đ Microsoftâs roaring decade
Good morning, Quartz readers!
Hereâs what you need to know
Satya Nadella marked his 10th year as Microsoftâs CEO yesterday. Under his tenure, the companyâs stock has grown more than 1,000% and its market cap to more than $3 trillion.
Sri Lanka signed a free trade pact with Thailand. The debt-stricken island nation made the deal to try and boost its economy after declaring bankruptcy in April 2022.
The US said it will launch further strikes against Iran-backed groups. Tehran-aligned factions were hit over the weekend in response to a deadly attack on US troops in Jordan last week.
Joe Rogan signed a new deal with Spotify. The contract, reportedly worth $250 million, comes as his talk show will soon become available on competing platforms, including YouTube and Apple Podcasts.
Big tech had big layoffsâthen big profits
In the last year, tech giants made massive cuts to their workforceâŚ
âŚwhich didnât just please investors, but came with sky-high profits.
But the profitability equation isnât as simple as lowering headcount. Quartzâs Michelle Cheng looks at where big tech is reinvesting those dollars.
One big number: 200%
How much the cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad has increased in the past 20 years
At least 110 million people are expected to tune in to next weekendâs NFL championship game, and advertisers are ready to fork out $7 million to get in front of their eyes. Hereâs what you can expect.
AI startups are reviving San Franciscoâs commercial real estate
Generative AI startups are exploding in San Francisco, and the volume of office space leased by AI companies surged 46% in 2023 to 3.6 million square feet, according to global real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). Alexander Quinn, senior director of research, projects that number will rise to 12.5 million by 2030. Quartzâs Laura Bratton has the latest.
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â˝ ExxonMobilâs CEO doesnât care about his growth plans annoying Saudi Arabia
Surprising discoveries
The first baby great white shark may have been caught on camera. It was only about 5 feet (1.5 meters) long!
Could a giant beach umbrella in space save the Earth from climate change? A growing number of astronomers and physicists think it could.
A new mask can cancel out noise from phone calls. The sound-absorbing device could make trains and airports more enjoyable.
Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog correctly predicts the start of spring 40% of the time. This year, he expects winter to end early, and heâll probably be right.
Two words in an excellent US jobs report show how long the labor market has been strong. Thereâs âlittleâ to suggest that the Fed needs to âchangeâ its mind about delaying interest rate cuts.
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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, baby sharks (doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo), and noise-canceling masks to [email protected]. Todayâs Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.