🌍 Storm the Tesla factory

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Climate activists in Germany tried to break into Tesla’s factory. About 800 protesters were on site near Berlin as part of the “Disrupt Tesla Action Days,” which workers were reportedly warned about beforehand.

Honda is doubling down on EVs and hybrids. The Japanese automaker is ramping up its spending on research and development of electrified vehicles in 2024 and issued its largest-ever stock buyback after reporting record profits.

Stock of Zeekr, the premium electric vehicle arm of China’s Geely Auto, began trading in the U.S. Its value is pinned at more than $5 billion, making it the biggest Chinese IPO since Didi Global.

One of Wall Street’s most successful investors died on Friday. Jim Simons, a prizewinning mathematician-turned finance expert behind the lucrative Medallion fund, was 86 years old.

Biden’s crackdown on credit card perks turns to airlines

That airline credit card in your wallet may not be as financially savvy as you think, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Last week, the CFPB held a hearing (accompanied by a blistering report) to call out what it said were deceptive practices behind the plastic. The criticism is part of the same push that U.S. President Joe Biden has been doing to crack down on so-called “junk” credit card fees.

American Airlines, for one, has told investors that 80% of its revenue comes from customers who are members of its frequent-flyer program, AAdvantage. And the money isn’t just coming from rewards program members buying flights more often — credit card companies are paying airlines directly to get their names into the captive speeches you may have heard a flight attendant make during a recent journey through the air.

What kind of dollar amount does that amount to? Well, American Airlines got $5.2 billion from its credit card partners in 2023… and that wasn’t even the largest sum paid out to an airline.

One small number: $5

The price of a meal deal that McDonald’s wants to introduce to win over cash-strapped customers

Bloomberg first reported that the bundle could consist of a McChicken or a McDouble with fries and a drink.

The problem is that nearly all of McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S. are franchised, which makes implementing the widespread deal dependent on whether franchisees OK the plan — and that hasn’t worked before.

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Surprising discoveries

A solar storm hit the U.S. this weekend. It elicited a rare severe (G4) geomagnetic storm watch ahead of the event, the first of its kind since January 2005.

A mountain chicken frog has been spotted! The amphibian was once the unofficial national dish of the Caribbean island of Dominica but is now critically endangered.

Brains can shrink during pregnancy. At the same time, the brain can also strengthen in profound ways.

Nearly 90% of tracked stablecoin transactions are not made by humans. This means that only $149 billion out of the total $2.2 trillion in stablecoin transactions recorded last month can be attributed to “organic” payments activity, according to one analysis.

Indonesia is turning to influencers to get people to move to its new capital. Officials are hoping the personalities will make people want to jet from the sinking Jakarta to Nusantara.

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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, aurora borealis photos, and chicken frog sightings to [email protected]. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.