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, major corporate moves shook industries as Cisco finalized its $28 billion Splunk acquisition and AstraZeneca purchased Fusion Pharmaceuticals for up to $2.4 billion to expand its cancer pipeline. However, operational glitches persisted - an Ethiopian bank error enabled millions in erroneous customer withdrawals. Economic crosscurrents emerged, with the Fed potentially scaling back projected rate cuts as growth proves resilient, defying skeptics of America's post-COVID rebound. Yet risks linger, as activist shorts like Hindenburg target Equinix and individual investors remain cautiously optimistic on stocks near highs.

Internationally, central banks made surprise moves - Switzerland cut rates preempting global peers, while Turkey stunned with a massive 500 basis point hike to 50%. Earnings anticipation built for Accenture's upcoming report, even as controversies swirled around Intel's $8.5 billion CHIPS Act grant and the billionaire debt status of "Rich Dad" author Robert Kiyosaki, sparring with Dave Ramsey over living debt-free. Amidst rapidly shifting economic conditions, both opportunities and risks abound for businesses navigating technological change, financial engineering, policy shocks, and societal attitudes toward debt and wealth accumulation.

1. Cisco Systems Completes Its $28 Billion Purchase of Splunk - Read more

2. Fed could cut rates fewer times than expected as economy keeps growing, according to CNBC survey - Read more

3. AstraZeneca to Buy Fusion Pharmaceuticals for Up to $2.4B as Firm Expands Cancer Pipeline - Read more

4. ‘Glitch’ at Ethiopia’s biggest bank sees customers withdraw millions that isn’t theirs - Read more

5. What You Need To Know Ahead of Accenture's Earnings Report Thursday - Read more

6. Individual Investors' Optimism Grows, Albeit Cautiously, as Stocks Back Off Highs - Read more

7. The U.S. Economy’s Rebound Since COVID Is Kind of Incredible. Why Doesn’t Anyone Seem to Realize This? - Read more

8. Intel Stock Rises on Up To $8.5B CHIPS Act Grant - Read more

9. Rich Dad Poor Dad' Robert Kiyosaki Asks, 'Who's Right?' He Is A Billionaire $1.2 Billion In Debt, But Dave Ramsey Says 'Live Debt Free' - Read more

10. Equinix Stock Slumps on Activist Investor Hindenburg's Short - Read more

11. Swiss National Bank makes surprise rate cut, getting ahead of global peers - Read more

12. Turkey central bank stuns market with 500-point rate hike to 50% - Read more

Crypto News

This week, the crypto world saw both ambitious moves and intensifying legal scrutiny. Embattled Binance CEO CZ launched the perplexing "Giggle Academy" brand, while OKX announced pulling Tether trading pairs across Europe. Amidst the turbulence, Standard Chartered issued a bold $150,000 Bitcoin price target for 2023. However, regulatory pressures mounted as the SEC probed Ethereum projects while hopes dim for a near-term ETF approval. Crypto lender Genesis agreed to pay $21 million settling SEC charges over its bankruptcy. Meanwhile YouTube was found guilty in a Bitcoin giveaway scam lawsuit as the Ethereum Foundation itself allegedly faces a government probe.

Despite risks, institutional adoption advanced - BlackRock and Coinbase partnered on a blockchain fund, while analysts envisioned "Bitcoin endgames" and a future of crypto "hyperagents." MicroStrategy upped its BTC holdings above 1% of the total supply via a $623 million purchase. Novel concepts also emerged around using nuclear power for crypto mining. As the industry matures, legal crackdowns and mainstream legitimacy now converge, testing crypto's ability to navigate regulation without compromising its disruptive ethos. The road ahead remains rife with both peril and profitability.

1. Embattled Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao Launches ‘Giggle Academy’ - Read more

2. OKX to pull USDT trading pairs in Europe - Read more

3. Bitcoin Will Hit $150,000 This Year, Standard Chartered Analysts Say - Read more

4. Bitcoin Endgames & The New Hyperagents - Read more

5. Bankrupt Crypto Lender Genesis to Pay $21 Million to Settle SEC Charges - Read more

6. MicroStrategy Now Owns Over 1% of All Bitcoin ($BTC) After New $623 Million Purchase - Read more

7. SEC probing crypto companies in Ethereum investigation as hopes for ETF dim - Read more

8. BlackRock and Coinbase Launch New Blockchain Fund: A Milestone for Finance - Read more

9. Can Nuclear Power Be Used for Crypto Mining? A Complete Guide - Read more

10. YouTube Found Guilty in the Bitcoin Scam Lawsuit - Read more

11. Ethereum Foundation Allegedly Under Investigation by Government Authorities - Read more

Artificial Intelligence

This week, AI took major strides in real-world applications as Microsoft and NVIDIA forged partnerships to accelerate enterprise generative AI adoption. Novel use cases emerged - AI nurses powered by NVIDIA, flood prediction via Google's models, and designing dream homes in seconds. GitHub also unveiled an AI tool to automatically fix code vulnerabilities. However, risks intensified around educational impacts, with experts urging parental guidance in teaching kids about AI. Breakthroughs continued, from giving AI an "inner monologue" to boost performance, to NVIDIA launching cloud quantum simulation and setting speech translation speed records.

Major talent acquisitions persisted too, as Microsoft hired ex-DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman. In provocative developments, two AIs conversed with each other, while Musk open-sourced his chatbot Grok - highlighting transparency debates. Partnership announcements also came from Anthropic, AWS and Accenture collaborating on trusted enterprise AI solutions. Simultaneously, concerning misuse cases surfaced around academic paper generation using models like ChatGPT. As capabilities rapidly advance but governance lags, society faces profound challenges responsibly harnessing AI's power across sectors without enabling catastrophic consequences.

1. Two artificial intelligences talk to each other - Read more

2. 5 Ways ChatGPT Can Improve, Not Replace, Your Writing - Read more

3. Microsoft and NVIDIA announce major integrations to accelerate generative AI for enterprises everywhere - Read more

4. Microsoft hires DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman to run new consumer AI unit - Read more

5. AI nurses powered by Nvidia are now a thing - Read more

6. Elon Musk releases code for his AI chatbot Grok. Here's why it matters - Read more

7. ‘Parents need to talk about this’: The best way to teach your kids about AI, according to an education expert - Read more

8. NVIDIA Launches Cloud Quantum-Computer Simulation Microservices - Read more

9. Scientists Caught Generating “Academic Papers” Using ChatGPT - Read more

10. Google used AI to accurately predict floods up to 7 days in advance - Read more

11. How an AI program can design your dream home in seconds - Read more

12. GitHub’s latest AI tool can automatically fix code vulnerabilities - Read more

13. Researchers gave AI an 'inner monologue' and it massively improved its performance - Read more

14. Anthropic, AWS, and Accenture team up to build trusted solutions for enterprises - Read more

15. NVIDIA Speech and Translation AI Models Set Records for Speed and Accuracy - Read more

Top Article Picks this week

This week, we explore diverse perspectives optimizing daily existence - from breaking bad habits and getting things done, to having productive disagreements and becoming a better man. Meanwhile, the science of happiness sheds light on Finland's perennial ranking, even as virtual reality hints at radically different futures. Nostalgia intermingles with progress, as researchers tackle de-extinction for woolly mammoths while "The Simpsons" debunks its own fan theories. Health takes center stage too, unpacking why allergies suddenly emerge and how forecasting can improve public well-being.

On a philosophical level, Simon Sinek underscores the power of difficult conversations, echoing guidance on disagreeing constructively and maintaining online anonymity amidst LinkedIn's professional ecosystem. Paradoxes persist - rest requires hard work, and finding meaning relies on honest self-evaluation. Yet universally, a through-line - by developing self-awareness and embracing discomfort, we expand our capacity to thrive amidst change. As technological marvels and ancient mysteries converge, prioritizing enduring human wisdom may offer our surest path forward. Now let's dive into these thought-provoking perspectives illuminating paths to personal growth.

Today’s featured article is No.7 "How to Be a Better Man Right Now" from Esquire offers refreshingly practical advice for modern men navigating our complex cultural landscape. The article acknowledges the very real challenges men face today, from crippling loneliness to disturbing outbreaks of toxic masculinity, and cuts through the noise to provide straightforward, actionable tips from experts for optimizing one's path. Simple but powerful suggestions include actively listening through conscious repetition, bird-watching to stay grounded in the present moment, de-cluttering your physical space to make room for the intangibles that foster happiness, going for walks to spur mental breakthroughs, planting a garden to connect with nature, making sleep a non-negotiable priority, embracing saunas and steam rooms for a therapeutic reset, nurturing real-world friendships, developing deep expertise in a subject you're passionate about, eating fiber-rich beans, making nourishing soups from humble pantry items, and writing letters as a "slow text" antidote to our era of digital overload. Rather than pedantic manifestos, the article wisely focuses on patient, pragmatic systems and daily habits for cultivating overall health and happiness. With equal parts wisdom and welcome levity, it redefines what it truly means to be a man at his best in 2024. You can read more below in Article No.7

1. The Best Way to Get Things Done (Reading time: 10 min) - Read it here

2. Why You Suddenly Have Allergies (Reading time: 4 min) - Read it here

3. Rest Takes Hard Work (Reading time: 7 min) - Read it here

4. Where Will Virtual Reality Take Us? (Reading time: 14 min) - Read it here

5. How ‘The Simpsons’ Debunks Its Own Fan Theories (Reading time: 2 min) - Read it here

6. How to Disagree Productively (Reading time: 5 min) - Read it here

7. How to Be a Better Man Right Now (Reading time: 14 min) - Read it here

8. Scientists take a step closer to resurrecting the woolly mammoth (Reading time: 4 min) - Read it here

9. How Long Does It Take to Break a Bad Habit? (Reading time: 5 min) - Read it here

10. How to stay anonymous on LinkedIn (Reading time: 2 min) - Read it here

11. Why is Finland the happiest country in the world for the 7th time? (Reading time: 3 min) - Read it here

12. Simon Sinek: ‘The skill of having an uncomfortable conversation is essential’ - this hack can make it easier (Reading time: 5 min) - Read it here

13. Weather forecasts have become much more accurate; we now need to make them available to everyone (Reading time: 10 min) - Read it here

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Book of the week

Andrew Carnegie's memoir and famous essay provide a fascinating window into the mind of one of history's greatest industrialists and philanthropists. Beginning with his humble origins in Scotland, Carnegie recounts his journey to America and his rise from a bobbin factory worker to the titan of the steel industry. His autobiography is an inspiring rags-to-riches tale of hard work, perseverance, and seizing opportunities.

However, it is "The Gospel of Wealth" that steals the show and shapes Carnegie's legacy. In this groundbreaking essay, he unapologetically defends the accumulation of wealth by the few, contending that surplus wealth is a sacred trust which the rich should administer for the good of the masses. Carnegie practiced what he preached, giving away over 90% of his fortune to establish libraries, universities, and charitable causes.

Whether you view him as a robber baron capitalist or a great philanthropist, Carnegie forced a reckoning over wealth's responsibilities. His autobiography combined with "The Gospel of Wealth" provides a powerful statement on the ethical obligations of America's self-made elite. It remains a thought-provoking work on wealth, philanthropy, and society.

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