🌍 Farmers seed more protests

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Farmers doubled down on protests in Europe. Now tractors could line up on streets in Spain and Portugal as the blockades in France inspire others to take action against agriculture regulations.

Alphabet’s Google ad revenue didn’t look as hot as expected. The search giant’s overall revenue and profit were up though in its latest quarterly earnings. Microsoft, on the other hand, outdid analysts’ projections with its own earnings.

China wants to compete with Elon Musk’s Neuralink. Riding the news of the brain implant company actually putting hardware into someone’s skull, the country’s IT ministry said it’s working on similar technology.

A proposed law in Hong Kong would heat up its national security crackdown. The change would put it more in line with China and broaden sedition laws.

UPS is cutting 12,000 workers. The move comes months after unionized Teamster employees (none of which were affected in the layoffs) notched a historic contract with the US package delivery company, and coincides with a return to office push and exploration of AI’s capabilities.

Boeing ditched its request for a Max safety exemption

Boeing’s PR department is getting used to bad turbulence. The company is now withdrawing its request for a safety exemption on its 737 Max 7, which is not the plane that had a door plug fall off mid-flight.

Boeing first sought the exemption in December. It would have covered a defect in the plane’s engine de-icing technology that could have led the engine’s cover, or nacelle, to fall off.

Getting the exemption past the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) may have proved a tall order politically, if not bureaucratically. While Boeing said it’s going with an engineering solution instead, every decision it makes is under high surveillance—giving Boeing headaches to the max.

Nvidia’s biggest sales are also its biggest problem

It’s pretty simple math: If the booming chipmaker Nvidia wants to keep booming, its highest-paying customers will need to keep sending in blockbuster orders.

Right now, the biggest spenders on the company’s H100, those coveted $30,000 chips that power generative AI products, are Microsoft and Meta. Together, they spend $9 billion on chips.

But therein lies the conundrum: Those big players are trying to make chips of their own, so what use would they have for Nvidia if they are successful?

One big number: $331.5 million

How much one branding consulting firm estimates Taylor Swift has made the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL by simply existing.

Love her or hate her, she’s an economic force, and the NFL has got to be thrilled she’ll likely be at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas on Feb. 11 (if she can make the flight math work from her tour stop in Tokyo). Here’s how that $331.5 million number was calculated.

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🤑 …while he and Bernard Arnault keep taking turns as the world’s richest person.

Surprising discoveries

Hermit crabs are using trash for shells. The practice is so pervasive that most land species of the crustacean have sought shelter in bottle caps and other objects, but whether that’s to simply blend in with all the other garbage or because the homes are easier to find is TBD.

Brazil’s black market for seahorses is very busy. Most of the catch is scooped up along with fish and shrimp, but where the creatures go afterward isn’t entirely clear.

Alaska doesn’t have enough rocks. The US state wants to build out its roads and infrastructure, but a gravel shortage is complicating that.

England’s picturesque hedges, if lined up, could circle the Earth 10 times. That’s nearly 390,000 km, or 242,000 miles, if you’re counting.

If you think Bob Odenkirk of Better Call Saul looks like King Charles III, it’s because they’re related. Celebrity doppelgängers just got a heck of a lot more interesting.

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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, hedge mazes, and doppelgänger theories to [email protected]. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.