Good morning,
Investors latched onto hope at the end of last week that the Federal Reserve will soon give the ax to its aggressive rate hike campaign, causing stocks to rise broadly last Friday on the heels of a massive rally from technology titans.The nation’s biggest tech firms like Microsoft, Tesla and Meta led the surge.
Not so on the upswing? Crypto, which cratered last week in stark opposition to the stock market, with bitcoin falling and one-time crypto banking giant Silvergate Capital becoming the latest industry player to flirt with bankruptcy.
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BREAKING NEWS
Atlanta police arrested 35 people Sunday after protesters allegedly entered the construction site of a police training center on the city’s outskirts and set fire to construction amid ongoing tensions related to the facility, dubbed “Cop City.”
Creed III grossed $58.6 million in U.S. box office sales in its debut weekend, according to MGM, beating expectations by roughly $20 million and setting a record for the franchise. It’s a win for Michael B. Jordan, who made his directorial debut with the film.
BUSINESS + FINANCE
Thanks to gratuity-goosing point of sale terminals, Americans are tipping more—and more often. Now the feds are eyeing that same digital path to collect more of the taxes owed on tip income.
Amazon reportedly paused construction on its second headquarters that’s headed to Crystal City, Virginia amid a massive round of layoffs that left the retail giant reassessing its head count, though the company’s real estate chief John Schoettler said Amazon remains committed to its new campus.
WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Since its founding in 1946, Mediobanca has been at the heart of Italy’s economy. In the last decade, it’s done business with at least 10 Italian billionaires tied to companies like Ferrari and Moncler—and now it’s touting its success in its wealth management business.
The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law last August, seems destined to both create a bunch of new billionaires, and further enrich existing ones. Forbes takes a look at the cash-infusing effects of the $400 billion green subsidy gravy train.
TECH + INNOVATION
TikTok has been hit with 15 lawsuits in the past three months that largely assert the platform’s in-app browser is illegally tracking user behavior in violation of the Federal Wiretap Act. The lawsuits are largely based on work done by an Austrian security researcher who last summer outlined the presence of source code that potentially allows TikTok to monitor how users are interacting with any website that they access through the app.
With star backers like Leonardo DiCaprio and a planet-friendly mission, neobank Aspiration reached a valuation of $2.3 billion in 2021. Then growth stalled and its SPAC deal was delayed, now it’s hawking its services in the dubious carbon credits business.
A few years back, billionaire tech founder Ryan Breslow hired an engineer previously convicted of federal wire fraud and money laundering to build his community-run platform for social impact causes. Now, the Bolt CEO is suing the rogue employee over the alleged theft of millions of dollars belonging to the nascent crypto project, much of which was contributed by its cofounders themselves.
SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT
A new rule in Major League Baseball bans the team in the field from bunching its players on either side of second base—a practice known as the “shift” that had been especially detrimental to left-handed batters. Experts say the prospect of shiftless games has already altered how teams are putting their rosters together, and now lefty batters are exacting their revenge by signing sweet post-shift contracts.
LIFESTYLE
Incidents of overheated lithium batteries on airplanes are on the rise as more and more personal devices are powered by the rechargeable technology, it’s now happening more than once a week, on average. Last week alone, a Spirit Airlines flight from Dallas to Orlando was diverted to Jacksonville after a lithium battery in a personal device caught fire in an overhead bin.
Daily Cover Story
The Inside Story Of America’s First Topless Dispensary
TOPLINE How can a new Massachusetts cannabis dispensary stand out from the intense competition? Two Boston-based real estate entrepreneurs think they have the answer—a topless dispensary in the site of a beloved local strip club.
The roadside lounge, called Club Castaway, has been closed since March 2020 and the owners have struggled to find its next act. Now they will give the 50-year-old strip club a cannabis makeover and ditch the pole, the stage and the alcohol and replace it with a dispensary featuring half-nude budtenders.
However lowbrow or gimmicky a topless pot shop may sound, the concept is actually quite shrewd. The town of Whately currently has no dispensaries and the upside is huge: Massachusetts retailers sold some $4 billion worth of cannabis since marijuana was legalized in 2018. Club Castaway is also in close proximity to the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an MGM hotel and casino, which leaves the owners seeing opportunity for an ample customer base.
WHY IT MATTERS “In Massachusetts, there are 265 cannabis retail locations and 14 delivery services selling cannabis. That means that in the five years since the legal market launched it has gotten so competitive that retailers now need to think of ways their businesses stand apart from the rest,” Forbes Staff Writer Will Yakowicz says. “While a topless dispensary might seem frivolous at first, it’s really a sign that legalization is working and just how competitive the cannabis industry has become.”
MORE Weed vs. Greed: How America Botched Legalizing Pot
FACTS AND COMMENTS
Home prices continued to drop across the U.S. through December, with 20 major cities among those showing the biggest declines.
-1.9%: The monthly home price decline in Phoenix and Portland.
-1.8%: The monthly home price decline in Las Vegas, Seattle and San Francisco.
-1.3%: The monthly home price decline in Denver and San Diego.
STRATEGY AND SUCCESS
Turbulence in the tech sector is creating a massive hiring opportunity for other industries—here are some tactics companies are using to recruit and hire early tech talent, starting with understanding the younger cohort’s desires for stability and hybrid work.
VIDEO
How Cirque Du Soleil Survived COVID—Little-Known Business Strategy Saved Legendary Circus
QUIZ
How many people will work at iPhone manufacturer Foxconn’s forthcoming $700 million factory in India, making it about one-third of the size of the world’s largest iPhone factory in China?
A. 68,000
B. 100,000
C. 80,000
D. 212,000
Check if you got it right here.
ACROSS THE NEWSROOM
Keep up-to-date on the latest news on young risk takers with the Forbes Under 30 newsletter, sent to your inbox each Friday by my colleague Olivia Peluso. Sign-up here.
BEYOND THE NEWSROOM
- Register for the 2023 Forbes Equal Pay Day Forum, an in-person event where business leaders will explore how to close systemic gaps. The event takes place on March 15 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET in New York City.
- Join us virtually for the 2023 Forbes CIO Summit on April 12, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. ET as we gather some of the world’s top CIOs, CTOs, CDIOs and futurists for an amazing mind share focused on leadership, innovation and transformation. The summit is designed to inform, challenge and delight as we examine several key issues of importance to technology leaders.
- Coming up: The Forbes Under 30 Summit Africa is coming back for a second time to the world’s greatest growth market. From April 23-26, join some of the greatest minds from around the world in Gaborone, Botswana for this can’t-miss event. Register now.
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