☕ Fat raise

How a financial advice columnist lost $50k... February 17, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Edmunds]( Good morning. Presidents Day is on Monday, so today kicks off a glorious three-day weekend for many of you. Don’t ruin it by forgetting to turn off your M–F alarm. —Molly Liebergall, Matty Merritt, Sam Klebanov, Adam Epstein, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 15,775.65 -0.82% S&P 5,005.57 -0.48% Dow 38,627.99 -0.37% 10-Year 4.295% +5.5 bps Bitcoin $52,129.22 +0.37% Coinbase $180.31 +8.84% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks slumped into the long weekend yesterday, [snapping]( a five-week weekly winning streak when they fell in the wake of wholesale price data that shows inflation is probably not as tamed as the Fed would like it to be. But Coinbase gave the latest indication that the crypto winter has thawed. The crypto exchange’s stock rose after it reported its first quarterly profit in two years.  LAW [Trump has to pay $354m, step back from NY cos.]( [Trump on trial]( Pool/Getty Images The verdict is in for Donald Trump’s New York civil fraud case, more than a month after the trial wrapped up: The former president is [banned]( from running a New York company for three years and must pay $354 million in damages for fraudulent business tactics, the judge ruled. If the decision holds up on appeal, it’ll cost Trump between 13% and 18% of his money, based on projections from Forbes and the New York Attorney General’s Office. A refresher: This trial was about Trump overinflating his wealth on financial documents—by as much as $3.6 billion, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James—and using them to get better bank loans and insurance policies. James alleged that Trump saved at least $168 million by misrepresenting his net worth. How will Trump pay up? Trump has vowed to appeal, and he won’t have to pay while a higher court considers the case. But to cover the massive sum he’s been ordered to pay in disgorgement, Trump could decide to [sell off]( his NY properties. And it’s not just about one fine—the [ruling states]( that: - Sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. must pay $4 million each and are banned from doing business in NY for two years. One-time Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg must also shell out $1 million. - Trump, his eponymous company, and any affiliates cannot apply for loans from NY-registered banks for three years. - A court-appointed independent monitor will review the Trump Organization’s ventures on a case-by-case basis and consider dissolving or restructuring any noncompliant businesses—effectively limiting the Trump family’s ability to steer the ship. This is one trial of many. Trump is [also defending himself against]( RICO charges in Georgia, felony hush money charges in Manhattan, the DOJ’s classified-documents-at-Mar-a-Lago case, and the DOJ’s federal election subversion charges. On top of all this, Trump is appealing a recent civil jury decision ordering him to pay writer E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defamation.—ML   WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [A memorial to Alexei Navalny]Karen Minasyan/Getty Images Putin critic Aleksei Navalny reportedly died in a Russian prison. According to Russian authorities, Navalny, the country’s fiercest voice of opposition, collapsed and [died]( after taking a walk at the remote Arctic penal colony where he’d been jailed on extremism charges that were considered a sham by Western governments and human rights groups. In 2020, Navalny was poisoned and airlifted to Germany for treatment, but the politician decided to return to Russia to continue his anti-corruption activism, even after directly accusing President Vladimir Putin of ordering the poisoning. He was immediately arrested upon returning and had been imprisoned ever since. Many other vocal critics of Putin are either imprisoned, exiled, or have already been killed. And the world is reacting to Navalny’s death. Some Western [world leaders]( are accusing Putin of murder. President Joe Biden praised Navalny’s courage and said there was “no doubt” that “Putin and his thugs” were responsible for his death. Biden and other Democrats also used the occasion to push for more aid to Ukraine to fight Putin. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, was met with a standing ovation at the Munich Security Conference, where she said Putin “will be punished.” But Russia’s Foreign Ministry called accusations from Western leaders “self-exposing” since more information is not yet available. Paramount+ and Peacock discussed a tie-up. In the latest sign that the streaming services we all cut the cord for seem determined to bundle themselves back into cable, the Wall Street Journal reports that Paramount and Comcast have recently [discussed]( combining their streamers. The news comes after [reports]( that antitrust regulators will scrutinize plans by Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox, and Disney’s ESPN to team up on a new sports streaming service. And it’s worth noting that Paramount is exploring all kinds of strategic moves lately, as it’s searching for someone to buy it. PRESENTED BY EDMUNDS [Your whip, your wealth]( [Edmunds]( You already know the demand for used cars is high. But did you know the average trade-in value in January 2024 was nearly 60% higher than it was just five years ago? Those are huuuge numbers. Curious to know how many Benjamins your car is worth? [Edmunds’ free online appraisal tool]( gives you a suggested valuation from 0 to 60 in seconds. You can even get a no-obligation offer for the vehicle after you’ve checked its potential value. Even better? Your offer is good for seven days, and you can take your appraisal to the dealership to [use as leverage to negotiate](. Plus, Edmunds has millions of new and used vehicle listings. [Start wheelin’ and dealin’](. SCAMS [Everyone has thoughts on the viral scam essay]( [Lina Khan’s post on X “1. Being the victim of a scam can be devastating. A reminder that nobody from @FTC will ever give you a badge number, ask you to confirm your Social Security number, ask how much money you have in your bank account, transfer you to a CIA agent, or send you texts out of the blue.”]( Lina Khan/X Not since 2017’s “Cat Person” has a piece of writing triggered so much online discourse. Social media can’t get enough of an essay published Thursday by New York Magazine’s financial advice columnist, Charlotte Cowles, which chronicled how she was scammed into putting a shoebox with $50,000 into the back of an SUV driven by a stranger. The [full story]( is worth using your monthly NY Mag reading credit, but the TL;DR is that Cowles got a call from someone pretending to be an Amazon employee who warned her of suspicious activity on her account. Cowles was then transferred to “the FTC” and then “the CIA,” where “investigators” convinced her that someone had stolen her identity and scared her into trusting them with almost her entire savings. Everyone responded with empathy Jk. One commenter roasted Cowles for her $4 million home and asked, “You think Amazon will white glove you over to the CIA…?” Even FTC Chair Lina Khan issued a warning. Katie Gatti Tassin of Money with Katie, who was quoted in the original essay, told us, “The irony is that everyone who reads this piece probably will be less susceptible to fraud in the future…but we won’t keep talking about it openly or sharing our experiences if we’re met with people calling for our husbands to divorce us.” Bottom line: Cowles, who is 39, claims in her essay anyone can be a victim of these types of crimes, especially young people. She may be onto something: Gen Zers are [three times]( more likely to fall for online scams compared to boomers, according to a Deloitte survey.—MM   TOGETHER WITH STACKADAPT [StackAdapt]( Imagine what you can DOOH. Take your digital strat to the next level with [digital out-of-home advertising]( (DOOH) with StackAdapt. Imagine seeing your brand on screens everywhere—it’s possible when you access your audience through a programmatic platform. Your next campaign starts here. Where can you [picture your brand]( [🛣️ On billboards]( gas stations]( baggage claim]( dreaming bigger]( RETAIL [Wawa is headed South]( [Wawa store]( Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images Eagles fans will soon be able to go on a cleansing Wawa run if they ever find themselves with an away loss to the Carolina Panthers. The iconic convenience-store chain that’s synonymous with Philly and Jersey pride [plans to open]( 280 new stores in the South and Midwest, according to Bloomberg. The Wawa factor Plenty of folks are happy to chow down on Wawa’s [divisive]( [pizza]( or Built-to-Order hoagies, often using [its trash cans]( as makeshift tables. But don’t let that fool you—Wawa’s bathrooms are famously sparkling. - Since its founding in 1964 by the billionaire Wood family, Wawa achieved cult status among Philadelphians, South Jerseyites, and residents of mid-Atlantic states and Florida (so much so that even Harry Styles has [tried to mooch]( off its wide appeal). - Now, the Woods are hoping that people in North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana will run to its doors as fast as Rocky sprinted up those stairs. Big Picture: Bloomberg reported that Wawa told employees—who own 38% of the company—that it hopes to establish a presence in every state one day.—SK   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon]Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images Stat: We hope you got the same kind of news at your annual review this year that former DJ David Solomon got at his. The Goldman Sachs CEO received a 24% [pay bump]( for 2023, bringing his total compensation to $31 million, even as the Wall Street giant’s profits fell by an ironically symmetrical 24%. That’s a bigger increase than any other CEO of a major US bank whose salary has been revealed, per Bloomberg. Part of the fat raise probably had to do with the fact that Solomon’s pay was down ~30% the year before amid low profits, but the Goldman compensation committee also said he deserved it for his “decisive leadership” in simplifying the firm’s strategy to set the bank up for future success (read: ditching consumer banking). Quote: “Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved.” That Paul is the one and only Sir Paul McCartney and he’s grateful because he’s no longer weeping over his guitar: A bass the Beatles legend lost in 1972 has been [found and returned]( to him. The reappearance of the instrument—which was stolen from the back of a van—comes after a yearslong internet crowdsourcing campaign to find the distinctive violin-shaped guitar, which McCartney played on the band’s early albums. While it was feared to have been destroyed, the guitar was found in its original case in the possession of a family in southern England, who said they [inherited it](. Watch: Morning Brew’s own Neal and Toby talk to Mark Zuckerberg about Meta vs. Apple, AI, and smoking meats. ([YouTube]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Carl Icahn]( won two seats on JetBlue’s board after snapping up an almost 10% stake in the company. But the activist investor’s track record with airlines [isn’t great](. - [Two juveniles]( were charged with gun and resisting arrest charges related to the deadly shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory parade. - [Nike]( is planning to restructure and lay off 2% of its staff, more than 1,500 people, as consumers pull back on spending. - [Greece]( legalized same-sex marriage, making it the first majority-Orthodox Christian country to do so. - [Joe Manchin]( is not running for president. RECS [Saturday To-Do List graphic] Talking the talk: Watch a voice-over actor break down [10 common tones](. Travel tip: The [best times]( to visit popular travel destinations. Sob: How to [cry on cue](. Read: With scams all the rage, check out [this one]( from a guy who lived in an NYC hotel for five years for free—but got busted after he claimed to own the building. Banish bedroom anxiety: MysteryVibe’s Tenuto 2 is the only [doc-recommended vibrator]( clinically proven to combat ED—aaand give both partners a climactic finish. [Take 30% off]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Crossword: This is the most engaging crossword you will ever play with the Federal Reserve as the theme. [Play the JPow-coded puzzle here.]( Open House Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that has a loose interpretation of “inspiration.” We’ll give you a few facts about a house and you try to guess the price. [Tetris house in Galena, IL.]Zillow Today’s [home]( is in Galena, IL, a city along the Mississippi River and Iowa border. The listing for the 6,911-square-foot house claims it’s influenced by the Frank Lloyd Wright style, but looks more like it was built using the Tetris method. Amenities include: - 4 beds, 3 baths - Funeral home entryway - Winding garden How much for the Midwestern masterpiece? 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 $1.29 million Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: disgorgement, meaning “a financial penalty that involves paying back the money gained through fraudulent means.” Thanks to Paul Sauer from Bend, Oregon, for the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Molly Liebergall]( [Matty Merritt]( Sam Klebanov, and [Adam Epstein]( 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