| Your guide to the day’s news exclusively for Wall Street Journal members. |
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Good Saturday morning. Welcome to the first weekend edition of The 10-Point. You will now receive this newsletter seven days a week. In today’s edition: Irrational decisions affect layoffs—and playoffs. Gas stoves fuel home sales. Companies fund lavish influencer trips. 📰 Today's print front page |
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Stocks finished the week higher as investors weighed the latest inflation data. |
The S&P 500 added around 2.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped about 4.3%. The Dow industrials gained roughly 1.8%. Parts of the market that Wall Street had bet heavily against have soared to start the year. Tesla, which just had its worst year on record, had its best week since 2013. Corporate earnings also continued to drive outsize moves. Intel stock sank 7.9% Friday after the chipmaker reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss Thursday. Hasbro shares declined after the toy company reported lower revenue and became the latest corporation to outline large-scale layoffs. The Fed is expected to raise interest rates at a milder pace when it meets next week. Consumer spending fell last month as inflation cooled. (Read) 🎧 When cash delivers better returns than stocks. (Listen) Americans have inflation fatigue, and they’re splurging. (Read) Growth: less than advertised; better than feared. (Read) |
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Memphis releases video of police beating of Tyre Nichols. |
The footage, which Tennessee law enforcement officials have described as appalling, prompted a largely peaceful protest in the city. The video captured the traffic stop and police encounter earlier this month with Mr. Nichols, whose death days later resulted in the firing of five police officers later charged with second-degree murder. Lawyers representing two of the officers said they wouldn’t comment on the charges until they had seen the evidence. Attorneys for the other officers couldn’t immediately be determined. 🎥 Video released by Memphis officials shows the altercation that led to Mr. Nichols’s death. (Watch) Follow live updates. (Read) |
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Tech companies grapple with advances in artificial intelligence |
| PHOTO: DAVID PAUL MORRIS/BLOOMBERG NEWS |
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Google is trying to catch up to rivals like OpenAI, which in recent months have released AI-based programs that can generate images and text passages from simple prompts. After its worst year ever, Meta is also embracing AI to improve ad-targeting on Facebook and Instagram. A Jerusalem synagogue shooting resulted in at least seven deaths in what authorities said was a terrorist attack. The shooting comes amid heightened tension between Israel and the Palestinian territories. The FDA changed guidelines to allow more gay and bisexual men to donate blood, updating a decades-old policy set during the start of the AIDS crisis. Chevron said it rode high oil prices to a record $35.5 billion annual profit in 2022, about one-third higher than its previous record in 2011. The oil giant also reported a $75 billion share-repurchase program—though quarterly results still missed analysts’ expectations. |
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CONTENT FROM OUR SPONSOR: The Northern Trust Institute | | Harnessing the Power of Resilience How can you make the most of the coming year despite prolonged headwinds? Explore advice to help you, your family, or your business harness the power of resilience in 2023. Learn More |
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Similar cognitive biases have shaped recent tech layoffs—and the NFL playoffs. |
| ILLUSTRATION: DANA SMITH; PHOTO GETTY IMAGES |
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NFL teams and tech companies are both awash with data to guide their decisions. Yet behavioral scientists and economists say the market for talent remains inefficient in both industries because tech companies and football teams often develop groupthink when it comes to making high-stakes decisions, writes WSJ columnist Ben Cohen. As a result, they often make irrational choices—like hiring too many employees or overpaying for coveted draft picks—simply because their rivals are doing the same thing. Corporate layoffs are spreading beyond high-growth tech giants. (Read) 🎥 Apple has avoided the layoffs hitting the rest of tech, for now. (Watch) 🎧 Why the DOJ is suing Google—again. (Listen) |
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If you want to sell your home, mention your gas stove in the listing. |
| PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SAM KELLY/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, ISTOCK (2) |
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The gas versus electric stove debate reignited this month after federal regulators said they were considering restrictions on gas ranges, which have the same climate impact as about 500,000 gas-powered cars, according to a 2022 Stanford study. But even though several cities have enacted measures to discourage the use of fossil fuel in new homes to reduce carbon emissions, real-estate agents across the country say that a gas range may slightly boost a home’s value. Fifty-one percent of home buyers prefer gas for cooking, compared with 39% who prefer electric, according to a 2021 survey by the National Association of Home Builders. 🎧 Why having a gas stove can increase your home’s value. (Listen) Inside an investor’s $100 million Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard buying spree. (Read) Are gas stoves dangerous to your health? Here’s what science says. (Read) |
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By funding lavish influencer trips, companies are paying dearly for a moment in the social spotlight. |
| PHOTO: KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY IMAGES FOR ATLANTIS THE ROYAL |
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Two splashy group excursions to the United Arab Emirates illustrate the changing economics of celebrity marketing, where luxe vacations are traded for TikTok mentions. This month, luxury cosmetics and hotel brands have paid for legions of beauty influencers, an ex-One Direction member, several former “Bachelor” contestants and Beyoncé to visit the U.A.E. in the hopes these visitors would later recommend their products and boost sales. “Dubai is very, very image-conscious, and so has for a long time tried to make an effort to attract celebrities,” said Ryan Centner, associate professor of urban geography at the London School of Economics. Yet celebrities have been criticized for these sponsored trips to the Emirates, where homosexuality is punishable by imprisonment or even death. TikTok’s famous trainspotter describes his favorite trips. (Read) Inside Gucci and Louis Vuitton’s open tryouts for new designers. (Read) Why PETA—and taxidermists—approve of Kylie Jenner’s lion-head dress. (Read) |
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| The 10-Point was the name given to the news column on the WSJ's front page. Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by Conor Grant and Lisa Donovan in New York in collaboration with Editor in Chief Matt Murray. |
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