Good morning! UBS has reached an agreement to purchase Credit Suisse, the cryptocurrency industry is seeking to rebrand desperately, and consumers realize shortcomings with the battery life of their Bluetooth earbuds.

FINANCE

UBS to Buy Failed Credit Suisse

Switzerland's largest bank, UBS, is set to acquire its struggling rival, Credit Suisse, in a $3.25 billion rescue deal, aimed at curbing market panic that has arisen due to the failures of two American banks.

Here's the breakdown:

• UBS has acquired Credit Suisse in an emergency rescue deal to prevent financial market panic stemming from the failure of two American banks earlier this month.

• UBS is paying $3.25 billion for Credit Suisse, which is about 60% less than the bank's worth when markets closed on Friday.

• The majority of Credit Suisse's shareholders will face significant losses, while individuals holding $17 billion worth of "additional tier one" bonds will experience a complete loss.

• The deal does not require shareholder approval since the Swiss government has agreed to change the law to remove any uncertainty about it.

• Together, UBS and Credit Suisse hold nearly $1.7 trillion in assets, positioning them among the top 30 most significant banks in the worldwide financial system.

FINANCE

Just Don’t Call it Crypto

In the aftermath of prominent cryptocurrency companies' implosions and regulatory scrutiny, the cryptocurrency industry is attempting to rebrand with new ways to market products, replace "crypto" with a new name, and distance itself from their former colleagues and mentors.

Here's the breakdown:

• Crypto firms are attempting to rebrand after a disastrous 2022 that saw many prominent firms implode and their executives become infamous.

• Some companies want to use the interest in artificial intelligence to their advantage, while others want to replace "crypto" because it has negative associations.

• The industry is finding it hard to prove the usefulness of its technology to a doubtful public and is continuously being monitored by regulators.

• Even blockchain, the publicly viewable ledger where crypto transactions are recorded, has potentially negative connotations, leading some companies to remove the term "crypto" from their marketing materials.

• The push for a rebrand is a familiar routine for an industry that has experienced repeated booms and busts over its short history.

TECH

Irreplaceable Batteries

AirPods and most other Bluetooth earbuds have irreplaceable batteries that tend to die within a few years, making recycling or disposing of them a problem for the environment.

Here's the breakdown:

• Many wireless earbuds, including Apple AirPods and AirPods Pro, have tiny, irreplaceable batteries that degrade over time and can't be easily replaced, leading to a short lifespan for the product.

• It's not recommended to try to repair earbuds yourself due to the potential fire hazard and lack of available replacement parts or instructions from manufacturers.

• For a fee of $49 per AirPod, Apple provides a battery service, which essentially means replacing the entire unit rather than repairing it.

• While some earbuds are more repairable than others, many have tightly glued parts to prevent dust and water damage to the battery, making it more difficult to repair.

• Batteries decay over time and with each charge cycle, with most batteries considered a "dud" when they can only hold 80% of their original capacity.

• The latest lithium-ion battery technology that uses iron or titanate may have a longer lifespan than current batteries. However, it could store less energy, which could translate to a possible decrease in day-to-day battery performance.

APPENDIX

• Several companies in the US offer low prices for used phones and mark up the resale value, leading to a multibillion-dollar phone trade-in industry.

• TikTok may face a ban in the US due to security and privacy concerns associated with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

• Amazon has initiated layoffs of an estimated 9,000 employees across different departments, but the exact reason and number of cuts are undisclosed.

• Laxman Narasimhan has officially taken over as CEO of Starbucks, replacing Howard Schultz as the interim CEO, almost two weeks ahead of schedule.

• Twitter's new ad algorithm that tailors ads based on users' interests and behavior has changed, as Twitter caters to more direct response advertisers.

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