Good Morning! Chipotle’s 50-to-1 stock split went into effect yesterday, and Amazon officially hit the $2 trillion club - thanks to AI fervor and rate-cut bets. The IRS issued a rare apology to Citadel CEO Ken Griffin for leaking his tax records. Citi’s asking its staffers to ignore the protestors swarming the bank’s headquarters, Jefferies’ beat earnings thanks to dealmaking picking up again, and YouTube is crushing it in the streaming wars. Plus how to decenter work’s significance in your life, and the world’s 20 best cities for food.

The first presidential debate is tonight at 9pm ET. On Kalshi, you can trade on the terms Biden and Trump will mention, like ‘inflation,’ ‘immigration,’ and ‘climate change.’ Let the games begin.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Morgan Stanley Tapping AI for Grunt Work

If you work in finance, you’ve likely wondered about the practical applications of generative AI. And it looks like Morgan Stanley is one of the first banks to unveil their new AI assistant, Debrief.

This digital platform, built using OpenAI’s GPT-4, is set to take over thousands of hours of mind-numbing labor for the bank’s financial advisors by attending client Zoom meetings, taking detailed notes, and drafting emails and summaries.

Morgan Stanley will release Debrief to 15,000 advisors by early July, a significant step for use of AI at a major Wall Street bank.

Right now, one of the best use cases for the platforms is recording meetings and they’ve only been testing it out with client consent. But so far the early results are promising - one Morgan Stanley employee tested out the platform and says Debrief saves 30 minutes of work per meeting.

It seems like Morgan Stanley is taking an approach that most companies are trying - see if you can automate the most basic, mundane jobs - think transcribing notes between a wealth advisor and his client - and see if you can trickle that all the way up to front office roles.

Banks are optimistic that if employees, from MDs to analysts, spend more time serving clients and attracting new ones, they could see improvements in both client retention and revenue.

A recent Citi report found that generative AI could boost profits in the financial services industry by $170 billion by 2028 - so it’s no wonder banks are so eager to test it out. And anyone in banking knows that there’s still a ton of paperwork and grunt work at most levels. 

Takeaway: It’s unlikely that AI will ever fully automate some investment banking roles - banks are always going to need analysts - but the day-to-day roles might look totally different in a decade or so. And you might see analysts spend less time aligning logos and sending calendar invites, and more time actually using their finance degrees and thinking critically.

_{PRESENTED BY PORTLESS}

DTC: Ship Faster and Boost Margins by 30% (No Boat Required)

The only thing that should be floating on the water this summer is you–not your inventory.

With Portless, you can ”ship” orders directly from China in just 6 days, 3x-ing your cash flow and improving lead time by 10x.

Forget the lengthy 45-90 day wait for restocks; Portless allows you to replenish best-selling items in just 3-5 days. 

…which means no more wasted inventory or missed opportunities.

Ready to skip the ship and go Portless? Mention Short Squeez to score 20% off pick-and-pack fees during your first three months.

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• What Chipotle’s 50-to-1 stock split means for investors (YF)

• Amazon hits $2 trillion on AI fervor, rate cut bets (YF)

• Amazon plans to launch discount store in bid to fend off Temu and Shein (CNBC)

• IRS issues rare apology to Ken Griffin for tax records leak (NYP)

• New home sales plummet to 6-month low amid high mortgage rates (YF)

• Jefferies Q2 profit beats estimates on dealmaking rebound (YF)

• Rivian investment a catch-up move for Volkswagen (CNBC)

• Citi asks staffers not to engage protesters swarming NYC HQ (BB)

• YouTube dominates streaming, forcing media companies’ hands (CNBC)

• Andreessen Horowitz isn’t really expanding into private equity (Axios)

• Nvidia CEO addresses competition at shareholder meeting (CNBC)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks closed higher on Wednesday following continued momentum for tech stocks.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Whirlpool ($WHR) +17% because Boeing is considering making a takeover offer.

• (+) FedEx ($FDX) +16% after topping Wall Street estimates for the quarter.

• (–) General Mills ($GIS) -5% after announcing mixed quarterly earnings.

Private Dealmaking

• Quantum Capital Group bought Caerus Oil and Gas for around $1.8 billion

• Blackstone bought Village Hotels for around $855 million

• CData, a data connectivity solutions provider, raised $350 million

• Create Music Group, a record label platform, raised $165 million

• Neustark, a carbon removal startup, raised $69 million

• M2X Energy, a gas-to-methanol startup, raised $40 million

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Optimal

There are moments when we achieve peak performance: An athlete plays a perfect game; a business has a quarter with once-in-a-lifetime profits. But these moments are often elusive, and for every amazing day, we may have a hundred ordinary and even unsatisfying days. Fulfillment doesn’t come from isolated peak experiences, but rather from many consistent good days. So how do we sustain performance, while avoiding burnout and maintaining balance?

In Optimal, Daniel Goleman and Cary Cherniss reveal how emotional intelligence can help us have a great day, any day. They explain how to set a realistic, attainable goal of feeling satisfied that you’ve had a productive day — to consistently work at your ‘optimal’ level. Based on research of how hundreds of people build the inner architecture of having a good day, they sketch what an optimal state feels like, and show how emotional intelligence holds the key to our best performance.

Optimal is the culmination of decades of scientific discoveries bearing on emotional intelligence. Enhanced emotional intelligence pays off in improved engagement, productivity, and more satisfying days. In this book, you’ll find the keys to competence in emotional intelligence, and practical methods for applying this skill set more readily. It will equip you to become a highly effective leader and enable you to build an organizational culture that empowers workers to sustain high performance.

“Optimal offers a masterclass in emotional intelligence and sustainable high performance.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Amazon Hits $2T Club

Amazon market cap

Copper is up 70%

Discover the Zonia Advantage

World Copper’s (OTC: WCUFF | TSX.V: WCU) Zonia project is leading the industry in next-generation copper production, and is poised to meet surging global copper demand. By leveraging simple metallurgy and proven SX-EW processing in a prime location, Zonia stands to achieve cash flow up to 4x faster than typical projects.

World Copper is one of the very few projects that can start producing before the end of this decade, just in time to capture the upcoming copper price surge.

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_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Change

Life is a river, not a statue. Those who cling to the rocks get left behind, while those who ride the current discover new horizons.

Remember Blockbuster? They refused to adapt and got swept away by the streaming tide. 

Meanwhile, Netflix pivoted from DVD rentals to become a global entertainment powerhouse.

Your comfort zone might feel safe, but it's in the rapids of change where true growth happens.

So ask yourself: what's your Netflix pivot? What bold change could propel you forward?

Remember, the butterfly doesn't mourn the loss of its caterpillar self.

Embrace your metamorphosis.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• The world’s 20 best cities for food

• The secret of successful goal-setting at the workforce

• How to decenter work and live a purposeful life

• 16 soft-skills for every executive leader to master

• 10 simple rules emotionally intelligent people swear by

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day