☕ The world according to Buffett

The Oracle of Omaha dishes wisdom... May 08, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [Babbel]( Good morning. Happy Height Day to me and every other 5'8" person. —Neal Freyman MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE Nasdaq 12,235.41 +17.80% S&P 4,136.25 +8.16% Dow 33,674.38 +1.62% 10-Year 3.440% -44.0 bps Bitcoin $28,810.39 +74.11% Oil $71.74 -6.75% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 2:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: The S&P 500 and the Dow are coming off their worst weeks since March. And even with the Fed signaling the end of interest rate hikes, analysts don’t expect the market to perk up all of a sudden. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley predict the S&P will end the year [lower]( than its current level. US oil prices, meanwhile, have fallen for three consecutive weeks over economic concerns.  NATION [8 killed while shopping in Texas]( [People watch as the construction of a wooden cross memorial is completed at the site of a fatal mass shooting a day earlier at Allen Premium Outlets ]( A wooden cross memorial is constructed at the Allen Premium Outlets in Texas. Stewart F. House/Getty Images On Saturday, a gunman [fatally shot]( eight people, including children, at an outlet mall in the Dallas suburb of Allen before he was killed by a nearby police officer responding to an unrelated call. Authorities have identified the attacker as 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia. The gunman used an AR-15-style rifle in the attack and was wearing tactical gear, President Biden said in a statement. What motivated Garcia to open fire on innocent people shopping on a Saturday afternoon isn’t yet known, but police are investigating his connections to white supremacist ideology. According to law enforcement, Garcia had [consumed]( and posted white supremacist and neo-Nazi content online. Social media’s role: Gruesome images of the victims were shared widely on Twitter following the shooting, renewing the [debate]( over whether media companies should show Americans the visceral impacts of gun violence on human bodies. News publishers have typically avoided showing graphic images but have made exceptions in some cases (for example, by publishing the photo of a girl suffering from a napalm attack during the Vietnam War). How politicians responded to another American tragedy: - Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott cited mental health as the root cause of mass shootings. “People want a quick solution. The long-term solution here is to address the mental health issue,” he said. Critics pointed out Abbott [cut $211 million]( of funding for the state agency that oversees mental health services last year. - Democrats bashed Republican inaction on gun reform, and President Biden called once again for a ban on assault-style weapons, which are [used]( in many of the deadliest mass shootings, the WSJ reported. Global perspective: In Serbia, where 17 people were killed in two mass shootings last week, the president called for an “[almost complete disarmament]( and offered one month of amnesty for gun owners to hand over their illegal weapons, according to the NYT. Serbia has the third-highest gun ownership rate in the world, with 39 firearms per 100 people. The US is No. 1 with 121 per 100 people. Also in Texas this weekend: Eight people were [killed]( at a bus stop in the border city of Brownsville after they were hit by a Land Rover. Police have taken the vehicle’s driver, identified as a Hispanic man, into custody, but they don’t know yet whether the act was intentional.   WORLD Tour de headlines [Britain's Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte attend the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla]Britain's Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte attend the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Yui Mok - WPA Pool/Getty Images King Charles III was coronated. The new king was crowned on Saturday in an [event]( that attempted to infuse a modern twist into centuries-old traditions. As anyone who’s been to a wedding knows, the [young kids]( George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—drew much of the attention. And so did the [marginal]( role played by Prince Harry, Charles’s younger son, who is not on great terms with the rest of his family. Harry ditched his royal duties in 2020 to get into the branding and media business with his wife, Meghan Markle. CA reparations package moves forward. A California panel approved a reparations package this weekend that could result in the state paying out [more than $500 billion]( to Black residents, economists estimate. California has been weighing how to make financial amends for the racist policies that have harmed its Black residents, such as redlining by banks that blocked them from getting a mortgage. Under this preliminary plan, which would need to be enacted by lawmakers, eligible Black residents could receive up to $148,099. Mage won the Kentucky Derby. The 15-1 shot bested the 18-horse field at Churchill Downs in a Kentucky Derby [overshadowed]( by deaths in the lead-up to the race: Two more horses died on Saturday before the prime-time race, bringing the total number of horses that died last week at Churchill Downs to seven. Among the owners [celebrating]( Mage’s $1.86 million prize were 391 people who invested in the horse through Commonwealth, a sports investment app that lets you buy shares in pro athletes. TOGETHER WITH BABBEL [No need to pack this travel essential]( [Babbel]( As summer travel starts heating up, so too can your language skills. And with Babbel, you don’t need years of lessons to learn a language. Their method is scientifically proven to have you starting to [speak a new language in just 3 weeks]( only 10 minutes of daily practice. Take your globe-trotting adventures beyond the surface level. Use your newfound language skills to ask deeper questions, order delicious food, and get to know the locals you meet wherever your travels take you. Whatever trip you have in store, [Babbel]( can help you make it even more worthwhile. For a limited time, [get 55% off your Babbel subscription](. INVESTING [The world according to Buffett]( [Warren Buffett ]( J. Kempin/Getty Images Some people got up early on Saturday to watch King Charles III’s coronation. Others tuned in to another kind of royal ceremony: the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett, 92, holds the annual “[Woodstock for Capitalists]( in his hometown every year to discuss his company’s performance and share his thoughts on timely economic issues with tens of thousands of fans in attendance. Here are the highlights. On the regional banking crisis: Buffett bashed leaders at the banks that failed this spring (First Republic, SVB, etc.), saying they “should suffer” and face “punishment.” But he also blamed the “totally crazy” bank regulations that incentivize bad behavior and “very poor” messaging around the debacle from politicians and the media. Buffett thinks the government was right to intervene to protect SVB depositors, claiming, “It would have been catastrophic” otherwise. On the status of the dollar: “We are the reserve currency. I see no option for any other currency to be the reserve currency,” Buffett said. He called the notion of bitcoin or other tokens dethroning the dollar a “joke.” On Berkshire’s investment in Apple: The value of Berkshire’s stake in Apple has ballooned to $151 billion, amounting to nearly half the value of its entire stock portfolio. “It just happens to be a better business than any we own,” Buffett said. On living your best life: “You should write your obituary and then try to figure out how to live up to it,” Buffett said. “It’s not that complicated.”   CALENDAR The week ahead [U.S. President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) talk as they depart the U.S. Capitol ]Drew Angerer/Getty Images Critical week for the economy: Tomorrow, President Biden, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and congressional leaders will meet to discuss raising the debt ceiling with a default perilously near. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned yesterday of “[economic chaos]( if they don’t figure something out. Then, on Wednesday, the latest inflation data will be released. It’s expected to have slowed in April, but not by much. Tense times at the border: Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed US authorities to quickly expel migrants, will expire on Thursday, creating an “[extremely challenging]( situation along the US–Mexico border, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said. The US sent 1,500 active-duty troops to the border to handle what’s expected to be an influx of migrants once Title 42 sunsets. US ends Covid-19 public health emergency: Like Title 42, the US public health emergency for Covid-19 [will end]( on Thursday. That may limit access to testing for millions of Americans, but it won’t affect the availability of treatments and vaccines. Everything else… - The Pulitzer Prizes will be handed out today . - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be released for the Nintendo Switch on Friday. - Mother’s Day, the mother of all mail days, is on Sunday. TOGETHER WITH THINK! [Think!]( Just 4 weeks. It takes time to form a habit—and what habit is more important than committing to your mental and emotional strength? We linked up with think! to create a calendar full of ways that you can [build your mental and emotional strength]( one day at a time. [Day one starts today](. GRAB BAG Key performance indicators [Ref blowing the whistle at the world cup]FIFA via Giphy Stat: Thinking about becoming a professional whistleblower. The Securities and Exchange Commission said it paid a whistleblower a record [$279 million]( more than double the previous largest payout of $114 million in 2020. The SEC didn’t give many details but did say that the whistleblower’s “multiple interviews and written submissions” were vital. Whistleblower awards can amount to 10%–30% of the money collected by the SEC when it imposes sanctions of over $1 million, according to Reuters. Quote: “I wouldn’t like to devalue climate change…but I think this might end up being more urgent.” The “godfather of AI,” Geoffrey Hinton, [warned]( that the threat of artificial intelligence is a more pressing concern for humanity than climate change, in an interview with Reuters. Ever since Hinton decided to leave his job at Google last month, he’s been sounding the alarm that we’ve opened Pandora’s box with ChatGPT and other recent AI breakthroughs. Watch: Snoop Dogg also pondered the breakthroughs in AI, but with a lot more f-bombs. ([Twitter]( NEWS What else is brewing - [Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3]( scored $114 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend. That’s good for the second-best opening of the year. - [Ukraine]( said that the US-supplied Patriot system downed a Russian hypersonic missile. It’s believed to be the first time a Patriot took out this type of weapon during the war. - [Marissa Mayer]( the former CEO of Yahoo, said she regretted buying Tumblr instead of Netflix or Hulu in an interview with Tech Brew. - [Vietnam]( recorded its highest-ever temperature: more than 111 degrees Fahrenheit. - [Bronny James]( the five-star basketball recruit and LeBron James’s son, will play his college ball at USC. RECS [Monday to-do list image] You watched the Miami Grand Prix. Now learn about the [wild logistics]( of staging a Formula 1 race. Credit card hacks: Here are [29 credit card perks]( you might not be using. Pod rec: Kevin Kelly, the founding executive editor of Wired, [shares advice]( from a book he just wrote about advice. An AI writing partner: This [app]( could help you cure writer’s block. Stop scrolling, start learning: [Imprint]( stunning visual lessons help you master complex topics in just a few minutes a day. [Build a learning habit]( Surgically advanced: [Monogram]( sprucing up the surgery room with their futuristic tech. [Learn about it in 60 seconds]( *This is sponsored advertising content. GAMES The puzzle section Turntable: Your task is to find the 33 words hidden in the letter jumble. [Play it here](. King trivia Fresh off of the coronation of King Charles III, let’s do some trivia on other kings. Each of the clues below can be answered by a name/phrase with the word “king” in it. - A 2021 Will Smith film about the father of Serena and Venus Williams. - Britain’s national anthem. - The speaker of, “When we are born, we cry that we are come to this great stage of fools.” - In the Old Testament, he reigned over Israel right before King Solomon. - Dwayne Johnson had his first lead role in this 2002 film. AROUND THE BREW [The Brief is this Thursday]( [The Brief is this Thursday]( The Brief, our one-day marketing summit, is this week. [Use code MB25 for a $250 last-minute ticket](. The Business Essentials Accelerator is back and better than ever. This one-month crash course in business fundamentals kicks off on June 5. [Apply now](. 🦾 You may be working alongside AI very soon, so start familiarizing yourself with the technology. Check out Tech Brew’s guide to [AI in the workplace here](. 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 - King Richard - “God Save the King” - King Lear (from Shakespeare’s King Lear) - King David - The Scorpion King ✤ A Note From Monogram This is a paid advertisement for Monogram Orthopedics’ Regulation A+ offering. Learn more at [invest.monogramorthopedics.com/disclaimers](. 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