🌏 The ‘policy soup’ that is Trumponomics

Good morning, Quartz readers!

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Amazon (AMZN) workers put a number on their hatred of the company’s remote work crackdown. They gave the five days-a-week in-office plan a 1.4 out of 5 in a collectively commissioned survey.

Mark Zuckerberg says Meta AI is really, really popular. He says the tool has 500 million active monthly users.

Nvidia (NVDA) had a cruel summer. The chipmaker’s once-hot stock is down 9% since June — but still up 150% for the year.

Disney (DIS)+ wants you to share a little less magic. The streaming service is seeking to stamp out password passing-around.

GM (GM) might be paying too much attention to its customers — after they drive off the lot. The auto giant updated its privacy policy amid outcry after Mozilla Foundation called its practices “crappy.”

The Sotheby’s picture isn’t pretty right now

There are some worrying narratives coming out of one of the art world’s biggest auction houses. Some staffers are worried they’ll stop getting paid on time after senior staffers got IOUs instead of incentive pay.

The trouble stems from a weaker art market and business decisions that have only complicated things. Credit ratings agencies are concerned about the “operating performance deterioration” at the firm.

Quartz’s Madeline Fitzgerald breaks down the breakdown at Sotheby’s and what the company is doing to turn things around.

Donald Trump’s ‘policy soup’ might not taste so good

The Republican presidential nominee has thrown out a lot of campaign promises regarding the economy. There are pronouncements on tariffs, taxes, and other policies that might not sit well on the country’s stomach long-term.

Tony Roth, the CIO of Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors, terms the mumbo gumbo “policy soup” and doubts that it would be good for America’s collective pocketbook. The harms from so much uncertainty might outweigh any suggested benefit.

Quartz’s Andy Mills spoke to Roth and got him to explain why he’s not digging Trump’s recipe for economic success.

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SURPRISING DISCOVERIES

There’s a scotch that costs more than most people make. The median U.S. worker’s earnings are about $50,000 a year; Glenlivet just unveiled a $55,000 bottle celebrating its 200th anniversary.

Nutter Butter’s (MDLZ) social media consultant posted about himself for a year. The company’s “Aiden lore” turned out to be a really successful strategy.

North American hikers might want to run toward weird thumps on the trail. It could be the sound of a falling pawpaw, the continent’s largest edible fruit.

Some Bridgerton fans tuned in for a really unexpected twist. Admirers of the show in Detroit spent hundreds of dollars for a show-celebrating event they’re saying was actually a scam.

The 2024 election isn’t the first one to feature a prominent “cat lady” bloc. A Johns Hopkins University collection details the long history of political postcards depicting feminine felines.

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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, expensive liquor, and historically significant postcards to [email protected]. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Melvin Backman and Morgan Haefner.