Good day valued readers,

We hope this week's carefully curated selection of news finds you well. In this edition, we cover the latest developments across investing, finance, crypto, AI, and other topics to help you stay informed.

As always, our goal is to provide you with a professional, unbiased roundup of noteworthy news to augment your understanding of what's happening in the world. We take pride in hand-selecting articles from trustworthy sources across a diverse range of industries.

Please enjoy this week's newsletter. We're grateful for the opportunity to share these insights with you and look forward to continuing to be a valuable resource.

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Investing and Finance

This week, central banks and jobs data offered mixed economic signals, as the Fed dismissed imminent CBDC plans while US employment topped forecasts despite layoff announcements. However, outlooks darkened for semiconductors, with Broadcom disappointing and Bank of America flagging record tech stock selling. Interest rate moves impacted banking profits, while stalwart brands like McDonald's felt strains from lower-income spending cuts. Geopolitical forces also shaped markets, as the US House voted to ban TikTok and Europe mandated safer car controls over touchscreens.

Amid the volatility, the S&P 500's long-term average return provided perspective, while MongoDB forecast business losses and gold continued its record run. Against the tide, Telegram neared profitability potentially preceding an IPO. But uncertainty reigned, with Ned Davis projecting a market correction ahead and NVIDIA suffering massive option-related losses. Now let's dive deeper into the crosscurrents driving these pivotal business, policy and investing storylines.

1. U.S. Fed Chair Powell Says 'Nowhere Near' Pursuing CBDC, Won't Spy on Americans - Read more

2. US jobs figures beat forecasts but downgrades complicate outlook - Read more

3. S&P 500 Average Return and Historical Performance - Read more

4. Europe Tells Automakers That Buttons and Knobs Are Safer Than Touchscreens - Read more

5. Broadcom Stock Tumbles as Outlook Disappoints; Semiconductor Peers Also Decline - Read more

6. How Interest Rate Changes Affect the Profitability of Banking - Read more

7. Investors have sold a record amount of tech stocks, says Bank of America - Read more

8. NVIDIA Loses Almost the Entire Market Cap of Uber as Call Options Get Monetized - Read more

9. The average American wants to retire with over $1 million - Read more

10. MongoDB Forecasts Loss of Some Business This Year, and Stock Tumbles - Read more

11. Gold Continues to Shine After Reaching Record High Last Week—Key Level to Watch - Read more

12. Telegram hits 900mn users and nears profitability as founder considers IPO - Read more

13. Global stocks are headed for a correction, but the pullback likely won’t snowball into a bear market, Ned Davis Research says - Read more

14. US House Passes TikTok Ban - What You Need To Know - Read more

15. 10 Minutes a Month to Beat the Stock Market - Read more

16. McDonald's Stock Slips as CFO Says Lower-Income Customers Are Cutting Back Spending - Read more

Crypto News

This week, Bitcoin made historic strides, smashing past $70,000 to new all-time highs as mounting institutional adoption and the first spot ETF launches propelled bullish momentum. Over 4% of Bitcoin's circulating supply now backs US spot ETFs like BlackRock's behemoth, which exceeded 200,000 BTC under management. However, Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust faced record withdrawals as competition intensified, with VanEck slashing fees to zero to attract mammoth ETF inflows topping nearly $100 billion in daily crypto exchange volumes. As prices spiked, the hunt for Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity reignited alongside billionaire endorsements from Chamath Palihapitiya and projections of $90,000+ targets.

Profit-taking sparked volatility, yet firms like Coinbase seized opportunities to raise $1 billion without diluting shares. The Ethereum network suffered from meme coin mania driving 2-year high fees, even as the CoinEx CEO forecast "flippening" Bitcoin. While Telegram's TON blockchain surged ahead of a potential public listing, MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor defiantly declared never selling his company's massive Bitcoin stake. Now let's examine the tectonic market shifts remaking crypto's landscape.

1. Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto? - Read more

2. Crypto exchange daily volume rises to nearly $100 billion for first time since 2021 - Read more

3. Bitcoin breaks $70,000 in volatile trading, hitting a new record to end the week - Read more

4. Bitcoin Approaching ‘Tipping Point’ As BTC Becomes Part of the Financial Fabric, Says Billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya - Read more

5. Bitcoin to Surge Beyond $90,000: Bull Pennant Formation and Rising ETF Inflows Signal Imminent Rally - Read more

6. 4% of the entire bitcoin supply is now backing US spot ETFs - Read more

7. Meme Coin Frenzy Drives Ethereum Network Fees to Nearly 2-Year High - Read more

8. Donald Trump Sounds More Constructive on Bitcoin - Read more

9. VanEck slashes Bitcoin spot ETF fees to zero amid ATH inflows - Read more

10. Coinbase Plans $1B Bond Sale That Avoids Hurting Stock Investors, Copying Michael Saylor's Successful Bitcoin Playbook - Read more

11. Ethereum Set to Eclipse Bitcoin, CoinEx CEO Forecasts - Read more

12. The BlackRock Bitcoin spot ETF exceeds 200,000 BTC - Read more

13. Grayscale's Bitcoin Fund Faces Record Withdrawals - Read more

14. Toncoin Price Hits Two-Year High as Telegram Weighs Going Public - Read more

15. Michael Saylor is never selling MicroStrategy’s bitcoin - Read more

Artificial Intelligence

This week, AI's societal impacts intensified as voice mimicry scams preyed on emotions, while Facebook integrated generative AI to automate video creation. Experts raised alarms on AI protein design's potential bioweapons risk, even as an OpenAI spinoff helped robots learn tasks like humans. Elon Musk announced open-sourcing ChatGPT rival Grok, continuing the democratization of language models despite ethical pitfalls. Milestones kept coming - mathematicians used AI to identify COVID variants, AWS targeted 99% AI market share, and Cerebras unveiled the world's fastest 4 trillion transistor chip. However, philosophical questions persist on AI's relation to human consciousness and spirituality.

Major partnerships formed between tech giants and startups to further AI's robotic embodiment in humanoid form factors. Educational roles arose for lucrative data science profiles not needing coding skills, as companies like NVIDIA and HP upgraded AI hardware. New frontiers emerged in "interactive AI" systems beyond text generation aided by selective forgetting techniques. Yet repeating biases in Adobe Firefly showed the need for rigorous AI governance, underscored as IBM cut jobs amidst the industry's AI realignment. Looking ahead, 2024 is poised to dwarf 2023's already-explosive AI developments and impacts.

1. The Terrifying A.I. Scam That Uses Your Loved One’s Voice - Read more

2. NVIDIA and HP Supercharge Data Science and Generative AI on Workstations - Read more

3. The AI Job That Pays Up to $335K—and You Don’t Need a Computer Engineering Background - Read more

4. Researcher Startled When AI Seemingly Realizes It's Being Tested - Read more

5. Facebook is turning to AI to run its 'entire video ecosystem' - Read more

6. Could AI-designed proteins be weaponized? Scientists lay out safety guidelines - Read more

7. An OpenAI spinoff has built an AI model that helps robots learn tasks like humans - Read more

8. Elon Musk's Chatbot Grok To Go Open-Source - Here's What To Know - Read more

9. Beyond Computation: The Human Spirit in the Age of AI - Read more

10. Mathematicians use AI to identify emerging COVID-19 variants - Read more

11. AWS wants 99% of the AI market - Read more

12. DeepMind’s cofounder: Generative AI is just a phase. What’s next is interactive AI. - Read more

13. Cerebras Systems Unveils World’s Fastest AI Chip with Whopping 4 Trillion Transistors - Read more

14. Microsoft Copilot for Security is generally available on April 1, 2024, with new capabilities - Read more

15. OpenAI partners with startup to create advanced AI models for humanoid robots - Read more

16. You thought 2023 was a big year for AI? Buckle up. - Read more

17. Selective Forgetting Can Help AI Learn Better - Read more

18. Adobe Firefly repeats the same AI blunders as Google Gemini - Read more

19. IBM is cutting jobs as tech's shift to AI continues - Read more

Top Article Picks this week

This week, we explore fascinating revelations across science, psychology, and personal productivity. Marine archaeologists uncovered a remarkable Stone Age "megastructure" on the seafloor, while astrophysicists marveled at the enlightening beauty of an Einstein ring celestial phenomenon. Sleep experts reinforced the importance of avoiding sleep deprivation, even as counterintuitive advice emerged on embracing resilience over growth and leveraging "brain dumps" for focus. Meanwhile, psychologists examined narcissistic personality traits masquerading as sensitivity, offering coping strategies for processing insults.

Career coaches highlighted resilience-building habits and respecting small breaks' rejuvenating power. Under intense work cultures, provocative perspectives challenged simplistic "buy, number go up" mindsets and unpacked daylight saving time's brain impacts. Immigration data also refuted stereotypes around crime rates. Amidst these diverse insights, a unifying thread - using frameworks like clairvoyant thinking to make better choices navigating life's complexities. Now let's dive deeper into the studies, stories and expert guidance illuminating the human experience and our wondrous universe.

Today’s featured articles No.4 focuses on the 1990 and 1991 birth years, dubbed "peak millennials," as they represent the largest population cohort in the United States. This massive microgeneration has had an outsized economic influence, stretching resources and reshaping markets at every life stage. From college enrollment spikes in 2009 to the urban migration of the 2010s and the recent housing boom, their sheer numbers have created pressure on various sectors. The article traces how this group has competed for housing, jobs, and other resources, often finding themselves in challenging economic conditions.

When they went to college, community colleges had to turn away applicants due to overwhelming demand. Their migration to cities like New York and San Francisco led to fierce competition for limited housing supply. Now in their early 30s, they are driving demand for starter homes, contributing to the unaffordable housing market. However, their influence is not limited to housing; they have also impacted industries like wedding venues and higher education.

The article draws parallels with the Baby Boomer generation, which also faced labor market challenges due to its size. While peak millennials have faced economic difficulties, the author suggests they may ultimately fare better than late baby boomers due to the relatively smaller generational size gap. Recent years have seen improvements in millennials' employment rates, wealth holdings, and home ownership.

However, challenges linger, such as lower employment rates for millennial men, rising debt delinquencies, and historically low fertility rates. The article raises concerns about the potential strain on the retirement system and nursing home staffing when this large cohort reaches old age. The author wonders whether the low fertility rates reflect a permanent trend or merely a delay in having children. Overall, the article provides a comprehensive analysis of how this massive generation has reshaped the economy and what challenges may lie ahead. You can read more in Art. 4 below.

1. Scientists scanning the seafloor discover a long-lost Stone Age 'megastructure' (Reading time: 5 min) - Read it here

2. How Starting Your Day With a 'Brain Dump' Can Make You More Productive (Reading time: 4 min) - Read it here

3. Forget Growth. Optimize for Resilience (Reading time: 5 min) - Read it here

4. It’s Me, Hi, I’m the Problem. I’m 33. (Reading time: 11 min) - Read it here

5. This 'Clairvoyant' Thought Exercise Can Help You Make the Right Choice in Just Seconds, Says Google's Former Chief Decision Scientist (Reading time: 5 min) - Read it here

6. Why Daylight Saving Time Messes With Your Brain (Reading time: 5 min) - Read it here

7. The Enlightening Beauty of an Einstein Ring (Reading time: 7 min) - Read it here

8. Why Six Hours Of Sleep Is As Bad As None At All (Reading time: 4 min) - Read it here

9. 23 Signs You’re Secretly a Narcissist Masquerading as a Sensitive Introvert (Reading time: 7 min) - Read it here

10. The No. 1 habit all highly resilient people have, according to a career expert (Reading time: 4 min) - Read it here

11. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Small Breaks During a Busy Workday (Reading time: 5 min) - Read it here

12. How To Be Successful (Reading time: 5 min) - Read it here

13. More People Buy, Number Go Up (Reading time: 5 min) - Read it here

14. Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born Americans, studies find (Reading time: 2 min) - Read it here

15. How to Respond to an Insult, According to Therapists (Reading time: 6 min) - Read it here

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Book of the week

Sapiens is a groundbreaking and highly original narrative that explores the entirety of human history from the evolution of ancient human species to the potential futures we may construct with biotechnology. Renowned historian Yuval Noah Harari integrates science and history in this #1 international bestseller, re-examining longstanding narratives about how Homo sapiens came to dominate the Earth.

Rather than taking a purely historical or biological perspective, Harari looks at the development of human cognition, societies, and technologies over the past 70,000 years. He contextualizes major events and transitions within larger frameworks about humanity's role in the global ecosystem. The book compels readers to look ahead, as humans are increasingly gaining abilities to modify natural selection and design the future of our species.

With its interdisciplinary insights, Sapiens connects past events to contemporary issues like genetic engineering and artificial intelligence in thought-provoking ways. Featuring illustrations, maps, and photographs, this landmark work is highly recommended for readers interested in big-picture perspectives on what it means to be human. Perfect for fans of authors like Jared Diamond and James Gleick who make complex ideas accessible and engage with fundamental questions.

Harari's insightful, debate-spurring exploration of humanity's origins and potential trajectories makes Sapiens an essential reading experience. It expands our understanding of our species' brief but consequential reign on Earth so far.

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