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Here’s what you need to know
Davos 2025 is done. Global tensions and the rise of AI echoed across the stage as a year of cooperation and competition lies ahead.
Meta’s (META+0.60%) Zuckerberg is ready to dole out $65 billion on AI. That comes with an ambitious goal to reach over 1 billion users by 2025.
Costco’s (COST+0.67%) DEI commitment stands strong. Shareholders overwhelmingly support the retailer’s diversity initiatives, despite rising corporate pushback elsewhere.
Meanwhile … Target (TGT-0.39%) hopped on the anti-DEI bandwagon. The retailer plans to cut major diversity programs.
An Ozempic alternative packs a punch. A new weekly shot helped patients lose 22% of their body weight in 36 weeks; the trial results are fueling investor buzz.
Crypto’s future under Trump
President Donald Trump signed a highly-anticipated executive order Thursday to establish a working group on digital assets, tasked with creating regulations and evaluating a national cryptocurrency stockpile.
The move aims to legitimize crypto in the U.S., while responding to long-standing calls for clearer — and softer — regulations from both crypto platforms and traditional financial firms.
This comes as Trump’s ties to crypto deepen, including through the launch of the $TRUMP meme coin just days before his inauguration.
What does this mean for the nascent blockchain industry? Quartz’s Rocio Fabbro breaks down the implications of Thursday’s order.
Get paid to be a Costco snack critic
With the Super Bowl around the corner, getting paid to taste-test Costco’s game-day snacks could mean some easy cash.
Finance Buzz is looking for a Costco shopper to try, photograph, and critique 20 popular game-day items, including frozen pizza and chicken wings.
The selected sampler needs to be 18 or older, have a Costco membership, and live near a Costco.
Wondering how much the sampler makes? Quartz’s Francisco Velasquez breaks it down.
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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, Costco snacks, or pet pics to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Francisco Velasquez and Harri Weber.