☕️ Florida man

Zuck has some thoughts on Apple's Vision Pro... February 15, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [EnergyX]( Good morning. History could be made in Iowa City tonight. The Iowa Hawkeyes’ superstar Caitlin Clark is just eight points away from setting the NCAA women’s career scoring record, and she’s averaging 32 points per game this season. Ticket prices could also set their own kind of record. Seats at the game were going for an average of $394 on secondary marketplace TickPick yesterday, making them the most expensive tickets ever for a women’s basketball game, college or pro. —Molly Liebergall, Cassandra Cassidy, Matty Merritt, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 15,859.15 +1.30% S&P 5,000.62 +0.96% Dow 38,424.27 +0.40% 10-Year 4.267% -4.9 bps Bitcoin $51,530.87 +3.61% Uber $79.15 +14.73% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks [rose]( yesterday as if to declare “we are so back” after they plunged following Tuesday’s unexpectedly hot inflation report. Investors hit the gas on Uber when the company revealed it would buy back $7 billion worth of shares in its first-ever repurchase plan.  TECH [Zuck says Quest 3 headset > Vision Pro]( [Mark Zuckerberg wears Quest 3 headset]( Meta The billionaire grand dork of the metaverse, Mark Zuckerberg, took a digital dump on Apple’s new wearable technology yesterday in a three-minute Instagram reel about Meta’s Quest 3 headset that may as well have been captioned “she is very gorgeous to me!” “I don’t just think that Quest is the better value, I think Quest is the better product, period,” the Meta CEO said in the [video]( which was recorded on a Quest 3 by a guy sitting across from him. Zuck telling the internet he believes Quest 3 out-headsets Vision Pro is about as much of a shocker as Zuck having a home [bunker]( for gaming. What’s more surprising is…that he shouted it from the rooftops on his personal Instagram account. Zuck’s decision to plop down on a couch and [Apple Hands™]( his way through a Quest 3 demo likely [reflects]( Meta and Apple’s heated race to create the one true mixed-reality headset. Looking to build on Meta’s head start in the VR/AR space, here’s what Zuck emphasized in his get-ready-with-me video review of Quest 3 vs. Vision Pro: - Quest can also do the mixed-reality-floating-screens thing that Apple calls “spatial computing,” except Meta’s goggles start at $500, compared to $3,500 for Vision Pro. - Quest doesn’t have a wired battery pack and is still about a bar of soap lighter than the Vision Pro, which some have [criticized]( for causing headaches and neck pain. Zuck gave a shout-out to the Apple “fanboys” who “get upset whenever anyone dares to question if Apple’s going to be the leader in a new category,” but he admitted that the Vision Pro’s screen resolution is superior and that the eye-tracking function is “really nice.” It’s still anybody’s game. Meta started selling AR/VR headsets after it acquired Oculus in 2014. While its work has been overshadowed by the hype surrounding the Vision Pro lately, reviews of the new Apple product do not indicate an iPhone moment yet, and people have even started [returning]( the headsets.—ML   WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Police int he aftermath of the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Victory parade]David Eulitt/Getty Images At least one person killed in shooting at Kansas City Chiefs victory parade. At least one person was killed and more than 20 were injured, including eight children, in a [shooting]( that sowed chaos at the end of a parade celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win. Police said they had detained three suspects. An estimated 1 million people were in downtown Kansas City to rejoice in the home team’s win, and the shooting took place near a crowded rally with the team at Union Station—though the team confirmed that all its players were safe. Israel strikes Lebanon. Yesterday, Israel launched its biggest round of [airstrikes]( on Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza, killing at least one Hezbollah militant and three civilians. The strikes were in response to a deadly attack by Hezbollah on a town and an army base in Northern Israel. The escalation raised concerns about a wider regional conflict. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to send negotiators to Egypt to discuss a cease-fire with Hamas, once again calling the group’s demands of a permanent Israeli retreat from Gaza in exchange for the return of hostages “delusional.” State-backed hackers are using ChatGPT, Microsoft says. Hackers from Russia, North Korea, Iran, and China have all [used the OpenAI tool]( according to Microsoft. The company said government-backed hackers will now be banned from using the AI. But rather than asking it to dream up more sophisticated attack methods, hackers were mostly automating routine tasks like Tim from accounting does. “They’re just using it like everyone else is, to try to be more productive in what they’re doing,” the head of Microsoft’s Customer Security and Trust team told the New York Times. PRESENTED BY ENERGYX [The next gold rush]( [EnergyX]( Lithium is essential for batteries in electric cars, renewable energy storage, and even smartphones. That’s why demand for lithium is projected to grow 20x by 2040, [creating a massive opportunity for investors](. Enter [EnergyX](. Their patented LiTAS™ technology can extract 300% more lithium than traditional methods, earning them investments from General Motors and POSCO. Now you can invest in EnergyX. This is a unique opportunity to get in on the ground floor just as EnergyX is set to unlock the US lithium supply. [Become an EnergyX shareholder here](. CRYPTO [Bitcoin breaks $1t in market cap again]( [Stringer Bell in The Wire]( The Wire/HBO Like shoulder pads, Blink-182, and the measles, bitcoin is making a comeback. The total value of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency [surpassed]( $1 trillion yesterday for the first time since 2021. The overall crypto market, meanwhile, broke $2 trillion in market cap, fueled by investor confidence. If crypto were a publicly traded company, it would be the [fourth-largest]( in the world behind Microsoft, Apple, and Saudi Aramco. Why are investors so amped? Spot bitcoin ETFs have a lot to do with it. Since the SEC approved them [last month]( crypto funds have received nearly $10 billion in deposits, according to CryptoQuant. But there’s another reason for the buzz: It’s almost time for [halving](. - Halving is a feature within bitcoin that reduces the rate of new coins entering circulation by half to keep supply in check. Bitcoin is a finite resource, so cutting supply theoretically pushes up prices. - The event occurs approximately every four years, and in the past has led to dazzling price jumps. In 2020, halving resulted in a 700% gain for investors. But…even though crypto holders are looking at halving with Mr. Krabs dollar-sign eyes, experts warn that there’s a diminishing effect. This year’s event may not yield price increases like those in the past.—CC   TOGETHER WITH KLAVIYO [Klaviyo]( Your “unprecedented times” road map. Sure, your role is more complicated, but you can grow e-commerce marketing revenue without breaking the bank. That’s where [The Big Book of Klaviyo Use Cases]( comes in. Learn how fellow marketers created successful strategies, leveraged first-party data, and more. [Download the guide](. WEALTH [Bezos reaps the tax benefits of being a Florida man]( [Jeff Bezos with sunglasses and Miami skyline in background.]( Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photo: Simon Stacpoole/Getty Images Don’t worry about picking up a bottle of wine for Jeff Bezos’s housewarming parties—he can buy his own. The billionaire saved around $288 million in taxes after [selling]( 24 million Amazon shares (about $4 billion worth) over the last week from his new Florida address instead of his former Washington one. When he first announced he was moving in November, Bezos said he wanted to be closer to family and Blue Origin, but his financial records hint at other possible reasons: - The Amazon founder had been slowly selling off company stock since 1998, but he stopped in 2022, when Washington’s 7% capital gains tax went into effect. - Bezos became a Florida man—and the state doesn’t have capital gains taxes (or income taxes). Bezos has said he plans to offload about 50 million Amazon shares in total over the next year, worth ~$8.7 billion currently. With a Florida zip code, he could save at least $610 million when he does. If you lower taxes, they will come: Bezos was among the hordes of megarich, including Ken Griffin, Carl Icahn, and Daniel Och, who headed to Florida in recent years. But it’s not just folks who can afford beachside mansions—between 2021 and 2022, 740,000 people moved to Florida, according to Census Bureau data, the most of any state in the country.—MM   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Taylor Swift]Robyn Beck/Getty Images Stat: For some, Taylor Swift has achieved true anti-hero status: Nearly 1 in 5 Americans (18%) believe the singer is part of a conspiracy to reelect President Joe Biden, according to a Monmouth University [poll](. Swift endorsed Biden in 2020, but she hasn’t taken time away from performing in sparkly Louboutin boots and flying across the world to attend football games to do so this election cycle. Nonetheless, in the lead-up to the Super Bowl, conspiracy theories sprang up in right-wing media that the NFL fixed the game for Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, to tee up an endorsement announcement. Of the people who told pollsters they believed Swift was part of a covert effort for Biden, 73% also said they thought the 2020 election was stolen. Quote: “My bad.” We’ve all let a typo slip through at work—some of us have even sent a typo out in a newsletter to millions of subscribers. But most people’s typos don’t have the power to move markets, unlike the one in Lyft’s earnings press release Tuesday that said a profit margin was expected to grow this year by 500 basis points (5%)—when it meant to say 50 basis points (0.5%). The errant zero sent the stock soaring more than 60% in extended trading only to fall when the company corrected the mistake. Taking responsibility in an [interview]( with Bloomberg TV yesterday, Lyft CEO David Risher said, “This was a bad error, but it was one zero in a press release.” Luckily for Risher, the rest of the news in the earnings report was also good, so Lyft’s stock rose 35% yesterday. Read: The text file that runs the internet. ([The Verge]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Rep. Mike Turner]( the Ohio Republican who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said on X that the Biden administration had information about a “serious national security threat” and urged its declassification. The threat reportedly involves a new Russian space-based nuclear weapon. - [Elon Musk]( has filed to switch the incorporation location of SpaceX to Texas as he continues feuding with Delaware following a Chancery Court ruling rejecting his $56 billion Tesla pay package. - [Cisco]( is laying off 5% of employees, around 4,250 people, as tech companies continue to downsize. - [Performers]( who dress as characters at Disneyland want to unionize and join Actors’ Equity. They’re one of the few nonunionized groups of performers who work at Disney’s parks. - [The inventor of Pop Tarts]( William “Bill” Post—who came up with the tasty treat after executives asked him to figure out a toaster-friendly breakfast—has died at age 96. RECS [To do list Thursday] It’s a diva-off: [An analysis]( of over 100 performances of “The Star Spangled Banner” crowns the ultimate belter. Life hack: GitLab posts all its Zoom calls on YouTube…in case you ever need to [look like you’re hard at work](. Not for baking: A video on how to make [cookie dough]( you can eat raw (without a side of bacteria). Getting older isn’t all bad: Grammy winner Mike Posner [reflects on his birthday](. Survey says: Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s report reveals insights about how marketers are experimenting with AI, building their skills, and working on trust issues. [Check it out]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: Today’s Mini contains a little bit of this and a little bit of that. [See what we mean here](. Three Headlines and a Lie Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than your boss texting you asking for gift cards. Can you spot the odd one out? - 100-year-old diver [performs]( dive at the 2024 World Championships - His best friend was a 250-pound warthog. One day, it decided to [kill]( him. - Cousins are [disappearing](. Is this reshaping the experience of childhood? - Where are teens getting in the most fights? [Zoos](. AROUND THE BREW [Crunch the numbers faster]( [Miss Excel ad]( If spending hours wrestling with datasets isn’t your thing, we’ve got you covered: Miss Excel is hosting a free 60-minute live workshop on pivot tables and charts. This is your last chance to sign up for tomorrow’s event, so [reserve your spot now](. ANSWER We made up the one about zoos. Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: errant, meaning “straying outside the proper path or bounds.” Thanks to Samantha from Sydney for keeping us on the straight and narrow with the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✢ A Note From EnergyX This is a paid advertisement for EnergyX’s Regulation A+ offering. Please read the offering circular at [(. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Molly Liebergall]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( and [Matty Merritt]( 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]( Get smarter in just 5 minutes - Money & Career: [Money With Katie](  [Bossy]( Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [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