☕ Striking out

Why are the new MLB jerseys so ugly? [Advertisement] February 22, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [SoFi]( Good morning. On Tuesday, director Sam Mendes announced he’s making four separate movies about the four members of The Beatles, sparking debate about who should play the Fab Four. We contemplated a different question: Which other famous groups of people deserve to have movies made about each individual member? Some ideas... - Fleetwood Mac - The hosts of TNT’s Inside the NBA - The other fish in the dentist’s tank in Finding Nemo - Everyone currently aboard the nine-month Royal Caribbean cruise —Neal Freyman, Matty Merritt, Cassandra Cassidy, Molly Liebergall MARKETS Nasdaq 15,580.87 -0.32% S&P 4,981.80 +0.13% Dow 38,612.24 +0.13% 10-Year 4.325% +5.0 bps Bitcoin $51,697.00 -1.10% Nvidia $674.72 +8.31% AH *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 12:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: The Nasdaq [closed lower]( for the third straight day in a trading session that was essentially a nervous pregame for Nvidia’s earnings after the bell. The tech giant, as you’re about to read, did not disappoint.  TECH [Nvidia clears the bar with another epic quarter]( [Pole vaulter clearing the bar]( Tulane Green Wave via Giphy With hype reaching Linsanity levels, Nvidia reported its Q4 fiscal earnings to a breathless Wall Street that was wondering: Is the AI revolution real, or is it another bubble just waiting to burst? It’s real, and it’s spectacular. The tech giant, whose advanced chips underpin the burgeoning AI ecosystem, crushed expectations with quarterly sales reaching $22.1 billion, a [265% increase]( from the same period a year ago. Its net profit also surged to $12.3 billion vs. $1.4 billion in the same period last year. Nvidia’s slam-dunk quarter capped off “one of the quickest rises in corporate history,” the WSJ [gushed](. In a statement, CEO Jensen Huang said that AI has hit a “tipping point” with demand “surging worldwide across companies, industries, and nations.” And he would know—his company [controls ~80%]( of the high-end AI chip market, per Reuters. “The most important stock on planet Earth” Ahead of this earnings report, Goldman Sachs’s trading desk dubbed Nvidia “the [most important stock]( on planet Earth,” because Nvidia is a proxy for AI demand, and AI demand has been the main driver of the stock market for the past year. - Nvidia, the best-performing S&P 500 stock of 2023, [dethroned Tesla]( as the most-traded stock by value. - It added more than $1.2 trillion in market cap in the last 12 months, briefly becoming the [third-most valuable company]( in the country last week, ahead of Alphabet and Amazon. Can anything stop this train? US–China tensions could slow it down. Nvidia has historically relied on China for a quarter of its revenue, but sales in the country have dropped significantly since the US placed export restrictions on advanced American chips to Chinese companies, CFO Colette Kress said. Plus, the competition is heating up: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reportedly trying to raise up to $7 trillion to build AI infrastructure that would rival Nvidia’s. For now, though, Nvidia is streets ahead of the rest.—NF   PRESENTED BY SOFI [Get in on the (alternative) action]( [SoFi]( Alternative investments, of course—you know, financial assets that fall outside the traditional categories of stocks, bonds, or cash. These kinds of investments have typically been restricted to high-net-worth investors. But with [SoFi]( everyday investors now have access to broader portfolio diversification…and the unique growth opportunities that come with them. [Diversify your portfolio]( with SoFi and access funds that include real estate, venture capital, pre-IPO unicorns, and more. And build and protect your wealth with Sofi Invest® when you tap into strategies traditionally available only to those with high net worths. [Open an account]( to get started. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [The White House wearing a graduation cap]Francis Scialabba Biden cancels $1.2 billion of student loan debt. Nearly 153,000 people got an email from the White House yesterday notifying them that they no longer owe the Department of Education any money because of President Joe Biden’s new SAVE repayment plan. The program’s first wave of total [student loan forgiveness]( comes almost six months ahead of schedule—applies to anyone who has been paying off small federal loans of $12,000 or less for at least 10 years (full explainer [here](. The Biden administration says it has canceled a total of $138 billion in federal student loans, which the president is looking to emphasize on the campaign trail. Execs who misuse the company jet could be in trouble. The IRS is cracking down on the companies that allegedly save millions by writing off personal PJ flights as business trips. Announced yesterday, the IRS’s audit of corporate plane usage will also hold accountable passengers who didn’t report the [non-business trips]( on their tax forms. To parse through dozens of corporations’ business deductions, the IRS will use new tech developed with some of the $80 billion it received from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Lawmakers already rescinded $20 billion of that funding, and the IRS is currently trying to convince Republicans in Congress that it’s worth letting them keep the rest. Apple released a sports app for the iPhone. The [free app]( called Apple Sports, will show real-time scores, stats, and betting lines supplied by DraftKings. It could be a draw for fans who complain about ESPN’s app, but the ultimate goal is to push you to AppleTV+, where the company has been investing billions of dollars in live sports rights. Apple’s entering the second year of its deal to stream MLS, whose season kicked off last night with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami vs. Real Salt Lake. Apple has also acquired the rights to stream some MLB games, and if this app is any indication, it’s going all-in on sports coverage. HEALTH [Alabama embryo ruling threatens fertility industry]( [In the cell laboratory, culture dishes are prepared at the Fertility Center Berlin to collect the eggs after egg retrieval.]( Picture Alliance/Getty Images Alabama’s Supreme Court made a first-of-its-kind [ruling]( last week that embryos can be considered children under state law. Medical professionals and abortion advocates had [predicted]( this kind of legal precedent would be set following the 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade and that it could create massive uncertainty in the fertility industry. The appeal before the court sought to overturn an earlier decision that couples could not sue a medical center for the wrongful death of a child after an unauthorized person entered a fertility clinic and destroyed embryos. The Alabama Supreme Court overturned the earlier decision, allowing the lawsuit to proceed, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) providers are scrambling to interpret what the ruling means for them. - IVF involves removing eggs from ovaries, fertilizing them outside the body, and transferring a resultant embryo into the uterus. The process usually results in leftover embryos that are either frozen or destroyed. - The Alabama ruling puts providers at risk of being charged criminally for what have been up until now standard practices. It could also drive up the cost of an already expensive procedure and potentially force clinics to shut down. Yesterday, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the largest hospital in the state, paused IVF treatment for patients, citing the ruling. Big picture: Legal experts say more states could pass similar laws, threatening the booming fertility industry in the US, where ~2% of babies are born via IVF each year. The fertility services market was worth $54 billion in 2023 and is expected to jump to $90 billion by 2027, according to The Business Research Company.—MM   FROM THE CREW [The Crew]( It’s the final countdown. AI tools such as ChatGPT are already revolutionizing marketing efforts globally, completing millions of tasks in the blink of an eye. What’s all the fuss about? Well, you’ve got less than a week to discover firsthand! [Join us virtually for our Marketing Brew event]( where a panel of industry experts will dive into AI strategies and challenges. Don’t wait until it’s too late—[the final countdown is on](. SPORTS [As spring training starts, MLB confronts jersey fiasco]( [Shohei Ohtani]( Robert Gauthier/Getty Images The start of baseball spring training is typically characterized by cooped-up Northerners getting sunburnt in Florida or Arizona. This year, it’s being consumed by a full-blown [sartorial controversy](. Ahead of the 2024 season, Major League Baseball rolled out its new Nike Vapor Premier on-field jerseys. But instead of softer and more breathable fabric, which Nike said it would deliver, a lot of players are finding that their new uniform more closely resembles “a [knockoff jersey]( from TJ Maxx.” - In addition to complaining about poor fit and poor quality, players are upset about the jerseys’ smaller [lettering]( and the loss of classic stitching and embroidery. - The new uniforms also don’t allow for tailored pants—which players rely on, since they often don’t fit into typical size proportions. Baseball fans aren’t fanatic about the changes, either. Though Nike designed the jerseys, fans are blasting the manufacturer, sports merch conglomerate Fanatics. The company has been criticized for its growing [dominance]( over the sportswear industry in the past, and many fans blame it for a) higher prices b) lower quality and c) fewer options. Both CNN and The Athletic reported that Fanatics declined to comment. Looking ahead...players took the issue to the MLB Players Association, which said it hopes to fix the jersey situation before the start of the regular season in five weeks.—CC   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [An illustration showing the ERS-2]ESA Stat: The chances of getting hit by falling satellite debris are estimated to be about one in 1 billion…so in a perfect world, eight people just had a wild jumpscare. A retired climate satellite that’s been in space since 1995 [came back down to Earth]( yesterday, 13 years after the European Space Agency (ESA) deactivated it. The 5,000-pound hunk of metal mostly burnt up as it reentered the atmosphere, and some fragments may have fallen harmlessly into the Pacific Ocean (not on people’s heads), like most space junk. Before decommissioning the radar, the ESA set it on a gradual de-orbit path instead of letting it join the space junk graveyard surrounding Earth. Quote: “Can’t wait for this flight to be over.” A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Boston had to make an [emergency landing]( in Denver this week after passengers noticed that a panel on one of the wings was flapping in the wind. In a video showing the wing issue, one passenger expressed his desire to kiss the ground ASAP. Another looked out the window after hearing loud noises, snapped a pic of the Boeing aircraft’s damage, and consulted Reddit mid-flight, asking, “How panicked should I be? Do I need to tell a flight crew member?” The FAA is investigating, but some experts say the damage appeared pretty minor. Read: Why entertainment is dead, and what is replacing it. ([The Honest Broker]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Boeing’s]( head of the 737 Max program is leaving the company in its biggest executive shake-up since a door panel blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight in January. - [The Biden administration]( is investing more than $20 billion in port security over the next five years, including building cargo cranes domestically that the US currently buys from China. - [Mortgage rates]( jumped to over 7% for the first time since December, a reflection of dimming hopes that the Fed will cut interest rates soon. - [Beyoncé]( became the first Black woman to hold the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with her single “Texas Hold ’Em.” - [Beyond Meat]( introduced a healthier version of its plant-based burger to help keep its floundering business afloat. The company’s value has dropped from a peak of $14.1 billion to less than $500 million today. PUBLISHING [Why are celebs obsessed with writing memoirs?]( [Spare]( Scott Olson/Getty Images Celebrities have always loved doing it for the plot, but now they’re actually writing it down, fueling a boom in memoirs. Whether it’s Britney Spears, Brittney Griner, or a teen star you haven’t thought about since 2012, seemingly every famous person alive is now putting pen to paper and spilling their personal tea. We dove into the phenomenon and chatted with the people who plan, help write, read, and sell the juicy tell-alls that are filling your local B&N. [Read all about it here](. RECS [To do list Thursday] Trending: Here’s how the [design of restaurant menus]( is changing. Tech tip: [Keyboard shortcuts]( across 101 apps. Look: What does [this chart]( show, other than population density? Remember the internet: This [app]( lets you organize notes, bookmarks, and more in one place. Rep Morning Brew: Want to show off your favorite business newsletter at a fraction of the cost? [Check out our merch bundles]( for some deep discounts on shirts, sweatshirts, and more. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: Today’s Mini is a gem of a puzzle. [Play it here](. Three Headlines and a Lie Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than a “Do not touch” sign in a shag carpet showroom. Can you spot the odd one out? - A ship carrying 19,000 cattle caused a [big stink]( in Cape Town, South Africa - Why scientists are [breeding]( a beetle that can eat through phone screens - Museum selfie-takers are causing [damage]( by backing into artworks - Is it time for a more subtle view on the ultimate taboo: [cannibalism]( FROM THE CREW [Ditch spreadsheets, spark ideas]( [Apps Without Code promo image showing a person looking at their phone]( Apps Without Code Join our free live workshop with Apps Without Code CEO Tara Reed to learn about drag-and-drop software that lets you turn spreadsheets into custom desktop and mobile apps. Gain knowledge to impress your boss with or even get inspo to start a new business. The free workshop is on Tuesday, February 27. [Reserve your spot now](. ANSWER Scientists are not breeding a beetle that can eat through phone screens...that we know of. Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: sartorial, meaning “of or relating to a tailor or tailored clothes.” Thanks to Dan from Duluth for the stylish suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. Written by [Matty Merritt]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( Sam Klebanov, [Neal Freyman]( and [Molly Liebergall]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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