October 16, 2024 | Listen Online | Read Online

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0. Data and calendar

All values as of 6 AM ET / 3 AM PT, other than S&P500 and NASDAQ close (4 PM ET / 1 PM PT).

All times are ET.

1. Trump crypto coin WLFI sells $11M in initial offering, short of $300M goal

World Liberty Financial.

$1.5B implied total market cap.
8K holders according to blockchain data, out of 100K who reportedly signed up.
"Earn and borrow crypto," reads its website. Details of the project are largely TBD.
Donald Trump is described as a "chief crypto advocate," his sons Eric and Don Jr. "web 3 ambassadors", and Barron a "DeFi visionary."

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3. New iPad mini with A17 Pro chip, Apple Intelligence support introduced

Apple.

$499 (Wi-Fi only) or $649 (Wi-Fi + Cellular) starting price.
128GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage options available.
Oct. 23 availability.
+30% CPU and +25% GPU performance over the last iPad mini (A15 Bionic chip powered).
Wi-Fi 6E and faster USB-C data transfer.
Upgraded 12MP wide rear camera.

Apple hit a record $3.6T market cap

Apple's stock rose as much as 3% to $237.49 on Tue., crossing its previous all-time high of $234.82 on Jul. 16, before closing +1% at $233.85:

Bloomberg.

+38% for Apple's stock over the past 6 months, 2x+ the Nasdaq's 15% gain.
"Multi-year cycle ahead in iPhone," Melius Research wrote.

4. Android 15 for Pixel devices released by Google

Android 15 brings a private space to keep sensitive apps locked and hidden:

Google.

Apps list, recent apps view, notifications, and settings won't show the apps in private space.
Foldables and tablets get support to pin and unpin the taskbar.
App pairing lets you open two apps simultaneously on a larger screen.

Google has also launched an AI-powered Theft Detection Lock that locks the device if it detects snatching

Google.

Most Android 10+ devices have received this update.
Android 15 devices can even prevent thieves from guessing passwords.

5. X garners $200M in in-app purchases since subscription tier launch

X's in-app purchase revenue +30% QoQ from Q2 after staying relatively flat in Q1:

TechCrunch, Appfigures.

$140M after deducting app store commissions since X's subscription launch in 2021.
$14.7M grossed through in-app purchases in Sep.

6. Reflection 70B leader blames developer, accepts some responsibility for lack of vigilance

Matt Shumer blamed Glaive CEO Sahil Chaudhary for the inconsistencies found in the open-weight LLM in a post on X:

X: Matt Shumer.

Shumer admitted the Reflection 70B launch was rushed and mishandled.
Sep. 6: The LLM launched with claims of self-correcting cognition and top benchmark results.
- However, it soon failed to meet those claims.
The reported benchmark scores couldn't be reproduced, Shumer said.
Sep. 12: OpenAI launched their o1 model with a working version of step-by-step thinking that outperformed prior models.

7. 165+ election-related lawsuits filed since 2023 in U.S.

55% of all the cases have been filed by Republicans and conservative advocates, with their pace accelerating as the election nears:

Bloomberg.

50%+ of cases were filed in the 7 swing states where Harris and Trump have the closest race.
Absentee voting, voter roll maintenance, and voter registration are among the top matters.

8. Chinese stocks dip after early fluctuations as investors are disappointed by stimulus rollout

Bloomberg.

Benchmark index CSI 300 -10% from Oct. 8 high.
CSI 300 was +30% before losing its momentum.
Oct. 12: China announced the fiscal stimulus to boost economy.
More stimulus in plans to attract investors.

9. AI boom fuels Taiwan's largest fundraising since 2007

Taiwanese firms garnered $2.9B in share sales abroad in 2024 YTD, compared to $1.3B in 2023:

Bloomberg.

On track to surpass the $5B raised in 2007.
TSMC, Hon Hai Precision, and Quanta Computer are among the key Taiwanese firms seeking foreign capital.

10. Interesting videos, posts, and memes

Vercel's VP of Product on how to use v0 to build your own ideas (Step-by-Step Guid)

AI Demos: ChatGPT-o4 Canvas, Notebook LM & Meta's Movie Gen | E2026

How Lightspeed Invests in AI and Beyond with Arif Janmohamed

YouTube video by Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

The Genius Exposing Quantum Gravity

11. Other headlines

AI

Google DeepMind's operating profit +91% to $177M in 2023: filing.
Google Shopping rolling out personalized "for you" feed of products.
Amazon introduces new tools to let businesses use GenAI for audio ads.
Dane Stuckey, ex-Palantir exec., joins OpenAI as CISO.
Anthropic unveils update to Responsible Scaling Policy.

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Tech

Qualcomm said to wait for U.S. election to decide on Intel's acquisition.
Intel, AMD form x86 ecosystem advisory group.
YouTube getting granular speed controls, improved miniplayer, sleep timer.
Instagram brings "profile cards" for easy sharing of user profiles.
ASML stock -16% after bookings of €2.6B in Q3 miss estimates of €5.4B.
Bob Lee murder trial starts with Nima Momeni arguing self-defense.

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Tech & law

Trump signals skepticism of Google breakup, citing China fear.
Robotaxi regulations would only allow 2.5K Cybercabs/year under exemption.
Google endorses bill to reveal funders backing lawsuits.
Meta faces states' claims in youth mental health case as judge allows suit.
NYT sends Perplexity "cease and desist" notice over content use.
VMware settles securities fraud class suit with $102.5M payout.
EU AI Act checker reveals Big Tech's compliance pitfalls: report.

Biotech

GSK sues Moderna for patent infringement over COVID, RSV vaccines.
FDA clears CMR Surgical's robotic device to assist gall bladder removal.
Eli Lilly unveils 2 new research centers in China.

Business

Boeing strike enters 2nd month as workers rally in Seattle.
Stellantis expects Q3 shipments to fall by 5th in effort to cut inventories.

Crypto

U.S. prosecutors urge 5 years for 2016's mastermind of $6B crypto heist.
Coinbase escalates SEC fight over agency's inside chatter on ETH.

U.S. politics

Elon donated $75M to Trump in Q3.
Trump defends tariff plan while pressing for more Fed influence.
Georgia judge blocks rule requiring hand-count of election ballots.
Elon to campaign in Pennsylvania after appearance at Trump rally.
Harris pledges marijuana reform, defends record in Charlamagne interview.
Trump super PAC gets $5M from Andreessen, Horowitz.

World

Xi says China willing to be a partner, friend with U.S.
Israel has reportedly decided on targets in Iran.
North Korea says 1.4M apply to join army amid tensions with South.
China won't rule out force over Taiwan as Xi visits frontline island.
Ukraine pushes for NATO invite before Biden leaves office.
U.S., South Korea, Japan unveil new team to monitor North Korea sanctions.

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