TLDR 

MARKET RECAP → Stocks closed little changed on Friday but the major averages eked out a gain for the week as investors continued to mull over inflation and global trade implications.

ELON MUSK CRITICIZES OUTDATED FEDERAL RECORD-KEEPING → 🏢 Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency highlights the antiquated manual processing of federal retirements in a Pennsylvania limestone mine, calling for modernization to improve efficiency.

ZUCKERBERG'S RIGHTWARD SHIFT SPARKS INTERNAL DISCONTENT AT META →🤝 Meta's (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg aligns company policies with President Trump's administration, leading to internal employee concerns and strategic moves targeting competitors like Apple.

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Elon Musk Criticizes Outdated Federal Record-Keeping

Manual Processes in Limestone Mine: 🏢 Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has highlighted that federal employee retirements are processed manually in an old limestone mine in Boyers, Pennsylvania. This antiquated system relies on paper records and manual labor, leading to significant inefficiencies.

Musk's Call for Modernization: 🚀 Musk criticized this outdated method, emphasizing the need for modernization to improve efficiency and reduce government waste. He noted that the speed of the mine's elevator limits the number of retirements processed monthly, underscoring the system's obsolescence.

Potential Boost for Iron Mountain: 📈 Despite Musk's criticism, Iron Mountain, the company managing the storage facility, may benefit from increased attention. The spotlight on outdated government processes could lead to contracts for digitizing records, potentially boosting Iron Mountain's business prospects.

TODAY’S TOP NEWS

Zuckerberg's Rightward Shift Sparks Internal Discontent at Meta

Alignment with Trump Administration: 🤝 Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg has initiated policy changes to align more closely with President Donald Trump's administration, including ending the company's fact-checking program and relaxing content moderation to emphasize free speech. These moves aim to reduce perceived political bias and censorship on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Internal Employee Concerns: 🛑 Within Meta, employees have expressed unease over the company's political pivot and recent policy changes. Reports indicate that staff members voicing dissent are being cautioned that negative comments about the company or its leadership could impact their performance evaluations, leading to a culture of self-censorship.

Targeting Competitors: 🎯 Zuckerberg's strategy appears to include diverting regulatory scrutiny toward competitors, notably Apple (AAPL). Meta has criticized Apple's restrictive ecosystem and policies, which have previously impacted Meta's advertising revenue. This approach suggests an effort to shift antitrust attention away from Meta by highlighting Apple's market practices.

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