How Amazon Colludes To Raise Prices (Allegedly)

In partnership with

Hi readers, happy Tuesday! Today we’re covering how Amazon (allegedly) drives up its prices, the U.S. seizing an Iranian tanker, a bad day for Israeli PR, the U.A.E.’s need for dollars, the Secretary of Labor’s scandal, a deadly shooting in Louisiana, and Apple’s new CEO.

“I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days - three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.” – John Keats

Amazon: Smile Less, Spend More

Yesterday, California attorney general Rob Bonta released emails allegedly showing that Amazon is colluding with sellers to drive up prices of goods including pet food, khakis, and other products. 

In one email chain, Amazon raised its prices for a set of pet treats before collaborating with an outside pet treat manufacturer to convince Chewy (a pet supply retailer) to match that price increase on its own external website. In another case, the tech giant noticed that Walmart was selling Levi’s khaki pants for cheaper than they were listed on Amazon. An Amazon employee emailed Levi’s regarding the “styles of concern” – the next day, the apparel company told Amazon that Walmart had “partnered with us” to raise the khaki prices up to $29.99, and a few days later Amazon also raised its own prices on the khakis in question to $29.99 as well.

“The evidence uncovered today is clear as day: Amazon is working to make your life more unaffordable,” Bonta said in a statement. “The company is price fixing, colluding with vendors and other retailers to raise costs for Americans beyond what the market requires – beyond what is fair.” He added that Amazon is essentially creating a fake price floor to maintain the appearance of having the lowest prices on the market. The attorney general’s antitrust case against Amazon – which these documents are a part of – is scheduled to kick off on January 19 next year.

Turns Out The Blockade Is Real

On Sunday, an Iranian oil tanker tried to test the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. As it tried to enter the strait via the Arabian Sea, the Iranian-flagged M/V Touska was warned multiple times not to keep moving into Iranian waters. As it continued on, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Spruance warned the Touska’s crew to evacuate its engine room before firing “several rounds” from its 5-inch MK 45 gun through the tanker’s hull into the room. After the Touska lost its only mode of propulsion, U.S. Marines boarded the ship, subduing the crew and bringing the tanker under U.S. custody.

Understandably, the hostile boarding of an Iranian-flagged ship hasn’t earned the U.S. any goodwill with Tehran – Iran described the incident as an act of piracy and a violation of the two-week ceasefire that’s set to expire on Wednesday. Speaking of that ceasefire, it looks like diplomats from Iran (led by Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf) and the U.S. (led by Vice President JD Vance) are set to attend another round of peace talks in Pakistan later this week despite the Touska incident.

Meanwhile, the head of the U.N.’s humanitarian agency spoke out against the U.S.’s decision to initiate a war with Iran, saying that the $2 billion that the U.S. spends on the war each day could have helped his agency save 87 million lives. “For every day of this conflict, $2 billion is being spent. My entire target for a hyper-prioritised plan to save 87 million lives is $23 billion. We could have funded that in less than a fortnight of this reckless war. Now, of course, we cannot,” he said. He also noted that the war has driven up food and fuel prices by almost 20% worldwide, claiming, “we will feel the impact for years in sub-Saharan Africa and east Africa pushing way more people into poverty.”

Smashing Israel’s Reputation

• On Tuesday, diplomats from Israel and Lebanon met in Washington for their fAn image of an Israeli soldier striking a statue of Jesus (with what looks like an ax or sledgehammer) has been making its rounds on social media, and has even forced the IDF to make a rare apology for its soldiers’ misconduct. The photo, showing an IDF soldier bashing the head of a torn-down statue of Jesus on the cross, was verified as authentic by the IDF on Sunday – the photo was apparently taken in a village in southern Lebanon.

• “I condemn the act in the strongest terms,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “We express regret for the incident and for any hurt this has caused to believers in Lebanon and around the world.” The Israeli military has promised to investigate the incident and carry out “appropriate measures” against those involved. It’s also promised to help the local community restore the statue. Since Israel began its most recent campaign in Lebanon, the IDF has displaced over 1 million people, killed at least 2,300, and flattened at least 1,400 buildings located in Lebanon’s border regions.

Give Us Dollars Or We’ll Take Yuan

• The United Arab Emirates appears to have serious concerns about the economic fallout from the U.S.-Israel-Iran war. According to U.S. officials, U.A.E. Central Bank Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama brought up the possibility of a currency-swap line with the U.S. during a meeting with the Treasury Department last week.

• A currency-swap line is a financial mechanism that would give the U.A.E. cheap access to U.S. dollars. The swap line would help the country’s central bank prop up the Emirati dirham in case the U.A.E. faces a liquidity crisis brought on by the Strait of Hormuz closure – a significant chunk of the U.A.E’s oil flows through the strait, meaning it’s been unable to access an important stream of dollar revenues for weeks at this point.

• While you could take the suggestion of a currency-swap line as a plea for help from the U.A.E., you could also interpret it as a veiled threat. U.A.E officials have reportedly told the Treasury department that if the country runs low on dollars, it could start doing business in the Chinese yuan. Such a move would undermine the U.S. dollar’s status as a global reserve currency, and could encourage other countries to start doing business in yuan instead, breaking down the U.S.’s position as the world’s sole financial superpower. 

Additional World News

• Earthquake sets off brief tsunami alert and a megaquake advisory in northern Japan (AP) 

• Officials deliberately withheld Mandelson vetting result from me, Starmer says (BBC) 

• A Leaner Saudi Arabia Turns From Grandiose Plans to Pragmatism (NYT, $)

• Gunman opens fire at Mexico’s Teotihuacan pyramids, killing Canadian and injuring others, government says (CNN)

• Japan approves scrapping a ban on lethal weapons exports in a change of its postwar pacifist policy (AP) 

The Secretary Of Labor Loses Her Job

• Trump Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer was given the boot yesterday in the face of a months-long scandal, marking the latest in a series of departures from the Trump 2.0 White House. Chavez-DeRemer has been under the spotlight since January, when the Department of Labor’s Inspector General opened an official investigation into her workplace conduct. 

• Allegedly, Chavez-DeRemer was: involved in an extramarital affair with an employee, drank on the job, and had her aides set up “official” business trips as excuses for her personal travel plans. Her husband was also reportedly banned from the Department of Labor’s headquarters after multiple staff members claimed that he’d touched them inappropriately.

• “Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer will be leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector,” said the White House in a statement announcing her departure. “She has done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives.”

A Tragedy Down South

• On Sunday, a father shot and killed eight children (seven of whom were his own) in Shreveport, Louisiana. The shooter also shot and injured two women in the incident – one of the women is his wife and the mother of four of his children, while the other is the mother of three. All of the children were between the ages of 3 and 11, according to local authorities.

• “I just don’t know what to say, my heart is just taken aback,” said Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith. “I cannot begin to imagine how such an event could occur.” Authorities say that the shooting was a domestic incident gone terribly wrong – “What began as a domestic dispute has ended in irreversible harm,” said the local district attorney’s office. “It just makes you take your children and hug them and hold them and tell them how much you love them,” said one community member.

Additional USA News

• Who owns presidential records? Trump's Justice Department says it's him (NPR) 

• The lucky few who can apply for tariff refunds (Vox) 

• Federal agents detain wife of another US army member: ‘ICE is out of control’ (Guardian)

• US singer D4vd charged with murder stemming from death of missing teenage girl (BBC)

• Palantir Posts Very Long X Post Denouncing ‘Vacant and Hollow Pluralism’ (Gizmodo)

• 2 killed after a planned fight near a North Carolina middle school turns into a mass shooting (CNN)

Someone just spent $236,000,000 on a painting. Here’s why it matters for your wallet.

Late last year, a Klimt sold for the highest price ever paid for modern art at auction.

An outlier sure, but it wasn't a fluke. U.S. auction sales grew 23.1% in 2025. The $1-5mm segment even grew 40.8% YoY.

Now, the S&P, teetering on all time highs, just posted its worst quarter since 2022, oil was up 94% (briefly), and Moody's puts recession odds at 48.6%.

So, that's where it gets interesting.

Each environment is unique, but after dot-com, post war and contemporary art grew about 24% annually for a decade. After 2008, about 11% for 12 years.

It’s also had near-zero correlation with the S&P 500 since ‘95.*

Now, Masterworks lets you invest in shares of artworks featuring legends like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso.

• $1.3 billion invested across over 500 artworks.

• 28 sales to date.

• Net annualized returns on sold works held 12 months+ like 14.6%, 17.6%, and 17.8%.

Shares can sell quickly, but my subscribers can skip the waitlist:

Skip waitlist

^{*Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. See important Reg A disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.}

A Big Update For Apple

• For the second time in the company’s history, Apple has announced a new CEO. Yesterday, the tech giant announced that John Ternus, senior vice president of Hardware Engineering will succeed Tim Cook as Apple’s chief executive in September, bringing an end to Cook’s 15-year run as CEO. According to Apple, Tetanus was” instrumental in the introduction of multiple new product lines, including iPad and AirPods, as well as many generations of products across iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch.”

• “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company," Cook said in a release accompanying the announcement, adding, “I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the best products and services in the world.”

• Since Cook took the reins after the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs, the company has rolled out successful new products including Airpods, the Apple Watch, and Apple Pay. The tech giant has recently been criticized by some shareholders for being slow to bring AI into its products, but it continues to break earnings records – during Cook’s time at the helm, Apple’s stock has grown by over 1,700%.

Additional Reads

• Dad brains: How fatherhood rewires the male mind (BBC)

• Silicon Valley has forgotten what normal people want (Verge) 

• A humanoid robot sprints past the human half-marathon world record in Beijing race (NPR) 

• Rising AI demand sees supplies dwindle and costs rise (Semafor)

• My family tried to eat fewer ultra-processed foods for five years. Here’s what we learned (Guardian)

• What I Learned About Billionaires at Jeff Bezos’s Private Retreat (Atlantic, $)

Please consider supporting Daily Pnut, an independently operated and bootstrapped publication, and you'll receive our exclusive Sunday edition. Many thanks to everyone who already supports us!

Peanut For Your Thoughts

Honestly surprised that Tim Cook is hanging it up at the tender age of 65 — most CEOs these days would hang onto that job like their life depends on it.

Editor + Writer: Marcus Gee-Lim

Designer: Joe Stella