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- 🌊 Foreign Bribery Ban Paused
🌊 Foreign Bribery Ban Paused
Plus: Musk makes bid for OpenAI, Denmark makes bid for California, & NYC mayor corruption charges dropped
The days of egg rationing are upon us.
Is it too soon for Millennials to turn into a “back in my day” generation? Amid the news of egg rationing at some grocery stores, one user on X wrote, “Back in my day there was so much toilet paper and so much eggs that we gathered at night and threw them at the houses of our enemies.” Okay, let’s get you back to bed, grandpa.
💰 Musk bids $97B for OpenAI
🆓 Corruption charges against NYC mayor dropped
🙀 Denmark makes bid for California
–Max and Max
KEY STORY
Bribery Law Paused
President Trump ordered a halt to enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
The FCPA, enacted in 1977, outlaws American entities and individuals from bribing foreign officials to advance their business interests
The law’s supporters say it plays a vital role in preventing corruption abroad; its critics say it is selectively enforced and makes the US less competitive globally. Some policymakers say it gives China an advantage in securing vital resource rights
On Monday, Trump paused enforcement of it, saying, “It’s going to mean a lot more business for America…It sounds good on paper, but in [practice] it’s a disaster”
Dig Deeper
Trump added, "[The FCPA] means that if an American goes over to a foreign country and starts doing business over there legally, legitimately or otherwise, it’s almost a guaranteed investigation, indictment and nobody wants to do business with the Americans because of it”
In explaining the logic, one White House official told the Financial Times, “National security depends on America and its companies gaining strategic commercial advantages around the world...President Trump is stopping excessive, unpredictable FCPA enforcement that makes American companies less competitive”
KEY STORY
Hostage Ultimatum
President Trump and Israeli PM Netanyahu ordered Hamas to free all hostages by Saturday
On Monday, Hamas announced it would indefinitely postpone the planned release of further hostages, alleging that Israel blocked Gazans’ ability to return. Israel said the move violated the sides’ ceasefire agreement
Hours later, Trump said, “If all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday… I would say, cancel [the ceasefire] and all bets are off and let hell break out”
On Tuesday, Netanyahu reiterated Trump’s threat and Israel deployed more soldiers to the Gaza border to prepare for a possible resumption of warfare
Dig Deeper
Hamas and Israel were scheduled to begin talks on the deal’s second phase – which would have led to the release of all remaining hostages and a permanent ceasefire – 16 days after the deal began. 24 days have since passed, though, and the deal’s continued existence is now in doubt
On Tuesday, Trump said, “I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline personally…I think they, they want to play tough guy, but we’ll see how tough they are”
ROCA’S SPONSOR
Midnight Deadline: Final Hours to Invest in the Biggest Disruption to IP Since Disney
Today’s the last day for investors to get a piece of some of the biggest names in entertainment
Elf Labs won 100+ historic trademarks to characters like Cinderella, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid. Now, they’re giving investors the opportunity to tap into the $2T entertainment and merchandising market
Not only is Elf Labs signing major toy, apparel, and food deals globally — they’re also using patented technology to bring their characters to life with AR/VR and AI, creating a first-of-its-kind, revolutionary entertainment platform
Time’s running out to join Elf as they completely revamp the entertainment landscape
Cinderella’s magic ended at midnight—don’t let yours
Disclosure: This is a paid advertisement for Elf Labs’ Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at elflabs.com
KEY STORY
Musk Bids on OpenAI
Sam Altman rejected an Elon Musk-led group’s offer to buy OpenAI for $97.4B
Altman and Musk co-founded OpenAI as a non-profit in 2015. After Musk left in 2018, Altman restructured OpenAI into a nonprofit overseeing a for-profit subsidiary. That subsidiary is what investors like Microsoft have invested in
Altman is now trying to convert the company into a full for-profit, without governance by the nonprofit board. Musk has tried to obstruct the move, ostensibly because it violates the group’s nonprofit founding vision
On Monday, Musk led a group of investors in offering $97B to buy the OpenAI
It’s unclear how serious the group is about buying OpenAI. At a minimum, though, the offer sets a floor price that could disrupt Altman’s efforts to convert the company into a for-profit
Dig Deeper
To convert OpenAI to a for-profit, OpenAI’s for-profit subsidiary has to buy the nonprofit that oversees it from OpenAI’s nonprofit stakeholders. Musk’s offer could essentially set a floor for that deal, as those stakeholders now know the minimum they could sell it for
The bid comes as OpenAI closes on a $40B investment from SoftBank, which would become the largest shareholder and value the company at $300B
Altman has two years to finalize the conversion to a non-profit before he’s forced to return all the money invested to shareholders
KEY STORY
NYC Mayor’s Charges Dropped
The Department of Justice (DoJ) ordered prosecutors to drop their corruption charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams
In September, federal prosecutors charged Adams for allegedly accepting gifts and illegal political donations. Adams denied the charges and claimed he was targeted by President Biden for criticizing his immigration policy
Adams has since indicated a willingness to cooperate with Trump on deportations
On Monday, a Trump official ordered the DoJ to drop the charges, saying they “restricted Mayor Adams' ability” to confront the migrant crisis
Dig Deeper
The Trump DoJ official added that the intervention does not clear Adams of wrongdoing and that the charges could later be revived
The move prompted criticism from some who accused Trump of interfering in the traditionally independent Southern District of New York
Adams, a Democrat, has cultivated close ties with Trump, including by dining at Mar a Lago and attending his inauguration
Trump expressed sympathy for Adams in December, saying the mayor has been “treated pretty unfairly”
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
🇺🇸 In his first foreign trip as vice president, JD Vance warned warned against over-regulating AI at a Paris summit
💰 Steve Bannon, one of the most influential figures in MAGA, pleaded guilty to defrauding donors who gave $25M to a project promising to build a border wall
⚖️ In an unprecedented speech on the House floor, Representative Nancy Mace (R-SC) accused her former fiancé and three others of drugging and raping her and other women
🏈 Sunday’s matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs broke the Super Bowl’s ratings record with 126M viewers
🧑🏫 After negotiations led by Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, Russia released a 63-year-old American teacher imprisoned since 2021
COMMUNITY
What does Roca Nation think?
🧠 Yesterday’s Question: If you were in charge of the halftime show and your job was to get the highest TV ratings possible, who would you pick to perform?
Kanye West. Don't lie, you're going to watch just to see what happens.
Adam Sandler, with a medley of his movie songs, starting with the beginning of "Somebody Kill Me" (The Wedding Singer).
The easy answer is Taylor Swift who has produced historic numbers with her global audience.
The halftime show should be about combining local and global talents, old and new artists, and combining different genres. Make it unique, not a concert that alienates old or young generations who have never heard of the singer.
This year for example: they could have combined big brass band jazz music of NOLA doing instrumental covers of Lil Wayne's while he raps.
If I were to get the highest TV ratings possible for the halftime show, I would try to pick something to appeal to all generations, so maybe that looks something like a mashup of multiple artists. There's always going to be a young person complaining that the halftime artist is too old, older people complaining that the opening act is too "trashy". I mean c'mon who wouldn't love a Sabrina Carpenter/Creed/Metallica mashup. Iconic. All over the place, makes no sense, and chaotic.. but iconic
🧐 Today’s Question: The winter doldrums are upon us. Any tricks for staying happy and energized until spring?
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
🍻 HR-Approved Hangovers: A Japanese tech company is attracting Gen Z workers by promising on-the-job drinking and official hangover leave that allows employees to come in late
🐟 Fishy Fugitives: The world's largest farmed salmon producer is offering $45 per fish after 27,000 salmon escaped from a damaged pen
💾 Pump and Dump?: After a Welsh computer scientist lost a court case last month to search a landfill for a hard drive containing a nearly $800M bitcoin fortune, he offered to buy the dump himself
💲 Greenland for the Golden State: Thousands of Danish citizens have signed a petition to buy California for $1T and “Make California Great Again”
🔥 Blackout Blaze: A Minnesota man who claimed to be a "lost hiker" faces 20 years in prison after allegedly breaking into a Boy Scout cabin and starting a fire before trying to put it out with beer
ROCA WRAP
Power Dynamics
The Baltic States
This region disconnected from Russia’s power grid on Saturday.
The Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania – are three small former Soviet countries. Unlike some USSR republics, the Baltics had limited cultural or linguistic ties to Russia and opposed its dominance. In 1990, Lithuania became the first USSR republic to declare independence, with Estonia and Latvia following soon after.
The Baltics have since sought to cement themselves in the West, having joined NATO, hosted American bases, and become members of the EU. In recent years, they’ve been among those most vocally warning about the risk of Russian expansion in eastern Europe.
The Baltics have paid a price for that, including cyber attacks and hacks. One persistent threat has been that Russia could shut down the states’ power, bringing their economies to a halt. For decades, the states have taken steps to separate its grid from Russia and fully connect it to the EU.
This weekend, the Baltics took their last step in doing so when they cut their final energy connection to Russia and synchronized their grid with the EU’s.
The total transition took years of effort and cost around $1.7B. For many in the Baltic States – fearful of many forms of Russian power – that’s a small price to pay.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
Guess that Super Bowl boycott didn’t work quite as well as some had hoped. The game averaged 126M viewers, making it the most-watched Super Bowl in history.
Say what you want about Taylor Swift, but she sure seems to have unlocked a new NFL fanbase — and they’re taking it seriously. Last year they asked, “What’s a holding?” While this year, they yelled at the TV, “Come on, Chris Jones! How do you not hit the A Gap on a Cover 2 blitz?”
–Max and Max