☕️ Floppy-haired fraudster

SBF is sentenced to 25 years... March 29, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Impact.com]( Good morning. Today marks one year since Evan Gershkovich, a 32-year-old American Wall Street Journal reporter, was unjustly detained in Russia on accusations of espionage—charges that the paper and the US government say are bogus. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said it would be open to a prisoner swap, but not until a verdict is reached in his trial, which has not been scheduled yet. In the meantime, friends and family who’ve corresponded with Evan say they’re keeping him up to date on his favorite English soccer team, Arsenal (which is having a great season), and his father said they’re chatting about developments in AI because Evan “wants to be current when he comes back.” —Cassandra Cassidy, Matty Merritt, Molly Liebergall, Adam Epstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 16,379.46 -0.12% S&P 5,254.35 +0.11% Dow 39,807.37 +0.12% 10-Year 4.206% +1.0 bps Bitcoin $70,653.45 +1.75% AMC $3.72 -14.29% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 10:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks finished the first quarter strong (markets are closed today for Good Friday), with the S&P 500 and Dow closing at [record highs](. Tech stocks continued to drive the gains this quarter, while investors were giddy that the Fed might soon cut interest rates. Sadly, fallen meme stock AMC couldn’t join the party: It dropped 14% after the movie theater chain announced a stock sale.  CRYPTO [Crypto’s floppy-haired fraudster gets 25 years]( [Sam Bankman-Fried]( Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Yesterday, a US district judge [sentenced]( Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced crypto king, to 25 years in prison. Prosecutors had asked for 40 to 50 years; Bankman-Fried’s lawyers fought for six. Once the CEO of crypto fund FTX, which fell into calamity as powerfully as it rose to prominence, “SBF” was convicted of fraud in November and held responsible for $10 billion in missing customer deposits. If he serves his full sentence, Bankman-Fried will be 57 when he gets out, but experts have said he’s unlikely to serve the whole time. Words were had. The acerbic Judge Lewis Kaplan laid out his reasons for the sentence, starting with a big one: perjury. - Kaplan said that Bankman-Fried lied to jurors during the trial and intentionally obstructed justice. - The judge also cited the defendant’s apparent lack of remorse and “exceptional flexibility” with the truth. Bankman-Fried’s lawyers argued that he “doesn’t make decisions with malice in his heart. He makes decisions with math in his head.” - Talking about his former business partners who testified against him during the trial, Bankman-Fried said together they all “built something beautiful.” He then said, “I threw it all away. It haunts me every day.” - That didn’t sway Judge Kaplan, who said there was a risk he would commit more crimes if he were allowed to go free. On the scale of notorious fraudsters’ prison sentences…this one is somewhere [in the middle](. Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11 years for committing fraud with with her blood-testing company, Theranos. Bernie Madoff, the mastermind behind a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, died in prison while serving his 150-year sentence. Looking ahead…Bankman-Fried plans to appeal his conviction and his sentence. Meanwhile, a group of former FTX investors filed proposed [class-action lawsuits]( against the law firm that represented FTX in its bankruptcy proceedings and celebrities who promoted the failed exchange.—CC   PRESENTED BY IMPACT.COM [Howdy, partnerships]( [Impact.com]( A one-size-fits-all approach to affiliate marketing…kinda defeats the purpose. So [impact.com joined forces with Gatepoint Research]( to explore how marketing leaders are using influencer strategies to bring a little personality to their channel mix. The [Modern Approaches to Marketing]( report digs into insights from hundreds of decision-makers and C-level executives across retail, financial services, hotel and restaurant brands, and consumer goods. The goal? Understanding their GTM goals, the challenges they’re facing, and their unique approaches to partnership programs. Here’s a taste of what they discovered: - 57% prefer partnering with media publishers. - 30% manage affiliate programs in house. - 38% don’t have a partnership program in place. [Get the full scoop in the full report](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Leonardo DiCaprio throwing money off a yacht in The Wolf of Wall Street]The Wolf of Wall Street/Paramount Pictures via Giphy Stocks had their best Q1 in five years. The vibes...they’re good, folks. The S&P 500 ended Thursday—the last trading day of the quarter—up by more than 10%, marking its [best start]( to a year since 2019. The AI craze, record corporate profits, and optimism around cooling inflation are all contributing to the stock boom. The economy got more good news yesterday when the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that several key gauges, including GDP and consumer spending, grew in Q4 of last year. But that’s not all: Home sales bounced back after a January slump, jobless claims fell, and advertisers raised their full-year forecast. Consumer sentiment is now at its highest level since 2021. Home Depot made an $18 billion bet on roofers. The home improvement giant announced it’s [acquiring]( Texas-based SRS Distribution, which sells supplies to professional contractors, landscapers, and roofers, for ~$18.3 billion. Half of Home Depot’s customers are professionals, CNBC reported, while the other half are DIY consumers. As Americans cut back on doing projects, Home Depot is hoping it can make up some ground by catering more to the pros. CEO Ted Decker said the move will increase the company’s market by $50 billion. UMG expanded its partnership with Spotify as it battles TikTok. Universal Music Group announced a slew of [new initiatives]( with Spotify, including allowing its artists to share pre-release teasers on the platform and giving users the option to pre-save songs before they come out. The moves come amid UMG’s ongoing tussle with TikTok. In February, the music behemoth took ~3 million songs off the popular app after the two parties couldn’t agree on a new royalties deal. The expanded Spotify partnership is widely seen as an attempt by UMG to leverage its position against TikTok, Variety reported. HEALTHCARE [Expensive Ozempic is cheap to make, says new study]( [Ozempic pen with discount stickers on it.]( Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photo: NurPhoto/Getty Image A study published this week suggests Americans are paying movie theater popcorn-level markups for Ozempic. A month’s supply of the diabetes and weight loss drug could be produced for less than $5—while it’s currently priced at ~$935 (before insurance), researchers at Yale, King’s College Hospital in London, and Doctors Without Borders [found](. The paper says that the figure includes taxes and a profit for Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk. - The company hasn’t released its actual manufacturing cost but has said the price reflects the nearly $5 billion it poured into R&D in 2023 and the $6 billion it will spend to ramp up production to meet growing demand. - Last year, Wegovy’s and Ozempic’s combined sales brought in over $18 billion for Novo. Prominent Big Pharma finger pointer Sen. Bernie Sanders responded to the study by demanding Novo lower the price of Ozempic (and similar drug Wegovy) in the US to $155/month, which is what he claimed the company charges in Canada. Big picture: Sanders might find an unusual ally in the fight to push the cost of GLP-1 drugs down—health insurance companies, which are getting [crushed]( by the high costs of these drugs, especially as the drugs get approved to [treat more conditions](   TOGETHER WITH SAGE [Sage]( (More) time to shine. Finance teams leveraging automation have 3x more time for high-impact activities vs. teams that don’t. Sage explores these insights in their free report: [Fast Close. Faster Insights](. High levels of automation = more time to [become a strategic partner]( more time to ideate, and more opportunities to close your laptop—and the books—early. ELECTIONS [Biden camp hopes for a boost from multi-prez event]( [Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Queen Latifah]( Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photos: Getty Images President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign hosted the Oppenheimer of political fundraisers last night—throngs of people paid a record amount of money to watch an A-list lineup rally around one man for hours. Former Commanders in Chief Barack Obama and Bill Clinton [joined Biden]( at NYC’s Radio City Music Hall for a night of conversation and entertainment that supporters hope will buoy Biden’s campaign. More than 5,000 people attended the shindig, which pulled in $25+ million, making it the highest-grossing political fundraiser in US history, Biden’s campaign said. - For the main event, late-night host Stephen Colbert moderated a chat with Biden, Obama, and Clinton. - Mindy Kaling emceed musical performances by Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, and Lea Michele. - First Lady Jill Biden co-hosted an afterparty with DJ D-Nice for 500 VIP guests. - Vogue empress Anna Wintour helped organize the grand affair. Ahead of the event, street closures gridlocked traffic in midtown, and pro-Palestinian protesters crowded outside the venue. Meanwhile…presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has been selling $60 [Bibles]( [$399 sneakers]( and [shares of Truth Social]( latest [meme stock](. As of March 1, Trump’s campaign only had $42 million, compared with Biden’s $155 million, [according to The Hill](   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [A Boston Dynamic Spot robot]Pau Barrena/Getty Images Quote: “We are relieved that the only casualty that day was our robot.” Who’s a good boy, Roscoe? A robot dog is a Massachusetts hero after it was shot multiple times while searching for an armed suspect who was barricaded inside a house. Controlled remotely by police, Roscoe was able to [locate the suspect]( in the basement, allowing officers to arrest him safely. State troopers credited Roscoe with potentially saving lives. It’s unclear what will happen to its own: The bullet-ridden robo-dog was shipped back to its maker, Boston Dynamics, which is sending the police a new model to replace it. Hopefully, there’s room for robots in dog heaven. Stat: Here’s what $90,000 will get you in today’s economy: A 2024 Rivian R1S with accessories, 900 Keurig coffee makers, or two semesters at BU. A group of New England schools that includes Yale and Tufts each now cost [at least $90k]( for tuition, housing, and other costs, CNN reported. Wellesley’s fees increased 4.7% this year to ~$92k, outpacing the rate of inflation. Though college costs are ballooning, the schools are quick to point out that most students receive financial aid and don’t have to pay the full sticker price. Read: Boeing employees explain how the company sacrificed quality for speed. ([New York Times]( QUIZ [The quizster bunny]( [New Friday quiz image]( The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s Weekly News Quiz has been compared to learning that ctrl + command + space on a Mac opens up the emoji keyboard. It’s that satisfying. [Ace the quiz](. NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [South Korean businesses]( are reportedly offering workers $75k bonuses for each baby they have amid the country’s population crisis. - [The Writers Guild of America]( sent a letter to Congress, demanding it do something about the threat of AI to its members’ jobs. - [The US]( changed how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity for the first time in 27 years in an effort to better count Americans with Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and North African heritage. - [Amazon]( plans to spend $150 billion on data centers over the next 15 years to keep its cloud computing edge over Google and Microsoft, Bloomberg reported. - [Kim Kardashian]( was sued by the Judd Foundation for allegedly promoting furniture as Donald Judd pieces when they were, in fact, knockoffs. RECS [Friday to-do list] Run the world: Beyoncé’s new [country-influenced album]( Cowboy Carter, is out today. Learn: This [neat interactive]( shows you what famous figures throughout history were alive at the same time (and how old they were). Eat: A tour of the world’s [tastiest dumplings](. Watch: Justin Timberlake jettisons the rumors that he’s washed with this [NPR Tiny Desk concert](. It’s who you know: Meet your people and achieve your goals with [Sidebar](. This exclusive leadership program matches you with a group of 6–10 professionals with similar experience. [Accelerate your career]( Live from New York: Join [CFO Brew’s event]( on AI, finance strategy, and operations. Secure your future and [grab a ticket]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Picdoku: Spring break takes center stage in today’s Picdoku. [Get your tan on here](. Friday puzzle Which fruit comes next in this sequence: Banana, pear, kiwi, tomato, _____? Your options: - Peach - Lemon - Plum - Guava SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=4904f90a]( ANSWER Guava. The second letters of the words are the vowels in alphabetical order (a, e, i, o, u). [Source]( Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: jettisons, meaning “pushes to the side or tosses away.” Thanks to Hope from Maine for throwing us the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. Written by [Adam Epstein]( [Neal Freyman]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( [Matty Merritt]( and [Molly Liebergall]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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