🌏 Apple ditches its EV project

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Here’s what you need to know

Apple is reportedly shutting down its EV project. The tech giant may have spent billions of dollars over a decade on so-called Project Titian, but the initiative just never had enough buzz.

The Novo Nordisk-Eli Lilly weight loss drug duopoly is facing some hot competitors. The stocks of drugmakers Viking Therapeutics and Zealand Pharma are surging this week on positive clinical trial results.

Warner Bros. Discovery ended merger talks with Paramount Global. A mega-merger between the media giants would have created one of the world’s largest media companies.

The EU is looking into Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI’s French rival. The European Commission is monitoring the effects of agreements between huge tech companies and AI firms.

Cereal for dinner — if you can afford it

Shoppers weren’t happy that Kellogg’s CEO Gary Pilnick advertised cereal as a cheap dinner option for consumers facing higher food costs.

But Kellogg’s has repeatedly hiked prices in the last couple of years — even more so than other brands. The company’s average price per unit (box of cereal) was up 17% at the end of 2023, while General Mills, Quaker, and store brand prices were up 12%

That has paid off for Kellogg’s (and Pilnick):

$110 million: Kellogg’s 2023 profits, a 540% increase from the previous year

25%: How much grocery prices have increased since 2019

$1 million: Pilnick’s base salary

Hyundai is leading the safest cars on the road

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named its top picks for 2024, with 71 vehicles getting an award this year. The big winner was Hyundai, which won the most recognition out of competing brands. Here’s how other brands stacked up.

Quotable: A soft landing may be bumpier than expected

“My own view is it’s a little bit more uncertain than that. And you would have to expect that, given the extreme disruptions associated with the pandemic and the normalization.” — Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon talking to attendees about the state of the U.S. economy at a UBS financial services conference on Feb. 27. He questioned how sturdy the economy really is — and some fresh data on consumer confidence shows he might be onto something.

More from Quartz

🥐 Tesla paid a bakery it stiffed on a big order after Elon Musk promised to ‘make things good’

🛍️ Macy’s is closing 150 stores but doubling down on luxury brands like Bloomingdale’s

🤑 Bitcoin has passed $57,000 to hit a 2-year high — and it’s not done yet

🐀 Family Dollar will pay a record fine because of a rat infestation

😁 The good vibes of American shoppers face several tests this week

👕 Shein’s China ties might mean it IPOs in London instead of New York

Surprising discoveries

Midjourney and OpenAI are reportedly buying data from Wordpress and Tumblr. It’s not clear exactly which kind of information the deals will use to train AI models.

Airplane wheels only last for 500 landings. Airlines also don’t own their planes’ tires.

The $100 bill is the most common currency in the U.S. Its circulation has more than doubled between 2012 and 2022.

A Willy Wonka event in Glasgow gave off some serious Fyre Festival vibes. It was not a “journey filled with wondrous creations and enchanting surprises at every turn.”

A fast-casual Mediterranean food chain is bucking its rivals and the IPO market. Cava’s stock is soaring and its IPO was one of the highest-performing last year.

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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, Willy Wonka bars, and shawarma to [email protected]. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.