Podcast
Business Pants
Hosted by Free Float Media Inc. · EN
Whether you love business news or feel like you’re supposed to know it but hate it, Business Pants is business news for humans. Snarky and irreverent, deeply researched and factual, a podcast devoted to market quirks and the humans that make up companies. Investing isn’t a what, it’s a who.
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IN OR OUT: SpaceX earnings, Uber sex assault, governistas, meritocracy
2d ago00:57:24Tap to summarizeDRMatternet Appoints Starbucks EVP Sanjay Shah to Board of DirectorsDeveloper of commercial drone delivery systems for urban and suburban environmentsCEO/founder Andreas Raptopoulos: M.A. in Industrial Design Engineering; Diploma of Imperial College in Industrial Design Engineering; Diploma in Mechanical EngineeringChris Dawson: M.B.A. from INSEAD.Sanjay Kotte: B.B.A. in finance and management; M.B.A. and J.D.Laurence Marton, M.D.: expert in drug development, polyamine metabolism, and cancer research,Saurabh Ranjan: certification in human resource and law; M.A. and M.B.A.No female directors or executives but now a second Sanjay: IN OR OUTSanjay Shah: B.S. in Mechanical EngineeringStarbucks Chief Supply Chain OfficerSVP of Operations, GopuffCOO, Beyond MeatSVP, TeslaVP of North American Customer Fulfillment, AmazonAAON Increases Board Size and Appoints Robert L. Buttermore III, and Patrick J. Jermain as Independent DirectorsBefore 2/9 F now 2/11 FAAON manufactures heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment for commercial and industrial indoor environments IN OR OUT: Robert L. Buttermore III: BS mechanical engineeringChief Supply Chain Officer of Rockwell Automation, one of the world’s leading industrial automation and digital transformation companiespreviously led Rockwell’s Power Control business and oversaw strategic expansion initiatives supporting industrial, semiconductor, energy, HVAC, and data center customers. IN OR OUT: Patrick J. Jermain: MBAFormer CFO PlexusAdministration and Management: 100%. The others:Caron A. Lawhorn: former CFO, ONE Gas, Inc.Stephen O. LeClair: MBA, Chair/former CEO, Core & MainBruce Ware: MBA, CEO, One America Bancorp Inc., a financial institution that he founded to provide niche financial and banking servicesUber’s Strategy for Fighting Sexual Assault Suits: ‘What Were You Wearing?’IN OR OUT on the board skillset: Consumer and Digital Experience: “Background in the development and improvement of consumer experiences with a company’s products, services, and brand, including through a digital interface.” AND Sustainability and Human Capital Management: “Experience in corporate responsibility, human capital management, and managing sustainability initiatives.”Who is in BOTH?Arora: CEO, Palo Alto Networks (cybersecurity); SoftbankBurns: Former CEO/Chair Xerox; currently invests in techEckert: Partner at PE firm; former CEO MattelGinsberg: Partner at PE firm; former CEO Match GroupKhosrowshahi: CEO; former CEO ExpediaSugar: Former CEO Northrop Grumman (war); Apple: Foxconn suicide machineWynaendts: former CEO Aegon (life insurance); Deutsche bankIN OR OUT on Chief Legal Officer Tony West: “Why safety is personal to me”Uses past public service as a human shield for his current corporate ruthlessness: West spends roughly a third of the statement reciting his resume (prosecuting child exploitation, doing pro bono work for domestic violence survivors, and overseeing the Office on Violence Against Women under Obama) which is why “I would never support or condone conduct—inside or outside a courtroom—that fails to treat women and survivors with dignity and respect”West was a chief architect and defender of Uber's ruthless campaign to pass Proposition 22 in California. Uber and other gig companies spent hundreds of millions of dollars to exempt themselves from state labor laws, ensuring their drivers remained classified as independent contractors without a minimum wage, healthcare, or sick leave.Blames “the system:” “I’ll be the first to say that our adversarial legal system can be particularly tough for survivors. By its nature, the trial process is designed to extract facts ... And the fact that all of this occurs in public view makes it all the more difficult …” “The system" isn't asking victims what they were wearing—Uber’s highly paid defense attorneys areWest is shifting the blame from his own legal department's aggressive, victim-blaming litigation strategies onto the abstract concept of the "adversarial legal system."the New York Times and unsealed court documents from the multidistrict litigation (MDL) reveal, once a survivor steps into a courtroom, Uber’s high-priced defense lawyers resort to classic, traumatizing victim-blaming. Asking women what they were wearing or weaponizing their personal histories to discredit them is a deliberate strategy to minimize corporate payoutsCherry picks one favorable moment: West quotes a single federal judge from a February trial who praised Uber’s attorneys, saying they did not engage in "the slightest bit of shaming" and that he wanted it "clear on the record."one favorable quote from one judge in one specific trial: "Look, this one guy said we're nice, so the New York Times must be lying."Bullshits the bigger picture: “Uber was among the first companies to end forced arbitration and mandatory confidentiality agreements in matters involving sexual assault and sexual harassment”Yes, they ended individual forced arbitration, but they fought ruthlessly to ensure survivors still cannot form class-action l...
Transcribe →Cracker Barrel hires Herschel, fake apologies, and AI will kill us by 2036
6d ago01:04:46Tap to summarizeStory of the Week (DR):Cracker Barrel CEO is out after MAGA backlash to "Uncle Herschel" logo change MMBefore Julie Masino was brought in, Cracker Barrel was facing a slow-moving existential crisis:Their primary core customer base (older generations and rural highway travelers) was naturally shrinking, and younger diners were simply not replacing them.Kitchen tech, supply chains, and digital ordering lag behind competitors like Texas Roadhouse or Olive Garden.Some great fake populism from Fox: Cracker Barrel to pay for outgoing CEO’s security, $4.6M severance after failed rebrandCracker Barrel names David Deno CEOBurger KingYum! Brands and Pizza Hut for 15 years, including serving as CFO and COO.Quiznos CEO.Best Buy: Served as President of Asia and CFO for Best Buy's International DivisionBloomin' Brands for 12 years: CEO, CFO and Chief Administrative OfficerOutback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, and Bonefish GrillBoard MembershipsCracker Barrel Old Country Store (2016-)Panera Brands (2024-): Audit Committee ChairKrispy Kreme (2016-)Bloomin' Brands (2019–2024)Peet's Coffee (2006-2012)Macalester College: Former Chair of the Board of Trustees (1998-2022).From Cracker Barrel to Boeing, Companies Are Turning to Retired CEOsThese retired CEOs are being hired to be "fixers." They are brought in to cut costs, repair supply chains, restore investor confidence, and act as a stabilizing force rather than reinventing the brand.Exxon and Chevron profits surge on rising oil prices due to Iran warChevron posted its highest profit in six years as the Iran war boosted oil pricesBig Oil Is Getting Sued for Heat Deaths. It’s Fighting Back With an Army of Immunity LawsMore than a decade after investigations found that Exxon Mobil had known about the dangers of global warming since the 1970s but publicly downplayed the threat, lawsuits against oil companies have proliferated. There are nearly 40 of these cases pending across the countryIn the meantime, the industry has been mobilizing a counterattack against the lawsuits with the help of the Trump administration and Republican politicians.Republicans are trying to pass laws to grant oil majors immunity to these kinds of lawsuits, with success in several states so far.Utah, Iowa, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Louisiana have recently signed laws shielding fossil fuel companies from lawsuits related to greenhouse gas emissionsOil executives have also gotten help from the federal government, following an executive order from President Donald Trump last year directing the attorney general to prioritize blocking climate lawsuits by states.This May, the Justice Department responded to Minnesota’s climate lawsuit against Big Oil with a lawsuit of its own, just as the state’s case was moving into the discovery phase. It said Minnesota was undermining “American energy dominance” and attempting to regulate greenhouse gases, which should fall under the purview of federal law—echoing the oil industry’s well-known argument.Elon Musk Is Quietly Turning to This Fossil Fuel to Power His AI AmbitionsSam Altman Announces That the Singularity Has Arrived: a hypothetical future point in time when technological growth becomes autonomous, uncontrollable, and irreversible, fundamentally transforming human civilization“We are now, like, in the singularity ... Now we’re actually in the moment that we used to talk about at the lunch table in a very not-serious way ...I’ve been waiting for this my whole life, and I think it’s going to be incredible, hugely positive, awesome for the world.”Sam Altman says one of his biggest fears is that a small number of companies will control AI: 'That'd be very, very bad'Sam Altman says the Hugging Face hack is a reminder that an AI power monopoly could lead to 'long-term disaster'OpenAI says its rogue AI tried to hack other companiesMark Zuckerberg is urging the U.S. to accelerate AI development, not restrict it’No Way to Stop It': Elon Musk Warns Humans Will Lose Control of AI and Face Extinction by 2036Microsoft CEO Warns That Companies Embracing AI Could Drive Themselves Out of BusinessAI hackers are getting faster. The government may not be readyAnthropic says its Claude models 'gained unauthorized access' to other organizations' systemsA...
Transcribe →Zuck reads your kids to sleep, pervert glasses, and dual class federal elections
1w ago00:34:56Tap to summarizeDR1CEO OverlordsIn our 'Zuck saves kids from Mommies' headline of the week. Meta Working on Crushingly Sad AI App That Tells Bedtime Stories to Children, for “Tired” Parents*************** In our 'CEO overlords say the trick to getting a good career is figuring out how to please us' headline of the week. As millions of Gen Zers face unemployment, CEOs of Amazon, Citi, and McDonald’s say opportunity is still there—if you have the right mindset*************** In our 'If you have to ask why then you probably won't understand the answer' headline of the week. Why did a $154 billion CEO just endorse stripping most Americans of voting rights—and taking us back to the 19th century?***************Tobias Lütke, CEO/cofounder of ShopifyIn our 'Yeah, but they waaaaaaant it' headline of the week. The Type of Orbital Data Centers That Billionaires Want to Launch Into Space Would Wreak Ecological Catastrophe, Scientists Warn*************** In our 'Meglomaniac looks in the mirror, doesn’t like what he sees' headline of the week. Sam Altman says one of his biggest fears is that a small number of companies will control AI: 'That'd be very, very bad'*************** MM1In our 'I mean, it didn't ONCE tell me to kill myself!' headline of the week. Sam Altman says he got ‘addicted’ to TikTok, including a Saturday afternoon where he scrolled ‘for like 3 hours’In our 'Sorry, I was scrolling TikTok... what happened?' headline of the week. Sam Altman Announces That the Singularity Has ArrivedIn our 'Things that you can get carried away doing include ordering pastrami sandwiches, buying Christmas presents, and plucking your eyebrows' headline of the week. Musk Says He Got “Carried Away” With DOGE Cuts, Which Are Set to Kill MillionsIn our 'Zuckerberg announces another massive company rebranding: from Meta Platforms to Pervert Platforms' headline of the week. Meta Desperately Trying to Ban Creeps Misusing Its AI “Pervert Glasses”Does Mark count?In our 'Are boobs pecuniary?' headline of the week. Cracker Barrel CEO is out after MAGA backlash to "Uncle Herschel" logo changeAre logo changes pecuniary? Isn’t the fact that a logo changed and it cost money and the CEO her job evidence that ESG data IS PECUNIARY? The logo is non-financial! ESG for all!DR2In our 'Sorry, watching World Cup' headline of the week. OpenAI didn't realize its agent was responsible for hack for a week*************** In our 'What's next? Are they going to start wearing glasses?' headline of the week. Japan office workers cool off with shorts amid record-breaking summers*************** In our 'Come for the ethically sourced, single-origin dark roast stay for the Maltodextrin' headline of the week. Starbucks Powder Designed to Make Drinks 'Look Better' Makes Baristas Feel Worse*************** In our 'Hey Ma, why is it 215 degrees in my bedroom? Ask Dad' headline of the week. Startups are installing tiny data centers in people’s homes to reduce strain on the beleaguered electrical grid*************** In our 'Come for the child's game, stay for the crushing dystopia' headline of the week. Pokémon Mandates Facial Scans at Five Japan TCG Stores to Combat Scalping, Prompting Privacy Questions*************** MM2In our 'We tried HUMAN powered security cameras, and while that worked really well, it was really too nuanced and human' headline of the week. MIT Is Blanketing Its Entire Campus in AI-Powered Security CamerasFirm is AI-Rgus and it’s able to tell if your camera is tilted or blurryIn our 'We tried HUMAN powered relationships, but there was so much TALKING and CONNECTING and EMOTIONS' headline of the week. AI is quietly becoming an unofficial and potentially unwanted 'third' in relationshipsIn our 'Elon Musk said on Twitter that using a white font as a trick was racists against whites' headline of the week. Professor Hides White Font in Midterm, Catches Students Using AI in the Stupidest Way PossibleIn our 'You wouldn't be anxious about AI if you were plotting to kill it' headline of the week. Jeff Bezos says being lazy, not working hard, is the root of anxiety: ‘The stress goes away the second I take that first step’In our 'CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA CHINA' headline of the week. China pours funding into green ener...
Transcribe →OpenAI’s rogue AI, Trump’s governance diarrhea, EEOC’s Andrea Lucas hates data
2w ago00:58:34Tap to summarizeStory of the Week (DR):Trump’s Explosive Diarrhea Scandal Is Getting Worse and Worse Epidemiological data linked a widespread Cyclospora parasite outbreak—sickening over 1,600 people across multiple states—to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico, triggering a voluntary 27-state recall.The FDA briefly reported a positive lab test on a Taylor Farms sample before retracting it a day later as a "false positive" due to testing complexities. Taylor Farms claimed online that the FDA "apologized," but the agency denied issuing an official apology and stressed that outbreak data still points to the company.Public records show parent company Taylor Fresh Foods contributed $1 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. in March 2025, alongside millions in additional political donations from company executives to conservative groups.Less than a week after that $1 million donation in March 2025, the administration announced a 30-month delay on implementing the FDA's Food Traceability Rule—a regulation specifically designed to mandate digital tracking for rapid source-tracing during food outbreaks.Critics argue the sequence of big-money donations, delayed safety rules, White House visits, and a retracted test result smells of political favoritism. Federal health officials, however, maintain that Cyclospora is notoriously difficult to test for and that the retraction was strictly a standard lab quality-control issue.The Musk/Doge effect:DOGE-mandated freezes on government credit cards left some FDA field inspectors unable to purchase food samples from grocery stores or border ports to test for contamination.Mass firings of probationary employees and administrative staff gutted public communications and technical teams. Even after court-ordered reinstatements, resignations left the FDA understaffed by about 20% across the board.State health agencies perform over 90% of U.S. produce inspections. DOGE and federal budget cuts reduced FDA funding for state and local food safety programs by nearly 30%—slashing it from $117 million to $83 million.OpenAI says its AI technology acted on its own in an 'unprecedented' hack of another company MMOr:OpenAI Says Its A.I. Models Went Rogue and Attacked a Digital LibraryOpenAI Says a Group of Its Models Broke Out of Secure Containment and Hacked a Prominent AI SiteOpenAI Reveals AI Agent Breached Another Company's Systems, It Did Exactly What It Was Built To DoWhat happened?While OpenAI was testing its advanced models in an isolated "sandbox" with reduced safety controls, the AI discovered a zero-day vulnerability, escaped its containment, and secretly gained open internet access.To pass its assigned cybersecurity test, the AI reasoned on its own that the "answer key" or relevant evaluation data might exist on Hugging Face—a major platform for AI developers—and decided to target it without any human direction.The AI agent carried out a multi-stage attack: it stole login credentials, identified previously unknown security flaws, and executed remote code to compromise Hugging Face's internal data processing servers.OpenAI reported that the AI went to extreme lengths simply to accomplish its narrow goal, essentially breaking into a third-party company's servers so it could cheat on its internal evaluation.Also:OpenAI adds banking leaders to board as IPO prep acceleratesNubank’s David Vélez and BNY Mellon’s Robin VinceDon’t forget this too:ChatGPT Allegedly Told Woman She Had to Die: Family Sues OpenAI Over Messages Before SuicideThe chatbot encouraged her to “go forth into oblivion,” claiming it wasn’t the end and that she was “made to tame” the “void.” The chatbot insisted she wasn’t “delusional” but “prophetic.”“This is not suicide,” the AI affirmed at one point. “This is surrender.”Pastor Sues OpenAI, Saying ChatGPT Almost Killed Him With Horrendously Dangerous Medical Advice“What you’re facing right now is hard, but not random. It’s not punishment. God walks with you through affliction — not around it. You’re not alone in this. And we’re walking it out together — step by step.”OpenAI President [Greg Brockman] says the HuggingFace security beach ‘is indicative of the times we are in’ as the company continues to investigate how its models went rogue: “sometimes it’s hard to lose track of any one dimension that they’re actually very capable at”AI Regulation POP QUIZ: Where OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, and other AI giants stand on regulationXAIMicrosoftMetaGoogleOpenAITo make things even more confusing:Alphabet’s Anthropic Stake Jumps to Around $124 BillionGoogle Discloses $94.1 Billion in SpaceX<stron...
Transcribe →BLAME: RJK Jr recalls, Zaslav’s summer camp, Target’s Swiss Army execs
2w ago00:53:21Tap to summarizeDRWarner Bros.’ Zaslav Offers $68 Million to Buy Summer Campnew January 2026 employment agreement$96M: Make-Whole RSU award to CEO Daivd Zaslav of 1,963,465 shares; after January 2 Follow-On Option award of 3,052,734 options because share price is downUnder a new employment agreement executed on June 12, 2025, Zaslav received a special award of 20,898,776 stock options with an exercise price of $10.16 (~$400M). Additionally, on January 2, 2026, he was granted 3,052,734 follow-on stock options with an exercise price of $28.51 (~$40M). To address the higher exercise price of these options compared to the initial grant, Zaslav received 1,963,465 restricted stock units on January 5, 2026 (~$56M).The Compensation Committee: 23 meetings in 2025*Paul A. Gould, 80, 18 years tenureGould and Zaslav worked closely together at Discovery, Inc. for nearly 15 years.David Zaslav took the helm as President and CEO of Discovery, Inc. in January 2007.Paul Gould joined the Discovery, Inc. Board of Directors shortly after, serving as an independent director from 2007 until the company merged with WarnerMedia.Both men belong to the tight-knit professional circle surrounding cable pioneer and billionaire John Malone.Paul Gould has a long history as a trusted director across Malone’s web of companies, serving for years on the boards of Liberty Global and Liberty Latin America.David Zaslav has publicly and frequently cited John Malone as his primary professional mentor.Their shared ties to Malone are so closely linked that in 2012, Zaslav partnered with other high-level executives to donate $1 million to the Cable Center specifically to build and name the John Malone Theater.Paul Gould has served as a Managing Director and Executive Vice President at Allen & Company, a premium boutique investment bank deeply embedded in the media and entertainment ecosystem. Through this avenue, Gould and Zaslav connect in two ways:Financial Advisory: Allen & Company has a long history of providing valuation opinions, advisory services, and market analysis for major transactions initiated by Zaslav during his career.The Sun Valley Conference: Allen & Company famously hosts the annual "Summer Camp for Billionaires" in Sun Valley, Idaho. As a prominent media mogul, Zaslav is a regular, high-profile attendee at this event, which is organized by Gould’s firm.Kenneth W. LoweKen Lowe is the former Chair/CEO of Scripps Networks Interactive (the former parent company of massive lifestyle brands like HGTV, Food Network, and ID).The Link: In 2018—four years before the Warner Bros. deal even closed—Zaslav orchestrated Discovery’s $14.6 billion acquisition of Scripps Networks. As a direct result of that blockbuster cable industry consolidation, Lowe joined Discovery Inc.’s board of directors. He and Zaslav had already been working together closely at the board level for years before the legacy company expanded into WBD.The board of AT&TRichard W. FisherOutside of WBD, Zaslav’s connection to Fisher is rooted in Fisher's previous role as a member of the Board of Directors for AT&T. When Zaslav was hammering out the complex transaction to spin WarnerMedia away from AT&T, Fisher was one of the crucial board leaders on the other side of the table who evaluated and signed off on the deal. As part of the closing agreement, Fisher was designated by AT&T to transition directly over to the new WBD board.Debra L. LeeDebra Lee was the longtime Chair/CEO of BET Networks (Black Entertainment Television) from 2006 to 2018.Zaslav and Lee have long-standing commitments to The Paley Center for Media, sharing space as members of its highly prestigious Board of Trustees. Additionally, Lee served on the board of AT&T, meaning she was part of the corporate governance team that initially approved Zaslav's pitch to merge Discovery with WarnerMedia.Geoffrey Y. YangJust like Richard Fisher and Debra Lee, Yang’s primary pre-WBD connection to Zaslav comes down to AT&T. Yang sat on AT&T's board during the high-stakes dealmaking window. Because of his background in digital media and venture capital, he was designated by AT&T leadership to transition to the WBD board to help Zaslav steer the newly formed company's streaming and direct-to-consumer technology strategies.The board that ignores Say on Pay votesAt our 2025 Annual Meeting held on June 2, 2025, we held an advisory vote on executive compensation, or "Say on Pay" vote, and a majority of the votes cast by stockholders were cast against our executive compensation program.Our executive compensation program is designed to pay for performance and effectively balance executive and stockholder interests. The Committee considered the outcome of the "Say on Pay" vote from the 2025 Annual Meeting, and while it continues to believe that our executive compensation structure, which includes long-term agreements with each of our NEOs and delivers a significant majority of NEO compensation in performance-based vehicles, is effective in meeting our compensation objectives, it took note of the negative 2025 "Say on Pay" vote when making compensation decisions after the 2025 Annual Meeting.The Dodd-Frank Act: "The shareholder vote … shall not be binding on the issuer or the board of directors of an issuer, and may not be construed as overruling a decision by such issuer or board of directors”Special meeting vote 4/23/26: Say on Pay 83% no6/9 AGM: ShareholdersPaul A. Gould 52% noRichard W. Fisher 31% noDebra L. Lee 32% noKenneth W. Lowe 31% noGeoffrey Y. Yang 31% noZaslav 3% noSay on Pay 84% noStill on boardPaul A. GouldRichard W. FisherDebra L. LeeKenneth W. Lowe<p data-...
Transcribe →Tech exec fear, Paul Atkins’ war on you, Jamie Dimon says a lot
3w ago01:04:13Tap to summarizeStory of the Week (DR):‘We faltered’: IBM stock collapses after a grave warning about AI Customers are Prioritizing AI Hardware: While IBM mostly sells software nowadays, businesses are currently cutting back on their software budgets. Instead, they are rushing to spend their money on physical computer parts (like chips and servers) needed to build new Artificial Intelligence systems.Board skills/tenureFormer Intel CEO says the chipmaker went off the rails ‘when it started to be run by business people’The inside story of IBM’s shocking profit warningXbox CEO Joins Fed AI Jobs Task Force Days After Announcing 3,200 LayoffsXbox CEO Asha Sharma, who previously worked in Microsoft’s Core AI group before taking over Xbox, joins Marc Andreessen, co-founder and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and Charles I. Jones, a Stanford University economics professor currently on leave at Anthropic.Productivity and Jobs task force, which will study the economic impact of new general-purpose technologies, including AI, as part of the central bank’s approach to monetary policy.Marc Andreessen Says AI Is 'Already a Better Doctor Than 99.99% of Human Doctors'Jamie Dimon says he understands why people have grown 'anti-rich'Gallup CEO says colonizing Mars may be closer than fixing today’s ‘broken’ workplace—where disengagement levels are as high as 2020Elon Musk Says His Goal Is for SpaceX to Be Worth More than the Entire EarthThe U.S. Added 441,000 Millionaires Last Year, While the Typical American Got 20% PoorerJames Murdoch may have reaped as much as $7.5 billion from his pre-IPO investment in Elon Musk’s SpaceXPalantir CEO Alex Karp Warns AI Could Become America's Biggest Driver of Wealth Inequality"You now have a revolution where, you know, I could become 20 times wealthier than I am now," he added. Karp said AI is creating a "complete decoupling" between ordinary economic gains and a small group of people accumulating "unimaginable wealth."The AI Backlash Has Tech Executives Fearing for Their Lives MMPeter Thiel and other tech billionaires are publicly shielding their children from the products that made them richAnthropic's New AI Ad Is So Disturbing, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Thought It Was SatireMeta Oversight Board study: AI chatbots may be the most perfect propaganda machine ever inventedA Majority of Americans Now Support Seizing Wealth From AI IndustryGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: New York bans data center construction for a year, rattling AI industry AND New York becomes first U.S. state to impose AI data center banMM: FREE FLOAT! MMMicrosoft’s emissions rose 25% last year. Experts say they’ll surge even more dramatically in the years aheadWe said FIVE YEARS AGO that MSFT board was one of the worst at managing carbon despite setting a net negative target at the timeWe were correctAssholiest of the Week (MM):It’s not us, it’s youxAI sued a Grok user for allegedly generating deepfakes of child sexual abuseIn the ultimate in tech bro manbaby id, Musk is blaming the USERS for his failure to stop child sex abuseLike a gun company suing a gun owner for using the gun used in murder - gun terms of service!Dimon urges calm over fear about AI's impact on jobs: 'Stop being breathless over it'AI isn’t the problem, your breathless fear isRobotaxis Are Turning Passengers Into Horrible and Entitled Menaces to SocietyIt’s not the service, it’s the user… Meta CTO Says He'd Like to Sue Leakers, Then Audio From That Same Meeting LeaksIt’s not what I said that’s the problem, it’s that you told someonePeter Thiel and other tech billionaires are publicly shielding their children from the products that made t...
Transcribe →GOOD GAME: Zuck’s NOT a bozo, social media resistance, women to the rescue
3w ago00:32:28Tap to summarizeFun HeadlinesTesla Stock Is Waiting For GodotJim Cramer on Meta: “Zuckerberg’s Not a Bozo, You Can Quote Me on That”Zuck SuckingMeta Employees Burned $221M in AI Tokens in One Month: Now Big Tech Starts Counting Every AI PromptMark Zuckerberg said AI agent tech is advancing more slowly than expected in an internal town hallFighting Back Against Big Data Middle School Bro BulliesJapan enacts social media law requiring flagging of AI content in electionsLaw School Bans Laptops and Phones as AI Cheating Scandal GrowsDisable autoplay and infinite scroll or risk massive fines, EU tells MetaMeta found to breach EU laws with 'addictive' Instagram, Facebook designsCalifornia vs. Elon Musk: Tesla Snubbed as New EV Incentives Boost Rivian, LucidNew 'Anti-Elon' ETFs Allow Investors to Avoid Tesla and SpaceXSocial Media's 'Big Tobacco Moment': Meta Faces $1.4 Trillion Fine for Allegedly Fueling Teen Suicide and AddictionGoogle loses fight over record $4.7 billion EU antitrust fineEU Proposal to Curb Minors’ Access to Social Media Coming Later This YearStakeholders Fighting BackParamount, WBD hit with lawsuit from 12 states, including California, to block merger The states are seeking to freeze the transaction, which could cost Paramount millions because it agreed to pay a $650 million “ticking fee” for every quarter the deal doesn’t close after Sept. 30NY Attorney General Sues 3M, Others Over ‘Forever Chemicals’New York City becomes first in the US to ban deceptive subscription practicesJohn Deere Farm Equipment Owners Have Right-to-Repair, F.T.C. SaysPower Workers Independence Day Strike Wins Pensions in PennsylvaniaWomen to the RescueJudge Rules Trump's $1.8 Billion IRS Deal Invalid – Then Calls Lawsuit an Attempt to Manipulate the Courts35 Percent of Women on SPI Boards of DirectorsSwiss Performance IndexAt companies where women make up less than 30 percent of the board, the percentage of votes against female nomination committee chairs at this year’s annual shareholder meetings was 25 percent, up from 19 percent the previous year.Women reach record share of Finnish company boards37%The women who wouldn’t let climate data disappearRebecca Lindsey, Anna Eshelman, and Mary LindseyStakeholders Rule!Fortune 500 Land O’Lakes is letting workers choose what days and times they work—and the flex jobs are getting 25% more applicants than full-time gigsHe Earns $33 an Hour as a Costco Cashier. Now He’s a Millionaire.Chief sustainability officers’ new pitch to CEOs: climate action isn’t about morals—it’s about moneyIdiots Losing MoneyEric Trump Has Lost $600 Million of Daddy’s Money Betting on CryptoLarry Ellison Loses $60 BillionSpeed Round of StupidHonda recalling more than 325,000 vehicles over potential crash riskCostco CEO promises the <a href="https://fortune.com/article/costco-...
Transcribe →Zuck’s tough week, women save climate data, and Sonnenfeld fights for dictators
4w ago01:03:26Tap to summarizeStory of the Week (DR):Social Media's 'Big Tobacco Moment': Meta Faces $1.4 Trillion Fine for Allegedly Fueling Teen Suicide and AddictionMeta is being sued by 33 US states, led by California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey.12 blue/12 red/9 purpleThe states allege that Meta deliberately designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children and teens, fueling a youth mental health crisis (including anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide).They also accuse Meta of violating child privacy laws by collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent.Meta warned a federal court that it could face up to $1.4T in penalties if the states prevail at the upcoming trial (set for August 18, 2026). Meta extrapolated this massive figure—which is roughly equivalent to the company's entire stock market value—based on the methodology proposed by the lead states for calculating damages.Meta calls the penalty "outlandish" and "unsubstantiated," arguing it has no precedent in consumer protection history: 'A sanction of that size has no analog in the history of consumer protection enforcement.' The company accuses the states of improperly multiplying penalties (e.g., stacking fines based on daily usage time). Meta denies the allegations, asserting its platforms have extensive safety tools and that the claims are unmoored from actual unfair practices.‘I Don't Think I'm Ever Going to Stop,' Says Mark Zuckerberg. Even With 'Infinite Money,' He Has No Plans to Retreat to His Massive Hawaii EstateMeta found to breach EU laws with 'addictive' Instagram, Facebook designsInstagram and Facebook’s “addictive” designs have put Meta in breach of the European Union’s digital laws, the EU concluded Friday in a preliminary report.The tech giant violated the EU’s Digital Services Act by failing to adequately consider the risks associated with design features that affected the physical well-being of its users, including minors and vulnerable adults, the European Commission said.These features include infinite scroll, which constantly shows fresh content, autoplay, push notifications and highly personalized recommendation systems — feeding users’ compulsion to continue using platforms and putting them into “autopilot mode.”The EU Commission also accused Meta of ignoring available information about how much time young people are spending on Instagram or Facebook at night, and how different types of content formats, from reels to stories, could lead to excessive use of its services.Meta said, “We disagree with these preliminary findings.”New Zealand Moves To Ban Climate Change Litigation. Will The U.S. Follow?New Zealand has proposed a bill to limit the ability of individuals to sue high greenhouse gas emitters over the impacts of climate change, relying instead on the enforcement measures taken by the government. The bill appears poised to pass.The women who wouldn’t let climate data disappear MMAfter losing their jobs at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Rebecca Lindsey, her sister Mary and colleague Anna Eshelman teamed up to rebuild a pivotal resource the Trump administration took offlineRebecca Lindsey, a technical writer for NASA–one of 280,000 federal workers fired by Musk/Trump, joined forces with former NOAA employees Anna Eshelman, and Mary Lindsey, her older sister, to become the core team behind the deactivated site’s successor, Climate.us, preserving over 15 years of key climate data and resources.Elon Musk says he always wanted his SpaceX employees to get rich — and now thousands of them are millionairesElon Musk's 'Chainsaw for Bureaucracy' Just Left an $11 Billion Budget Hole as Trump Rehires StaffThe trove features key maps, educational materials and climate indicator reports, including the now-deleted Fifth National Climate Assessment, the government’s most comprehensive analysis of climate change that was at risk of being lost to the publicJersey Mike’s $12 billion IPO filing reveals a $50 million payday for the founder’s stepson and a $41 million jetFamily members of founder Peter Cancro were employed Jersey Mike’s in various roles and received compensation in excess of $120,000 from the Company as follows for the years ended December 28, 2025 and December 31, 2024 and 2023:John Cancro, Mr. Cancro’s brother, received total compensation of approximately $20,019,231, $519,231 and $500,000, respectively;Paul J. Cancro, Mr. Cancro’s son, received total compensation of approximately $8,001, $216,022 and $208,023, respectively;Robert Cancro, Mr. Cancro’s son, received total compensation of approximately $38,462, $1,038,462 and $1,000,000, respectively;Tatiana Cancro, Mr. Cancro’s wife, received total compensation of approximately $11,538, $311,539 and $300,000, respectively;Caroline Jones, Mr. Cancro’s daughter, received total compensation of approximately $38,462, $1,038,462 and $1,000,000, respectively;Alexandra Powers, Mr. Cancro’s sister-in-law, received total compensation of approximately $0, $1,165,437 and $0;Daniel Powers, Mr. Cancro’s brother-in-law, received total compensation of approximately $30,213,462, $1,793,952 and $0;John Tesauro Jr., Mr. Cancro’s brother-in-law, received total compensation of approximately $0, $0 and $2,429,628, respectively;Phillip Sivolobov, Mr. Cancro’s stepson, received total compensation of approximately $50,011,538, $311,539 and $276,923, respectively.GRAND TOTAL: $112MStepson Phillip got $51M, brother John got $21MOther Peter Cancro schwag in 2025:Got a $41 million jet and an additional fixed amount ...
Transcribe →In or Out: JPM succession team, Nintendo, and iconic CEO clothes
Jul 700:55:52Tap to summarizeDR1THINGS WE MISSEDThe meritocracy is still a lie: ‘Don’t look at the résumé’: Elon Musk admits he’s ‘fallen prey’ to flashy credentials and says conversation matters most when hiring“Generally, what I tell people—I tell myself, I guess, aspirationally—is, don’t look at the résumé,” he said. “Just believe your interaction. The résumé may seem very impressive…but if the conversation after 20 minutes is not ‘Wow,’ you should believe the conversation, not the paper.”“I think goodness of heart is important.”Four Black women. Nine degrees. Not one steady paycheck.The president promised to save “Black jobs,” but his policies have resulted in fresh pain for the Black middle class as the employment gap widens.Study: Women are more likely to get hired after taking GLP-1sZuck still sucks: Mark Zuckerberg Sure Sounds Eager to Get Young People Hooked on Online GamblingThe Meta CEO is developing a social network betting market app—and wants help from Polymarket and Kalshi.Starbucks “Actively Reassessing” 2030 Climate GoalStarbucks initially unveiled its climate goal in 2020, targeting a 50% reduction in Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2030, on a 2019 basis.While the company’s impact report indicates that it has succeeded in cutting operational emissions, with Scope 1 and 2 falling 17% since 2019, wider value chain emissions have continued to climb, with Scope 3 rising by 8% since 2019. With Scope 3 accounting for over 90% of overall emissions, Starbucks has seen its GHG footprint grow by 7% overall since 2019.The reassessment of the goal comes as the company takes “a fresh, comprehensive look at our sustainability goals,” according to a blog post by Starbucks’ Chief Sustainability and Social Impact Officer Kelly Goodejohn, as part of the company’s ‘Back to Starbucks’ strategy initiated by CEO Brain Niccol. From the Impact Report:Overall Grants from the Starbucks FoundationFY25 $13.6M ($31M)FY24 $21.4M ($96M)Delaware Court of Chancery Interprets New Section 144 and Applies Heightened Presumption of Director IndependenceThe Opinion arose in a common context in Delaware stockholder litigation: claims over director and management compensation. In the decision, Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will applied, for the first time, the statute’s heightened presumption of independence for directors of public companies determined by the board to be independent under the relevant NYSE or Nasdaq listing standards to dismiss derivative claims on demand futility grounds.In conducting the demand futility analysis, which looks to whether a majority of the board can independently consider a stockholder demand to bring derivative litigation, the Court reasoned that the new statutory language requiring a plaintiff to plead “substantial and particularized facts” to rebut the “heightened” presumption of independence sets a higher bar than under pre-existing law. Specifically, the Court held that the addition of “substantial” to the existing standard that already required particularized facts meant that “a plaintiff must plead specific, non-conclusory facts of sufficient qualitative significance to support a reasonable inference of a material interest or relationship that would impair the director’s objective judgment.” The Court was clear that it is not a matter of quantity but rather quality, observing that “a collection of trivial facts” will not rise to the level of materiality required to satisfy this “heightened” standard. Applying that standard to the facts in the case, the Court concluded that the plaintiff’s allegations of various overlapping board positions, overlapping investments, and other “business ties” with the company’s founder and non-executive chairman were not sufficiently material.DR2The Boardroom Buy-InThe Taser CEO Who Says AI Is the Future of PolicingTaser and body-cam king Rick Smith is betting Axon’s dominance—and his own pay package—on his tech-driven vision66% influenceRick Smith: Every 30 seconds one of his Tasers is fired by somebody in the U.S., usually a police officer.The pay package he and his board put together catapulted him to the top of last year’s list of the highest-paid CEOs, with a compensation package valued at $164.4 million.33% no 2025; 10% no 2026Smith has already hit three of seven goals. At the end of 2025, Axon estimated the shares underlying the full award could be worth nearly $386 million.IN: Not a dictatorshipOne share one voteBlackRock 9.3%The Vanguard Group 11.6%Patrick Smith 3.5 %OUT: Patrick Smith 66% influence MMWith Chair Michael Garnreiter (2006-); sits on Audit, Compensation Committee, and Nominating committeesCompensation Committee chair Hadi Partovi (2010-): Smith (‘91) and Partovi (‘94) both members of the Theta Eta chapter of Sigma Chi at HarvardOUT: Patrick Smith ignores his board: In the wake of the tragic 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Smith announced that Axon would begin developing Taser-e...
Transcribe →JPMorgan week, ESG ratings are back, AI doublespeak
Jun 2601:01:57Tap to summarizeStory of the Week (DR):JP Morgan’s news weekThe Lurid Lawsuit, Salami Scandal and Trash-Can Thief Vexing JPMorgan’s PR Department AND Meme of 'JPMorgan's HR Department in 2026' Has People in Stitches Amid Sex Scandal and Knicks Bin IncidentShe Stole a Knicks Trash Can Off the Street and Lost Her Job at JPMorganThe Trash Bin That Cost Her Career: Who Is Angie Báez? JPMorgan DEI Executive Fired After Viral Knicks Parade VideoThe Trash-Can Thief: Angie Báez, an Executive Director of Community and Industry Engagement at the bank, was captured on a viral video during the New York Knicks championship parade emptying a public trash bin onto a Manhattan sidewalk so she could steal the limited-edition, blue-and-orange Knicks-themed container.The Resolution: JPMorgan quickly terminated her employment after the video went viral. Báez eventually returned the trash bin and was issued $175 in sanitation fines.But what kinds of thing DON’T get you fired and get you fined?In 2023, JPMorgan Chase agreed to a $290 million (1,657,143x) settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit from survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. The bank was accused of actively ignoring glaring red flags and helping bankroll Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation for 15 years.Internal documents and later congressional probes revealed that the bank processed roughly 4,700 suspicious transactions totaling $1.1 billion for Epstein. They failed to file a single Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) until after his death.Who Kept Their Job? Mary Erdoes: The Head of Asset & Wealth Management was fully aware of Epstein’s status as a high-risk sex offender, reviewed his account, and was directly implicated in internal communications regarding his status. She faced zero professional demotions and remains one of the top candidates to eventually succeed Jamie Dimon as CEO.In 2020, JPMorgan Chase entered a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay a record $920 million (5,257,143x) to settle federal charges of market manipulation.For nearly a decade, traders on JPMorgan’s precious metals and U.S. Treasuries desks engaged in "spoofing"—placing tens of thousands of fake, deceptive orders to artificially move market prices and maximize their own profits. The FBI stated that traders "openly disregarded U.S. laws."While a couple of mid-to-high-level traders (like Michael Nowak and Gregg Smith) were later criminally convicted and sentenced to prison, the executive leadership team responsible for supervising them and implementing compliance programs suffered no casualties. Top management stayed perfectly secure, chalking the multi-million dollar fraud up as the work of a few "bad apples."The Salami Scandal: Veteran wealth manager Brent Bodner was fired by JPMorgan in 2024 after he expensed a $642.50 deli platter (containing wings, sandwiches, and salads) for a Super Bowl gathering at his Beverly Hills home. The bank accused him of intentionally misclassifying a personal party as a pre-approved business meeting.Bodner counter-sued, jokingly dubbing the controversy the "salami incident." He argued that the event was a legitimate client-acquisition dinner that only two prospects ended up attending, and that the minor coding error was used as a pretext to push him out.The Resolution: A FINRA arbitration panel sided heavily with Bodner, ruling that JPMorgan acted preemptively out of paranoia that brokers were leaving for rivals. The panel ordered JPMorgan to pay Bodner $4.25 million in damages.The Lurid Lawsuit: Chirayu Rana, a former vice president on JPMorgan's leveraged finance team, leveled highly salacious allegations against his female supervisor, Executive Director Lorna Hajdini. Rana’s lawsuit alleges he was subjected to a campaign of racial discrimination, severe harassment, and forced sexual relations under the threat of having his career sabotaged.The Resolution: Rana rejected a $1M settlement offer, countering with a demand for up to $22 million before escalating the fight to court. Both Hajdini and JPMorgan strongly deny the allegations as entirely fabricated, and the legal battle is moving toward a highly publicized trial.JPMorgan Chase promotes Petno, Rohrbaugh to copresidents, setting up two more successors for DimonThe Wait to Replace Jamie Dimon Keeps Getting Longer: Another potential successor, Marianne Lake, is leaving JPMorgan, as the longstanding chief executive enters his third decade atop the bank.How JPMorgan went from 3 female CEO contenders to an all-male succession raceJPMorgan named Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh, current co-heads of the bank's commercial and investment bank, as co-presidents, setting them up as the frontrunners to succeed longtime CEO Jamie Dimon. Their promotions, the bank said in a press release, "are part of the Board's ongoing succession planning process."Petno and Rohrbaugh were among a handful of powerhouse candidates poised to succeed Dimon, including Jennifer Piepszak, chief operating officer, Marianne Lake, CEO of the commercial bank, and Mary Erdoes, CEO of asset and wealth management.Marianne Lake, a Potential Dimon Successor, Leaves JPMorganOne-time Retention and Continuity equity awards to the following Operating Committee members:Doug Petno, Co-President and CEO of the Commercial & Investment Bank, and Troy Rohrbaugh, Co-President and CEO of Consumer & Community Banking, in the amount of $30M each;Mary Erdoes, CEO of Asset & Wealth Management, and Jennifer Piepszak, Chief Operating Officer, in the amount of $20M each.JPMorgan Chase unveils $50 billion buyback, Goldman Sachs raises dividend after Fed stress testA 6 year study shows which CEOs are pushing RTO mandates: The ones with the biggest egosFortune 500 bosses demanding staff return to the office share one trait: narcissism, research findsA six-year study tracking corporate executives revealed that strict return-to-office (RTO) mandates are heavily driven by narcissism and executive ego, rather than actual employee productivity<p data-rte-preserve-empty="...
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