Welcome back to your daily memorandum talking tech, business, AI, markets, and more. 🗞️

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

👨🏻‍⚖️ President Biden is pardoning his son Hunter from legal cases.
🐣 X’s valuation has been marked up by Fidelity.
🎁 Recent Black Friday sales break all time records.
👀 Trump has chosen his new FBI director.
🪦 AI tool promises ability to prediction the day you’ll die.

BREAKING

• Biden pardons his son Hunter despite previous pledges not to

  • President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, sparing him from a possible sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions.

  • He is reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family members.

  • Biden said, “raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.” Full statement here.

TECH

• Elon Musk files for injunction to halt OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit

  • Attorneys filed preliminary injunction against OpenAI, several co-founders, and Microsoft to prevent anticompetitive behavior.

  • Legal team claim OpenAI has abandoned nonprofit mission, misused sensitive information and fraudulently benefited from Musk's donation.

  • The motion revives Musk's legal battle with OpenAI, naming new defendants and plaintiffs, and argues for an injunction.

• Fidelity reportedly marked up its X stake by 32 percent

  • Fidelity marked up the value of its holdings in Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) by 32.37% in October.

  • xAI's valuation increased by 70%, linked to its integration with X and Fidelity's investment in its $6 billion funding round.

  • Trump’s election caused a spike in traffic at X, but drove millions of users to competing services like Bluesky.

• OpenAI’s High-Risk Bet on Consumer AI: Custom Chips, Apple, and Global Competition

  • OpenAI is embedding ChatGPT into Apple devices, leveraging Apple silicon and Microsoft Azure to reach a billion users by 2025.

  • They are developing custom chips with TSMC and Broadcom to reduce costs and dependence on Nvidia GPUs.

  • OpenAI plans large U.S. data centers to scale AI models and maintain U.S. leadership amid global competition.

BUSINESS

• Online sales surge to record-setting $10.8B on Black Friday as stores see thin crowds

  • Online Black Friday sales hit a record $10.8 billion, a 10.2% increase from last year.

  • Americans spent $11.3 million per minute during peak hours, mostly via mobile.

  • Overall spending rose 3.4%, but in-store sales saw only a 0.7% increase, while nationwide in-store traffic dropped 3.2%.

• Ether Gains 19% Against Bitcoin in a Week After Months of Underperformance

  • The ETH/BTC ratio jumped 19%, marking its strongest weekly performance in months.

  • Spot Ethereum ETFs saw $133M inflows in three days, boosting market sentiment.

  • Traders see ETH/BTC ratio’s as an opportunity, with predictions of stronger Ethereum in early 2025 as Bitcoin dominance declines.

• Commonwealth Bank of Australia reduces fraud and speeds loans using AI

  • CBA’s AI-driven safety features have reduced scam losses by 50% and customer-reported fraud by 30%.

  • AI-powered app messaging has cut call centre wait times by 40%.

  • Future AI applications aim to automate credit reviews, reducing processing time from 14 hours to 2 hours.

CONTENT

• Reed Hastings: Life After Netflix | First Time Founders

  • Hastings, co-founder and executive chairman of Netflix, discusses the path from dvd to streaming and the importance of company culture.

  • Also discussed; what it was like to leave Netflix, and the challenges and joys of Reed’s newest venture: a ski resort in Utah.

  • Along with how great leaders create a great succession plan, what parts of his career were the most rewarding and more.

• Guy Podjarny: The Future of AI Software Development - What is Real & What is BS

  • Podjarny founded Tessl, Snyk and Blaze, is an active angel investor, and co-hosts of the AI Native Dev podcast.

  • Discussed; NVIDIA’s market position, AI’s trough of disillusionment, and is AGI worth the $9 trillion in investment.

  • Also discussed; how the role of a software dev will evolve, why is security becoming harder with AI dev tools and more.

• Unilever CEO on Strategy, US Tariffs, Exiting Russia, China Demand

  • Hein Schumacher sits down with Bloomberg in London for an interview from consumer spending to Trump’s trade tensions.

  • They also discuss their India business, market share, and opportunties, along with Indonesian and Russian markets.

  • And finally Schumacher’s lessons learnt as CEO, and their long-term sustainability strategy, climate, plastics, nature and more.

WORLD

• Meta to force financial advertisers to be verified in bid to prevent celebrity scam ads targeting Australians

  • From February, Meta will mandate financial advertisers verify their identity using a licence number or government-issued ID.

  • Businesses must provide documentation, and ads will feature disclaimers identifying their source, like political ads.

  • The initiative targets fake celebrity investment scams, which cost Australians $135M in 2024, with $35M linked to social media.

• Senegal seeks answers 80 years after French colonial massacre of soldiers

  • Commemoration prompts renewed calls for an investigation into the killing of African soldiers by the French army in 1944.

  • Senegal demands an apology, investigation, and verification of the death toll, disputed to be higher than France's claim.

  • The event underscores Senegal’s push for justice and reconciliation as West Africa moves away from French influence.

• Trump taps Kash Patel for FBI director, an ally who would aid in his effort to upend law enforcement

  • Trump plans to nominate ally Kash Patel, known for supporting Trump’s “deep state” rhetoric and calls for government housecleaning.

  • The announcement means current FBI director Christopher Wray must either resign or be fired after Trump takes office on January 20.

  • Trump may exploit a congressional loophole to appoint him without Senate approval.

AND MORE…

• MicroStrategy’s Aggressive Bitcoin Shopping Spree Could Wrap Up 3-Year Plan in 4 Months

  • MicroStrategy’s $42 billion Bitcoin purchase plan could be completed in just four months due to its rapid buying spree.

  • In November alone, the company made three major Bitcoin purchases, totaling nearly $12 billion.

  • The firm’s stock is heavily tied to Bitcoin’s performance, making it a high-risk, high-reward approach.

• How Indigenous engineers are using AI to preserve their culture

  • AI models are being developed to save endangered Indigenous languages, with a focus on ethical cultural data use.

  • Programs like Tech Natives and IndigiGenius empower Native students to create culturally relevant tech projects.

  • Immersive VR experiences of ancestral lands and Indigenous art created with machine learning aim to reconnect these communities.

• AI Tool Promises Precise Prediction of the Day You’ll Die

  • The Death Clock, launched in July, claims to predict your death date using artificial intelligence.

  • It’s backed by data from over 1,200 life expectancy studies covering 53 million participants.

  • Accurate life expectancy predictions could reshape pension funds, Social Security, and retirement strategies.