Biden's Secret Ukraine Trip, Meta's Monetization Move, Musk's Displeasure At ChatGPT Parent's Trajectory And More: 5 Key Stories You May Have Missed From The Weekend

Here's a recap of a few major headlines that hit the wire over the long weekend due to Monday’s Presidents' Day holiday.

1. Biden Visits Ukraine: President Joe Biden, who has been one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine in the latter's conflict with Russia, paid a surprise visit to Kyiv and met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The U.S. president said the visit was aimed at reaffirming his country’s “unwavering and unflagging commitment to [Ukraine's] democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

2. Meta Wants To Monetize: After reducing manpower, Meta Platforms, Inc.'s META next move was to reinvigorate its topline growth amid a tough ad-spending environment. It did just that by announcing over the weekend that it is launching a subscription service called “Meta Verified” that could cost up to $14.99 per month for a user.

3. Musk Regrets How OpenAI Evolved:  After warning on the perils of AI, Elon Musk had to explain away why he has had a change of heart after laying the foundation for OpenAI as one of its co-founders. The billionaire lamented the fact the nonprofit company he co-founded has become a closed-source, maximum-profit company under Microsoft Corp. MSFT.

“Not what I intended at all,” he added.

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4. More Possibilities Opening Up For Fed, Summers Says: Ahead of the March Fed meeting, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said he sees more possibilities opening up for the Fed at this point.

At the same time, he warned of a dangerous drop-off if the Fed hits the brakes very hard, which he said would likely set in motion negative cyclical dynamics.

5. Bitcoin As A Safe Haven? Bitcoin BTC/USD breached the $25,000 mark over the weekend, rising above the level for the first time since mid-2022. Experts say the apex crypto is viewed by many as a safe-haven asset due to its decentralized nature, triggering buying.

What Else: Apple, Inc.’s AAPL much-awaited mixed-reality headset is likely to be delayed to June, Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman said. The delay, however, would work out best for the company, he added.

The New York Federal Reserve’s U.S. recession probability index, which is calculated based on the spread between treasuries, has climbed to its highest levels in over 40 years, portending a potential slump in economic activity.

Read next: Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Slump As Traders Weigh-In Retail Earnings, Uncertain Economic Backdrop

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