|  | Nasdaq | 23,601.36 | |
| | S&P | 6,950.23 | |
| | Dow | 49,412.40 | |
|  | 10-Year | 4.213% | |
| | Bitcoin | $87,754.01 | |
| | Booz Allen Hamilton | $93.93 | |
| | Data is provided by |  |
*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: The three major indexes ended their Monday in the green, following two consecutive losing weeks. Investors found optimism following President Trump's decision to send "border czar" Tom Homan to Minneapolis to manage ICE (more on that below), which they believe lessens the risk of a government shutdown at the end of the week.
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TECH The usual suspects of screentime are headed to court. Jury selection begins today in Los Angeles for a landmark civil trial brought by parents who accuse Meta, TikTok, and YouTube of causing children to develop social media addiction and mental health issues. The case at hand focuses on a 19-year-old woman who alleges that design features like infinite scroll hooked her on social media as a minor and fueled her depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, and suicidal thoughts. The companies deny the allegations and argue that they've invested in safety tools. During the six-week trial… - Both Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri are expected to testify.
- Snap CEO Evan Spiegel also would have taken the stand, but his company, which was originally named in the suit, settled last week on undisclosed terms.
Bellwether: This is the first of likely many times that social media giants will answer to a jury for addiction allegations. There are 3,000+ other lawsuits in California alone and 2,000+ federal lawsuits pending against Meta, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube, with several expected to go to trial this year. They're drawing comparisons to the watershed lawsuits against Big Tobacco and Big Pharma companies that knowingly concealed the risks of cigarettes and opioids. Plaintiffs are expected to present documents—some of which have already been reported on—that they say show the companies knew their products could be addictive. The world is souring on social platforms France may be on the verge of banning social media for children under 15 after French President Emmanuel Macron said this week that he's aiming to get cell phones and scrolling out of high schools by September. In recent days, the British government also said that it's considering banning social media for those under 16, and Egypt's Parliament said that it's looking into regulating adolescent social media use, too, after Australia's under-16 social media ban in December. Zoom out: According to a recent Wall Street Journal poll, 71% of respondents support banning most social media for kids under 16.—ML | | |
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WORLD  Border czar Tom Homan headed to Minneapolis. In a post on Truth Social yesterday, President Trump wrote that he would be sending Homan to Minneapolis, an area that Homan had not previously been involved in. Trump said, "Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me." Later in the day, Trump and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke on the phone, a conversation the governor called "productive" and Trump said showed them to seemingly be "on a similar wavelength." Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle asked for independent investigations into the shooting death of Alex Pretti this weekend, and asked for officials to testify before Congress. An aide for Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem would testify before the committee on March 3.
 Treasury cancels Booz Allen Hamilton contracts over leak. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced yesterday that his department canceled all contracts with the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. In a statement, the Treasury called out the case of former Booz Allen employee Charles Edward Littlejohn, who in 2023 pleaded guilty to felony charges for leaking President Trump's tax records to the New York Times and records of other wealthy individuals to ProPublica. Bessent said that the contracts represented $4.8 million in annual obligations and $21 million total. In response, the company said that "Booz Allen has zero tolerance for violations of the law" and that "when Littlejohn's criminal conduct occurred over 5 years ago, it was on government systems, not Booz Allen systems."
 Michael Burry revealed he's buying up GameStop stock. Fresh off its fifth anniversary of becoming the original meme stock frenzy, GameStop is back in the news for weird investor reasons. Michael Burry, the investor of Big Short fame who was one of the first to call the 2008 mortgage crisis and profit from it, revealed on his Substack that he has been buying GameStop stock. He also wrote about "getting a young Ryan Cohen investing and deploying the company's capital and cash flows." Last week, GameStop CEO Cohen bought 500,000 shares of the company's stock for about $21.5 million. He now owns more than 42 million shares in the company cumulatively. And how is GameStop doing? Well, last week it announced it shut down an "infinite money glitch" that let exploiters amass store credit through a loophole on its website, so  ?—HVL
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ECONOMY The gold market is looking a lot like the pre-blizzard Trader Joe's snack aisle this weekend. The price of Wall Street's comfort food surged as much as 2.5% yesterday, shooting past a record $5,000 per ounce and putting it on track for the best year since 1979, a time of geopolitical mayhem. Monday's surge, which briefly had gold trading above $5,100, was partially driven by anxieties over President Trump's threats to impose 100% tariffs on Canada this weekend due to its trade dealings with China and fears of a possible partial government shutdown over ICE funding. The jolt added momentum to last week's rally, propelled by the US–Europe standoff over Trump's Greenland annexation aspirations and Japan's bond market meltdown. Hazy future hedge It's not just newsy chaos that had everyone from your day trader cousin to central banks binge-buying gold, helping it to rally more than 80% over the past 12 months: - Investors are concerned with persistent inflation amid potentially unsustainable levels of government debt. They're also worried that stocks might be overvalued.
- Plus, declining interest rates have suppressed returns on bonds, making them a comparatively less attractive option for parking cash.
Is it peak gold? Previous gold rallies have lasted for years, and many analysts anticipate this one will endure in 2026. Many of the risks keeping investors up at night are likely not going anywhere soon.—SK | | |
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Together With Northwestern Mutual |
INTERNATIONAL The world's most ambitious Sim City project is getting downsized. The $1.5 trillion Neom development being built in Saudi Arabia by the country's sovereign wealth fund will be reimagined because of a price tag that became too unwieldy, according to the Financial Times. When the entity that gave the golfer Phil Mickelson a reported $200 million to play on the LIV Tour believes it needs to cut back, you know the cost overruns must be serious. Prince Mohammed's proposed vision, initially set to be completed by 2030, will include: - Per the FT, The Line, a self-sustaining city adjacent to the Red Sea intended to be free of carbon emissions, will be "radically" scaled back and could become a hub for data centers as part of the prince's push to make Saudi Arabia a global AI leader.
- Construction of the hotels collectively known as Magma is now on hold, Semafor reported.
- The unfinished ski resort Trojena was set to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, which are now postponed indefinitely.
More changes coming? The FT report comes as a review of Neom, initiated by CEO Aiman al-Mudaifer in July, is nearing a conclusion. Semafor said that Neom has laid off several hundred of its 6,000 workers in the past few months, and more layoffs are expected.—DL | | |
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STAT The California-cation of the New York Post officially launched its first edition yesterday. It's the latest title in Rupert Murdoch's media portfolio, and it aims to bring the insolent, conservative bent of its Gotham counterpart to the Left Coast. Nick Papps, the editor-in-chief of the California Post, told the Associated Press that the LA newsroom has a staff of about 80 to 100, and that, even with the siren calls of Hollywood in its ears, it wants to appeal to "everyday, hardworking" Californians. While the California Post plans to lead with digital content, like video and audio pieces, and social media accounts, Murdoch's love of print means it also gets a paper tabloid edition, which costs $3.75 each. Papp said, "The most iconic thing about the New York Post, and now the California Post, is that front page." For its inaugural edition, it ran the headline, "Oscar Wild - Shocking truth behind director Safdie brothers' mystery split."—HVL |
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Together With The New Money |
NEWS - A business jet that crashed in Maine on Sunday was carrying six passengers, all of whom died, according to local officials, who disputed an earlier FAA account.
- The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three warships have arrived in the Middle East amid tensions with Iran.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that all children get vaccines against 18 diseases, in a break with the CDC.
- President Trump said he would raise tariffs on lumber, autos, and pharmaceuticals from South Korea from 15% to 25%, because the country's legislature has delayed approving the US–Korea trade agreement.
- Nike is cutting 775 jobs, largely at its distribution centers, saying that it will deploy more automation.
- Jennifer Garner's Once Upon a Farm brand is targeting a valuation of up to $764.4 million for its IPO.
- Team USA released its 232-athlete roster for the Milan Cortina Olympics.
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RECS  Learn: Get up to speed on economics with this breezy guide from the Economist magazine.**
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PLAY Brew Mini: Today's puzzle is called "Free Solo," but it's only got 10 clues, so we think you can handle it. Play the Mini here. Periodic table trivia As gold continues to soar, you're no doubt having flashbacks to chemistry class when you learned that its symbol on the periodic table is Au. In today's trivia, we'll give you a symbol from the periodic table, and you have to name the element. - Ag
- Na
- Co
- Fe
- Sn
- K
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SHARE THE BREW  Share the Brew, watch your referral count climb, and unlock brag-worthy swag. Your friends get smarter. You get rewarded. Win-win. Your referral count: 0 Click to Share Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
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ANSWER - Silver
- Sodium
- Cobalt
- Iron
- Tin
- Potassium
Word of the Day Today's Word of the Day is: unwieldy, meaning "difficult to manage." Thanks to Paula from Live Oak, TX, for trusting we could handle this suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here. |
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