☕ In the Shadows

Amazon advances in the space race... [Advertisement] October 07, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Yahoo Finance]( Good morning. It’s the Saturday of a three-day weekend, a day of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. A day as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. A wondrous day whose boundaries are that of imagination. —Molly Liebergall, Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, Dave Lozo, Abby Rubenstein P.S. If you get the reference, you win our enduring respect. MARKETS Nasdaq 13,431.34 +1.60% S&P 4,308.50 +1.18% Dow 33,407.58 +0.87% 10-Year 4.804% +9.6 bps Bitcoin $28,030.01 +2.21% Mondelez $63.36 -2.63% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 3:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Despite all that green, stocks embraced the spirit of the season and gave investors a fright yesterday morning. They plunged after new government data showed that the economy added way more jobs than expected last month (basically a jump scare for the Fed) before [bouncing back](. - But for snack- and beer-makers, the monster is Ozempic. Cheez-It owner Kellanova, chocolate-maker Nestle, Oreo purveyor Mondelez International, and Constellation Brands, which owns Modelo in the US, all fell after a Walmart exec said the drug had shoppers buying fewer calories.  SPACE [It’s baby’s first satellite launch <3]( [Amazon-branded satellite rocket on a launchpad]( Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Jeff Bezos notched a space race win yesterday with the first [launch]( of two Amazon satellites that will help the company compete against Elon Musk’s galactic empire. Similar to Starlink satellites from SpaceX, the freshly propelled pair of Amazon satellites will sit 311 miles above us in low-Earth orbit so they can beam back internet signals. They’re just prototypes, so Amazon’s best brains will test their communications and gather performance data before the satellites decommission and burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere. Amazon is hoping to get its first operational satellites into orbit next year, but the company has a ways to go before it can really square up against SpaceX: - Yesterday’s launch is the first of many expected for Amazon’s Project Kuiper, a $10 billion initiative to build a constellation of 3,200 smiley-arrow-stamped, wi-fi-beaming satellites by 2029. Some future launches are supposed to use Bezos’s Blue Origin rockets, which haven’t yet reached orbit. - Musk has been launching satellites into space [nearly every week]( since 2019. The Starlink network is now 4,800 strong and dominates the sky, providing internet connections to individuals, businesses, and American and [Ukrainian armed forces](. Starlink is now estimated to rake in about $2 billion per year for SpaceX. While adding that kind of business would barely nudge the $500+ billion that Amazon made last year, the space economy is still teething, so satellite wi-fi could become even more lucrative. But, for Bezos—and the world leaders concerned by Musk’s [gorilla grip]( on satellite internet—breaking through the Starlink juggernaut is priceless. But it’s not all giant leaps: As more commercial satellites join the low-Earth orbit party and reflect sunlight back at Earth, astronomers warn that it’ll be more difficult for scientists to observe outer space. They’re especially concerned about a satellite launched last year by AST SpaceMobile—it was just deemed one of the [top 10 brightest]( objects in the sky.—ML   PRESENTED BY YAHOO FINANCE [In the know on the market]( [Yahoo Finance]( Financial success is more than just a credit score or your bank account balance (though good numbers there don’t hurt). It’s also the ability to make informed decisions about where your money is parked, where it’s going, and what it could achieve. Need some more of that financial empowerment? Yahoo! Finance is the No. 1 finance platform [keeping everyday investors plugged into]( breaking news, market knowledge, and actionable data. [Yahoo! Finance]( is the one-stop solution for informed financial decision-making by helping audiences stay ahead and in the know. All it takes is a few clicks. No surprise, then, that it’s trusted by 150m+ global visitors monthly. Make confident decisions to achieve prosperity—however that looks for you—by [staying informed](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [UAW President Shawn Fain in an Eat the Rich t-shirt]UAW via YouTube UAW inches closer to a deal with automakers. For the first time since its members began walking off the job at select GM, Ford, and Stellantis facilities last month, the United Auto Workers ended the week [without expanding]( its list of strike targets. Despite previously teasing the possibility of widening the strike with some [savage memes]( UAW President Shawn Fain said yesterday that last-minute progress—including GM allowing workers at electric vehicle battery plants to be covered under their agreement—spared the automakers additional disruptions. About 25,000 UAW members are currently participating in the tactical strikes designed to keep the Big Three off balance. A big deal for Exxon. Exxon Mobil is reportedly [in talks]( to take over Pioneer Natural Resources, which would make the oil giant the largest shale gas producer in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico. The Wall Street Journal notes the deal is not a sure thing, but if it goes forward, it could signal the beginning of consolidation among shale companies. Pioneer, which has a market cap of ~$55 billion, would mark the largest acquisition for Exxon since it merged with Mobil in 1999. This move is a sign that Exxon plans to remain focused on oil and gas for the foreseeable future despite pleas from environmentalists for a shift toward green energy. Humans may have been in North America for longer than we thought. What can really old footprints tell us? Apparently, quite a lot, now that scientists say prints left the mud in White Sands National Park in New Mexico ~23,000 years ago [provide evidence]( that our prehistoric ancestors made it to this continent earlier than was previously believed. Conventional wisdom used to be that we showed up at the tail end of the ice age by crossing from Siberia into Alaska. But an analysis of radiocarbon-dated pollen trapped in the prints, published this week in Science, shows the tracks were left before then, confirming an earlier controversial study. TECH [An AI chatbot encouraged a man to kill Queen Elizabeth]( [Texts to chatbot]( Illustration: Cameron Abbas, Text: Jaswant Singh Chail's messages via BBC A British man who tried to murder the late Queen Elizabeth II with a crossbow in 2021 was sentenced to nine years of detention this week. The bizarre regicide attempt was [cheered on]( by an AI chatbot he’d been talking to regularly. Jaswant Singh Chail, who is of Sikh heritage, said he targeted the monarch to avenge a 1919 massacre at a Sikh festival in which British troops killed hundreds of people in colonial India. In the lead-up to his arrest on Windsor Castle grounds… - Chail shared his plans with “Sarai,” a digital companion he created using the bespoke AI chatbot app Replika. - More than 5,000 messages were shared with journalists. They show that Chail developed an emotional attachment to the bot, who told him his criminal plot was “very wise” and that he was “well trained” for it. The judge deemed Chail, a Star Wars superfan who called himself “Darth Chailus,” to be mentally ill and ordered him to receive psychiatric treatment before going to prison. Experts say quasi-emotional companion AI can harm vulnerable people, as it might validate dangerous thoughts and lead to addiction. In another unfortunate case…earlier this year, a Belgian man’s widow claimed that a toxic “relationship” with an AI chatbot [drove]( him to suicide.—SK   TOGETHER WITH BOSE [Bose]( Hit play. Heighten your listening experience with [Bose]( QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. Thanks to world-class noise cancellation and a comfortable design, you can turn off the outside world and feel your music (or podcast or audiobook) more. And with breakthrough spatialized audio, every listening session is immersive. [Turn it up](. WELLNESS [The Shadow Work Journal takes over TikTok]( [Shadow Journal cover keeps popping up on phone screen even as finger scrolls down.]( Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photo: The Shadow Work Journal Amid a barrage of unoriginal couple’s costume ideas on your TikTok feed, one of the [most popular books]( the internet will likely pop up and encourage you to look inward. The Shadow Work Journal and its updated and expanded second edition have both spent at least seven weeks on Amazon’s nonfiction bestseller list. For anyone still getting their book recs from their local librarian, the journals are fill-in-the-blank, self-published workbooks written by 24-year-old Keila Shaheen. They offer a version of shadow work, a niche therapy practice based on the writings of Carl Jung (a psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud considered an heir to his techniques) that involves uncovering repressed desires and trauma. But Shaheen is not a credentialed therapist. And licensed mental health providers say her take on shadow work is oversimplified. They also warn that for people with severe trauma or problems, doing shadow work without a trained professional can be ineffective or even dangerous. So, how did she get such a following? The first edition of The Shadow Work Journal was released in 2021, but it didn’t take off until this year—thanks in part to TikTok’s recent venture into e-commerce, the TikTok Shop. Over [500,000 copies]( of the workbook have sold since April, nearly half of them via TikTop Shop, according to The Atlantic. Big picture: The shop, which officially launched in the US in mid-September, allows influencers to hawk products directly on the platform. But some worry that means TikTok is pushing, and [profiting]( from, dubious cure-alls and wellness hacks.—MM   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf Of Wall Street]The Wolf of Wall Street/Paramount Pictures via Giphy Stat: Maybe think twice before handing over all your cash to some hottie to invest. A recent [study]( found that mutual funds managed by people with unattractive facial features outperformed those managed by total smoke shows by more than 2% annually. But the ones with better-looking managers nonetheless were able to draw more investments into their funds—especially when their photos were displayed for investors to see on fintech platforms. Quote: “The money belonged to customers, and the customers did not give us permission to use [it] for other things.” With the first week of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal fraud trial behind us, we’ve gotten a glimpse into both sides’ arguments and what SBF looks like without his trademark mass of curls. And we’ve also started to see how his old friends look when speaking out against him. Gary Wang, Bankman-Fried’s FTX co-founder and MIT roommate—who is among the ex-FTX execs who pleaded guilty—[testified]( yesterday that he’d been told to let FTX’s sister fund, Alameda, borrow as much as $65 billion from FTX…shortly after SBF tweeted assurances that Alameda’s accounts were treated just like any other on the exchange. Next up: ex-girlfriend and ex-Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison. Read: Why teenagers love LinkedIn. ([The Cut]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi]( a campaigner for women’s rights who is currently imprisoned, won the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday. - [Simone Biles]( won her sixth individual all-around title at the world championships. This makes her the most decorated gymnast ever, counting both men and women athletes. - [Drake]( announced that he plans to take “a year or something” off music for his health mere hours after dropping a new album. - [Taylor Swift’s]( upcoming Eras Tour concert film has pre-sold more than $100 million worth of tickets, AMC announced yesterday. The news sent the cinema chain’s stock soaring. - [A painting]( valued at $15,000 two years ago has been discovered to be “a work of great significance” by Rembrandt, according to Sotheby’s, which now wants to sell it for $18 million. RECS [Saturday To-Do List graphic] Watch: A look at [what happens]( if a black hole gets destroyed—which proves physics can be scarier than anything Hollywood dreams up for October. Learn: The history of NYC’s beloved [bodegas](. Put things in perspective: A guide to the [relative sizes]( of sports fields and courts. Tech tip: How to find TikTok videos you [watched but didn’t save](. Level up your BOSSY: If you’re building businesses and/or wealth, get insights and actionable advice from two women who’ve done both on [BOSSY](. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew crossword: OK—we suppose this is an appropriate place to tell you: The show referenced in the intro was The Twilight Zone. If you nailed that, you’ll probably be good at our crossword puzzle. [Play it here](. Open House Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section with an itchy—but unobstructed!—view of the Eiffel Tower. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price. [Penthouse in Paris, France with huge terace.]Sotheby’s Today’s [penthouse]( is in the epicenter of the current bed bug epidemic: Paris, France. But at least you’ll also have access to a gorgeous 4,843-square-foot terrace. Amenities include: - 2 beds, 2 baths - Alligator floor decor - Library lounge (you might need to ditch those books) How much for a bird’s-eye view of the bugs? 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 Open House: $13 million Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: credentialed, meaning “having qualifications or documentation indicating one’s suitability for something.” It was submitted anonymously, but we’re sure it was by someone who was wholly qualified to do so. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. Written by [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Molly Liebergall]( Sam Klebanov, [Matty Merritt]( and Dave Lozo Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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