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| Hello, N2K’ers! | This week our world famous News HaikuTM theme is that the new ChatGPT will be ‘warmer and friendlier.’ Send me a haiku on the subject by Thursday at noon ET right here. Winner gets glory — lots of glory, and a GIF! | Now, let’s talk about the news you Need2Know? | —Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor | News You Need2Know | | If you like this newsletter, why not forward it to a friend so they can subscribe here? If you don’t, why not forward to an enemy? Thank you! |
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| | What’s the stock market up to, eh? | $SPX ( ▲ 0.24% ) $DJI ( ▲ 0.32% ) $NDX ( ▲ 0.21% ) | | Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter | $CBRL ( ▲ 8.01% ) $NVDA ( ▼ 0.09% ) $MSFT ( ▲ 0.94% ) $AMZN ( ▲ 0.18% ) $GOOG ( ▲ 0.13% ) $META ( ▼ 0.89% ) $INTC ( ▲ 2.05% ) $MSFT ( ▲ 0.94% ) | | Cracker Barrel U-turns on its rebrand after all | | Iconic restaurant chain Cracker Barrel has officially scrapped its $700 million rebranding effort after public criticism and a noticeable dip in sales. The major overhaul — intended to modernize the 660-location chain and attract younger customers — sparked outrage among loyal patrons, ultimately forcing the company to revert to its traditional logo. | The now-abandoned rebrand replaced Cracker Barrel's beloved "Old Country Store" logo, which features "Uncle Herschel," a man in overalls seated next to a barrel. Fans of the restaurant saw the change as erasing a key part of its identity. The company's leadership acknowledged the backlash. "We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel," it said in a statement the day after swearing it wouldn’t go back to the old logo. “Our new logo is going away, and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain.” | Even President Donald Trump weighed in, encouraging the company to return to its roots. On Truth Social, he urged the chain to “go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response... and manage the company better than ever before.” | Cracker Barrel $CBRL ( ▲ 8.01% ) shares rose following the restoration announcement. | “At Cracker Barrel, it’s always been – and always will be – about serving up delicious food, warm welcomes, and the kind of country hospitality that feels like family,” the company said. | N2K readers advised the company to hold firm until the controversy blew over in our Monday poll, but as we all know, a day is an awfully long time in politics and at Cracker Barrel. | | | Song of the day: Adrian Sherwood, ‘The Collapse of Everything’ |  | Adrian Sherwood - The Collapse Of Everything |
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| Adrian Sherwood is a long-time British reggae producer drawing plaudits for his latest genre-busting album, of which this is the title track. His new song is about the loss of two of his good friends, and also, he says, “what’s going on in the world now both politically and environmentally.” Presumably he’s happy about it all because the song is excellent. | | | Free yourself from advertising forever! | Now you can sign up for an optional ad-free version of Need2Know! Subscribe for just $5 a month, or $50 a year, and you can continue to enjoy this reasonably high-quality newsletter uninterrupted. Bonus: The immense satisfaction that comes from supporting journalism*! | | Learn from this investor’s $100m mistake | | In 2010, a Grammy-winning artist passed on investing $200K in an emerging real estate disruptor. That stake could be worth $100+ million today. | One year later, another real estate disruptor, Zillow, went public. This time, everyday investors had regrets, missing pre-IPO gains. | Now, a new real estate innovator, Pacaso – founded by a former Zillow exec – is disrupting a $1.3T market. And unlike the others, you can invest in Pacaso as a private company. | Pacaso’s co-ownership model has generated $1B+ in luxury home sales and service fees, earned $110M+ in gross profits to date, and received backing from the same VCs behind Uber, Venmo, and eBay. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO. | Invest for $2.90/Share | Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals. | *This counts as journalism, right? |
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| | Nvidia’s earnings keep inflating that ‘AI bubble’ | |
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