Good morning. It's been a wild year in the workplace, from navigating the complexities of hybrid work to whatever quiet quitting was. If you're an HR professional trying to keep tabs on the industry, we suggest checking out HR Brew. It's a valuable resource you can lean on to help you make better decisions at work, especially as 2023 arrives and brings a range of new challenges and opportunities. Subscribe here. —Jamie Wilde, Sam Klebanov, Max Knoblauch, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman | | | |  | Nasdaq | 10,546.03 | | | | | S&P | 3,817.66 | | | | | Dow | 32,757.54 | | |  | 10-Year | 3.586% | | | | | Bitcoin | $16,431.39 | | | | | Amazon | $84.92 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Stocks kicked off the week yesterday by closing lower for the fourth straight trading session, as investors continue to face the possibility that a recession is on the horizon. Amazon's share price hit its lowest level since March 2020, erasing all the gains it made during the pandemic when it suddenly became just about everyone's only shopping option. The e-commerce giant's stock has fallen ~50% this year.
| | | | Epic Games/Fortnite via Giphy The Federal Trade Commission came to two record-breaking settlements with Fortnite creator Epic Games yesterday. The $520 million deal represents the FTC finally dropping a Shockwave Hammer on gaming company practices that target children. One settlement is the biggest penalty ever for breaking an FTC rule and the other is the biggest agency-ordered refund in a gaming case. Let's break them down: 1. Epic will pay a $275 million penalty for allegedly violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The FTC contends that Epic collected personal information from players under the age of 13 without first obtaining consent from their parents. Also, it claims Epic allowed children to chat live via voice and text with adults—exposing them to bullying, harassment, and non-PG subject matter. 2. Epic agreed to cough up $245 million in refunds for allegedly using deceptive practices called "dark patterns" to get Fortnite players, especially children, to accidentally make in-game purchases. For instance, the "Purchase" button for in-game items was placed next to the "Preview styles" button and there was no subsequent confirmation action required, like reentering a credit card's CVV. - According to the FTC, this led to millions of misplaced clicks and accidental purchases, which checks out since we refuse to believe anyone intentionally purchased the Fortnite Beef Boss skin for 2,200 V-bucks, or about $20.
Epic responded to the $520 million fine-blast by saying, "No developer creates a game with the intention of ending up here," and detailing all the new measures it's added to protect children, as well as the ones it already had in place. Zoom out: Children's privacy violations and "dark patterns" that lead to kids racking up thousands in charges from video games on their parents' credit cards have become commonplace in "free-to-play" games like Fortnite. Epic is a high-profile example for the FTC to have standing in front of the class as it cracks down on the gaming industry.—JW | | | Whether you're heading out to cruise the slopes or heading in to curl up by the fireplace, there's a magical feeling in the air—and on the roads. At the BMW Road Home Sales Event, you can make your holiday wishes come true by finding your dream car and receive a credit of up to $3,250 now through January 3. The 2023 BMW X5 exceeds standards for adventure and convenience. Lead the way on and off the road with advanced engineering and towing capacity. And make the journey memorable with ample cargo space and a comfortable interior. It's cold out there, so hurry in to the BMW Road Home Sales Event and warm up in a new BMW. | | Mandel Ngan/Getty Images  Jan. 6 committee asks DOJ to investigate Trump for crimes. In an unprecedented move, the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol said yesterday that former president Donald Trump should be prosecuted for crimes including inciting insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the US, and obstruction of an act of Congress. "None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him," the committee wrote in a summary of its final report, which is due out tomorrow. The panel also referred several of Trump's associates for prosecution, but it's up to the Department of Justice to decide whether to act on any of it.
 SBF will agree to return to the US. Ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried will drop his fight against extradition from the Bahamas to the US where he's facing fraud charges, his lawyer confirmed yesterday afternoon. He was expected to do so at a court hearing yesterday morning, but when he arrived in the courtroom, it seemed his lawyer was not among those informed of this plan—and he questioned what his client was doing in court at all. But after SBF was returned to jail, it seems he opted to move forward with the process, and the erstwhile crypto billionaire will now likely return to court later this week and could be put on a plane the same day.
 SCOTUS keeps Trump-era immigration policy in place, for now. The Supreme Court temporarily extended the use of Title 42 to turn away asylum-seekers at the southern border on public health grounds, which was due to expire tomorrow. Chief Justice John Roberts put a brief hold on the expiration ordered by a lower court after Republican-led states appealed to keep the rule in place. The impending end of the pandemic-era policy, which President Biden had pledged to repeal, has border cities like El Paso on edge.
| | Khaled Desouki/Getty Images After four years of negotiations, nearly 200 countries agreed on Monday to a historic deal aimed at fighting the planet's extinction crisis. The ambitious—albeit nonbinding—deal came on the final day of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference: COP15. There are currently about a million species at risk of dying off, a mass-extinction event that scientists consider as serious as the asteroid that wiped out most dinosaurs (congrats to birds, though). The agreement contains 23 targets to help prevent that from happening, most prominently one called "30 by 30" that would place 30% of land and sea across the globe under protection by 2030 (currently about 17% of land areas and 8% of marine areas have protection of some kind). Other targets in the sweeping deal: - Curb the nutrient runoff from farms, the rate of introduction of invasive species, and the risk of pesticides by 50%.
- Double the overall biodiversity funding to $200 billion annually.
Setting expectations: In 2010, 190+ nations signed on to a similar agreement with 20 biodiversity targets but, in 2020, a UN report found that none of them had been met at the global level. The US is not a part of the new commitment, as Republican opposition has blocked the country from being a part of the Convention on Biological Diversity.—MK | | Francis Scialabba The "no-one-reads-anymore" and "physical-retail-is-dying" naysayers are getting rebuked by the facts on the ground. The Wall Street Journal reported that in a reversal of a trend that been's going on for more than a decade, Barnes & Noble is opening more stores than it's closing. Bookish teens will have 30 more B&N locations to hang out in by the end of next year. The country's biggest bookstore chain once struggled to compete with both the one-click convenience and affordability of Amazon and the mom and pop authenticity of independent bookstores. But, after the pandemic reminded everyone that books are fun, B&N had a reversal of fortune: - The company prioritized improving the shopping experience to make stores the opposite of "dull, unengaging, and dispirited," as its CEO James Daunt described them in their pre-overhaul state.
- The strategy seems to be working, since two of the new Barnes & Noble stores will open in locations that previously housed Amazon Books.
Big picture: In some good news for your deal-hungry parents, Burlington, TJ Maxx, and Ross Stores are among the retailers that are expanding their physical footprint. But industry insiders say that big-box stores are now being more selective in choosing where to open new locations, as brick-and-mortar retail rebounds from its pandemic slump.—SK | | Hannah Minn Stat: Adults shopping for themselves have become a major driver of growth for the toy industry. "Kidults" are responsible for about a quarter of annual toy sales (~$9 billion worth) and account for 60% of the dollar growth for toymakers, according to the NPD Group. Because toy companies have figured out that people with paychecks are treating themselves and not just the kids in their orbit, they've started making toys specifically to appeal to the demographic, such as Marvel collectibles. Quote: "This is certainly not the community experience we expect for our Peloton Members." Peloton, the stationary bike company that made it to the top of the hill during the pandemic only to come crashing down over the handlebars once people left their homes again, has another problem to deal with: spam accounts with pornographic profile photos reaching out to users. The company apologized and promised to crack down on the inappropriate accounts yesterday after exercise junkies on the Peloton subreddit started complaining about the explicit images. "My husband got two naked lady requests today. None for me though," one user noted. Read: In the US, his site has been linked to massacres. In Japan, he's a star. (New York Times) | | - Avatar: The Way of Water had a weaker-than-expected opening weekend, sending Disney stock falling to its lowest level since March 2020.
- Binance has agreed to acquire bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital's assets for $1.02 billion, even as questions about the exchange's own finances remain.
- Harvey Weinstein was convicted of three of the charges against him, including rape, in a California sexual assault trial. The ex-movie mogul was previously found guilty of similar crimes in New York.
- Amber Heard will pay ex-husband Johnny Depp $1 million to settle the defamation case in which they accused each other of domestic violence.
| | Looks impossible: A reminder that Tom Cruise does his own stunts. It's who you know: Fall down the rabbit hole with this exhaustive look at the world of Hollywood nepo babies. Holiday sales highs…are typically followed by New Year sales lows. This Retail Brew guide outlines strategies for brands to beat the post-holiday sales slump in '23. Eye on the prize: Long-term investors know that turbulent times can mean potentially mega investing opportunities. Learn how The Motley Fool's current "All In" pick pairs with investors' cool-headed stock strategies here.* Sports, sans mansplaining: The GIST is a free sports newsletter led + written by women that covers the biggest headlines, including the social and cultural impact of sports. Sign up here.* *This is sponsored advertising content. | | Brew Mini: "Audacious poker bet" (five letters) is your sample clue for today's Mini. Place your wager here. In-store trivia With physical retail making a comeback, let's see how closely you've been paying attention on your shopping trips. We'll give you the names of two retail brands, and you have to determine which has more locations in the US. - Costco / Sam's Club
- Starbucks / Subway
- Blockbuster / Borders
- Walmart / Target
- Allbirds / Glossier
| |  Hey, marketers: What's your 2023 strategy? Marketing Brew will help you make the tough calls. Subscribe here.
 On Business Casual, Nora chats with best-selling author Susan Cain, whose record-smashing TED Talk has been viewed over 30 million times.
 Join us today for a free business analytics workshop with Karla Starr, co-author of Making Numbers Count. Register now and we'll see you later today.
 Still looking for the perfect gift for your employees? Draw inspiration from HR Brew's guide to gifts under $50.
| | There are more Sam's Club locations than Costcos. There are more Subway locations than Starbucks. There is one Blockbuster remaining, but no Borders. There are more Walmart locations than Targets. There are more Allbirds stores than Glossiers. | | |
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