GM Handsome Bro.

I've made irreversible decisions by resigning from my day job. I've given my company two weeks' notice and have been fully immersed in learning and building new ventures, hence why you haven’t had a newsletter from me in the past 3 weeks. While I deeply appreciate my former employer, I've always craved the freedom from the shackles of corporate America. I am sure many of you can relate. And I can say that being your own boss or building your own small business is really rewarding and if you have the itch, I recommend that you scratch it. Now that I've taken this leap, I'm excited to pursue more ambitious opportunities and embrace greater risks. It's time to step out of my comfort zone and explore new frontiers. Cheers to risky bets and corporate America making me wanna try something else.

In Today’s Morning 6 to 9:

• Tech Times

• Business BroChaCho

• Cultural Catchup

• Bro-Tastic Memes

Tech Times

Tesla has implemented significant price cuts on its Model S and Model X vehicles, reducing the price of some models by as much as $10,000. The move comes after several years of steady price increases, which the company had attributed to supply chain issues and inflation, as well as high demand for its electric vehicles. The price cuts coincide with recent updates to the Model S and Model X, including new Autopilot and self-driving features.

Amazon is reportedly closing eight of its Amazon Go stores, including two in New York, two in Seattle, and four in San Francisco. The move is part of the company's cost-cutting measures and optimization decisions. The company remains committed to the Amazon Go format, which features cashier-less technology, and has recently opened two new stores in London. Here is an official statement by the company’s marketing team.

I am sure many of you can relate, that your email is a mess, Luckily there is Shortwave. a new email tool founded by ex-Googlers, that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise emails and organize inboxes, and its features have already saved users up to three hours of time per week. Shortwave's tool is similar to Google's defunct Inbox product, which prioritizes email conversations and separates them into different bundles such as "newsletters," "travel," and "purchases." Despite concerns about privacy and systemic biases, AI tools such as GPT-3 are changing internet activities and can help people focus on more important and creative tasks by automating menial tasks like reading every email…except for The Morning Bro of course.

Business Blunders and The Big Diesel

You know that random toy that seems to be in everyone’s office? I always thought they were sort of useless but apparently so does the company that makes them. Toy company Funko is set to write off between $30 million and $36 million of unsold toys, as it is more cost-effective than storing the products in warehouses. The company had 48% more stock on hand at the end of 2022 than in the previous year, due to a 1% dip in demand in the final quarter. Funko's margins also fell in the last quarter of 2022, after container rental charges for the excess product impacted its finances.

Fast Food Inflation - keeping the theme alive from last month about fast food… Fast-food prices are increasing faster than overall grocery prices, with menu prices growing at 13% versus groceries at 12%, according to a survey from Pricelisto. Wendy's saw the highest price hike, with prices almost doubling with a 35% spike from 2021 to 2022, making it now the most expensive fast-food chain. However, some prices did drop, with McDonald's menu prices down by 5% from the previous year and Wendy's popular Baconator burger dropping in price by $2.51.

Shaquille O'Neal is headlining as a keynote speaker at the San Diego 2023 International Franchise Association convention. Shaq’s net worth exceeds $400 million, and he still earns $22 million annually from endorsement deals with AriZona Cream Soda, Icy Hot, Gold Bond, Buick, and Zales. Unlike 60% of retired NBA players who reportedly go broke within five years of retirement, Shaq has a diverse investment portfolio that includes 17 Auntie Anne's Pretzels restaurants, 155 Five Guys Burgers and Fries franchises, 40 24-Hour Fitness gyms, Muscle Milk, Vitaminwater, and Loyal3, among other ventures. His investment philosophy is to get involved only if he personally likes the company or product, as was the case with Fruity Pebbles, for which he endorsed instead of Wheaties.

Cultural Catchups

In March of 2022, the world was shocked when Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock during the Oscars ceremony. One year later, the incident still remains a hot topic. Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, came to the defense of Will Smith, saying he doesn't feel sorry for Chris Rock and that Smith's 10-year Oscars ban should be lifted. Meanwhile, in his Netflix special 'Selective Outrage,' Chris Rock criticized businesses for being hypocritical when it comes to cancel culture and their charity work. Lululemon, Subaru, and Tesla were among the companies Rock poked fun at during his show. Despite the controversy, Rock's special is currently ranked No. 1 as Netflix's top TV show in the U.S. Watch Chris Rock’s latest stand-up on the whole ordeal. 😂 Also, F Will Smith. 😂 😂 

Toblerone's iconic Matterhorn mountain logo will be removed from its packaging as US owner Mondelez moves production to Slovakia later this year. The move is due to Swiss legislation that requires any product using “Swissness” to meet a set of origin criteria; lawmakers introduced the legislation to protect the prestige associated with Swiss-made products.

A recent study shows that artificial intelligence (AI) could help detect breast cancer, with results indicating that the AI software cut down the workload of healthcare professionals by at least 30% and matched the performance of human healthcare professionals in detecting dangerous spots on mammograms. Although experts involved in the study say that the technology should not be used to replace doctors, AI could become an effective safeguard to prevent missed cancers, which could in turn help to divert healthcare resources to patients.

Bro-Tastic Memes