🌎 Operational distractions

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Here’s what you need to know

Bolts were missing from a door plug that blew off a Boeing plane in January. The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed the error in a report yesterday as the plane maker braces for even more scrutiny from the US government. Meanwhile, unionized Boeing workers are demanding more pay.

Meta will start using made-by-AI labels. Images on Facebook and Instagram will start getting this designation in coming months as the line between reality and fiction grows blurrier.

New York Community Bancorp is not doing great. Investors are dumping its stock after a bad earnings period, sparking fears of larger issues in the banking industry.

Eli Lilly sold a whopping $176 million of the weight loss drug Zepbound in just four weeks. All that demand is likely to outpace supply this year, the US pharmaceutical company said.

Spotify raised prices and still hit a record for new subscribers. A record 31 million paying subscribers were added to the Swedish streaming company’s coffers last year.

JPMorgan on every corner—or at least a lot more corners

Brick and mortar isn’t dead, at least in the eyes of JPMorgan. The largest bank in the US wants to get larger through building more physicial branches, even as foot traffic to them dwindles.

The new markets will be in low-to-moderate income and rural communities and big cities alike, where JPMorgan plans to open 500 locations over the next three years. Whether that investment will pay off with tighter community ties will remain to be seen, but it’s not like the bank doesn’t have the funds to try: JPMorgan just had its most profitable year in company history.

Hertz’s CEO called its EV fleet a “distraction”

Just last July, Hertz gathered a bunch of people at a Los Angeles International Airport parking lot festooned with cones, sandbagged safety barriers, and a bunch of electric vehicles, including Teslas, Chevys, Kias, and Polestars. The message was clear—It had the largest rental fleet of EVs in the US.

That jolt of excitement was gone in a flash. The car renter has now told investors that profits took a $464 million swing to a $348 million loss, and CEO Stephen Scherr is blaming EVs, calling them an “operational distraction.”

What does becoming less distracted look like? Dropping a third of its EVs, if not more.

China’s biggest smartphone maker cares more about AI

Huawei, one of the biggest phone makers in the world, is reportedly prioritizing manufacturing AI chips, and slowing down production for the chips needed to power its latest Mate 60 phones.

It’s not entirely clear what this will mean for the company’s smartphone business, but the strategy is clear: Chinese companies want to become dominant players in the global AI race.

More from Quartz

🍗 Boston Market lost a $12 million lawsuit and could lose even more money

😬 Tesla is the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 this year

😲 Novo Nordisk CEO says he’s “surprised” at weight loss drug demand in Europe

⛏️ AI helped a mining startup backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates find a major copper deposit

🙅 Hertz wants to stop buying electric vehicles because it can’t sell them…

🚗 …and GM is going back to hybrids (it has been here before).

Surprising discoveries

Hurricanes are getting so strong that scientists think we need a new classification level. Enter: Category 6.

Standardized testing is back. Dartmouth University, which, along with a plethora of Ivy League schools, removed testing requirements during the pandemic, is mandating scores starting with the class of 2029.

Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” shot up to No. 1 on iTunes after she performed at the Grammys. Her 1988 album Tracy Chapman also reached No. 1.

The Las Vegas Sphere keeps losing money. Maybe that’s not surprising.

India’s art market is booming. As the country’s economy speeds ahead, those fueling it want more pretty things on their walls.

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Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, Tracy Chapman concert tees, and tickets to the Sphere to [email protected]. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Morgan Haefner.

Correction: Yesterday’s Daily Brief incorrectly named McDonald’s CEO as Ian Borden. He is the fast food chain’s CFO, and his boss Chris Kempczinski probably would like to keep his job.