Good Morning. This is the Investor Lookout with the daily digest to make you a smarter investor. (Keep an eye on the Lookout Watch to see how we’re doing!)

Here’s what we got today:

• 🥤Coca-Cola Stock Falls As They Report First Volume Decline Since 2022

• 💵 Warren Buffett Issues Rare Statement On Berkshire Hathaway Website

Coca-Cola Stock Falls As They Report First Volume Decline Since 2022

Coca-Cola's ($KO) earnings couldn't sugarcoat investors into buying their stock. They beat expectations with $0.77 EPS compared to $0.74 expected. Revenue decreased 0.8%, reaching $11.85 billion, surpassing the $11.61 billion forecast. The beverage giant had a 1% volume drop for the first time since 2022. A 10% pricing increase offset the drop in volume. Its stock fell by 2% after the news due to valuation concerns and potential currency headwinds.

• North American volume remained flat while international markets faced struggles.

• Coca-Cola is still winning against rival Pepsi ($PEP), as Pepsi experienced a 3% volume decrease in Q3.

Warren Buffett Issues Rare Statement On Berkshire Hathaway Website

The Oracle of Omaha doesn't know how to get on Instagram, but his evil AI twins sure do. Warren Buffett warned in a front-page statement on the Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK-B) website that he does not endorse investment products or political candidates. The legendary investor worries about the advent of AI and the ease with which scammers can impersonate him and distribute almost perfect deepfakes or voice clones.

• The statement was triggered by a fake political endorsement on Instagram.

• The billionaire has shown support for political candidates in the past, such as former President Barack Obama and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Markets

China think tank proposes $280 billion stock market stabilization fund. A Chinese policy think tank suggests Beijing issue 2 trillion yuan ($280 billion) in special treasury bonds to create a fund for market stabilization in support of blue-chip and ETF trading. [Read]

Mortgage demand drops to its lowest level since July. Total mortgage applications fell 6.7% last week, and refinancing was down 8% for the week. Despite rates being lower than last year's 8% at 6.52%, buyers are waiting for the outcome of the presidential election. [Read]

Why investors are sticking with cash as bond yields climb on election jitters. Money-market funds hold $6.5 trillion as election uncertainty looms. With corporate bonds yielding a bit more than 5% and 10-year Treasury yield at 4.25%, investors are questioning if it's worth taking money out of money-market funds. [Read]

Business

Tesla delays its $16,000 Cybertruck range extender and lowers its specs. Tesla ($TSLA) reduced the range of the Cybertruck range extender by 25 miles and pushed back its release date from early 2025 to mid-2025. The add-on sits in the back of the truck at the expense of storage space. [Read]

Stripe’s $1.1 billion deal for crypto firm Bridge marks much-needed win for VCs. The agreement marks a 200% increase from Bridge's August valuation. Bridge makes it easier for businesses to accept payments in crypto stablecoins. [Read]

Lilium, a once promising 'air taxi' startup worth billions, is now on the brink of insolvency. Once valued at $3.3 billion, German eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicles builder faces insolvency after being denied $54 million in state aid from the southeastern state of Bavaria state government. [Read]

Terrorist Attack Hits Major Defense Facility in Turkey The Wall Street Journal

CDC told McDonald’s about potential E. coli outbreak late last week CNBC

Bill Gates quietly donated $50 million to back Kamala Harris Fortune

Deutsche Bank shares fell as lender’s swing back to profit fails to impress CNBC

Starbucks’ latest financials sink shares MarketWatch

Anthropic's AI tool does admin, browses the internet, and orders pizza BI

Huge sales of the nicotine pouch Zyn have sent Philip Morris' stock to an all-time high BI

Billionaire Warren Buffett Sold 56% of Berkshire's Stake in Apple The Motley Fool

Apple analyst Kuo says company cut iPhone 16 orders by 10 million units CNBC

TSMC Cuts Off Client After Discovering Chips Diverted to Huawei Bloomberg

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.