🐤 Kansas City shuffle

Markets: Stock prices in general slid on Thursday in response to remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Investors had been anticipating whether interest rates will be cut again next month — and if so, by how much. But as Powell explained yesterday: “The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates.”

Disney’s glow-up: After losing money on a series of film flops and a cash-starved streaming app, Disney appears to be on the verge of a turnaround. The entertainment giant’s stock prices soared after a quarterly report showed stronger-than-anticipated earnings. Much of that success is due to investments in Disney’s direct-to-consumer network, which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. Combined, these platforms are expected to represent a profit of $321 million. That’s even more notable in light of the fact that they lost money just last year.

Healthcare delivered: From ecommerce delivery to a streaming platform to Whole Foods, it’s safe to say that Amazon has a corporate finger in many pies. But that isn’t stopping it from adding new services to its Amazon One Medical program. Some of the notable monthly telehealth plans being introduced include treatments for hair loss, erectile dysfunction, and aging. Members of Amazon’s Prime service can also count on low-cost consultations and fast delivery. This is the latest evidence of Amazon’s plans to make a mark in the telehealth sector.

Reinventing Xbox: When the Microsoft Xbox first debuted, it quickly rose to the top of the gaming console heap. But as consoles have lost market share to gaming on computers, laptops, mobile devices, virtual reality headsets, and more, the company now feels it’s time to introduce a new era of Xbox to a new generation of gamers. A new marketing campaign emphasizes the message “This is an Xbox,” which promotes Cloud gaming and a variety of devices other than a typical console on which its extensive library of games can be played.

Vonn’s unretirement: Six years after announcing her retirement from the sport, skier Lindsey Vonn confirmed this week that she will be returning to the slopes. Her comeback was made possible in part thanks to a recent knee replacement surgery, which she said has allowed her to complete the training necessary to compete at the age of 40. The three-time Olympic medalist says it’s a possibility that she’ll go out for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in 2026. For now, Vonn is reportedly spending her time training in Colorado for the U.S. Ski Team.

Not only are the Kansas City Chiefs now the only NFL team without a loss in the record books this season, but the team is also in pursuit of its third straight Super Bowl win. But while that 9-0 record certainly looks impressive against the backdrop of the Chiefs’ recent stellar seasons, it’s worth noting that some of those wins could have easily gone the other way.

Can they keep it up?

Even though the defending back-to-back champs haven’t dominated the competition with every play thus far, they have shown the resourcefulness necessary to clinch the victory before time runs out. And fans are hoping the trend continues on through the playoffs.

But if history is any indication, things could quickly go off the rails for Kansas City.

It was just over a decade ago that the Chiefs started out the season with a 9-0 run only to lose five of the final seven games. And this year, the schedule is even more daunting as the season winds down, including Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, which are 8-2 and will enjoy home field advantage.

A number of close calls

Another issue Kansas City will face is an injury-plagued roster that has forced coaches to shift their attention to the team’s running game. Although the strategy has paid off so far, there’s no guarantee it will be successful for the remainder of the season.

An examination of the stats and a little historical context reveals just how unlikely that 9-0 record actually is:

• The Chiefs have the lowest point differential (+58) of any 9-0 team since 2000.
• In eight of its nine wins, the team had been losing at some point during the game.
• Seven of Kansas City’s wins this year have been by seven points or less.

When incredibly valuable assets come up for sale, it's typically the wealthiest people that end up taking home an amazing investment. But not always…

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Dating back even before the iconic 1939 Judy Garland musical, there have been numerous retellings of the L. Frank Baum novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” And with a new big-screen version of the Broadway musical “Wicked” set to hit theaters later this month, its director has a theory about the timing.

Multigenerational relevance

The story itself, says “Wicked” director Jon M. Chu, is timeless enough to maintain its appeal across multiple generations. Furthermore, it is capable of reflecting the cultural shifts that America happens to be experiencing at any given time.

Calling the novel “sort of prophetic in a way,” Chu added: “It was written at a time of America in transition. At that point, the Depression had just finished and they’re about to go into war. And so it’s always a question of about what the American dream looks like when the road ends and what are the possibilities of the next thing.”

Subsequent versions of the story have also coincided with national inflection points, including post-war periods and the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks — “Wicked” premiered on Broadway in 2003.

And relevance for today

Based on that timeline, Chu reasoned that it’s no coincidence his film is debuting just with the pandemic still a vivid cultural memory and just a couple of weeks after the 2024 presidential election, which signals a sharp turn in domestic and foreign policy for the United States.

“When this came to my desk, it was during the pandemic and I felt like, wow, this thing is so prophetic,” he recalled. “How does it know that we would be going through this? We were questioning all the stories of America, of the world. Who’s in control? Who’s telling it? What does a hero look like? What does a villain look like?”

When it comes to auctioning off items with historical significance, you never know just how high the bidding might go. And for one piece of jewelry with a storied past, the demand drove its final price to more than twice its $2 million estimated value.

Diamonds are forever

The necklace in question is undeniably valuable based on its stunning design alone. Here’s a quick rundown of the most notable features:

• Nearly 500 individual diamonds
• A total weight of 300 carats
• Stones linked to Marie Antoinette

That last point deserves a bit of elaboration. Rumors persist that at least some of the diamonds in the 18th-century piece originated as part of a scandal involving French Queen Marie Antoinette.

In an incident later known as the “Affair of the Diamond Necklace,” the mistress of King Louis XV intended to receive an expensive piece of jewelry but the king’s death disrupted the plans. From there, a woman pretending to be the queen was able to obtain the necklace by fraud.

As for how many, if any, of those diamonds ended up in the necklace auctioned off for nearly $5 million this month in Geneva, that will probably remain a mystery. But that’s just one of the reasons it fetched such a high sum.

A history of its own

Aesthetically speaking, the necklace is recognized as one of the most stunning of the entire period, with exquisite attention to detail and design. And it doesn’t hurt that it made an appearance at two coronations of British royalty, including that of Queen Elizabeth II.

Here’s how Sotheby’s head of royal and noble jewels Andres White Correal explained it: “This rare and important diamond jewel is a sublime survivor from the opulent court life of the Georgian era, defined by its unrivaled pomp and splendor.”