☕ Big test

What everyone in Davos is talking about... January 16, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Timeline Nutrition]( Good morning. There are going to be a lot of kids across the US staying home from school today for a snow day. Another generation is about to discover the existence of The Price Is Right. 🥲 —Sam Klebanov, Cassandra Cassidy, Molly Liebergall, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE Nasdaq 14,972.76 +1.40% S&P 4,783.83 +0.86% Dow 37,592.98 -0.32% 10-Year 3.950% +0.4 bps Bitcoin $42,513.55 +0.59% Nvidia $547.10 +13.58% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: The markets were closed for the holiday yesterday, giving finance bigwigs time to hop on their jets and head to Davos for the World Economic Forum’s ski-and discuss-the-state-of-the-world shindig (more on that in a sec). With everyone there talking [about AI]( one stock to watch is Nvidia, which has continued to climb this year after soaring nearly 240% last year.  POLITICS [From Des Moines to Davos, Trump dominates]( [Trump campaigning in Iowa]( Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Donald Trump scored big in Iowa yesterday as the state’s Republicans braved the cold [to vote]( overwhelmingly to nominate him as their party’s presidential candidate. The Iowa caucuses kicked off the US primary season, and Trump’s victory came as polls show the ex-president will probably prevail over his GOP rivals, setting the stage for a likely Biden vs. Trump rematch. - News organizations declared Trump the winner just 30 minutes after the caucuses began. - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took the second place spot, pulling ahead of Nikki Haley and gaining some momentum as the alternative candidate heading into the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 23. Vivek Ramaswamy ended his campaign after a poor showing. Meanwhile… Half a world away from Iowa’s iced-over cornfields, a potential second Trump presidency is [sending chills]( down the spines of the jet set gathered in the Swiss Alps for the annual World Economic Forum this week. Davos is abuzz with anxiety as world leaders, CEOs, and luminaries mull the implications of another Trump presidency for cross-border trade, security, and climate efforts. - European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde [recently warned]( that a Trump return is “clearly a threat” to Europe. She cited the tariffs he imposed as president, plus his record of NATO skepticism and climate change denial. - BlackRock Vice Chairman Philipp Hildebrand told Bloomberg that Trump represents a concern “from a kind of globalist, Atlanticist perspective.” Their fears aren’t totally unfounded: While campaigning, Trump has proposed a 10% tariff on all imported goods. And European Commissioner Thierry Breton recalled last week that during a conversation at Davos in 2020, Trump said that “NATO is dead” and warned that the US wouldn’t defend Europe if it were attacked. Others worry that Trump would scale back US support for Ukraine. Czech President Petr Pavel told a national publication that Vladimir Putin is waiting for the 2024 US presidential election results before starting peace talks. The prospect of a Trump win [looms over]( the world’s climate policymakers, too, as he could be expected to roll back environmental regulations and cut funding for green initiatives. Looking ahead…though Trump is the front-runner in the polls and in funds raised, the Iowa caucuses don’t always predict the nominee. —SK   PRESENTED BY TIMELINE NUTRITION [Stronger to live longer]( [Timeline Nutrition]( Is it too soon to think about how you age? Science says no. Muscle function is crucial to healthy aging, but beginning in our 30s, we lose about 3%–8% of our muscle function each decade. To fight this decline, resistance training and adequate protein will get you far—but you need to care for your body’s energy centers, the mitochondria, for lasting results. Transform how you age with [Timeline Nutrition’s Mitopure](. By triggering your body’s innate cellular renewal process, you can keep your cells producing energy like they do when you’re young. The results? Mitopure is clinically proven to [increase cellular energy]( muscle strength, and endurance—no exercise required. Try Mitopure as soon as today (+ [get 30% off]( when you purchase on Amazon. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Apple Ultra 2 watches for sale]Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Apple’s redesigned watches overcome US import ban. It looks like the saga of Apple’s Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches may be [over]( and they will be allowed to be sold. ICYMI: A US trade court found the watches violated Masimo’s blood oxygen monitoring tech patent, leading Apple to [stop selling]( the models briefly before stepping up its legal battle. But Masimo said in a court filing yesterday that Apple made changes to the watches, including removing a blood-oxygen sensor, leading US customs officials to determine that they should no longer be subject to the import ban the trade court imposed. The change protects Apple’s $18 billion smartwatch business, but it might hurt the company’s ability to market them as health-enhancing devices. Houthis target US ships in the Red Sea. Houthi militants [struck]( a US-owned cargo ship with an antiballistic missile off the coast of Yemen yesterday. The US said that it caused neither major damage nor injuries, and the ship, the M/V Gibraltar Eagle, kept on going. The attack came after the US and UK [targeted]( the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen in response to their attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. The continued escalation has raised fears of a broader regional war, as the Houthis claim their actions are in support of Hamas in its war with Israel, and their attacks on ships have already begun to impact global supply chains. The Emmys finally got to celebrate for the 75th time. The Emmys took place last night after a four-month delay caused by the Hollywood strikes. The night’s [big winners]( included The Bear, Beef, and Succession, which all took home multiple statuettes. Elton John snagged his first Emmy, officially becoming an EGOT winner. John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight continued its string of wins even after being moved to a new category, and host Anthony Anderson’s mom stepped in to stop speeches that went on too long. Here’s a [complete list]( of the winners, and here’s what everyone [wore](. ENERGY [Winter weather tests Texas power grid]( [Pike Electric service trucks line up after a snow storm on February 16, 2021 in Fort Worth, Texas. ]( Ron Jenkins/Getty Images As an arctic blast grips parts of the US, Texans are hoping their improved power grid can stand up to today’s extreme weather better than Dak Prescott stood up to the Green Bay Packers. There’s reason to believe that it will. The state’s grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, better known as ERCOT, has beefed up operations since winter storms caused devastating power blackouts in 2021. The state has nearly [tripled]( its battery storage, increased solar and wind power production, and winterized electric power plants, and experts told the Washington Post these efforts should keep the grid [online]( even during periods of heightened demand. Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott said that the state’s power generators have “never been as prepared for a winter event as they are today.” Still, ERCOT urged Texans to conserve energy on Monday and Tuesday morning to help prevent potential blackouts since the grid is most vulnerable between 7am–8am, when people wake up and start turning on the lights. Zoom out: Nearly 80% of the US is seeing [bitter cold]( this week, with typically mild cities like Memphis, Dallas, and Nashville likely facing 72 hours of below-freezing temperatures. Other things to watch out for: canceled flights (there have been more than 2,100 nixed so far), dangerous road travel, and windchill as low as –30 degrees Fahrenheit in the Northern Rockies, Kansas, and Iowa.—CC   TOGETHER WITH SMARTASSET [SmartAsset]( Kick back + retire. This Princeton grad’s startup raised $161m to [help people plan for retirement](. If you’re one of the whopping 110m Americans over age 50—or a wise millennial planning ahead—SmartAsset’s no-cost tool makes it easy to get matched with vetted financial advisors serving your area. [Try it today](. WORK [Your job’s mental health perks might do squat]( [Person in a suit meditating while holding a laptop]( Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photo: Getty Images Workplace wellness services may be about as effective as therapy dogs during a high school’s finals week, according to research from Oxford that [casts doubt]( on the multibillion-dollar corporate wellness industry. The [study]( which was published this month, assessed employee well-being at more than 200 UK organizations in 2017 and 2018. It found that… - Workers who used their companies’ mental health benefits (like mindfulness apps and time management courses) didn’t feel any better than coworkers who didn’t take advantage of the resources—except for volunteering, which appeared to boost well-being. - Participating in resilience and stress-reduction training may even have a negative impact, possibly by compounding people’s anxiety if a service they assume will work doesn’t help them. Not everyone agrees. Though some other research also says that wellness apps aren’t beneficial, the effectiveness of mindfulness training is fairly [well-supported](. Recent [research]( has shown that the mental healthcare platform Spring Health helped workers manage their depression and miss fewer days of work, leading to more productivity (aka why organizations spend money on these programs in the first place). Zoom out: The pandemic forced employers to start prioritizing employee welfare, boosting the corporate wellness industry from $8 billion in 2016 to more than $50 billion now, according to Grand View Research.—ML   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk]Photo Illustration: Mick McDougall; Photo: Anadolu Agency, Pool, Spencer Platt/Getty Images Stat: It’s never a bad time to be rich, but now seems like an extra-good time to be part of the monocle-wearing class: The world’s five richest people have more than [doubled]( their wealth since 2020, according to Oxfam. Tesla’s Elon Musk, LVMH’s Bernard Arnault, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Oracle’s Larry Ellison, and Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett together had $405 billion available to Scrooge McDuck-dive into in March 2020 compared to $869 billion as of November 2023, the charity group found. Oxfam predicts that if things continue as they are, the world will see its first trillionaire within the next 10 years—though the anti-poverty group also noted that almost 5 billion people have become poorer over roughly the same period. Quote: “In the most extreme cases, some of these jobs may disappear.” Just in time for tech leaders to bust out their favorite quarter-zips in Davos, the International Monetary Fund published an analysis saying that AI really is coming for our jobs. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a [blog post]( that nearly 40% of all global employment will be impacted by AI. She noted this could fuel inequality since, in some cases, AI will boost productivity while in others, it will dry up demand for labor that was once done by humans. Read: He spent his life building a $1 million stereo. The real cost was unfathomable. ([Washington Post]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Kroger]( said its purchase of rival supermarket chain Albertsons will take longer to close than expected as regulators pry into the deal. - [Boeing]( will add additional quality checks for its 737 Max aircraft and will step up inspections of parts made by the vendor whose door plug recently caused the Alaska Airlines incident (because nobody likes holes in their planes). - [Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin]( was released from the hospital after being treated for complications from a prostate cancer surgery he didn’t tell the president about for three days. - [iPhone 15s]( are on sale in China for ~$70 off as Apple tries to spur sales in the world’s biggest cell phone market. - [The newly crowned Miss America]( is an active US Air Force officer. RECS [Tuesday To Do List] Watch: The right way to chop [every vegetable](. Get swole: Don’t [sabotage your workout]( in these common ways. View the highlights: How the guy who matches moments in [sports to art]( manages to do it [without AI](. One giant leap for TV: See the moments Emmy voters deemed [TV’s 75 biggest]( starting with the moon landing. Grow your YouTube channel fast: We teamed up with an expert for a two-day workshop on the YouTube Growth System that got him to 1 million subscribers on his own channel before turning consultant for creators like Codie Sanchez. It starts on Saturday: [Reserve your spot today](. First-round picks: Choose stocks like a pro with Motley Fool’s [Stock Advisor](. Their picks have averaged 545% returns since inception. New members get [60% off their first year]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: If you know the name of the Mayor of Flavortown, you’re nearly a quarter of the way to solving today’s Mini. [Fill it out here](. King me King Frederik X of Denmark [took the throne]( on Sunday following the abdication of his mother, Queen Margrethe II. A king? In 2024? It’s not that rare. In today’s trivia, we’ll give you the name of a monarch, and you have to name the country he rules over (with varying degrees of power). - King Felipe VI - King Salman - King Harald V - King Abdullah II - Emperor Naruhito - King Vajiralongkorn 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 - Spain - Saudi Arabia - Norway - Jordan - Japan - Thailand Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: luminaries, meaning “people of prominence and brilliant achievement.” Thanks to Pam from Montana for enlightening us with the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✤ A Note From The Motley Fool $79 promotional pricing for new members only. 60% discount based on the current list price of Stock Advisor of $199/year. Membership will renew annually at the then-current list price. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( Sam Klebanov, [Cassandra Cassidy]( and [Molly Liebergall]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Take The Brew to work - Marketers: [Marketing Brew]( - Corporate: [CFO Brew](  [HR Brew]( - Tech: [IT Brew](  [Tech Brew]( - Retailers: [Retail Brew]( - Healthcare: [Healthcare Brew]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2024 Morning Brew. All rights reserved. 22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011