Good morning! In this weekly snapshot:

• Controversy after OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman was ousted by co-founder Ilya Sutskever🤖

• Citizens gather in Madrid to protest against an amnesty law🇪🇸

• Weekly market update📈

🤖AI Uproar: The OpenAI Leadership Crisis

In the ever-evolving realm of artificial intelligence, OpenAI, renowned for creating the revolutionary ChatGPT, is now navigating a turbulent power struggle at its apex. The sudden departure of Sam Altman, a pivotal figure in AI innovation, has sent shockwaves through the tech community. 

The Thunderbolt: Altman's Sudden Departure 

Sam Altman, the driving force behind OpenAI's success, was unexpectedly ousted in a move orchestrated by co-founder Ilya Sutskever. This decision triggered a wave of support for Altman, as co-founder Greg Brockman resigned in protest, and CTO Mira Murati stepped in as interim CEO. 

In a striking act of solidarity, over 500 of OpenAI's 770 employees threatened to resign, demanding the reinstatement of Altman and Brockman. This act of defiance highlights the deep rifts within the organization. 

Amid this chaos, Emmett Shear, former CEO of Twitch, stepped in as OpenAI's new head. In a strategic move, Microsoft quickly integrated Altman and Brockman into its fold, leading a new advanced AI research division and offering positions to OpenAI's entire workforce. 

The Plot Twist: The drama took another turn as Sutskever, initially a key player in Altman's dismissal, shifted his stance, advocating for Altman's return. Altman has hinted at his willingness to consider a comeback. As this saga continues, the future of OpenAI hangs in the balance, epitomizing the volatile and fast-paced nature of the AI industry. 

🇪🇸Catalan Tensions Emerge Once Again

More than 170,000 protesters in Madrid marched against an amnesty law which absolved Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s criminal record and enabled Sanchez to form a second-term government.

What is an amnesty law? An amnesty law is a law that exempts a select group of people, typically military and government leaders, from criminal liability for the crimes that they have committed. 

Sanchez was one of the leaders involved in organizing the illegal referendum for Catalan independence seven years ago. Former Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, who was directly responsible for the illegal referendum, currently lives in exile in Belgium and will also benefit from the amnesty law. 

With 90% of Catalan voters at the time standing in favour of disbanding from Spain, Catalan nationalism and their desire for secession remains one of Spain’s worst political crises. With an alleged purpose of diffusing internal tensions, the amnesty law is one of the first approved in the EU in over 30 years. Civil unrest, both against and in favour of separatist sentiment, continues to fuel internal tensions in the region.

📈 Market Updates

Economic Pulse 🌐 

This past weekend marked the inaugural running of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The 500 million dollar investment to turn the downtown strip into a Formula One track generated 1.2 billion dollars in economic impact over the weekend and will go down as the most successful November in the city's history. In other news, Italy has blocked Safran's planned acquisition of the flight controls division of Collins Aerospace. The Italians have blocked the 1.8 billion dollar acquisition after their investigation concluded that Collin's production of Italian Eurofighter and tornado jet fighters "poses an exceptional threat to the essential interests of national defence and security" in the hands of Safran.

Money Moves 💰️ 

This past week, Warren Buffet unloaded his entire position of seven major S&P 500 stocks. The list of positions includes General Motors, United Parcel Services, Celanse, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Mondelez International, and Activision (now a part of Microsoft). In other news, Teck Resources has sold a majority stake in its steelmaking coal business. Glencore has purchased 77 percent of the company for 6.9 billion dollars in cash. However, Teck will retain all cash flow from the business until the third quarter of 2024, which is estimated to amount to an additional one billion dollars.

📞Word on the Street

• Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, pleads guilty to money laundering

• David Letterman returns to “The Late Show” for the first time since 2015.

• Prince Harry’s ongoing battle with British tabloids.

• Starbucks employees strike on one of their busiest days. Red Cup Day.

Writers: Amin Nazari, Amina Alievski and Tomas Serrano

Senior Editor: Amyn Dehal

Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here.