GM Bro.

I know, I know, you are perplexed with questions like; where the hell have we been? Who’s blood is that on your shirt? How come my ex never calls me? Well, it’s a long and complex story but just know we’ve made some updates to our website, format, and how we will be writing in the future…we hope you notice these small but subtle and sexy changes along the way. Oh and Good f*cking morning, BRO!

In Today’s Morning 6 to 9:

• Tech Tings

• Junk Businesses

• Cultural Catchup’s

• Bro-Tastic Memes

Tech Happenings

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The once powerful FTX, now a bankrupt crypto exchange, is desperately begging for its former political donations to be returned. At first, the exchange was asking for returns but now has stated that if beneficiaries don't feel like giving back voluntarily, FTX's debtors are more than happy to take them to court and add a little interest for good measure. According to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit monitoring political spending, former FTX co-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO Ryan Salame, and former engineering head Nishad Singh donated over $84 million to political candidates and organizations.

The one and only Uber is gracing us with their presence again and releasing their Q4 2022 earnings report TODAY (February 8th.) As if we needed another reminder of their dominance in the ride-hailing industry and the normalcy they’ve established for a $90 one-way ride to the airport. But, of course, the analysts still can't seem to get it right and are only expecting revenue of $8.47 billion and delivery bookings of $14.22 billion. We have a hunch that Uber will exceed these predictions and ask you for a tip at the end of it. And let's not forget about their competitor, Lyft, trying to keep up by releasing their earnings the next day. Yea…Good luck with that tho.

Tesla's highly anticipated Cybertruck, an electric pickup truck with a starting price of $39,900 and a range of 500+ miles, was originally slated to begin production in late 2021 but has been delayed multiple times with mass production now expected to begin in late 2023 and the first trucks likely hitting the roads in mid-2023, with the majority of deliveries not expected until 2024. America LOVES a comeback Story.

Google is launching an AI-powered chatbot called Bard to compete with OpenAI's widely-used ChatGPT, with a group of testers using it before it's rolled out to the public in the coming weeks. The chatbot will operate on a "lightweight" version of Google's existing large language model Lamda, requiring less power, and is aimed at combining the breadth of knowledge with the power and intelligence of language models. Massive tech companies racing for sentient technology’s market share while we have leaders that don’t know how to use an iPhone…what could possibly go wrong? 😅

Junky Business, no not like that 👀

AMC Theatres is launching "Sightline at AMC", a ticket pricing initiative based on seat location within the auditorium, with three different seat-pricing options: Standard Sightline, Value Sightline, and Preferred Sightline. The initiative is rolling out in select AMC locations in New York, Chicago, and Kansas City and will be expanded to all domestic AMC locations by the end of the year. Similar to how sporting events and concerts are gauging their attendees

AMC isn’t the only one making moves on prices, Singer/Icon Bruce Springsteen, who happens to sing one of my favorite songs ever; “Born In The USA” was caught in some recent controversy of his name and likeness on the dedicated website known as “Backstreets”. The website has been serving Bruce Springsteen fans for 43 years and is now shutting down due to the publisher's disillusionment over the high ticket prices for Springsteen's current tour. The publication was known for its rigorous journalism and fan worship, but the high ticket prices resulted in disappointment among the Backstreets community and a massive loss in revenue.

Seeing all this happen is a perfect segway to discuss what President Biden said in his State of the Union address…he dedicated time to the Junk Fees Prevention Act, a push to limit hidden fees and surcharges in industries such as airlines, hotels, and concerts. The proposed legislation is aimed at curtailing overcharging by companies and would require full disclosure of ticket prices upfront and refunding customers if flights/etc are delayed or canceled. The administration argues that junk fees harm markets and result in racial disparities with people of color being disproportionately affected. Also f all these companies have hidden fees, but what remains to be seen is if the Federal government is a friend or foe here.

Cultural Catchup’s

Does anyone watch the Grammys anymore? Don’t worry, we did so you don’t have to, here are the highlights in cases you missed it:

• Beyoncé won a record-breaking 32nd Grammy Award for best dance/electronic album for "Renaissance". Guess what Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, Lebron, Messi, Ronaldo, and Beyonce have in common? A LOT of Winning.

• Harry Styles won album of the year for "Harry's House".

• British artists were the most successful, with indie duo Wet Leg winning two prizes and Sam Smith receiving best pop duo/group performance for a duet with Kim Petras.

• Adele won best pop vocal performance for "Easy on Me", Bonnie Raitt won song of the year, and Lizzo won record of the year for "About Damn Time".

LeBron James has passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer, scoring 38 points in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, surpassing Abdul-Jabbar's career total of 38,387 points. Despite missing 11 games this season, James has already outscored Abdul-Jabbar's entire 20th and final season by scoring 1,326 points in 44 games in 2022-23.

Kim Kardashian reportedly made $1 million for speaking at the iConnections Global conference in Miami on January 31. During her appearance, she spoke about her private equity firm, SKKY Partners, which focuses on investments in consumer products, media, entertainment, hospitality, and luxury brands. Hot take - Kim owes Kanye flowers. Like every day.

Two earthquakes, one measuring 7.8 and another 7.5, struck southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria on February 6th and 7th 2023, killing over 7,200 people and injuring tens of thousands. The earthquakes are some of the largest in the region in a century and have resulted in severe damage to buildings, with thousands of buildings reduced to rubble. The earthquakes have also resulted in a state of emergency being declared in ten provinces in Turkey, and have prompted the deployment of over 59,971 search and rescue personnel. International relief efforts are underway to help the victims of the earthquakes, If you wish to Donate, here is a list of the charities/causes and where to send funds.

Bro-Tastic Memes