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Top stories today:
1. Twitter openly “moderates” content in Turkey, as election heads to a runoff
2. OpenAI rolling out Plugins to Plus users this week
3. Next debt ceiling meeting scheduled for Tuesday
4. Investors bet on gold, Treasuries, Bitcoin if the U.S. defaults
5. Meta's Oculus VR co-founder says “the Apple headset is so good”
0. Data and calendar
All values as of 6 AM ET / 3 AM PT, other than S&P500 close (4 PM ET / 1 PM PT).
All times are ET.
1. Twitter openly “moderates” content in Turkey, as election heads to a runoff
Our view: throttling some content at the request of a government is not being pro-free speech
The co-founder of Wikipedia contrasted Twitter's policies with those of Wikipedia, who refused to take down content in Turkey:
Relatedly, news website Bellingcat also reported being shadowbanned by Twitter after reporting on the Texas mall shooter's alleged pro-Nazi beliefs. - Insider
An account was banned for joking about Twitter's new CEO Linda Yaccarino. - Twitter
Linda Yaccarino will now have to argue the opposite of what she did while at NBCU: that social media advertising is safe and effective. - Semafor
President Erdogan got 49% of the vote, Kilicdaroglu 45%; they head to a May 28 runoff
Erdogan said he would accept “any outcome at the ballot box as legitimate” and will do “whatever democracy requires.” - Bloomberg
The Turkish lira has continually fallen over the past 5 years as the country faces high inflation
2. OpenAI rolling out Plugins to Plus users this week
Browsing and Code Interpreter are 2 very impressive Plugins from OpenAI
Browsing can browse the web for information, similar to what Microsoft's New Bing and Google's Bard can do:
Code Interpreter can execute Python scripts, which allows you, for example, to make advanced data analysis, handling uploads and downloads:
Our view: Plugins are a way that OpenAI can build a moat around ChatGPT
Unfortunately for them, Google's Bard is also launching Plugins.
2-horse race likely: It appears the premium closed-source LLM race will be two-horsed, although this industry is still very nascent, and major surprises could be on the horizon.
3. Next debt ceiling meeting scheduled for Tuesday
Biden optimistic, open to Medicaid cuts: “I remain optimistic because I’m a congenital optimist. But I really think there’s a desire on their part as well as ours to reach an agreement and I think we’ll be able to do it. For Medicaid, it’s a different story and so I’m waiting to hear what their exact proposal is.” - Bloomberg
4. Investors bet on gold, Treasuries, Bitcoin if the U.S. defaults
Investors are less worried about the S&P500 in case of a default
The potential impact on the USD is unclear
5. Meta's Oculus VR co-founder says “the Apple headset is so good”
Our view: Apple could have a last-mover advantage here
Like Apple did with the iPhone, iPad, and Watch, it wasn't the first to market, but it learned from the others and released a product that completely dominated its segment.
This might happen too with VR/MR, leaving Meta behind as the 2nd player, even as its VR segment lost $14B in 2022.
Tim Cook in 2016: “It doesn't bother us that we are second, third, fourth or fifth if we still have the best. We don't feel embarrassed because it took us longer to get it right. For Apple, being the best is the most important and trumps the other two by far. - CNBC
6. Median compensation of S&P 500 CEOs falls from $14.7M to $14.5M in 2022
7. Other headlines
Tech
Brex was among bidders for SVB's early-stage and growth portfolios.
Chinese apps are 33% of top 5 apps at Google & Apple app stores, led by TikTok, CapCut, and Shein.
Murdered SF tech exec was allegedly threatened by suspect before killing.
Apple's M3 chip to have 12 CPU cores, 36 GB memory in Pro version.
Majority of digitally native beauty/home brands have opened physical stores.
U.S. universities race to revamp semiconductor curriculum.
Amazon improving delivery times through better use of 8 U.S. sub-regions.
Influencer $1/min AI companion made $100K in its 1st week.
Prompt engineering: a guide from Brex.
London to Sydney in 2 hours is possible with space travel.
Biotech
Business
Forbes sold to CEO of EV carmaker Luminar at $800M valuation; deal financed partly using foreign money.
G7 expected to tighten sanctions on Russia.
G7 leaders expected to issue statement on China's “economic coercion.”
Foxconn to invest $500M in India's Telangana.
Vice files for bankruptcy; Fortress to likely take control.
Crypto
DOJ crypto czar promises more crypto crackdowns.
Bermuda: a look at the companies moving to the crypto-friendly region.
LBRY's SEC fines reduced from $22M to $0.1M, as company is ruined.
U.S. politics
Trump's new GOP rules make it easier for him to get 2024 nomination.
Vivek Ramaswamy: a look at his finances and career.
Biden family investigation: James Comer says they lost top informant.
Trump says he will bring back pro-Jan. 6 Michael Flynn if he wins in 2024.
Robocall: most money raised by some groups is spent on fundraising costs.
World
Wagner chief offered to give Ukraine position on Russian troops: leak.
China sends “peace envoy” to both Ukraine and Russia.
Zelensky goes to UK for surprise meeting with Sunak.
China sentences 78-year-old American for life on spying charges.
Germany to supply Ukraine with $3B military aid package, largest from country but much smaller than U.S.'s $115B+ aid.
Russia launches weekend attacks across Ukraine.
Russia deploys strategic bombers to base near Finland, Norway border.
Former Soviet republicans are helping Russia import sanctioned goods.
Israel, Islamic Jihad agree to cease-fire after 5 days of fighting.
Thailand's pro-democracy parties win most seats, but it might not be enough to elect a new Prime Minister.
8. Interesting tweets, memes, and images
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