Good morning readers. As we close the final chapter of "Pulse of Progress" for this year, we reflect on the remarkable journey since our inception in August. Your engagement has been the cornerstone of our rapid growth and success…and we can’t thank you enough. Today, as we deliver the last edition of 2023, we extend our deepest gratitude for making us a part of your daily routine. We're taking a brief hiatus to return after the holidays, rejuvenated and ready to soar to new heights in 2024. Wishing everyone a festive holiday season and a prosperous New Year. See you all in 2024!

Love,

The crew at Pulse of Progress <3

Let’s jump into today’s storylines.

In today’s digest:

• The rollercoaster of holiday deliveries

• Headline Hustle: Hermès billionaire adopts gardener to give him his fortune, Harvard stands by their president, shooting at Prague University leaves 14 dead

• How Chick-fil-A is wingin' its way to the top

• Pulse Points: What’s Trending

LOGISTICS

Your package has arrived…just not to your house

In a season sprinkled with the festive frenzy of package deliveries, some adults find themselves playing a less merry version of 'hide and seek' with their holiday parcels.

An estimated 82 million packages are zipping around daily this December, and with Christmas closing in, consumers are on high alert. The situation has transformed some into neighborhood detectives, scouring community pages with photos of mysterious doorsteps, hoping to spot their missing items. Others don the hat of impromptu postal workers, rerouting misdelivered gifts that land on their doorsteps.

This holiday season is poised to be a rollercoaster for deliveries.

The logistics world, already heaving under the seasonal surge, is showing signs of strain. With discussions about delivery mishaps up by 6% on platforms like X and Reddit, there's a buzz of frustration in the air. Yet, companies are seeing a dip in package volume compared to last year, which might reduce reliance on less experienced seasonal workers and, in turn, the chaos. Amidst this delivery drama, personal tales of parcel pandemonium emerge.

• Residents have reported going door-to-door or appealing to online communities, hoping to locate their elusive items.

• While some face the frustration of mixed-up deliveries, others experience the unexpected joy of surprise gifts mistakenly left on their doorsteps. Some have taken efforts to return those gifts to their rightful owners. The others…not so much.

Big picture: In this high-stakes game of package roulette, the industry grapples with the challenges of increased automation, cost-cutting, and the ever-thorny issue of last-mile delivery. Despite assurances from carriers like UPS and FedEx, the reality for many is a holiday hustle filled with confusion and surprise. So, as we track Santa's sleigh this season, let's spare a thought for the earthly journey of our much-awaited packages and the unsung heroes trying to deliver a little holiday cheer.

Headline Hustle

💰️ Hermès billionaire wants to adopt his gardener and give him his fortune. Nicolas Puech, an 80-year-old heir of the Hermès luxury empire, is reportedly shaking up the conventional inheritance playbook. In a bold move, Puech, with a net worth around €12 billion, plans to adopt his middle-aged former gardener, positioning him to inherit at least half of his fortune. This decision sidelines Puech's own charitable foundation, the Isocrates Foundation, which contests the unexpected shift. Puech, who owns 5.7% of Hermès, initially intended his shares for the foundation, aimed at fostering a "healthy digital public space." This unorthodox succession plan, if executed, would dramatically alter the destiny of both the gardener and the foundation.

🏫 Harvard stands behind its President after new plagiarism allegations. Harvard stands by its President Claudine Gay amid renewed plagiarism allegations. While a subcommittee cleared her of research misconduct, Harvard admitted to "inadequate citations" in her work and announced corrections. This controversy coincides with scrutiny from a House committee questioning the university's standards and a significant pause in donations from investor Len Blavatnik following Gay's congressional remarks on antisemitism. As Harvard navigates these turbulent waters, questions linger over academic integrity and the institution's commitment to its own principles, all while the spotlight intensifies on its first Black president.

🇨🇿 Shooting at Prague University leaves 14 dead, dozens injured. In a tragic day at Charles University in Prague, a student's rampage left 14 dead and dozens injured. The assailant, who also suspectedly killed his father earlier, unleashed terror in the ancient halls of one of the Czech Republic's most revered institutions. As the city grappled with shock and sorrow, President Petr Pavel and European leaders extended their heartfelt condolences. The incident, disconnected from terrorism but marked by personal tragedy, raises poignant questions about security and mental health in academic settings.

FOOD

A tale of clucks and bucks in the chicken chain game

In the high-stakes, finger-licking world of fast-food chicken, Chick-fil-A is clucking its way to the top, leaving competitors pecking at its heels. Since its 1967 debut, this Atlanta-based avian aficionado has become the third-largest U.S. restaurant chain by sales, flaunting $8.7 million in annual sales per non-mall franchise, despite a six-day week (they don’t operate on Sundays). Its secret sauce? Perhaps it's the customer service that has McDonald’s — with its own $3.7 million franchise average and grand expansion plans — tipping its hat in respect.

But it's not just about the benjamins. Chick-fil-A has weathered controversies over its founder's family foundation's donations and same-sex marriage comments, proving its brand resilience even in liberal strongholds like New York and Seattle. As it nests in roughly 3,000 locations nationwide, the chicken chain isn't just watching the feathers fly; it's setting the pace.

• 2019 was a watershed moment, with Chick-fil-A leapfrogging to the top, prompting a poultry pandemonium.

• McDonald’s, Popeyes, and other fowl players scrambled to launch their own cluckers, but Chick-fil-A's market share grew to 45.5% in 2023, far outpacing the competition and closest rival, Popeyes, at 11.9%.

Meanwhile, smaller chains are spreading their wings, and chicken's popularity continues to soar, with consumption projected to double beef's by 2023. As these brands jostle for a piece of the pie (or should we say drumstick?), Chick-fil-A’s rivals, from Popeyes to Raising Cane’s, are plotting their moves, aiming to peck away at its dominance. And while the U.S. market is far from saturated, Chick-fil-A's international forays have been less than smooth, offering a glimmer of hope for its global contenders.

Looking ahead…as the chicken wars rage on, one thing's for sure: the pecking order is far from settled in this fast-feathered world.

SNIPPETS

Pulse Points

• Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor and Donald Trump's ex-lawyer, declared bankruptcy following a court order to pay $150 million for defaming two Georgia election workers.

• Nike lowered its annual revenue forecast and announced plans to cut up to $2 billion in costs, including layoffs, due to global consumer spending concerns, causing its shares to drop nearly 11% in after-hours trading.

• The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network will begin granting phased access to its beneficial ownership database to law enforcement agencies and financial institutions starting February, as part of efforts to prevent the use of shell companies by criminals and terrorists.

• Canada has approved Royal Bank of Canada's $10.1 billion acquisition of HSBC Holdings' Canadian unit, over a year after the deal was first announced.

• Anthropic, a competitor of OpenAI founded by former OpenAI employees, is negotiating a $750 million funding round led by Menlo Ventures, according to a source familiar with the situation.

• Hyperloop One, a long-standing hyperloop startup previously backed by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, is set to cease its operations on December 31, as reported by Bloomberg News.

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