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maybe I don't need a driver's license afterall

When you leave something behind, you always gain something new too

Author

Micael Balioni
October 17, 2024

THE MUSTS

World

i’d love inside trading if I could do it

You either make the laws or you invest in the stock market

What you read above is what a group of deputies and senators in the US wants to approve - from both parties.

  • The relevance: When politicians have access to information that the general public does not, such as a law that is about to be passed, there is a risk that they will use it to make money.

In addition to walking around Washington in suits, American politicians are known for their success in stocks. Some have seen their portfolios grow by 40% to 200% in the last year, for example.

An index that tracks politicians' shares on the market has grown more than the NY stock exchange, and even an app has even been created for investors to copy the choices of well-known MPs.

Back to the bill... Under penalty of very expensive fines, the proposal wants to ban congressmen from buying and selling shares while in office, as well as their spouses and children.

Today, there is already a law obliging them to disclose their trades on the stock exchange, but the idea is that they should be obliged to sell all their shares by 2027. What do you think? Should they lose their right to invest?

What else in on

  • UK: The land of the fish and chips has agreed to return the Chagos Archipelago (more than 60 islands) to Mauritius. The territory was occupied in 1968 for a joint British and US military base - which will remain active. With the return agreement, the last British colony in Africa comes to an end. (Read)

  • China: The country wants to control what professors are teaching - so it's asking them to hand over their passports. Various restrictions on teachers' travel are being gradually imposed in Chinese cities. But there are also more civil servants affected by the same measure. (Read)

  • Russia: Putin proposed BRICS payment system to bypass US dominance. The plan involves developing a network of commercial banks for local currency transactions to create a “multicurrency system” to protect participants from sanctions. Not bad Russia… (Read)

  • Albania: Italian migration centres open in Albania under controversial deal. Many fear that the agreement will set dangerous EU precedent with up to 3,000 men a month held during asylum processing. (Read)

  • USA: Winds of up to 205 km/h. That's how fast Hurricane Milton arrived in Florida, killing at least 11 people and leaving more than 3.5M homes without electricity. (Read)

 

Economy & Business

i have a lot on my plate right now Karen

Gen Z is being fired shortly after stepping foot in the office

Recently graduated and recently dismissed. After years of saying that Generation Z is difficult to deal with in the workplace, bosses seem to have toned down the talk and gone for the more drastic solution.

The relevance: People born between '97 and 2010 will make up almost 30% of the workforce by next year. Think that, inevitably, generation Z is entering - and will end up dominating - the market.

It turns out that the main complaint from managers is that, despite having good theoretical knowledge, many lack the soft skills: “they can't be professional, deal with deadlines and communicate with colleagues”.

The reputation of being “more complicated”: A survey of workers of all ages showed that dealing with generation Z is a challenge for 68% of the job market.

On the other hand, the tendency among young people is to give priority to opportunities with more flexible working hours and which preferably allow remote working and financial and well-being benefits.

What else is on:

  • Lego: Profits jumped 13% to $4.65B in the first half of 2024. The company aims to make half its bricks from renewable or recycled materials by 2026, investing in pricier sustainable resins. (Read)

  • Berkshire Hathaway: BH passed the $1 trillion mark in market value. Buffet’s management company is one of the most expensive stocks on Wall Street, and the company's shares have still risen 27% this year. (Read)

  • Amazon: The company surrendered to the world of Chinese shopping. The idea is to have a new tab on the company's own website offering items ranging from blouses to skincare creams - all for less than $20. (Read)

  • United Airlines: will offer free high-speed internet to all passengers after partnering with Starlink. (Read)

 

Technology & Science

who says I need a driver’s license?

Tesla has shown what it is here for

 

Recently I spoke about the satellite constellation of Space X, and now again Musk enters Tanamesa’s spotlight again. After years of saying he was building robotaxis, yesterday Elon had his Steve Jobs day and showed the Cybercab to the world at the Tesla event. Click to see it in action.

The relevance: With this innovation, Musk wants to revolutionize the transport sector. He himself has already said that autonomous cabs will be responsible for Tesla hitting US$ 5 trillion in valuation in a few years.

Tesla owners could also pocket a lot of money since, with Tesla Network, they'll be able to leave their cars working in the robotaxi fleet while they're not using them.

You want more?

Not satisfied, Elon also launched two other major products:

  • Robovan: The autonomous van is another fully autonomous vehicle but, unlike the cybercab, it can transport up to 20 people or goods, and is focused on solving the problem of high density.

  • Optimus: This is the companion robot that was dancing in sync and making drinks to serve the event's participants. Optimus will be able to perform everyday tasks, whether for personal purposes (walking your dog, mowing the lawn, shopping, washing the dishes) or professional purposes (manual labor, in factories, in the field, repetitive tasks). Musk said that, at scale, robots should cost less than cars themselves, between $20-$30k, and could be the biggest product ever. Dawn Musk!

What else is on:

  • Sunlight can make you drink salt water: A system made by engineers at MIT has managed to turn salt water into drinking water using only sunlight as a battery. The great thing about the equipment is that it adjusts water production according to the amount of sunlight! Future is here folks. (Read)

  • $6.6 Billions baby: OpenAI has announced that it has closed its long-awaited and speculated investment round of US$ 6.6 billion for around 4% of the company - a valuation of US$ 157 billion. This was the largest fundraising ever in the world - surpassing the $6 billion round earlier this year by Musk's xAI. (Read)

  • Google racked up 3 Nobel Prizes: Three researchers with links to Google won the Nobel Prize for their work on AI, cementing the company as an unequivocal leader in the technology. But… These big wins prompted big questions about Big Tech’s increasing and potentially untenable role in scientific development. (Read)

  • Privacy for our teens: Instagram will start implementing a series of measures to give greater privacy to teenagers. When under-18s create accounts on the social network, they will automatically be made private, allowing only accepted followers to see the content of their profiles. (Read)

EDITOR’S RECOMMENDATIONS

Movies

the life we enjoy is very much worth the sacrifice of others

 The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer: The zone of interest is not a movie to watch unintentionally. Provocative, it makes us reflect on our ability to detach ourselves from the terrible things that surround us.

Loosely based on Martin Amis's novel of the same name, the film introduces us to the seemingly idyllic life of Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz, and his wife Hedwig. The couple lives with their children in a house with a garden adjacent to the concentration camp, seeking to build their "dream home" amidst the horrors occurring on the other side of the wall.

What makes "The Zone of Interest" so impactful is its approach. Glazer opts to never to directly show the atrocities of the camp, instead making them omnipresent through distant sounds and an oppressive atmosphere. This stylistic decision amplifies the viewer's moral shock, forcing us to confront the banality of evil in its purest form.

The cinematography is also masterful, creating a disturbing contrast between the bucolic beauty of the Höss' garden and the sinister reality surrounding it, and of course, the restrained yet powerful performances by Friedel and Hüller are crucial to the film's success. They portray their characters not as caricatured monsters, but as ordinary people capable of shocking indifference - which makes everything even more terrifying.

"The Zone of Interest" is not an easy film to watch, but it is undeniably important. It challenges us to reflect on the nature of complicity, the human capacity to compartmentalize horror, and the consequences of choosing convenience over morality. (Rating 7.5/10)

 

WHAT ABOUT ME?

Micael

for my partner in crime

 

Recently, I had a conversation with a dear friend.

You know those moments when you want to say something nice, you want to help that person in front of you, but you just don't know what to say? It was exactly like this. Frustrating. So I thought a lot about it.

"So much is said about how we should only look at our own evolution, not compare ourselves with others. But what do you do when your version from the past is better than today's?"

 Well, we can try to look at it from a different perspective right? Time has passed, and you've lived through different experiences since that last version of yourself that you thought was better… So what if we start to think that:

❝

"Everything that happens to you is FOR you and not against you."

Because, after each life experience, you come out with knowledge that you didn't have before. It's a natural process that makes you more prepared for different new experiences. Even the things that made you feel like a worse version of yourself, teached you how to FEEL better. They showed you more things that you like and don't like, and things that are good for you or not. Doesn't it make sense?

I know it sounds cliché, but life gets so much easier when we start to think that you had to go through what you went through to learn certain things - things that you NEEDED to learn.

So, I don't agree with this idea that a current version of you could be "worse" than the old one. I think - at the very least - that you're stronger and wiser than before. You have more baggage now. And the good thing is: Neither this nor the previous version is the final version of you. It can always get better!

  • You will be changing until your last breath. Life is precisely what happens in this change.

Don't focus on going back in time or condemning who you are today. See the possible, and natural evolution. The only natural path is to evolve.

That's what I'd like to have said. But since I completely froze and didn't have an answer - I hope you are reading this now one month after.

Love you,

Micael.

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