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Vice Media’s Fall: Shane Smith and How the Company Burned

The Hollywood Reporter (02/28/2024)
  • Once valued at $5.7 billion, Vice Media entered bankruptcy last year despite hard-charging founder Shane Smith convincing corporate investors that VICE was the next big disruptive media outlet.
  • With edgy, eye-opening content, Shane convinced aging media moguls including Rupert Murdoch and Bob Iger (Disney) that Vice’s “cool” factor captured sought-after younger audiences.
  • However, Vice’s debt and external investment fueled growth and lack of substantial consumer revenue resulted in a valuation collapse after investors pulled back.
  • Fortress Investment Group acquired Vice for $350M.

AI Boom Reawakens Silicon Valley’s Housing Market

Bloomberg (02/10/2024)
  • The rise in artificial intelligence (AI) has rejuvenated Silicon Valley’s housing market.
  • More first-time buyers, many who work for major tech companies, can now afford million-dollar homes thanks to rising share prices which account for a big chunk of tech industry salaries.
  • The return-to-office push and slight dip in mortgage rates have also boosted Northern California housing.
  • Among the 50 biggest US metros, San Jose (median sales price $1.3M) leads in home-sales pace with 61% of new listings under contract within 14 days.

Why Americans’ ‘YOLO’ spending spree baffles economists

BBC (12/01/2023)
  • Despite high interest rates, inflation, and shrinking savings, US spending has perplexed economists by surging, as evidenced by the recent 9.6% year-over-year increase in Cyber Monday sales.
  • Consumer spending growth accounted for most of the 4.9% increase in Q3 GDP.
  • This growth largely derives from the “unprecedented” increase in accumulated US household savings following government pandemic stimulus programs.
  • However, this trend will eventually reverse as student loan repayments resume and growing credit card debt limit future spending power.

A Treasure May Be Off the Coast of Colombia, but Who Can Claim It?

The New York Times (NYT) (11/10/2023)
  • The San José, a Spanish cargo vessel ship sunk in 1708 by the British with treasure currently estimated at $20 billion, has ignited a complex international dispute over its claim.
  • While Colombian President Gustavo Petro plans to recover it, this initiative faces opposition from archaeologists, Spain, indigenous groups, and a US search group claiming 50% discovery rights for locating the shipwreck in the 1980s.
  • The article details why the recoverable treasure’s value is probably inflated and the justification behind ownership claims.

Picasso masterpiece depicting his young mistress sells for $139 million at auction

CNN (09/13/2023)
  • Pablo Picasso’s 1932 masterpiece “Femme à la montre” depicting his lover Marie-Thérèse Walter sold for over $139 million at Sotheby’s (NYC), making it the artist’s second most expensive auctioned work.
  • Part of the late philanthropist Emily Fisher Landau’s collection, this vibrant, detailed canvas from Picasso’s prolific year symbolizes his passionate affair with Walter, impacting his art and personal life.
  • The sale was part of a larger auction including works by Rothko, Warhol, and O’Keeffe expected to auction for over $400M.

The Secrets Hamas Knew About Israel’s Military

The New York Times (NYT) (10/13/2023)
  • On October 7th, the Israeli military was completely blindsided by the Hamas attack in Southern Israel that resulted in over 1,300 deaths and 200 kidnappings.
  • Hamas gunmen penetrated Israel’s defenses and bypassed security, targeting a military intelligence hub and other strategic points, including civilian areas.
  • With explosives and tractors, Hamas attackers blew open gaps in border barricades and knew exactly where to go.
  • With local security overwhelmed and communication towers destroyed, the initial counter-offensive was led by off-duty and retired Israeli soldiers.

Oil prices would soar to $150 and market volatility would skyrocket in the most severe scenario for the Israel-Hamas war, EY chief economist says

Business Insider (10/23/2023)
  • In a potential worst-case scenario of the Israel-Hamas conflict, EY’s chief economist Greg Daco warns of soaring oil prices reaching $150 a barrel by late 2023 and crash major stock market indexes by 20%.
  • The spike in energy prices and falling markets could also reduce global GDP by 1.4%, or $2 trillion.
  • This “uncontained” scenario would involve the US and/or Iran getting directly involved.
  • Daco predicts this worst-case scenario would be short-lived, with oil prices falling back to current levels by late 2024.

How Tony Hsieh’s Friends And Family Milked Millions In His Drug-Fueled Final Months

Forbes (04/23/2023)
  • In the final months before the tragic death of Zappos (online shoe store) founder Tony Hsieh, he tried stimulating the Park City, Utah economy during Covid.
  • Hsieh paid his employees a 10% commission for making investments and purchases on his behalf.
  • His close circle, including family members, exploited this program by making bad multi-million dollar purchases and investments.
  • Hsieh’s deteriorating mental state amplified by heavy drug use made him vulnerable and triggered erratic behavior that culminated with him dying in a fire.

What Happens to Your Body on No Sleep?

Outside (04/02/2019)
  • Scientists have found that the effects of acute sleep deprivation, or all-nighters, kicks in after being awake for 16-18 hours straight.
  • The first sign is a sluggish mind, with reaction times lagging to the equivalent of being legally drunk by the 24th hour awake.
  • After 24 hours, your brain starts forcing you into 10-20 second periods of “micro-sleep”.
  • After 35 hours, the brain’s emotion-emitting amygdala becomes 60% more reactive and the ability to regulate emotions declines.
  • Hallucinations are common after 48 hours awake.