đ The Woodstock for Capitalists
Good morning, Quartz readers!
Hereâs what you need to know
Starbucksâ ambitious expansion plans in China need an espresso⊠or three. The coffee chain said competition in the country was a culprit of its latest sales miss.
Sanctions could hold up another Boeing plane. The manufacturerâs 787 Dreamliner is being delayed as Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine has complicated its supply chain.
Googleâs Waymo is expanding its self-driving ârobotaxiâ testing across Californiaâs San Francisco Peninsula. Not everyone is embracing the technology â especially some residents and city officials.
Paramount Global ended its exclusive merger talks with Skydance Media on Friday. But the deal drama is far from over.
Warren Buffettâs âWoodstock for Capitalistsâ
Warren Buffettâs Berkshire Hathaway held its annual shareholder conference this weekend. Shareholders wait all year for a chance to hear directly from the 93-year-old Buffett, known as the Oracle of Omaha, in whatâs been dubbed the âWoodstock for Capitalists.â
Buffett had a lot to say about AI, Berkshireâs critical stake in Apple, its bad bet on Paramount, and succession.
Here are some of the biggest numbers to know from the conference:
$189 billion: Cash and Treasuries Berkshire had in its pile last quarter, a record
63 million: Berkshireâs last shares in Paramount that it dumped this quarter
$135.4 billion: Value of Berkshireâs stake in Apple
1: Time Buffett linkend the advent of AI to an atomic bomb
Inflation is Americansâ biggest, most annoying financial headache
A growing number of U.S. families are citing the cost of living and rising prices as their most important financial issue â more so than housing costs, debt, and getting fired.
Each year Gallup polls Americans on how they feel about their personal finances and the economy, and this year, concerns over inflation have reached a two-decade high.
Curious about the full survey results? Quartzâs Rocio Fabbro put them into context.
More from Quartz
đ„ Tesla is facing major competition in China. Here are its biggest rivals
đ« Hershey raised its prices but customers still want chocolate
đ„œ Apple and Meta still think virtual reality is the future â even if nobody else does
đ¶âđ«ïž Microsoft is banning police from using its AI for facial recognition
đ€ Spotify will make users pay for its lyrics feature
Surprising discoveries
Three states in the U.S. donât have any billionaires... One is even on the East Coast, home to one of the states that has the most billionaires!
⊠but only one state has the worst drivers. And itâs not on the East or West coast (shockingly).
The Nokia brick phone is probably totally coming back. Nothing says nostalgia more than texting on a 3210.
It could take up to 25 years for a VHS to degrade 10% to 20%. But itâs hard to nail down a specific time frame, and itâs even tougher for DVDs and Blu-rays.
Squirrels may have given medieval people leprosy. The discovery is throwing the narrative that it was a human disease into question.
Did you know we have two premium weekend emails, too? One gives you analysis on the weekâs news, and one provides the best reads from Quartz and elsewhere to get your week started right. Become a member or give membership as a gift!
Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, your most worn out Blu-rays, and Nokia brick phones to [email protected]. Todayâs Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.