Tip News Daily Brief

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March 27th, 2023

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In Today’s Brief

Hong Kong: First protest since 2020
TikTok: House proposing bill
Jonathan Majors: Arrested in NYC
Din Tai Fung: Founder dies at 96

...and more

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Tornadoes in the South

At least 26 people lost their lives and dozens were injured in a tornado that touched down in Mississippi late Friday night and moved across the state.

According to meteorologists with the National Weather Service, the tornado stayed on the ground for about an hour and cut a path of destruction about 170 miles long, affecting mainly rural communities. President Biden in response declared a federal emergency, which will make federal funding available to Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, and Sharkey counties in Mississippi. At least 12 of the deaths reportedly occurred in the Mississippi town of Rolling Fork, where about one-fifth of the population lives below the poverty line, per U.S. Census data.

Early yesterday, a separate tornado touched down in Troup County, Georgia, near the Alabama border. According to local reports, some homes were leveled while parts of Interstate 85 were closed due to falling trees and damage, and multiple injuries were reported.

Chocolate factory explosion

An explosion at a chocolate factory over the weekend left five people dead and at least nine injured in West Reading, Pennsylvania.

The blast occurred around 5 PM local time on Friday evening at the R.M. Palmer Company, which is located about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia. One of the company’s buildings was reportedly destroyed in the explosion, while an adjacent building took damage. During a news conference yesterday, police said that two people remained unaccounted for. The cause of the explosion was still under investigation as of yesterday, though officials said they believe it may have resulted from a gas leak.

According to R.M. Palmer’s website, the company has been making chocolate novelties since 1948, specializing in chocolates for holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, Christmas, and Halloween. The company has 850 employees at its West Reading headquarters.

NCAA Final Four set

The Final Four in the NCAA men’s basketball championship tournament is set.

On Saturday evening, UConn beat Gonzaga 82-54 to reach the program’s first Final Four in nine years, and Florida Atlantic defeated Kansas State with a final score of 79-76. Yesterday, San Diego State defeated Creighton 57-56 and Miami beat the University of Texas with a final score of 88-81. This year’s tournament marks Florida Atlantic, Miami, and SDSU’s first appearance in the Final Four; only UConn has reached the Final Four previously.

Florida Atlantic is set to face SDSU on Saturday, April 1st, while UConn will play Miami. The two prevailing teams will face off for the NCAA championship trophy on Monday, April 3rd. This year, all four No. 1 seeds were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament before the Elite Eight for the first time since the tournament began seeding teams in 1979.

In partnership with Masterworks

A Banksy got everyday people 32% returns?

Mm-hmm, sure. So, what’s the catch?

We know it may sound too good to be true. But it’s not only possible, it’s happening—and thousands of investors are smiling all the way to the bank, thanks to the fine-art investing platform Masterworks.

These results aren’t cherry-picking. This is the whole bushel. Masterworks has built a track record of 11 exits, the last 3 realizing +13.9%, +35.0%, and +10.4% net returns even while financial markets plummeted.

But art? Really? Okay, skeptics, here are the numbers. Contemporary art prices:

Outpaced the S&P 500 by 131% over the last 26 years
Have the lowest correlation to equities of any asset class
Remained stable through the dot-com bubble and ’08 crisis

Got your attention yet? Tip News readers can skip the waitlist with this exclusive link.

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Around the Globe

Hong Kong’s first protest since China imposed a national security law in 2020 took place over the weekend under monitoring by police, with only 100 reportedly allowed to attend (More)
France bans TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and other apps on government-owned phones due to concerns about insufficient data security measures (More)
At least 29 migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa lost their lives when their boats sank off the Tunisian coast in an attempt to reach Italy by crossing the Mediterranean, according to a statement from Tunisia’s coast guard yesterday (More)

On the Homefront

Lawmakers plan to move forward with a bill to address national security concerns about TikTok amid calls for the app to be banned in the U.S., according to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (More)
Elkhorn Valley Packing has recalled more than 3.4K pounds of boneless beef chuck product distributed to Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania due to a potential E. coli contamination (More)
A Florida charter school principal was reportedly forced to resign after parents complained about a Renaissance art lesson at the school that featured Michelangelo’s David sculpture (More)

Glitz & Games

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s son Nicholas Lloyd Webber passed away at age 43 on Saturday following an 18-month-long battle with gastric cancer (More)
‘Creed III’ and ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ actor Jonathan Majors was arrested in New York over the weekend on assault and harassment charges (More)
‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ pulls in $137.M during its opening weekend at the global box office (More)

Business & Markets

Din Tai Fung restaurant chain founder Yang Bing-yi passed away on Saturday at the age of 96, according to a statement from the company (More)
Valley National Bancorp and First Citizens BancShares Inc have both reportedly submitted a bid for Silicon Valley Bank (More)
Twitter owner Elon Musk valued the company at less than half the price he purchased it for; the figure comes from a memo Musk sent to employees containing stock option grants at a valuation of nearly $20B, according to multiple reports (More)

Tips & Tricks

Feel Good: Learn about Bikers Against Child Abuse International (B.A.C.A.), an organization whose members serve as protectors of child abuse survivors, giving vulnerable kids people to call on whenever they feel scared, and even showing up in court when a child asks them to
Sneak Peek: Watch the heart-pounding official trailer for the final season of Fear The Walking Dead, set to premiere May 14th on AMC
Bump This: Venice-based pop artist Evalyn joins up with electronic music producer Jai Wolf for the poignant new single “Want It All” - listen on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube
Chow Down: Sticking to plant-based foods can sometimes make it difficult to put together protein-rich meals and snacks - check out these 10 vegetables loaded with protein, plus some ideas on how to get more protein when you’re following a vegan diet
Go Deep: Read about how people in Lebanon woke up in two different time zones yesterday amid a dispute between political and religious authorities over a decision to delay changing the clocks by a month
Hot Goss: Harry Potter alum Daniel Radcliffe, 33, is expecting his first child with his long-time girlfriend Erin Darke
Life Hack: With so many of us sitting down for the majority of the day, stretching our lower back muscles has become more important than ever - here are six easy yoga poses perfect for lower back pain relief

Tip-Offs

Ranking this year’s top ten U.S. cities to live in.

…and three signs that it may be time to leave your job.

Behind Finland’s decision to teach happiness classes.

The reasons why Americans are tipping less.

See footage of the Mississippi tornado from inside a school.

Examining whether airplanes can be powered by kelp.

A Michelin-star chef breaks down the perfect Spanish omelet.

Meet the man spending 100 days living underwater.

Looking Back…

On March 27th: Alaska is struck by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake, the strongest quake ever registered in the U.S. (1964); Singin' in the Rain premieres at Radio City Music Hall in NYC (1952); North Macedonia becomes the 30th country to join NATO (2020); director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino is born (1963).

In partnership with Masterworks

Real estate dethroned

Not much is considered more reliable than New York City real estate. But with a negative 3% growth in median sales price this year, it hasn’t escaped broader macroeconomic turmoil. However, one NYC market has: blue-chip contemporary art.

And not only ultra-rich dealmakers are celebrating this year...

Thanks to Masterworks. With this platform, anyone can easily get shares of multi-M dollar art by names like Banksy and Picasso. Masterworks has also built a solid track record with all 11 of their exits netting a profit, the last 3 realizing +13.9%, +35.0%, and +10.4% net returns each.

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