🐂 Mcbroken

Markets

Despite a brief uptick in stock prices, they were unable to recover from the significant losses incurred earlier in the month, resulting in all three major indexes ending August with negative returns. The standout performers on the market yesterday were cannabis companies, driven by the Department of Health and Human Services' recommendation to reclassify marijuana as a substance with lower associated risks.

Rates Are Up. We’re Just Starting to Feel the Heat

In the decade leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic, governments, businesses, and households developed a dependency on low interest rates, using debt to finance a wide range of expenditures, including the purchase of expensive new vehicles, emergency economic stimulus measures, and leveraged buyouts.

This era was a consequence of the slow, low-inflation economic environment that persisted following the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, but it has now drawn to a close. Recent weeks have witnessed investors recognizing this shift, leading to a notable increase in long-term bond yields, reaching levels not seen in 15 years. From 2009 to 2021, the Federal Reserve's federal-funds rate averaged 0.5%. Presently, it stands between 5.25% and 5.5%, with market expectations projecting it to remain around 3.5% over the next decade.

Food

The fight for the right to repair McFlurry machines

A collaboration between tech experts and copyright specialists aims to alleviate the frustration experienced by countless individuals faced with the dreaded phrase "Ice cream machine's broken."

Online repair community iFixit and the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization Public Knowledge have joined forces to request government permission to repair McDonald's soft serve dispensers, an action that is currently prohibited by copyright law. These ice cream machines are notorious for their frequent breakdowns, to the extent that there is a website dedicated to tracking malfunctioning McFlurry makers in the U.S. (with approximately 12% offline as of yesterday). McDonald's has even humorously acknowledged these frozen dessert mishaps.

The ice cream machines have gained notoriety because they frequently shut down and require servicing when issues arise, causing significant headaches for franchise owners. However, it proves advantageous for the machine's manufacturer, Taylor Company, which holds an exclusive repair contract with McDonald's.

Whenever one of these $18,000 McDonald's ice cream makers encounters problems, franchisees must contact a Taylor technician. Using a non-Taylor repairperson results in the voiding of the ice cream machine's warranty. As reported by Ars Technica, repairing the intricate machinery costs $350 for every 15 minutes of service, explaining why Taylor has derived 25% of its revenue from maintenance and repair services in recent years, as reported by Inc. magazine.

iFixit recently disassembled a Taylor ice cream machine and discovered that it contained "easily replaceable parts" hidden behind "cryptic error messages." Another company called Kytch developed an attachable device for ice cream makers that would assist franchisees in understanding and resolving these perplexing error codes. However, Kytch has been engaged in a legal dispute with McDonald's and Taylor for over two years.

So, what are the repair advocates seeking?

In addition to requesting an exemption from copyright law—similar to the exemptions previously granted for independent repairers to fix devices like Xboxes and other technology—iFixit and Public Knowledge are urging Congress to pass the Freedom to Repair Act, a 2022 bill that has faced obstacles but would safeguard all repair exemptions and the distribution of independently created repair devices, such as the Kytch device.

The right-to-repair movement is gaining momentum. While Apple has long resisted allowing customers and independent repair shops to service its technology, it has recently adjusted its stance, permitting customers to order self-service repair kits. Just last week, the company expressed support for a California right-to-repair bill.

Finance

UBS makes banking history

UBS, the Swiss financial institution, recently reported its highest-ever quarterly profit of $29 billion in the second quarter, largely attributable to its contentious acquisition of rival bank Credit Suisse in March. This purchase is now being hailed as "one of the most lucrative deals in financial history," according to the Financial Times, particularly when considering the modest $3.6 billion price UBS paid for Credit Suisse. While UBS executives face a challenging path in terms of integrating Credit Suisse's operations into their own, investors appear to have confidence in their ability to do so. UBS shares have surged to their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, positioning the bank as the second-largest in Europe, trailing only HSBC.

Entertainment

‘Lorax’ star out with new movie

Exciting news for those who want to proudly recount to their future generations that they attended Taylor Swift's Eras Tour without breaking the bank by purchasing a $1,000 stadium ticket. This autumn, you'll have the opportunity to experience the tour in local movie theaters for less than $20.

Taylor Swift herself revealed yesterday morning that a concert film from her immensely popular Eras Tour is set to hit movie theaters on Friday, October 13. AMC wasted no time in making pre-sale tickets available shortly after her announcement, offering them at a price of $19.89 for adults.

Recognizing the potential high demand, AMC took precautions and enhanced its website and ticketing systems to handle over five times the peak traffic they've ever encountered. However, they also acknowledged that historically, no ticketing system has managed to meet the overwhelming demand from Taylor Swift fans when tickets initially go on sale. As it turned out, the AMC app experienced technical issues and crashed on the release day.

To accommodate the enthusiastic Swifties, AMC has scheduled multiple daily screenings of the movie at all its locations across the United States on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during the initial run.

It's worth noting that the Eras Tour movie was originally slated to debut on the same day as the latest Exorcist film, but Universal decided to move up the horror movie's release date by one week following Taylor Swift's announcement. Jason Blum, the head of the studio responsible for the new Exorcist, shared this development on Twitter with the hashtag #TaylorWins.

Tech

Tiny countries are getting rich off their domains

If you're interested in exploring the concept of passive income, take a look at Anguilla. This Caribbean nation, approximately half the size of Washington, DC, stumbled upon a lucrative opportunity when it was granted the country-specific website domain name ".ai" back in the 1990s.

While it wasn't an immediate cash generator at the time, the ".ai" domain has gained significant popularity among tech startups seeking to add a touch of artificial intelligence flair to their online presence, especially with ChatGPT's prominent role in advancing AI development since its public release on November 30, 2022.

The individual responsible for overseeing the Anguilla domain, Vince Cate, noted that things have taken a dramatic turn since that date, stating, "Since November 30, things are very different here."

Here's how Anguilla capitalizes on this opportunity: Domain registrars like Hover pay Anguilla $140 for every two-year registration of a ".ai" domain. According to Cate:

• The number of Anguilla domains has doubled over the past year, nearing the 300,000 mark.

• Anticipated domain revenue for this year is expected to range between $25 million and $30 million, a substantial increase from the $8.3 million earned in 2022.

• If the revenue hits the $26.75 million mark, it will represent a remarkable 25% of Anguilla's total annual revenue, which is estimated at around $107 million.

Anguilla isn't the only nation benefiting from the potential of domain names. The South Pacific island of Tuvalu, which boasts a ".tv" domain, rakes in an estimated $10 million annually through its contract with GoDaddy, thanks to the streaming industry's explosive growth.

Sports

Cal and Stanford Set to Join the Atlantic Coast Conference in Latest College Sports Shake-Up

In a significant shake-up of the college sports landscape, following the effective collapse of the Pac-12 last month, two of its historically accomplished institutions, Stanford and Cal, have emerged from the rubble of the once-dominant "Conference of Champions" and found a new home in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

According to a reliable source, Stanford, Cal, and Southern Methodist University (SMU) are poised to become ACC members in 2024, a move that received approval from the conference's board of directors. This board consists of presidents and chancellors representing the 14 full ACC members, along with Notre Dame. The decision required the approval of at least 12 out of the 15 members.

Stanford's athletic director, Bernard Muir, expressed, "Joining the ACC will ensure the Power Conference competitive infrastructure and long-term media revenues that are critical for our student-athletes to compete." Cal's athletic director, Jim Knowlton, added that the ACC was an excellent fit due to the high quality of its member institutions.

This transition fortifies the ACC as it enters a new era characterized by mega-conferences that leverage increasingly lucrative television contracts. Starting in 2024, the ACC will boast 18 members across most sports, excluding football, in which Notre Dame will maintain its independence.

While other major conferences underwent substantial reshuffling over the past few summers, the ACC had remained on the sidelines. Oklahoma and Texas departed from the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Big Ten expanded by adding four West Coast schools (Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington), and the Big 12 secured new members in the southwestern region (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah).