Good morning! Hats off to the SpaceX team for the first 4 minutes of their rocket launch yesterday and, more importantly, for using the phrase "rapid unscheduled disassembly" to describe a rocket blowing up in midair. Today we’re exploring:
BuzzFeed, once a darling of digital media, has announced the closure of its news division, alongside plans to reduce its workforce by around 15%. CEO Jonah Peretti revealed the cutbacks in a memo to staff yesterday, citing the news division's unprofitability and the wider industry slowdown.
Which BuzzFeed are you today?
Founded in 2006, BuzzFeed built its name on lighthearted content and viral quizzes. The company expanded into serious journalism in 2012 with the launch of BuzzFeed News, which went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for investigative work into China’s mass detention of Muslims. However, even with some award-winning scoops, the news division failed to turn a profit, racking up losses of around $10 million per year.
In 2021, BuzzFeed went public via a SPAC at a billion-dollar-plus valuation, a figure already below its 2016 peak private valuation of $1.7bn — an early sign of things to come.In only its first week of trading, the shares fell by more than one-third and have never fully recovered. Less predictable traffic from social media, slowing advertising revenue, an exodus in the newsroom, and forecasts that were — frankly — just too optimistic, left BuzzFeed’s shares with few willing buyers, sending its market cap down to just ~$100m.
Despite shutting its UK and Australian offices, laying off 12% of staff in December, and this latest round of cost-cutting measures, BuzzFeed has failed to stem its losses. The company even turned to AI to write articles and, while this caused a short term price jump, it hasn't been enough to save the sinking ship.
Overtaking
New data from the UN confirms what demographers have forecasted for years — that India is set to become the most populous nation on Earth, edging out its neighbor and rival China by approximately 3 million people, by the middle of this year.
Given how slow demographic trends are to change, and how far behind the United States is in third place, it’s likely that India will remain at the top spot for much of the rest of the 21st century. The bigger question is whether India — which became the world’s 5th largest economy in 2022 — can earn its place at the table as a global superpower, a position China has won over 40 years of economic growth, the kind that the world had never seen before.
Made in India
Despite growing its GDP at 6%+ a year since 1980, India has lagged its biggest neighbor in recent decades, as activity in China's manufacturing sector exploded. Indeed, as recently as the early 1980s, the per-person GDP of each country was comparable. However, China’s GDP per capita now sits at nearly $13,000, more than 5x India’s $2,370 — creating an enormous middle class in China that's yet to fully emerge in the same way in India.
One company that is increasingly looking to the south of Asia is Apple. This week the company opened its first and second stores in India with CEO Tim Cook himself in attendance. The tech giant has been exploring options to move production away from China in recent years, with India tapped to take its lucrative role of iPhone and accessory-making, at least partially. A potential vision of the future as American firms walk the increasingly unstable tightrope of US-China relations.
American Express reported that its spending volume was up some 14% in the first quarter — a detail that wasn’t enough to stop the payment company's share price from sliding nearly 4% after it revealed plans to set aside $1.1 billion to cover future loan losses.
Go platinum
That increased spending, which helped contribute to the company’s record-high $14.3 billion revenue, was reportedly fueled by Amex’s $695-a-year Platinum Card. Although not actually made of platinum (stainless steel will have to do), the card has become something of a status symbol, particularly for globetrotters thanks to its travel benefits and access to 1,200 airport lounges.
As the name suggests, the company started as an express delivery service in the 1850s before launching its first financial offerings in the form of the Money Order and Travelers Cheque at the end of the century. Amex moved firmly into the world of finance in 1918 after the government consolidated the express industry during World War 1.
Since then, the company has carved out a unique place as a premium credit card provider. That's a "niche" worth some $52bn in revenue last year thanks to the 135 million Amex cards in circulation, a figure that looks set to grow, as 60% of all new card signups in a recent quarter were Gen Z or Millennials.
• An Ohio mother has accidentally become an esports icon after mistakenly entering a Candy Crush tournament… which she could end up making $250k for after reaching the semi-finals.
• WeWork is veering dangerously close to being delisted after its share price fell below 50 cents and it received a noncompliance notice from the NYSE.
• All 750 million monthly Snapchat users will now have access to the app’s AI chatbot after it was originally only offered to its 3 million paid subscribers.
• Exploring how maps distort how we see the world via charts and visualizations.
• The most informative (virtual) elevator ride you will ever take will lift you up into outer space.
Off the charts: American public sentiment on what has changed dramatically in the last 35 years? Hint: Its supporters celebrated this week. [Answer below].
Answer here.
