š Returning to work can be rough. Having to wear hard pants after two weeks of pajamasā¦ even rougher. Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen can empathize with unfavorable dress codes ā he quit the World Rapid Chess Championship over the holidays after refusing to change out of his jeans, which broke the tournamentās rules.
š§ On the pod:Why some unemployed white-collar workers still canāt find jobs.
NEWS FLASH
š Can the Big Apple shake rush hour? New York City introduced congestion pricing on Sunday that charges many drivers $9 to enter midtown and lower Manhattan during peak hours. NYC is Americaās most populous city and had the worst traffic in the world in 2023 ā drivers lost 101 hours to traffic during rush hour. Advocates hope the charge, the first of its kind in the US, will not only lessen traffic congestion but also improve air quality, reduce the prevalence of traffic fatalities, and raise $15B for New Yorkās transit system.
š¤ A tech behemoth is still falling short: OpenAIās CEO Sam Altman posted on X that the company is currently losing money on its $200 monthly ChatGPT Pro subscription because people are using it āmuch moreā than expected. OpenAI losing money isnāt new: The companyās not profitable, despite raising ~$20B since its founding. Plus, it projected losses of ~$5B on $3.7B in revenue last year. Seems hard to fathom that the worldās most talked-about tech company isnāt cashing in, but ChatGPT was once costing OpenAI an estimated $700k per day, including on expenditures like staffing, office rent, and AI training infrastructure.
š NASA will provide an update on its Mars Sample Return mission today at 1pm ET via its website, detailing how the agency will safely and affordably transport the Martian rock samples gathered by its Perseverance rover to Earth, something itās thus far struggled to do. These rocks could help greatly expand scientistsā understanding of Mars, but NASAās last estimates indicated they couldnāt be recovered until 2040, at a cost of $11B. Last fall, NASA chose aerospace company Rocket Lab to help devise a better plan.
MORE NEWS TO KNOW
Hulu+ Live TV and streaming service Fubo are merging. Disney will be the majority owner of the new company, which will have 6.2m combined subscribers, with a 70% stake.
Microsoftsaid it will invest ~$80B in AI this year to develop data centers to train AI models and deploy AI and cloud-based apps.
Vanderbilt Mortgage, a mortgage finance company owned by Warren Buffettās Berkshire Hathaway, is being sued by federal regulators for making loans to buyers of manufactured homes despite knowing they couldnāt repay them.
TOOLBOX
Itās the first full week back from the holidays. Here are some links to make the vibes a little less scary:
Want to create a viral marketing video? Here are nine sources of inspiration.
Sometimes you should bring work home: Listen in for 56 minutes of money wisdom for high-earning couples.
Listen up: Who you should trust for financial advice, money mistakes to avoid, and how to get rich.
THE BIG IDEA
Cāmon and ride the train
Unless theyāre traveling through Chicago, New York, or the Midwestās majestic plains of beautiful nothingness, most Americans likely donāt spend much time on trains.
Amtrak is looking to change that with a new line of electric trains coming this spring, perFast Company.
The high-tech trainsā¦
ā¦ will debut on Amtrakās Northeast Corridor line, which runs from Boston to Washington, DC, and carries ~14m passengers annually.
The new trains:
Can carry ~25% more passengers.
Have winged headrests for additional privacy and plenty of outlets.
Top out at 160 mph, 10 mph faster than the old trains, which date back to 2000.
But thereās the catch
Even 160 mph is significantly slower than something like Japanās 200 mph Shinkansen, or Chinaās even speedier Shanghai Maglev.
Amtrakās new trains could go up to 186 mph, but theyāre held back by American train infrastructure.
These trains, part of a $2.45B investment, must slow down to a positively chelonian 30 mph to pass through Baltimoreās Civil War-era B&P tunnel.
Seven of the routeās 12 bridges are 100 years old.
But are aging bridges and tunnels the best transit investment right now? Some other countries, which ā good for them ā already have nice trains, are moving their money elsewhere, instead investing in the likes of āflying taxis.ā
But the US is leading elsewhere
Americaās freight rail system is more advanced than Europeās.
Railway privatization has led to longer trains and stronger axles.
That means more cargo can be transported further, increasing profitability.
Freight trains donāt look nice or have abundant USB ports, but hey, thatās something.
Believe it or not, LinkedIn is more than a forum for that one guy from high school to humblebrag. Itās also great for prospecting ā here are some neat tricks.
Show Instagram whoās boss: Donāt let Instagramās algorithm bury your biz. Take in these hot tips.
DATA POINT
Dreaming of middle management? First of all ā might we suggest you have a bit more fun with your dreams? Second of all, we have bad news.
US public companies have cut middle-manager head counts by ~6% since late 2021, according to a Live Data Technologies analysis of 20m+ white-collar workers viaThe Wall Street Journal.
Googleās CEO announced a cost-cutting measure that slashed managerial roles by 10%; Amazonās CEO said he wants to increase the ratio of workers to managers; and companies like UPS and Citigroup have cut thousands of supervisor roles in the last year.
This shift ā made in the name of greater efficiency ā has left employees in a tough spot: Many are facing a harder path to promotions, or demotions, as management roles get slashed.
Also on the chopping block: senior executives. The group has shrunk ~5% since the end of 2021.
AROUND THE WEB
š On this day: In 1955, Marian Anderson became the first Black performer with the Metropolitan Opera.
ā Thatās cool: A review site for YouTube channels.
š§® Useful: Samās List is a website for finding accountants, bookkeepers, and fractional CFOs.
š¤¢ How to:avoid motion sickness when youāre using your phone while riding in a car.
