🔐MoneyGram Confirms Hackers Stole Customers Data

Good morning. It's Tuesday, Oct. 8, and we're covering, Vodafone And Google Partners To Promote AI-powered Services and Devices, Samsung Issues Apology Amid Disappointing Q3 Profits And AI Chip Struggles, Hurricane Milton Intensifies To Category 5, Approaches Florida, and much more. First time reading? Sign up to get this newsletter: Sign up here.

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MARKETS

Cryptocurrency Prices by Market Cap

• The global cryptocurrency market cap today is $2.16 Trillion, a 2.25% decrease in the last 24 hours.

• The total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours is $79.87B, which makes a 47.62% increase.

• The total volume in Defi is currently $4.11B, 5.15% of the total crypto market 24-hours.

• The volume of all stablecoins is now $72.87B, which is 91.24% of the total market 24-hour volume.

• Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 56.89%, an increase of 0.12% over the day.

FTX Creditors To Receive 119% of Claims Following Bankruptcy Ruling

A Delaware judge has approved FTX’s reorganization plan, nearly two years after the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy. The plan allows 98% of FTX's creditors to receive 119% of their allowed claims, meaning most will profit from their investments. FTX has recovered between $14.7 billion and $16.5 billion in assets, which will be distributed to creditors. (Read Deeper)

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Vodafone And Google Partners To Promote AI-powered Services, And Devices

Vodafone and Google have announced a ten-year partnership valued at over $1 billion, aimed at delivering new AI-powered services, devices, and enhanced customer experiences across Europe and Africa. The collaboration will leverage Google’s generative AI technology, including its Gemini models, to introduce innovative products and services to millions of Vodafone customers.

Why It Matters: One of the key initiatives within this partnership is the enhancement of Vodafone TV. Utilizing Google Cloud’s generative AI, Vodafone plans to improve content discovery and recommendations, making the viewing experience more personalized and engaging. This will enable Vodafone to rapidly innovate and launch new services, enhancing its ability to serve customers across 15 countries and its partners in an additional 45 markets. (Read Deeper)

MoneyGram Confirms Major Data Breach: Hackers Steal Personal And Transaction Data

MoneyGram has confirmed a major cyberattack on September 20 that resulted in hackers stealing sensitive customer information. The breach, which caused a week-long outage of its website and app, exposed personal data such as names, contact details, and national identification numbers, along with Social Security numbers and government IDs for some customers. Transaction details, including dates and amounts, were also compromised, with a limited number of customers affected by fraud-related information breaches.

Takeaway: MoneyGram serves over 50 million people in more than 200 countries and territories each year, making the breach potentially wide-reaching. The company has not yet disclosed how many customers have been affected. The company is still in the early stages of its investigation and is working to determine which customers were impacted by the breach. (Read Deeper)

TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

Samsung Issues Apology Amid Disappointing Q3 Profits And AI Chip Struggles

Samsung Electronics has issued an apology after warning that its third-quarter profits will fall below market expectations due to challenges in the AI chip sector. The company anticipates an operating profit of about 9.1 trillion won ($6.78 billion), significantly lower than the expected 10.3 trillion won, and down from previous quarters. Samsung's Vice Chairman acknowledged the impact on the company’s technological competitiveness and stressed the need for improvement.

Takeaway: Key issues include a delay in its AI chip business related to a major customer and increased competition from Chinese rivals in conventional chip supplies. As a result, Samsung has struggled to compete effectively, particularly in high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for AI applications, lagging behind competitors like SK Hynix. The company’s shares have dropped over 20% this year, and it faces ongoing challenges in its contract chip manufacturing sector, which is losing ground to industry leader TSMC. (Read Deeper)

U.S. Judge Orders Google To Open Play Store To Its competitor

A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Google must allow rival technology companies to distribute their apps on the Google Play Store for three years, starting next month. This decision stems from a case brought by Epic Games, which claims Google stifles competition by controlling app distribution and payments on Android devices. Google intends to appeal the ruling, which also mandates that its app catalog be made available to competing app stores. Legal experts view this as a challenge to the dominance of major tech firms and an effort to enhance competition.

Takeaway: Google defended its app store as operating in a competitive environment, citing competition from Apple, which has faced similar lawsuits from Epic. Critics argue that Google's fees, which can reach up to 30% on app store payments, contribute to higher consumer prices. Following the ruling, experts believe it could incentivize more developers to enter the market and potentially lower costs for consumers. (Read Deeper)

AROUND DE WORLD & POLITICS

Hurricane Milton Intensifies To Category 5, Approaches Florida

Hurricane Milton has rapidly intensified into a dangerous Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 180 mph, targeting Florida's Gulf Coast, particularly the Tampa Bay area, expected to face landfall on Wednesday evening. The National Hurricane Center warns that Milton could be one of the most destructive hurricanes in west-central Florida's history, leading to widespread evacuation orders affecting millions. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and emergency management officials have urged residents to evacuate, emphasizing the life-threatening risks posed by storm surges.

Why It Matters: As of Monday, Milton was located 80 miles west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and 675 miles southwest of Tampa. Mandatory evacuations are in place for several counties, including Charlotte, Hillsborough, and Pinellas, while voluntary evacuations are advised in Manatee and Sarasota counties. A state of emergency has been declared in 51 counties, with President Biden also ordering federal assistance. (Read Deeper)

Israel’s Military Strikes Reshape Power Dynamics In The Middle East

Israel’s military operations are redefining the balance of power in the Middle East, targeting Iran’s allied forces across a vast area and posing a direct threat to Iran itself. This escalation follows years of increasing Iranian influence in the region, particularly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, which inadvertently strengthened Iran’s position. Experts caution that if Israel pursues ongoing military actions without addressing the underlying grievances in the region, it could lead to perpetual conflict and instability.

Takeaway: Israeli airstrikes have weakened Hezbollah and Hamas, but the conflict raises concerns about a potential broader regional war, especially following Iran's ballistic missile threats in retaliation. The expansion of Israeli operations has complicated U.S.-led mediation efforts in Gaza, with American officials balancing military support for Israel and calls for peace. (Read Deeper)

ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

21-Year-Old YouTuber Crashes McLaren While Using His Phone

YouTuber Jack Doherty crashed his custom McLaren 570S while driving on a wet road and reportedly using his phone during a livestream. Video footage shows Doherty glancing at his phone just before losing control and hitting a highway barrier. Both he and his friend, who was in the passenger seat, were taken to the hospital, with the friend suffering a head injury. Doherty later posted a video about the incident, citing hydroplaning as the cause but not mentioning his phone use. Reports suggest distracted driving may have contributed to the crash. (Read deeper)

Manchester City Legal Case Verdict: A Mixed Outcome For Premier League And City

A tribunal has ruled on Manchester City's legal case against the Premier League regarding associated party transaction (APT) rules. While the tribunal upheld some of City’s complaints, it rejected the majority, confirming that most APT rules are lawful. The APT rules aim to regulate sponsorship deals with companies linked to club owners to ensure fair market value and competitive balance. City, owned by the Abu Dhabi-backed City Football Group, claimed partial victory, highlighting the tribunal's finding that the APT rules were discriminatory and violated UK competition law. (Read Deeper)

PODCAST(WHAT WE ARE LISTENING TO)

• The Joys of Compounding: how compounding can profoundly affect people’s lives inside and outside of investing, simple thinking tools to make better decisions. (Listen)

EXTRA BREVITI

• Google is actively collaborating with utilities in the U.S. and abroad to evaluate nuclear power as a potential energy source for its data centers. (Read More)

• Foxconn is constructing the largest manufacturing facility globally for bundling Nvidia's GB200 superchips in Mexico. (Read More)

• Tesla's highly anticipated robotaxi event is set for Thursday, and investors are eager to see what CEO Elon Musk will unveil. Here are five key expectations from the event (Read More)