Good evening!

Are you spending your Friday night thinking about how your holiday sales are down? It’s not you, it’s the market.

Here are the 7 things you missed today:

1.  ☁️ FTC Is Investigating Microsoft’s Cloud Business

TL;DR: The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to launch an investigation into anti-competitive practices at Microsoft’s cloud computing business alleging that the company is abusing its market power in productivity software by preventing customers from moving away from its Azure cloud service.

Why you should care: If Microsoft is found to be abusing its market power, there may be changes in the company’s software that make it easy to accommodate competitor cloud services.

Read more here →

2. 🧠 Smart CEOs Don’t Just File Taxes

Jake, a tech CEO, learned this the hard way. In 2022, his generic CPA handled taxes the old-fashioned way: basic returns, basic savings. Last year, he switched to Gelt and uncovered $100k+ in tax savings.

Why? Because Gelt isn’t just a CPA. They’re a strategic partner for dozens of CEOs, combining elite expertise with cutting-edge tech to help leaders maximize every dollar. Tax strategy is personal, and with Gelt, it’s profitable too. Join Jake — and dozens of CEOs — saving big with Gelt.

See What Gelt Can Save You →

3. 😳 1M+ People Signed Up For Bluesky This Week

TL;DR: Yesterday (Thursday) was one of the busiest days for social network Bluesky as over 1 million people signed up for the platform in the prior 24 hours, helping the platform cross the mark of 16 million users overall.

Why you should care: More and more users are fleeing X and finding their next place to land, so you might want to start scoping out your options – and Bluesky and Threads seem to be the front runners.

Read more here →

5. ✌️ AI Pioneer François Chollet Is Leaving Google

TL;DR: François Chollet, a leading figure in the AI world who led open source project Keras, is leaving his developer post at Google after almost a decade to start a new company with a friend.

Why you should care: Everyone wants to get a slice of the AI pie, and this is yet another AI visionary who is leaving a major tech company to start their own thing – keep an eye on this space.

Read more here →

6. 🍟 McDonald’s Is Investing Over $100M To Recover After E. Coli Outbreak

TL;DR: Last month, McDonald’s was hit by an E. coli outbreak that resulted in 104 cases, 37 hospitalizations, and one death. Now, they’re trying to expedite their rebound by investing more than $100 million into supporting owners who have lost business and pushing traffic-driving programs and marketing efforts.

Why you should care: It takes time, naturally, for a company to bounce back from such a hit, but this is an interesting case study to watch on whether throwing major amounts of money at the problem can make it disappear.

Read more here →

7.  🎁 Holiday Sales Growth Expected To Stay Below 10-Year Average

TL;DR: S&P analysts released their Global Ratings report this week showing that U.S. holiday sales growth is likely to slow to about 3%, down from 4.7% – below the 10-year average of 5.3%. Apparel, accessories, and specialty retailers have seen the largest increase in negative ratings, due to persistent inflation and a late Thanksgiving holiday.

Why you should care: The forecast is a tad grim, but it’s important to be realistic about what you can (or can’t) achieve this year given market conditions.

Read more here →

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