🌏 Another Fed cut

Good morning, Quartz readers!

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Fed carried out a third straight interest rate cut. Sticky inflation and rising unemployment could make the Fed press pause on rate cuts in 2025.

Walmart (WMT) had a gangbusters year. The retail giant has been one of the top performers on the S&P 500 Consumer Staples Index.

AT&T (T) is joining the wave of companies ordering employees back to the office 5 days a week. The requirement begins in January.

The Biden administration approved California’s bid to ban gas car sales by 2035. Donald Trump has signalled that he’ll reverse the approval after his inauguration.

Nestle (NSRGY) just launched a protein shot aimed at weight loss. The product will promote natural GLP-1 production.

A Salesforce AI push

Salesforce (CRM) has figured out how it wants to join in on widespread corporate enthusiasm for AI adoption. The company wants to go all-in on selling businesses AI agents.

The enterprise software firm’s Agentforce 2.0 product will more thoroughly weave the technology into its other offerings. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says that client demand has been “amazing.”

What is Agentforce 2.0 and why is Salesforce so excited about it? Quartz’s Rocio Fabbro explains the hubbub.

The Listeria fight intensifies

A series of listeria outbreaks has raised consumer anxieties about food safety. Now, the government is going to do something about it.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that it plans to upgrade its oversight of food processing facilities. Changes are expected to come within the next 30 days.

Quartz’s Bruce Gil dives into the specifics of the USDA’s food safety improvements and how they’ll be impacting the industry.

MORE FROM QUARTZ

🧑‍🚀 Astronauts from the Boeing Starliner got another delay to their return

🚘 A Honda-Nissan-Mitsubishi mega-merger might be in the works

💡 Here are five tips to make working from home more productive

❗ Big changes are coming to social security

💰 These are the world’s 10 richest families

📞 You can now call ChatGPT on the phone

SURPRISING DISCOVERIES

Someone has been sticking googly eyes on the public art in Bend, Oregon. The city is not a laughing matter because the city has had to spend $1,500 removing them.

Hong Kong might be about to engage in a claw machine crackdown. Its Consumer Council says the machines unfairly “capitalise on consumers’ enthusiasm for testing their luck.”

California stole a show about Florida away from Florida. The Apple (AAPL) TV+ show Bad Monkey will relocate after being lured away with a $20.6 million tax incentive.

Owning even the cheapest NBA teams are far from affordable. Pro basketball outfits have the highest value-to-revenue ratios in major-league sports.

The industrial revolution literally reshaped America’s kitchens. Nineteenth-century Hoosier cabinets combined mass production and organization like never before.

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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news or comments to [email protected]. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Melvin Backman and Audrey McNamara.