $35 device connection charge due at sale. Up to $1,200 via bill credits; line with promo must be active and in good standing to receive credits; allow 2 bill cycles. Max 4 discounted devices/account. May not be combinable with some offers, discounts, or promotions.

Written by Brendan Cosgrove, Holly Van Leuven, and Neal Freyman

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