☕ Pay to play

Google faces an Epic trial... November 07, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [Autonomix]( Good morning. It’s Election Day in America. Sure, it’s an off year, but it’s never too early to perfect your voting technique and make your voice heard on important races and ballot measures. Plus, no laptop is complete without a fresh “I Voted” sticker. [Here]( are the races with the biggest national implications, [here]( you can find a sample ballot that shows the elections you can vote in, and [here]( you can locate your polling place. On a completely different note, scroll down to today’s Mini crossword for a guest appearance by trivia royalty. —Cassandra Cassidy, Molly Liebergall, Sam Klebanov, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 13,518.78 +0.30% S&P 4,365.98 +0.18% Dow 34,095.86 +0.10% 10-Year 4.649% +13.1 bps Bitcoin $35,001.89 -0.12% Dish Network $3.44 -37.43% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Hot off their best week of the year, stocks [kept climbing]( yesterday, giving the Nasdaq its longest winning streak since January. Dish Network did not benefit from the good vibes, plunging to its lowest in 25 years after reporting disappointing earnings and heavy customer losses in Q3.  REAL ESTATE [Trump testifies in fraud case]( [Photo of Donald Trump ]( Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images Donald Trump took the stand yesterday in New York State Attorney General Letitia James’s civil fraud case alleging he inflated his assets to appear wealthier and take advantage of lower interest rates and insurance costs. Things got testy during the ex-president’s testimony. The stakes are high: New York Judge Arthur Engoron already ruled that Trump, his adult sons, and their company are liable for fraud (Trump is appealing). Unlike the criminal cases pending against Trump, this lawsuit has no chance of resulting in jail time, but the trial will determine whether the judge grants James’s request for a $250 million fine and a [ban on Trump doing business]( in New York. There was plenty of snark and frustration to go around… - Judge Engoron asked Trump’s lawyer to “control your client,” and later threatened to remove Trump from the stand for refusing to answer questions directly, insulting the judge, and calling the trial “unfair.” - Trump said he had no involvement in preparing a 2021 financial statement because he was busy at the White House “keeping our country safe,” causing prosecutors to clarify that Trump was not president in 2021. One point of contention: What are Trump’s properties, including Mar-a-Lago, really worth? So, how do you appraise Mar-a-Lago? During his testimony, Trump claimed it was actually undervalued in his company’s financial documents and worth as much as $1.5 billion. This came after the judge concluded in his ruling that Trump inflated the price by 2,300% because the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser had valued it between $18 million and $37 million. Meanwhile, real estate agents have told news outlets they’d put it between [$300 million and $600 million](. Why so many choices? Tax assessors typically value properties much lower than a real estate agent would. Also, because Mar-a-Lago operates as a private club, the assessor appraised it based on its annual net operating income not on potential resale or development value. Looking ahead…Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who is not a defendant in the case, is set to testify on Wednesday.—CC   TOGETHER WITH AUTONOMIX [Honey, I shrunk the lab]( [Autonomix]( Autonomix is aiming to shrink today’s diagnostic lab equipment. How small? We’re talking the size of a 2-millimeter microchip placed on a catheter that can detect and target nerve signals. And you can [invest before their planned Nasdaq listing](. This potentially groundbreaking technology could unlock new treatments for everything from high blood pressure to pain. Imagine treating pain by altering the nerves instead of relying on opioids. Autonomix’s tech has over 100 patents, a strong edge against potential copycats as they tackle this estimated $100b market opportunity. And while they plan to list on the Nasdaq, you don’t have to wait until then to invest. [Become an Autonomix shareholder today](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [A WeWork office]TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images WeWork is officially bankrupt. WeWork, the coworking company where your friend with a startup job bragged about getting beer on tap, [filed for]( Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey after years of struggles that began with a failed IPO in 2019. Since it nixed the IPO after investors got a look at its finances and just how much power WeWork’s eccentric founder Adam Neumann had, WeWork (which eventually went public via SPAC) has suffered from having signed on to very expensive leases in its pre-IPO rush to grow. In 2019, the company was valued at $47 billion, but it has since fallen steadily, and this year, its stock has plunged by 98%, giving it a ~$45 million value as of last week. ChatGPT gets customizable. OpenAI is rolling out the ability to make [custom versions]( of its AI chatbot, called GPTs, and will create a marketplace for people to sell them, the company announced at its first-ever developer event yesterday. Think of it as AI apps, with their own app store, for specific tasks. “Eventually, you’ll just ask the computer for what you need, and it’ll do all of these tasks for you,” CEO Sam Altman said in his keynote speech. The company revealed that ChatGPT has 100 million weekly users. OpenAI also previewed an even more powerful update to ChatGPT known as GPT 4-Turbo and cut prices for its software. Actors union says studios’ “best and final” offer is not enough. Not everyone’s as bullish on AI as Altman: SAG-AFTRA said that AI was one of the “essential items” where it did not agree with the [latest offer]( from Hollywood studios to end the actors strike. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that a clause in the studios’ proposal regarding AI scans of [highly paid actors]( was a major sticking point, as the studios wanted to pay for the scan but not to use it in the future. TECH [Epic Games squares off against Google]( [An image from Fortnite]( Epic Games/Fortnite via Giphy The chances of someone doing a Fortnite dance for a robed judge are higher than usual right now. Epic Games and Google kicked off a jury trial in San Francisco federal court yesterday over the [Fortnite-maker’s antitrust lawsuit]( against the tech behemoth. Epic wants to sell in-game items (like skins) on Android devices without needing to pay fees to the Google Play Store. The lawsuit claims that Google… - Hinders competitors to its Play Store, which charges developers (including Epic) 15%–30% on in-app purchases. - Spent $1+ billion on contracts with phone-makers, app developers, and video game companies that prevented them from creating their own app stores. Google maintains that its in-app purchase fees are justifiable compensation and almost entirely below 15%. The tech giant says that it must tightly control purchases to protect user security. Does this sound familiar? [Epic also sued Apple]( and made very similar claims. Apple mostly [won]( but Epic scored a ruling that Apple should allow developers to display link-outs to non-App Store payment methods. Plus, Google is currently embroiled in [a separate antitrust case]( with the US government. Busy time to be Sundar Pichai. Coming up…this trial may last five weeks and include testimony from Alphabet CEO Pichai, plus representatives from Apple, Netflix, Motorola, Android, and AT&T.—ML   TOGETHER WITH FACET [Facet]( What’s your money style? Take the new Money Style quiz from Facet and see what your dollars would say if they could talk. Get insights into how you think, feel, and express yourself when it comes to moolah. Peep your personal style + learn more about your relationship with money when you [take the quiz](. What do you think your money style is? [Money marvel]( dynamo]( alchemist]( of those]( BUSINESS [Bumble CEO to step down as dating apps struggle]( [Bumble CEO]( Jerod Harris/Getty Images Bumble and its CEO are unmatching each other: It announced yesterday that, as of January, Whitney Wolfe Herd [will no longer run]( the female-forward dating platform she founded in 2014. Wolfe Herd devised Bumble’s signature ladies-DM-first concept to give women control of their romantic lives sans unsolicited messages from weirdos. Then she grew it from a scrappy startup that relied on guerrilla marketing in sororities to a conglomerate with several subsidiaries that help millions of people connect. They’re not breaking up completely: She’s still the company’s largest individual shareholder and will transition to executive chair. But it’s rough out there Wolfe Herd’s departure comes as dating apps struggle to get singles to pay for algorithmic introductions and [college students snub them](. - Tinder and Hinge owner (and Bumble competitor) Match Group’s stock tumbled earlier this month after it reported that Tinder lost paying subscribers last quarter and its Q4 revenue predictions were lower than analysts expected. - Meanwhile, Bumble has faced rising marketing costs as it tries to compete, with its stock price falling almost 83% since its blockbuster IPO in early 2021. Looking ahead…Slack CEO Lidiane Jones will become Bumble’s new chief executive.—SK   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Jim Belushi wearing a sweatshirt that says "College" in Animal House]Animal House/Universal Pictures via YouTube Stat: Here’s another reason to stay in school: It may shorten your commute. The average [commute]( in the US is ~27 minutes, but people with college degrees now spend less time getting to work weekly than people whose schooling stopped after high school, according to a New York Times analysis of government data. The opposite was true pre-pandemic. This reflects the fact that transit schedules remain altered due to the dip in ridership caused by the pandemic, and people without advanced degrees are more likely to rely on public transit to get to their jobs. Quote: “My name isn’t spelled with a ‘Z.’ It’s Strei-sand, like sand on the beach. How simple can you get?” When Barbra Streisand heard Siri [mispronounce]( her last name, she did what any person with a shopping mall in their basement would do: She called Apple CEO Tim Cook and asked him to fix it. As the legendary singer tells it, Cook was “lovely” and took care of the problem for her. “I guess that’s one perk of fame!” Streisand told the BBC in an interview yesterday while promoting her new memoir, which will undoubtedly contain many inspiring tales of personal struggles like this one. Read: Why “follow the money” isn’t enough to stop organized crime anymore. ([Vice]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [The Health Ministry]( in Hamas-controlled Gaza said that more than 10,000 Palestinians had been killed since the Israel–Hamas war began. President Biden reportedly spoke to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday about “tactical pauses” to help civilians and enable hostage releases. - [SpaceX]( will take in $9 billion this year, with sales at Elon Musk’s space company expected to grow to $15 billion in 2024, sources with knowledge of the private company told Bloomberg. - [Ryanair]( after achieving record profits, will start paying regular dividends to shareholders for the first time in the budget airline’s 40-year history. - [The Supreme Court]( will hear oral arguments today in a major gun rights case over the validity of a law prohibiting people subject to restraining orders for domestic violence from owning guns. - [Attendees]( at an event for Bored Ape NFT owners in Hong Kong said they suffered eye injuries after enjoying concerts featuring lasers and blacklights. That’s extra rough on top of the collapse of the NFT market. RECS [Tuesday To Do List] Eat: Cake was once an Election Day tradition. Here’s [the history (and a recipe)](. Watch: [Harry Potter]( but make it cyberpunk. Travel tip: These are National Geographic’s [top destinations]( for 2024. Say “aww”: Check out the winners of a [dog photography contest](. Make a plan: Budget planning for next year doesn’t have to be the most dreaded item on your to-do list. Our hit course, Financial Forecasting, returns November 13–17. Get the tools to build a successful budget. [Reserve your seat today](. Think fast: [Master cutting-edge concepts]( in math, tech, data, programming, and more with Brilliant’s 5-minute, bite-size lessons. [Free for 30 days]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini (celeb shot): We’ve got a special treat for you today. Typically, we ask whether you can beat the time of our managing editor, Neal. But we upped the ante and asked Ken Jennings, a host of Jeopardy! and [author]( to take a celeb shot and race against our readers. Ken completed the Mini in 32 seconds and sent us this screenshot to prove it. [Try to beat the highest-earning American game show contestant here](. [Screengrab of Ken Jennings's crossword time] Memoir trivia Barbra Streisand’s memoir, [My Name is Barbra]( hits bookshelves today. Fans have been waiting for the book for years, and, well, it might take them a few more years to finish: It’s around 1,000 pages. Today’s trivia is all about memoirs. We’ll give you the title of a memoir, and you have to name the famous person who wrote it. - Dreams from My Father - The Year of Magical Thinking - Kitchen Confidential - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Born a Crime - Open - Bossypants 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 - Barack Obama - Joan Didion - Anthony Bourdain - Maya Angelou - Trevor Noah - Andre Agassi - Tina Fey Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: behemoth, meaning “something of enormous size or power.” Thanks to Steve Czerwinski from Belize for the monster of a suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✢ A Note From Autonomix This is a paid advertisement for Autonomix’s Regulation A+ offering. Please read the offering circular at [invest.autonomix.com](. ✳︎ A Note From Facet Facet Wealth, Inc. (“Facet”) is an SEC registered investment adviser headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. This is not an offer to sell securities. This is not investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( [Molly Liebergall]( and Sam Klebanov Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Get smarter in just 5 minutes - Money & Career: [Money With Katie](  [Raise](  [Bossy]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2023 Morning Brew. All rights reserved. 22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011