🍋 Lunch is the New Power Move

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Good Morning! Stocks hit a new 2023 high yesterday, and investors think progress is being made on debt ceiling talks. And looks like books are becoming a hot new asset class. The oldest near-complete Hebrew Bible sold for $38.1 million in New York this week, but Ken Griffin holds the record for most expensive book ever - he bought a copy of the U.S. Constitution for over $43 million last year.  

ESPN sees the writing on the wall for cable and plans on selling streaming directly to consumers. Tesla wants to ramp up its advertisement game. And OpenAI launched a free ChatGPT app for iOS.

Looking to invest in real estate but feeling overwhelmed about where to start? Check out today’s sponsor Ark7, where you can invest as little as $20 and earn passive income.

1. Story of the Day: Lunch is the New Power Move

The return-to-office might not have really caught on, but it’s looking like business lunches are making a comeback. OpenTable just dropped its Q1 data, and midday reservations surged year-over-year from January-April. In New York City alone, January witnessed a 77% spike in year-over-year reservations.

And it’s not just limited to New York City. Business lunches are resurging across the country, even if workers aren’t back in-office that much.

Everyone expected business lunches to at least bounce back somewhat from the peak of the pandemic. But with office vacancies in cities like New York and Chicago at all-time highs, the dining data exceeded all expectations.

So why are companies still shelling out big bucks on business lunches when workers aren’t in-office and companies are trying to cut down on expenses? It turns out in highly-competitive fields like finance and consulting, relationships are everything and it’s hard to put a price tag on that. And there’s some paranoia that if you’re not taking your clients to lunch, your competitors will.

Takeaway: There’s something about building relationships over a meal that not even Zoom can’t replicate. Be it with colleagues or clients, firms are finding value in these in-person events. And giving the thumbs up for employees to use the corporate Amex speaks to an old saying - maybe your network is your net worth, after all.

2. Markets Rundown

Stocks notched a 9-month high on debt ceiling hope and upbeat economic data.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Take-Two Interactive ($TTWO) +12% after the company announced the new Grand Theft Auto is coming next year.

• (+) Netflix ($NFLX) +9% after the company announced 5 million ad tier users.

• (–) Alibaba ($BABA) -5% after poor Q1 earnings.

Private Dealmaking

• Shein, a Singaporean online fashion giant, raised $2 billion 

• Bolttech, an insurance startup, raised $196 million 

• Avenue One, a consumer real estate platform, raised $100 million

• Noveon Magnetics, a rare earth magnets developer, raised $75 million 

• Instawork, an online jobs marketplace, raised $60 million

• Moon Surgical, a surgical robotics startup, raised $55.4 million 

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3. Top Reads

• Meta pulls the curtain back on its AI chips for the first time (CNBC)

• How companies sell you on the promise of community (Vox)

• For Gen-Z, unemployment can be a blast (WSJ)

• Morgan Stanley considers more layoffs as banking worries continue (Forbes)

• U.S. private equity firms battle for German software company (Axios)

• Montana governor bans TikTok (CNN)

• Walmart CEO says grocery inflation is biggest issue facing consumers (YF)

• Manhattan rents hit another record high (CNN)

• Can these recent private equity deals save commercial real estate? (GB)

• Lazard CEO plans to step down (YF)

4. Book of the Day: Fly Girl

An entertaining and fascinating memoir of “gifted storyteller” (People) Ann Hood’s adventurous years as a TWA flight attendant.

In 1978, in the tailwind of the golden age of air travel, flight attendants were the epitome of glamor and sophistication. Fresh out of college and hungry to experience the world—and maybe, one day, write about it—Ann Hood joined their ranks.

After a grueling job search, Hood survived TWA’s rigorous Breech Training Academy and learned to evacuate seven kinds of aircraft, deliver a baby, mix proper cocktails, administer oxygen, and stay calm no matter what the situation.

In the air, Hood found both the adventure she’d dreamt of and the unexpected realities of life on the job.

She carved chateaubriand in the first-class cabin and dined in front of the pyramids in Cairo, fended off passengers’ advances and found romance on layovers in London and Lisbon, and walked more than a million miles in high heels.

She flew through the start of deregulation, an oil crisis, massive furloughs, and a labor strike.

As the airline industry changed around her, Hood began to write—even drafting snatches of her first novel from the jump-seat. She reveals how the job empowered her, despite its roots in sexist standards.

Packed with funny, moving, and shocking stories of life as a flight attendant, Fly Girl captures the nostalgia and magic of air travel at its height, and the thrill that remains with every takeoff.

“I love when you start a story with ‘When I was a flight attendant…’ because I know it’s going to be a good story.”

5. Short Squeez Picks

• 3 secrets to elevate your reputation at work

• Mastering the art of private equity with ex-Apollo partner

• The off-peak rider is the future of the subway

• 5 easy ways to earn an extra $50-100 a day

• 10 steps to finding personal and professional clarity

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Babbel’s premium, subscription-based platform can help you start speaking in as little as three weeks — in time for your next trip. You can learn through bite-sized lessons, games, podcasts, and live teaching sessions.

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6. Daily Visual: Mattress Market Share in the US

2022

_{Source: Axios}

7. Daily Acumen

The Growth Mindset is a belief system and mental model developed by psychologist Carol Dweck.

It contrasts the fixed mindset, which believes that intelligence and abilities are fixed traits, with the growth mindset, which believes that skills and intelligence can be developed through effort and practice.

With a growth mindset, individuals embrace challenges, view failures as opportunities for learning, and persist in the face of obstacles. They understand that their abilities can be cultivated through dedication and hard work.

By adopting a growth mindset, you can unlock your potential for personal and professional growth. Embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and improve, maintain a positive attitude in the face of setbacks, seek feedback to enhance your skills, and cultivate a love for continuous learning.

The growth mindset empowers you to embrace a lifelong journey of growth, development, and achievement, allowing you to reach higher levels of success and fulfillment in various aspects of life.

8. Memes of the Day

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