Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
Microsoft and Apple ditched their OpenAI board seats. They’re probably trying to avoid antitrust scrutiny.
The Boeing Starliner crew might be stuck in space for a while. NASA hasn’t committed to a hard date for the astronauts’ return.
Intuit said it’s laying off 1,600 workers because of AI. The financial technology firm added that it’s not in trouble, just focusing on its “most critical areas.”
The S&P 500 is continuing its winning streak. The index hit another record high yesterday as interest rate cuts come into clearer view.
Grindr grinds on
Dating apps are dying. Young people are dreaming of IRL meet-cutes in coffee shops, park dates, and long-term relationships. They want REAL love; not hookups.
So Tinder is out. The Bumble bees aren’t buzzing anymore. And Bumble’s efforts to bring more users to the hive (i.e not just millennial women) hasn’t gone so well — a lot of people were pretty offended by the company’s splashy ads mocking celibacy earlier this year.
And yet… apps aren’t entirely dead. Grindr and Hinge are defying the odds. Hinge, the app “designed to be deleted,” saw user downloads climb in the second quarter. And Grindr, the LGBTQ+ hookup and dating app, has seen its stock price soar, as Bumble and Match Group (Tinder and Hinge’s parent company) flail.
Quartz’s Laura Bratton has the story.
Country of (financial) interest: Taiwan
The country that’s home to one of the world’s biggest chipmakers, TSMC, is about to have a lot more rich people. According to a UBS study, there will be a 47% increase in the number of Taiwanese millionaires over the next five years. That’s the biggest jump of any of the 56 nations analyzed by UBS.
On the other side of the world, the U.K. will see the biggest decline in millionaires (sorry, Brits). Ben Kesslen has the story, but here’s some quick stats to ponder:
23.57 million: Taiwan’s population
453,900: Millionaires in Taiwan, according to Statista
21.9 million: Millionaires in the U.S.
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🎢 GameStop’s wild ride is tame next to this private jet company
💸 A Las Vegas casino has to give away $1.6 million before it closes
Surprising discoveries
Dozens of rivers in Alaska are turning orange. Don’t go in these waters, because they’re rusting.
Adult fantasy novel sales rose 85% in the first half of 2024. Apparently adults want less real life and more “romantasy.”
Invasive lantern flies might have spread so fast by clinging to cars’ windshield wipers. These pretty little pests can survive 100 kilometer per hour winds.
The site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history might get reactivated. Constellation Energy might bring Three Mile Island back online to meet the growing energy demand for AI — to the alarm of nuclear safety advocates.
Picassos in an Australian museum exhibit (and at the center of a gender discrimination lawsuit) are fakes. Artist Kirsha Kaechele said she, not Picasso, painted the look-alikes for her ladies-only exhibit.
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Our best wishes on a safe start to the second week in July. Send any news, comments, romantasy novels, and dead lantern flies to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Laura Bratton and Morgan Haefner.