🍋 New Recession-Proof Industry Dropped

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Good Morning! Bed Bath & Beyond is closing more stores in a new "turnaround plan.” In the economy’s turnaround plan, Jay Powell calmed investors when he said inflation is heading in the right direction but the strong jobs report will make the process “bumpy.”

Bing got a makeover, it’s now AI-powered with the tech that underpins ChatGPT. Google is playing catch-up and announced the launch of its rival, Bard in the coming weeks.

Apple wants to launch a premium iPhone as soon as 2024 that could cost over $2,000. And an estimated 50 million Americans are expected to bet on the Super Bowl, and total wagers are expected to reach over $16 billion.

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1. Story of the Day: New Recession-Proof Industry Dropped

While the tech industry was once touted as the epitome of "recession-proof," the pandemic has exposed its vulnerability to the economic tides. With soaring inflation rates and a surge in tech layoffs, it's clear that Big Tech's Achilles heel has finally shown itself.

But never fear, the next generation of innovative entrepreneurs are always ready to capitalize on a new opportunity. And in this case, the new "recession-proof" industry appears to be climate start-ups. As young talent shifts its focus to tackle the pressing issues of our time, it's clear that the future of business is all about making a difference in the world.

The green wave is making waves in the startup world, and investors are jumping onboard. Start-ups tackling environmental issues raised a whopping $20 billion in the United States alone last year, up three-fold from $7 billion in 2020. With 83 "unicorns" (start-ups valued at over $1 billion) already in existence, the CEO of BlackRock predicts there could be 1,000 more on the horizon!

But the momentum in the industry isn’t just limited to record money flowing in. The cost of renewable energy has fallen, the SEC proposed a rule requiring companies to report their emissions, and more venture capital and private equity firms feel pressure from investors to invest in climate startups.

Takeaway: Say goodbye to the corporate dystopia of working for faceless tech giants and hello to a future of eco-impact! The next generation of workers is seeking out careers with a greater sense of purpose and meaning, and climate start-ups are becoming an increasingly popular choice. These innovative companies offer a chance to be part of the solution to one of the world's biggest challenges - and some economists are calling the industry recession-proof.

2. Markets Rundown

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Stocks closed higher as Jerome Powell and Fed stick to the disinflationary script.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Oak Street Health ($OSH) +30% because CVS is considering buying the company for over $10 billion.

• (+) Zoom ($ZM) +10% after the company announced it will cut costs through layoffs.

• (–) Chegg ($CHGG) -17% after a poor outlook for 2023, concerns of competition from ChatGPT.

Private Dealmaking

• Holcim will buy Duro-Last, a Michigan-based roofing systems manufacturer, for $1.29 billion

• Fever, a New York-based startup that markets live entertainment events, raised $110 million

• Vox Media, a digital media company, raised $100 million

• Atmosphere, a streaming TV service for businesses, raised $65 million

• One Zero, an Israeli digital bank and fintech, raised $62 million

• Onehouse, a data lakehouse company, raised $25 million

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3. Top Reads

• Stop treating unemployment as a necessary evil to curb inflation (Vox)

• US trade deficit hit record in 2022 (Fox)

• Why the red-hot market is ripe for a cooldown (YF)

• America’s 20 biggest tech layoffs since 2020 (VC)

• What will TV look like in three years? (CNBC)

• Goldman sees households burning through a majority of pandemic savings by end of year (ZH)

• What do we know about Bard vs ChatGPT (Reuters)

• Britcoin could arrive in second half of the decade (CNN)

• Bed Bath & Beyond lines up funding in last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy (CNBC)

• Here comes Bard, Google’s version of ChatGPT (Vox)

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Why are we obsessed with the things we want only to be bored when we get them?

Why is addiction perfectly logical to an addict?

Why does love change so quickly from passion to indifference?

Why are some people die-hard liberals and others hardcore conservatives?

Why are we always hopeful for solutions even in the darkest times--and so good at figuring them out.

The answer is found in a single chemical in your brain: dopamine. Dopamine ensured the survival of early man. Thousands of years later, it is the source of our most basic behaviors and cultural ideas--and progress itself.

From dopamine's point of view, it's not the having that matters. It's getting something--anything--that's new.

From this understanding--the difference between possessing something versus anticipating it--we can understand in a revolutionary new way why we behave as we do in love, business, addiction, politics, religion--and we can even predict those behaviors in ourselves and others.

“Winners cheat for the same reason that drug addicts take drugs. The rush feels great, and withdrawal feels terrible. Both know that their behavior has the potential to destroy their lives, but the desire circuit doesn’t care. It only wants more.”

5. Short Squeez Picks

• 10 things that steal our motivation and how to get it back

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• The 30-minute noticing workout

• Why wealthy Americans love AmEx

• What does it mean to be strategic?

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6. Daily Visual: Zoom Laying off 15% of Workforce

Zoom stock price

_{Source: Axios}

7. Daily Acumen: Future Tech (2 of 5)

Blockchain

Upon large-scale adoption, all money and contracts will migrate onto Public Blockchains that enable and verify digital scarcity and proof of ownership.

The financial ecosystem is likely to reconfigure to accommodate the rise of Cryptocurrencies and Smart Contracts.

These technologies increase transparency, reduce the influence of capital and regulatory controls, and collapse contract execution costs.

In such a world, Digital Wallets will become increasingly necessary as more assets become money-like, and corporations and consumers adapt to the new financial infrastructure.

Corporate structures themselves may be called into question.

8. Memes of the Day

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