CBX Daily 4/11/2025

Author

Earlene Greene
April 11, 2025

Today, HBCU black male enrollment is headed south, but let’s start with how half of the American population earning six figures is living from hand to mouth…

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Half Of Americans Making $100,000 Are Living Paycheck To Paycheck  

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Many believe earning a six-figure income means that you have arrived and are at the epitome of success. However, 51% of Americans with $100,000 or more in annual income said they lived paycheck to paycheck, according to the LendingClub and Pymnts.com survey. Although many factors may contribute to this, the effects of inflation are burning holes into the pockets of too many Americans, causing them to live on an earn-and-spend treadmill.  

HBCUs Are Experiencing Declining Black Male Student Numbers               

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The number of Black men attending four-year colleges is declining, particularly at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The male to female ratio is widening as it currently stands at 1:1.75. And it's not just Black men, men in general cannot match up to their women counterparts in HBCUs. Howard University for instance only has 19% of men and only 25% of Black men. The male to female ratio gets worse at 1:3.

Big Money Moves For Notorious B.I.G Estate With $200 Million Deal             

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The estate of the Notorious B.I.G has mo’ money, no problems thanks to its recent partnership with Primary Wave Music. The music publisher which also own the rights for Bob Marley and Luther Vandross, will be taking a 50% interest in the estate, valued at $200 million. When the Brooklyn-proud rapper passed, his mother Voletta Wallace took control of the estate’s management alongside Bystorm Entertainment’s Wayne Barrow and Mark Pitts, taking it from $10 million to an astonishingly reported $160 million nearly 30 years after his death.

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China has imposed reciprocal tariffs on imports of U.S. goods in retaliation to Trump’s trade war. Is this a strategic move to achieve common ground, or does it risk further escalating the trade conflict?

A. "Hard Place" by H.E.R. – China’s tariffs could backfire, further isolating its economy from the global market and leading to more economic pain for both the U.S. and China as the trade war drags on
B. "No Role Modelz" by J. Cole – Both sides are playing by their own rules without considering the long-term consequences, potentially hurting both economies
C. "Stay" by Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko – China’s tariffs might be the nudge the U.S. needs to realize that the trade war isn’t just one-sided and that compromise might be the only way to avoid further damage

What are your thoughts on this? Tune in next Tuesday to see which jam captures the prevailing sentiment!

A  |  B  |  C

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Last week’s results are in and it’s seems consumers think X’s sale is one of Musk’s ‘Bad Decisions’

Why Generative AI Has A $43 Billion Price Tag On Equity & Energy           

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As the world increasingly relies on artificial intelligence, we must examine its implications for society. Training large language models, such as OpenAI's GPT, demands enormous energy resources—nearly 1,300 megawatt-hours per model, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of approximately 130 U.S. homes. With generative AI potentially consuming up to 33 times more energy than task-specific software, we are facing an environmental and societal crisis. 

Skills-Based Hiring Is The New Frontier In Corporate Recruitment         

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Citigroup is making a major change to its hiring strategy, scrapping its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals in favor of a skills-based recruitment model. The move aims to broaden the company’s talent pool by emphasizing candidates' competencies over traditional diversity metrics. A recent survey found that more than 80% of companies have adopted skills-based hiring practices, a significant increase from previous years. 

Vibes of the Week

$100,000 earnings are not “Way Too Big” as half of Americans live from hand to mouth. Burna Boy tells it in our CBX Vibes!