CBX Daily 7/30/2024

Author

Claire Moraa
July 30, 2024

Today Saks engages in a power play on a luxury pursuit, but let’s start with how your data and wallet are in cahoots…

Cultural Intelligence Download

Is Your Data Fueling Price Hikes? FTC Launches Crackdown

CBX Vibe

In a fair world, the pricing of goods and services should be built on transparency, equity and fairness. But because fairness is something we have to fight for, some eight companies are not playing fair and using your data to inflate prices. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is looking into claims that these companies, including MasterCard, McDonalds and Starbucks are using surveillance pricing to adjust prices quickly, potentially impacting consumer privacy, competition, and protection.

Luxury Retail Dominance Ramps Up With Saks Buyout Of Neiman Marcus

CBX Vibe:

Saks Fifth Avenue has set its affluent sights on Neiman Marcus Group to tighten its stronghold in the retail market. A $2.65 billion deal is being drawn up by Saks Fifth parent company to buy its deluxe rival Neiman Marcus Group, which owns Neiman Marcus and the Bergdorf Goodman brand. The deal will be made even sweeter by an injection of cash from Amazon and Salesforce who will hold a minority stake too. This comes after sales in the retail industry dropped by 0.8% in Jan 2024 signaling shoppers’ financial constraints.

White House Mobilizes $1 Billion In Capital For Latin American Founders

CBX Vibe:

In a groundbreaking move from the White House $1 billion has been earmarked to fuel the dreams of Latin American entrepreneurs across the Western Hemisphere, with the launch of the Americas Partnership Investor Network. This massive injection of capital is set to shake up the start-up scene, promising to spark innovation and drive economic growth.

The Counterfeit Market Is Faking It Big As It Targets $1.79 Trillion By 2030

CBX Vibe:

In this lifetime, you've probably purchased a counterfeit product knowingly or unknowingly. Of course they're enticing because they're cheaper and look exactly as the original. On the downside, it widens the unemployment gap as 5.4 million jobs are lost globally due to counterfeit products. Unfortunately, job losses is just one of the side effects of this growing market. The significant expansion in the counterfeit market is fueled by consumers where in the U.S. alone, 80% of counterfeit shoppers reside.

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

CBX Vibe:

As the world increasingly relies on artificial intelligence, we must examine its implications for society, mainly through the lens of the Black community. 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.

Vibes of the Week

”Oh Shhh” Better keep it under wraps about what AI is up to with your data. Ice Spice and Travis Scott know how to shut up. Get into it in our CBX Vibes!