🔒 Crypto Kingpin Just Got Hit With...?

Good morning. US stock futures dipped in Wednesday morning trading as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates.

🚪 Crypto kingpin gets jail time

📝 Our report: Looks like Binance's big cheese, Changpeng Zhao, just landed himself a four-month vacation in the slammer after pleading guilty to charges of turning his crypto exchange into a money laundering haven. The sentence handed down to Zhao in Seattle federal court was significantly less than the three years that federal prosecutors had been seeking for him. The defense had asked for five months of probation.

 🔑 Key points:

• In November, Zhao struck a deal with the U.S. government to resolve a multiyear investigation into Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

• As part of the settlement, Zhao stepped down as the company’s CEO. Though he is no longer running the company, Zhao is widely reported to have an estimated 90% stake in Binance.

• The U.S. ordered Binance to pay $4.3 billion in fines and forfeiture. Zhao agreed to pay a $50 million fine.

💡 So what: Binance's CEO getting a prison sentence could shake investor confidence, leading to increased regulation and scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchanges. It emphasizes the importance of compliance and transparency in the industry and may prompt exchanges to reassess their practices to avoid legal issues.

Wednesday - FOMC Interest Rate Decision, Fed Chair Powell Press Conference

Thursday - U.S. Trade Deficit

Friday - US Unemployment Rate, Consumer Credit

📈 Bill Ackman shares his investing commandments

💸 Avoid overspending by following these tips!

💳 Everything you need to know about credit mix and how it affects your score!

 📈 Get 5.1% APY For Your Extra Cash

Many of you ask where we’re putting our extra cash to earn the highest interest while still having access to it.

I’ve looked through plenty of high yield options and my top pick is Moomoo. It’s offering one of the highest yields available today at 5.1% APY.

And the best part? No minimum deposits, no cap on interests, and you can withdraw your cash at anytime.

Moomoo is offering Daily Market Briefs subscribers a limited-time deal: earn 5.1% APY on your cash and get up to 15 free stocks.

PS: Despite the funny name, Moomoo is a registered broker dealer with the SEC and is a member of SIPC meaning you’re insured up to $500,000.

📉 US consumer confidence plunges

WHAT: Consumer confidence took a nosedive in April thanks to worries about inflation and a gloomy outlook on the job market, plunging optimism to depths not seen since 2022. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index retreated to 97 in April, below economists' expectations for 104 and lower than March's reading of 103.1.

WHY: The drop in consumer confidence also comes as US economic data has grown increasingly mixed. Several months of inflation data have come in hotter than expected, as price pressure proves more persistent than some policymakers and economists had expected.

📰 Newspapers take aim at OpenAI over data used for training

WHAT: Hold the presses! Newspapers like the New York Daily News and Chicago Tribune just fired off a lawsuit at Microsoft and OpenAI in New York federal court, accusing them of using reporters' work as free training material for their AI systems. The eight newspapers, owned by hedge fund Alden Global Capital's MediaNews Group, said that the companies unlawfully copied millions of their articles to train AI products, including Microsoft's Copilot and OpenAI's ChatGPT.

WHY: The complaint follows similar ongoing lawsuits against Microsoft and OpenAI, which has received billions in financial backing from Microsoft, brought by the New York Times and news outlets The Intercept, Raw Story and AlterNet.

💉 Regulators challenge weight loss drug patents

WHAT: Federal regulators are playing patent whack-a-mole with 20 brand name drugs, including the weight-loss wonder Ozempic, in the Biden administration's latest move to take down pharmaceutical price hikes. The Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters to 10 drugmakers, taking issue with patents on popular drugs for weight loss, diabetes, asthma and other reparatory conditions. The letters allege that certain patents filed by Novo Nordisk, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and seven other companies are inaccurate or misleading.

WHY: Brand-name drugmakers use patents to protect their medicines and stave off cheaper, generic medicines. Most blockbuster drugs are protected by dozens of patents covering various ingredients, manufacturing processes and intellectual property.

✏️ DMB Insider Quiz ✏️

🧑‍💻 We read your emails and poll replies daily.

Hit reply and let us know what you want more of!

See ya next time, Daily Market Briefs