Hello, Quartz members!
The U.S. Justice Department wants to break up the Live Nation/Ticketmaster concert monopoly, OpenAI says it will license Rupert Murdoch’s news sites to train its AI, and Nvidia’s sales are up six-fold. But it’s Sunday, and time to shift your gaze to some hand-selected reads. Here are our favorite Quartz stories from the week, plus one bonus chart to get your day started.
Here are our favorite Quartz stories from last week. Enjoying this newsletter? Let us know; we’d love to hear from you.
5 reads we liked on Quartz
🧠Heading south. Rocio Fabbro takes a look at why banks and other large financial services firms are leaving New York for Texas and Florida. And it all comes down to — what else? — money. Lower corporate taxes and lower personal income taxes mean better margins for the banks.
💳 Buy now, pay later gets some federal protection. Those interest-free buy now, pay later plans have attracted interest – from regulators. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ruled the BNPL crew has to offer the same safeguards as credit card firms offer their clients. Quartz unpacks what that means.
🧊 World War Freeze. Are the U.S. and China already engaged in a new Cold War? That’s the question Quartz’s Britney Nguyen puts to Department of Homeland Security advisor Dmitri Alperovitch, whose new book World on the Brink argues the U.S. and China are locked in a battle over economic dominance — and the future of semiconductor computer chips in particular.
🦞 Restaurant chain pain. No, Chili’s isn’t closing its doors. But a lot of big chain restaurants are shutting locations, as profits sag from persistent inflation and changes in consumer spending. Red Lobster, Cracker Barrel, IHOP, TGI Fridays, and Denny’s are all closing up brick and mortars.
💊 Losing it. Want to lose weight, but your local pharmacy’s out of Ozempic? Bruce Gil walks you through how to get a prescription from an online compounding pharmacy, or even consumer-focused sites like Hims.
1 sneak peek
These prices are sensitive. Big Box retailers are feeling the pinch as inflation and consumer caution have reduced Americans’ spending — so while some are closing stores, others are cutting prices to get shoppers to re-open their wallets.
Next week, Quartz’s Francisco Velasquez takes us for a drive through the world of anxious retailers.
🗓️ What to watch for this week
Here’s what our newsroom will be keeping an eye on:
- Monday: The United States celebrates Memorial Day.
- Tuesday: Shareholders gather to vote on Chevron’s proposed $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp., but opposition from shareholders, prominent politicians and a dispute with ExxonMobil have made it unclear if the deal will go through. The US Consumer Confidence report will forecast consumer attitudes for the months ahead. And Nintendo is expected to report earnings.
- Wednesday: Dicks Sporting Goods reports earnings before the bell. Salesforce and HP will report after the market closes. Product Con kicks off in New York City, including talks from leaders in the industry like Jaime DeLanghe, vice president of product for Slack.
- Thursday: The Advance Economic Indicator report drops from the U.S. Census, as well as the April home sales report from the National Association of Realtors. Dollar General reports earnings at 10 am ET, followed by Costco at 11 am ET.
- Friday: The last day of Small Business Month marks the end of a month celebrating small business owners across the U.S.
Thanks for reading! Here’s to the week ahead, and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, comments, and no Cold Wars, please. Sunday Reads was brought to you by Peter Green, Audrey McNamara, and Gabriela Riccardi.