MBA Robots

Plus: 40 years later, the score remains Coke 1, Pepsi 0. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

January 23, 2023

Read in Browser

TOGETHER WITH

Good morning.

If you worked for Google before this past weekend, you have our sympathies.

On Friday, the tech giant’s parent company Alphabet announced the company’s largest-ever layoff of 12,000 jobs, roughly 6% of Google’s global workforce. The culprit is the same at every other major tech firm that’s been laying off employees in droves: a pandemic hiring spree.

At the time, Big Tech companies like Google and Meta were able to cut costs in travel, office space, and marketing, and direct funds toward hiring as an entire planet went digital. Yes, COVID is still here, but employees are commuting to the office again, kids are back in school, and video meetings are less needed.

On the upside, plenty of startups will be flooded with resumes.

Morning Brief

•

Could Latin America create a currency bloc?

•

AI continues to challenge higher education.

•

Culver’s wages a cola war.

Fiscal Policy

Brazil and Argentina are Preparing for a Common Currency

Two of South America’s biggest economies would like to change the conversation from their own dubious current events to one about currencies.

After decades of maintaining respectful economic boundaries, next-door neighbors Brazil and Argentina are about to take their relationship to the next level. This week, the two nations will announce that they are in the early stages of introducing a common currency, officials told the Financial Times on Sunday. The merger will be followed by an open invitation to other Latin and South American countries — and could eventually create the world’s second-largest currency bloc.

Excuse Me, Sur

The new currency, which Brazil proposes calling the sur, or “south,” is still in its very, very early phases. Creating a common currency, and completely restructuring central banking infrastructures, is no easy task. For starters, the two nations will need to find a suitable middle ground between Brazil’s real and Argentina’s peso. Literally. The two trade at an exchange rate of 35 pesos to 1 real. And while the peso is weak compared to the real, the real is still weak compared to the dollar — with one real worth just under 20 cents. As such, a common currency could make sense despite the hurdles.

Trade between the neighbors is soaring, jumping over 21% year-over-year to $26 billion in the first 11 months of 2021. Together the two could reduce reliance on US trade and the US dollar, especially if other Latin American countries join the bloc — a pitch the two nations will be making this week at a 33-nation summit of Latin American and Caribbean states. Still, way more risk resides on one side of the Brazil-Argentina equation than the other:

•

Argentina’s peso is facing an annual inflation rate of nearly 100% as its central bank prints cash to fund government spending projects. The amount of money in public circulation has increased fourfold since 2019, according to central bank data.

•

Brazil is the continent’s largest economy by far and 11th largest in the world, and its central bank has long had strong reservations about a joint currency. Argentina remains mostly cut off from global debt markets after its 2020 default, and still owes over $40 billion to the IMF after a 2018 bailout.

Are EU Sure? While the project has serious legs, any rollout is thought to be not just years but perhaps decades away. It did, after all, take 35 years for the Euro to be fully formed. But with like-minded leftwing leaders now running both nations, Brazil and Argentina are finally pursuing the project. If nothing else, Brazil has something to talk about besides the failed coup d’état that took place mere weeks ago.

– Brian Boyle

Education

Apparently AIs Getting MBAs Is A Thing Now

The business brains at Wharton will have to apply critical thinking to their latest conundrum: a freely available AI tool just passed one of its MBA exams.

According to a study from a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s business school, viral machine learner ChatGPT is capable of writing a paper that would receive a reasonably high grade from one of the nation’s most celebrated MBA programs — adding to concerns about cheating as tools like Open AI’s ChatGPT become commonplace. And yes, we’re still talking about an $80,000-a-year business school here.

Standing Out In The Virtual Circle of Death

In a white paper entitled “Would Chat GPT3 Get a Wharton MBA?” Wharton professor Christian Terwiesch found that after giving ChatGPT an exam from his operations management course, the machine learning robot intelligence returned work worthy of a B or B- grade. Terwiesch’s experiment concluded that AI has the ability to think pretty critically and use case studies to support its arguments through well-written answers, making it likely that –should ChatGPT graduate Wharton one day– it could land a job as a macro analyst.

The paper will deepen the panic in academic circles, where colleges and universities are holding emergency meetings to fend off the impact of the technology, and the New York City public school system has already blocked access to the AI program on its network. But in the case of MBAs, it might be an overreaction considering that those programs are more about who gets into which elite program and the social networking they do there. So unless ChatGPT can drink a pitcher of beer with an aspiring family office investment manager on a Tuesday night, the fear of machines in academia might be better spent elsewhere:

•

Elite MBA programs have seen applications drop by double digits in the last year with the top two, Wharton and Harvard Business School, seeing interest in attending fall 13% and 15% respectively. That drop was attributed to a hot job market but the high cost of MBAs might not appeal in a recession.

•

But should AIs start getting MBAs, they would be in line to make a nice bundle. According to data from The Graduate Management Admission Council, MBA holders made up to 40% more than colleagues with a bachelor’s degree in 2021.

Don’t worry, CPAs: While ChatGPT can ace a final, it might want to upload a calculator. In his study, Terwiesch also found that the AI “at times makes surprising mistakes in relatively simple calculations at the level of 6th grade Math,” so maybe ChatGPT will be going into private equity.

– Thornton McEnery

Sponsored by Brilliant

Advanced Math And Computer Science – Explained Simply

Whether you’re getting an edge in your career or just a savvy lifelong learner, Brilliant is the best way to learn and sharpen your skills simply.

You see, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the same goes for learning a new skill. Brilliant’s thousands of bite-sized, daily lessons make it easy to 1) build a learning habit and 2) gradually master big concepts.

Hands-on learning in math, data science, machine learning, and more: Forget lecture videos. Brilliant gives you a library of stunning, hands-on visual lessons that are packed with interactive problem-solving on a wide array of topics.

(This is ‘New Year, New You’ for real – interactive learning is shown to be 6x more effective than watching videos only).

Join 10M+ people around the world mastering a new skill. Start your free trial and get 20% off your annual subscription to Brilliant.

Food

Midwest Burger Chain Draws Ire of Pepsi Fans after Switching to Coca-Cola

(Photo Credit: Troy Coroles/Unsplash)

To misquote a famous Saturday Night Live sketch – No Pepsi. Coke!

Culver’s, the Wisconsin-based fast food chain, is ditching its Pepsi products and replacing them with all things Coca-Cola. Cheeseheads, and Culver’s customers in 25 other states, are flabbergasted by the sudden soda switch.

This Means War

Red meat lovers have flocked to Culver’s since the mid-’80s for their frozen custard, fried cheese curds, and ButterBurgers, which is just a burger with a buttered toasted bun. But now, customers feel shafted after their years of loyalty.

One tweeted, “Whoever @culvers decided to switch from Pepsi to Coke products needs to be fired immediately and the decision needs to be reversed.” Another person wrote, “I heard Culver’s is transitioning to Coke products, and this is the second saddest moment in my life. If I’m openly crying in public, it’s probably due to this.” Though emotions are high, Culver’s assured customers they will still carry their in-house root beer.

While the Cola Wars between Coke and Pepsi hit their peak in the ‘70s and ‘80s with the likes of the Pepsi Challenge and the dreadful miscalculation that was New Coke, the advertising conflict has remained heated:

•

Though the rivalry is still intense – just look at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta – Coke has been winning the fight for the past two decades. By 2020, Coke held 46.5% of the global carbonated soft drink market, while Pepsi had only 19%. Coke’s dominance is no surprise when the Georgia-based company spends roughly $4 billion each year to market its products around the world, and Pepsi tends to spend closer to $3 billion.

•

Culver’s is just the latest major chain to make the switch. Burger King dropped Pepsi for Coke in 1990, Subway in 2005, McDonald’s in 2007, and Arby’s in 2017. Pepsi still has some mainstays, though, including KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell.

More Than Soda: Yes, it could be doing better in the soft drink department, but don’t forget, Pepsi is a diverse company, owning brands such as Frito-Lay, Quaker Oats, Doritos, Cheetos, and Sabra Hummus, and it even has a lucrative partnership with Starbucks. And that diversity pays off. Last year, Pepsi brought in nearly $87 billion in revenue, while Coke, which sticks with just liquids, had only $42 billion in revenue. Who cares if Pepsi hasn’t won the cola wars since Michael Jackson’s Thriller hit the charts?

– Griffin Kelly

Extra Upside

•

Avatar sequel becomes James Cameron’s third film to gross $2 billion at box office.

•

One of China’s richest real estate moguls lost 93% of his wealth.

•

Enter the sacred flow state of mind. Michelangelo did while painting the Sistine Chapel, and you can too with Thesis. The best-kept secret of entrepreneurs and investors, Thesis is proven to enhance cognitive functioning through a once-daily supplement blend. These naturally sourced ingredients help boost productivity, energize your body, achieve clarity, and reduce stress. Put simply — it’s a tiny daily habit that produces big results. Do your brain a favor and find your perfect blend today — use promo code DAILYUPSIDE to get 10% off.

Just For Fun

Might as well jump.

Take your hat off.

ADVERTISE // CAREERS

No longer want to receive these emails? Unsubscribe here.

//campaignmonitornewsletter.everestengagement.com/ea/BntD2QJCyg/?e=postie@btcnews.com.au’ width=’1′ height=’1′ style=”margin-top:0 !important;margin-bottom:0 !important;margin-right:0 !important;margin-left:0 !important;padding-top:0 !important;padding-bottom:0 !important;padding-right:0 !important;padding-left:0 !important;border-width:0 !important;height:1px !important;width:1px !important;-ms-interpolation-mode:bicubic;” />