☕ Signs of weakness

Ryan Reynolds proved he's not just a movie star... March 16, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [AT&T]( Good morning. As if we haven’t already been through March Madness with the banking chaos, the men’s college basketball tournament tips off this afternoon. While you watch the games play out, the Morning Brew Daily podcast team created a bracket you can actually participate in. The contest is The Greatest Logo of All Time, and we’re asking readers to help select the very best logo from a talented field of 64 designs. The first-round matchups are juicy, including Crocs vs. Jaguar, old Instagram vs. new Instagram, and Hartford Whalers vs. Mighty Ducks. You can vote on [Twitter]( or [Instagram]( starting later today. —Neal Freyman, Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, Abby Rubenstein MARKETS Nasdaq 11,434.05 +0.05% S&P 3,891.93 -0.70% Dow 31,874.57 -0.87% 10-Year 3.500% +3.4 bps Bitcoin $24,337.90 -2.66% First Republic $31.16 -21.37% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Anyone hoping the storm had passed for the markets was disappointed yesterday when Credit Suisse stirred up a new tempest that got investors fearing for the financial sector’s health all over again (more on that in a sec). Bank stocks in Europe and the US [took a hit](, including First Republic, which reportedly started mulling a sale to a larger institution after two ratings firms cut its credit rating to “junk.”  FINANCE [Global banking system on edge…again]( [A dog saying ]( Gunshow/Giphy Just when we thought we could put up our feet and enjoy a stress-free day of watching college basketball, another banking mess emerged. Yesterday’s mayhem stemmed not from California but from Zurich. Shares in the Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse [cratered]( to a record low yesterday after its largest shareholder, the Saudi National Bank, said it couldn’t provide Credit Suisse with any more financial support due to regulations. Investors already rattled by two major bank failures in the US sent bank stocks tumbling, and concerns grew that the fragile financial sector could fracture. Credit Suisse said last night it will [borrow]( up to $54 billion from the Swiss National Bank to shore up liquidity. Are Credit Suisse’s problems related to SVB? No. Credit Suisse has been in the Bad Place for years due to mismanagement and scandals. When many clients yanked their money out of the bank last year, Credit Suisse posted its biggest annual loss since the 2008 financial crisis. And, unlike SVB, which catered to a niche client base of startups, 167-year-old Credit Suisse is a much more [influential player]( with deep ties to financial markets all over the globe. It is considered a “systemically important financial institution” under international banking regulations. But if you’re a bank, now’s not a time to show any weakness Though SVB’s implosion did not lead to Credit Suisse’s current crisis, it did expose how banks everywhere are under pressure from rising interest rates. When rates were near zero, banks scooped up safe but low or even negative-yielding bonds. Now that rates are much higher, the value of those bonds has fallen, and banks are sitting on loads of unrealized losses. In other words, SVB’s collapse woke up the mama bear, then Credit Suisse went and poked it. Zoom out: Some finance leaders think a “slow rolling crisis” is coming for banks. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, in his widely read annual letter, wrote that rapid rate increases have “exposed cracks in the financial system,” and he predicted “more seizures and shutdowns coming.”—NF �  �  �  TOGETHER WITH AT&T [March is mad with potential]( [AT&T]( The last task before EOD doesn’t always wrap up as quickly as we’d like. But don’t let that block your plans. You can close out work from the road with [AT&T Unlimited In-Car Wi-Fi](. Car connection opens up all kinds of possibilities. Maybe it means you take your last meeting from the passenger seat. Or perhaps your kids will stop asking, “Are we there yet?” Either way, game → changed. AT&T covers [more roads than any other carrier](, so the whole can stay connected—and you don’t ever have to worry about missing a tip-off. Take possession of this potential. [See if your car qualifies for a free In-Car Wi-Fi trial](. WORLD Tour de headlines [Split TikTok logo with Capitol building on either side]Grant Thomas US demands TikTok be sold. The Biden administration has threatened to ban TikTok unless its Chinese owner ByteDance [sells off]( the app. The company had been trying to appease the US by coming to an agreement to add new data safeguards to the app. But the government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the US has now rejected those plans and demanded the sale. TikTok said it was “disappointed in the outcome” and weighing its options. Exiled Chinese billionaire charged with $1b fraud. Guo Wengui was [indicted]( yesterday for fraud and money laundering. He was reportedly one of the richest people in China before he fled potential prosecution, settled in New York, and became pals with Donald Trump’s former political strategist Steve Bannon. Prosecutors now claim Guo orchestrated a $1 billion scam that tricked his hundreds of thousands of social media followers into investing in cryptocurrencies and other businesses. One of the wildest ways he allegedly spent the money? Two $36,000 mattresses. Abortion pills got a tense day in court. The Texas judge overseeing a lawsuit brought by anti-abortion groups seeking to revoke the FDA’s two-decade-old approval of mifepristone, part of a popular two-drug protocol for a medication abortion, [heard arguments]( for four hours yesterday as he weighed whether to block the drug while the case proceeds. Those looking for clues in Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s questions noted that he seemed open to the idea that the drug hadn’t been properly vetted. The judge said he would decide whether to issue a preliminary ban “as soon as possible.” COMMUNICATIONS [Ryan Reynolds can act and sell a wireless company]( [Ryan Reynolds illustration on phone screen with "sold" sticker]( Hannah Minn Ryan Reynolds just proved he’s an entrepreneur first, Blake Lively’s arm candy second. T-Mobile [announced]( yesterday it is buying Mint Mobile, the mobile carrier partially owned by the actor, for nearly $1.35 billion. How do you go from Deadpool to owning a wireless provider? In 2019, Reynolds bought a stake in Mint Mobile, which sells budget phone plans for as little as $15 a month. He starred in a series of fun ads for the company—understanding, like any adult trying to monetize the skills they learned from the arts™, that marketing was his best way into the business world. And marketing agreed with him: He is currently the chief creative officer of an ad tech company that’s made campaigns for projects he’s involved in, as well as companies he’s not connected to, like Peloton and Match Group. - This isn’t the only successful sale of a Reynolds-backed business: In 2018, he became a co-owner of Aviation Gin, which he sold to Diageo in 2020 for a reported ~$610 million. Big picture: Having acquired MetroPCS in 2013 and merged with Sprint in 2020 (the latter despite major pushback from regulators), T-Mobile is betting that Reynolds, who will stay on in a creative role, and his continued charismatic ad strategy will help the company’s now small army of budget carriers snag more customers.—MM �  �  �  TOGETHER WITH CARIUMA [Cariuma]( Say to sustainable style. To look good and do good for the planet, [Cariuma sneakers]( are your perfect fit. These are the comfortable, beachy kicks you need heading into warmer weather, with that B-corp certification to boot. [Take 20% off your order]( and get an instant feel for why they’ve racked up 33k 5-star reviews. TECHNOLOGY [GPT-4 is blowing minds and going corporate]( [Pong game animation with code in the background]( Francis Scialabba No one should be more worried about getting replaced in their job by OpenAI’s GPT-4 than GPT-3. It’s been just two days since OpenAI debuted the [next generation]( of its famed AI engine, but users are already making the most of its talents. What can GPT-4 do? Like its predecessor, the updated system can write humanlike text and code. But it can also analyze images—and OpenAI says this version is more creative. Here’s some of what we’ve seen it do so far: - It turned a hand-drawn sketch on a napkin into a functional website. - One user had it generate recipes based on a photo of some groceries. - Another said they got it to recreate code for the arcade game Pong in less than a minute. And several companies have already “hired” the updated chatbot. - GPT-4 will help Duolingo language learners practice their conversation skills. - Payment giant Stripe has it advising developers on technical matters. - Khan Academy was clearly impressed by GPT-4’s potential to get the top score on some AP exams: The education nonprofit is launching a pilot to have the chatbot tutor students and help teachers plan lessons. Yes, but…despite the updates, GPT-4 is still prone to churning out BS in cases where a reasonable human would respond with a simple “I’m not sure.”—SK �  �  �  GRAB BAG Key performance indicators [A French Bulldog puppy on a winner's podium]Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photo: Auscape/Getty Images Stat: Last year, for the first time in 31 years, the labrador retriever was not America’s [most popular dog](, according to the American Kennel Club. So, what breed scooted in on stubby legs with an adorable smushed-in face to take the top dog spot? The French Bulldog. About one out of every seven dogs registered with the AKC last year was a Frenchie, reflecting a rapid rise in the popularity of the breed—which, though guaranteed to pull in likes on social media, can also suffer from serious health problems. Quote: “It’s your fault. Your contract is too big, so they can’t pay for the wi-fi.” Playing for the New York Yankees comes with at least a seven-figure salary but apparently no free [in-flight wi-fi](. Per Sports Illustrated, it’s one of just two MLB teams that makes players shell out if they want to be able to play Fortnite in the sky (the other is the Cincinnati Reds). Still, the team’s jet is not entirely without perks: One former pinstripe wearer described it as “a pretty cool custom plane with poker tables and stuff.” Read: How much a $100,000 salary is actually worth across America. ([Bloomberg]() NEWS What else is brewing - [Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant]( was suspended by the NBA for eight games over conduct detrimental to the league. Morant livestreamed a video earlier this month that showed him handling a gun at a nightclub. - [Marvel Studios]( is suing Google and Reddit to find out who leaked the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania script before the movie premiered. - [NASA]( debuted the new spacesuits astronauts will wear on the moon. - [Kellogg]( has picked the name Kellanova for its new snack brands spinoff. - [NFL QB Aaron Rodgers](, who recently emerged from a darkness retreat, seems to enjoy spending time in bleak environments—he said he intends to play for the New York Jets next season. RECS [To do list Thursday] Dream on: How to [lucid dream](. Experts say it just takes practice. Another early aughts trend is back: Watch [the trailer]( for the BlackBerry movie to remember a time when typing with your thumbs was new. Death star: NASA snapped a [rare photo]( of a star about to go supernova. Novel novels: [22 new books]( to read this spring, including one by Tom Hanks. Cure your imposter syndrome: The Brew’s New Manager Bootcamp is a [one-week online course]( that gives you tools and templates to confidently approach management challenges.  These sidewalk robots rock: [Serve](’s delivery robots are already partnering with major brands like Uber Eats and 7-Eleven. Serve is taking on a potential $310b market by 2025. Hurry and [invest in Serve before this opportunity ends](.* *This is sponsored advertising content. GAMES The puzzle section Brew Mini: Today’s crossword is shaped like a four-leaf clover. [Try your luck here](. Three headlines and a lie Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than a proposal on a reality show. Can you spot the odd one out? - Court rules Florida residents can’t [sell]( rare, tropical fish that end up in pools after hurricanes - Japan is about to [expel]( a YouTuber from its senate because he didn’t show up to work for 7 months - Newark accidentally enters into ‘sister city’ deal with [fake city]( - This couple just got [married]( in the Taco Bell metaverse AROUND THE BREW [Long term wealth loading...]( [Long term wealth loading...]( If you want to begin investing but don’t know how or where to start, Money With Katie’s free [Investing 101]( series is exactly what you need. [Check it out](. You landed the best candidate for the job. Now, how do you keep them happy? Hint: It’s in the data. [Join us on March 28 to learn more](. Technology is great…until it’s used against you. Fight back with insights and tactics you’ll learn at our [free virtual cybersecurity event on March 23](. SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=4904f90a]( ANSWER We made up the one about tropical fish. ✢ A Note From AT&T Based on nationwide GWS drive test data. GWS conducts paid drive tests for AT&T and uses the data in its analysis. Always pay careful attention to the road and do not drive distracted. Wi-Fi hotspot intended for passenger use only when vehicle is in operation. ✤ A Note From Serve Robotics This is a paid advertisement for Serve Robotics’ Regulation CF Offering. Please read the offering circular at [invest.serverobotics.com](. � � � � � Written by [Neal Freyman](, Sam Klebanov, [Matty Merritt](, and [Abigail Rubenstein]( Was this email forwarded to you? 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