Spending Other People's Money
What both sides agree on... Ride on... Tariff talk... A possible data blackout... A big deal for Electronic Arts... Good news for Stansberry's Investment Advisory subscribers... Argentina's in crisis – and gold is booming...
Another brick in the 'wall of worry'...
It was back to business as usual in Washington today... Both sides were posturing about a possible federal government shutdown as a funding deadline approaches at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday...
On the negotiating table... The White House wants a continuing resolution that would protect $1.6 trillion in "discretionary" government spending for the 2025 fiscal year.
Meanwhile, Democratic leaders – looking to seize a rare opportunity with leverage in the Senate – are seeking to permanently extend Obamacare tax credits.
So, hey, both sides agree on something: spending other people's (taxpayers') money.
We've seen this plenty before in different years and with different White House administrations and Congresses. It might take some time, but ultimately, the resolution here – in whatever form it takes – is always more debt and inflation fuel for years to come...
Meanwhile, we ride on...
We're in a bull market, after all. But we have eyes wide open and ears to the ground...
Over the weekend, I (Corey McLaughlin) had a conversation with an importer and distributor of steel products in the U.S. It didn't take long before the subject of tariffs came up. The story was familiar...
In short, this business and more so its clients are taking on higher costs and facing decisions about laying workers off to combat tighter margins.
They'd be thrilled if the Supreme Court deems "reciprocal" tariffs illegal – which might happen in November – and businesses get tariff refunds. But the uncertainty around tariff policy is as frustrating and confusing as anything.
Earlier this year, the big concern around tariffs was that they'd drive inflation. This was also Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's justification for not lowering interest rates. Turns out, tariffs are potentially having a significant impact on the other side of the Fed's dual mandate (stable prices and maximum employment).
As industries in the tariff crosshairs grapple with higher costs, the labor market has weakened. And inflation is still running "hot," above the central bank's supposed 2% goal that it hasn't achieved in four-and-a-half years.
We should get another good look at the jobs market this week...
A slew of private and government reports are scheduled, including Uncle Sam's "nonfarm payrolls" report on Friday. That's the one that includes the monthly unemployment rate, and which got the Bureau of Labor Statistics ("BLS") head fired a couple months ago.
But if the U.S. government is shut down come Friday, we won't see those numbers. The BLS said its shutdown contingency plan is to "suspend all operations... Economic data that are scheduled to be released during the lapse will not be released."
So, pending that, if labor-market data continue to show weakness, the market will keep believing in Fed rate cuts. Stronger jobs data would mean cooling rate-cut expectations and more market volatility.
Today, the major U.S. indexes were little changed to slightly higher... and Treasury yields were down some. Meanwhile, gold gained another 2% or so to a fresh record above $3,800 an ounce. And bitcoin regained ground, up about 3% in the past 24 hours to around $114,000.
Moving on...
Electronic Arts (EA) is going private...
Late Friday afternoon, shares of video-game publisher Electronic Arts (EA) spiked more than 10% on a report that the company could be taken private at a $50 billion valuation. That represented about a 20% premium to the company's market cap on Thursday.
We got an update today...
This morning, EA confirmed it's going private. The buyers are led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, private-equity company Silver Lake, and investment firm Affinity Partners – the latter founded by President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
(On a related note, Silver Lake is also one of the reported partners in the White House's proposed deal with China to take over social media platform TikTok's U.S. operations.)
EA expects this deal to close next summer.
In a statement, Kushner highlighted the "lasting experiences" that EA's games create. He noted that he grew up playing the company's games – which include Madden NFL and the Sims, among many titles – and now watches his own children enjoy them.
And the deal has a higher price tag than the Wall Street Journal predicted on Friday...
It values EA at $55 billion – or about $210 per share. That represents a 25% premium to Thursday's closing price. EA shares jumped another 4% today as folks rush in to take advantage of what little premium is left in the stock.
Stansberry's Investment Advisory subscribers should be pleased...
Back in June 2019, Stansberry Research senior analyst Alan Gula saw an opportunity to recommend EA shares in our flagship Stansberry's Investment Advisory newsletter. At the time, competitive video-game competitions (or "esports") were taking off.
EA was in a perfect position to take advantage. It owns some of the world's most popular gaming franchises, like Madden and FIFA (now EA Sports FC). And they keep people buying products year after year.
Big, dependable cash flows made EA a "model of capital efficiency," Alan wrote.
As recently as this summer, the Stansberry's Investment Advisory team raised their buy-up-to price on EA to $190 per share because of EA's strong cash flow generation. From that issue's portfolio update...
EA expects its video-game bookings to grow around 6% in the current fiscal year. More important, it expects cash profits to grow around 11% to $2.3 billion. That would translate into about $2.1 billion in [free cash flow ("FCF")]. Management said it will return around 80% of that to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases.
We like to value capital-efficient companies based on their FCF. Since we recommended EA's shares in June 2019, the company's FCF has grown from $1.4 billion to $1.9 billion last year. And it has reduced its share count by 15%.
So it makes sense why EA gets a grade of A for capital efficiency on our Stansberry Score.
Today, subscribers who listened to Alan's advice and bought EA have gained around 115%, including dividends, as of today's close. Congrats to Alan on a great call.
This Friday, the Stansberry's Investment Advisory team will publish its latest issue. Paid subscribers and Stansberry Alliance members will get it delivered straight to their inbox. And if you're not a subscriber, now's a great time to join...
Click here to hear from Stansberry's Investment Advisory lead editor Whitney Tilson about Trump's trillion-dollar plan to "take America public." You'll also find information about how to get discounted access to the Investment Advisory today.
On This Week on Wall Street, our Director of Research Matt Weinschenk breaks down one of the biggest financial stories of 2025 – the U.S. considering a $20 billion bailout for Argentina – and why it matters for every investor around the world.
Argentina's economic crisis is more than a local issue. As Matt explains, it's a warning sign for global debt markets, bond yields, and central banks. And it has major implications for gold, silver, and your portfolio.
Watch the video on our YouTube page, and be sure to like and subscribe to get more of our free video content.
New 52-week highs (as of 9/26/25): Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM), Alamos Gold (AGI), Altius Minerals (ALS.TO), Antero Midstream (AM), Valterra Platinum (ANGPY), American Express (AXP), Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box Fund (BOXX), BP (BP), Ciena (CIEN), Quest Diagnostics (DGX), Electronic Arts (EA), SPDR Euro STOXX 50 Fund (FEZ), Franco-Nevada (FNV), VanEck Gold Miners Fund (GDX), VanEck Junior Gold Miners Fund (GDXJ), SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), L3Harris Technologies (LHX), Grand Canyon Education (LOPE), Newmont (NEM), OR Royalties (OR), Ormat Technologies (ORA), Pan American Silver (PAAS), Sprott Physical Silver Trust (PSLV), Royal Gold (RGLD), Sandstorm Gold (SAND), Sprott (SII), iShares Silver Trust (SLV), SSR Mining (SSRM), Valero Energy (VLO), Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM), and W.R. Berkley (WRB).
In today's mailbag, feedback on Sunday's Masters Series essay by Marc Chaikin, founder of our corporate affiliate Chaikin Analytics... Do you have a comment or question? As always, e-mail us at feedback@stansberryresearch.com.
"You never addressed the only issue with inflation: Too much money printing due to government spending. Unless government spending is addressed (and spoken about) it will never change." – Subscriber Joe K.
All the best,
Corey McLaughlin and Nick Koziol
Baltimore, Maryland
September 29, 2025