Insider Finance - Business - Insider Today: Heat on Harvard

December 12, 2023 • 5 min read

with Matt Turner

It’s Tuesday, folks! We’ve all felt jealousy rise up within us while scrolling social media. Maybe it’s a photo of that ex with their new beau, or an annoying relative on a luxe vacation. The latest trigger for many on TikTok? A UPS driver breaking down his weekly paycheck. 

Today we turn to Harvard, which finds itself in the spotlight (again) after a disastrous congressional hearing and the resignation of the president of Penn.  

What’s on deck

But first, the heat is back on at Harvard.

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Bill Ackman (left) and Claudine Gay (right). Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

The big story

Is Harvard next?

Elite colleges are in crisis. 

It started at Harvard in the aftermath of Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel in early October, when more than 30 student groups responded by putting out a statement holding Israel’s government responsible for the violence. 

The uproar was immediate, with billionaire alumni Bill Ackman playing a vocal role. 

Then came the congressional testimony of Harvard president Claudine Gay, Penn president Elizabeth Magill, and MIT president Sally Kornbluth. The trio waffled on a question from Republican representative Elise Stefanik over whether calling for the genocide of Jews would be a violation of their schools’ code of conduct. 

Ackman called for the three to “resign in disgrace,” while another Wall Street CEO said he’d pull a $100 million donation from Penn “absent a change in leadership and values.” Magill resigned over the weekend, after which Ackman renewed his calls for Gay and Kornbluth to go. 

“One down, two to go,” Stefanik said in a statement. (Stefanik graduated from Harvard and later sat on an advisory committee at the college, but was removed in 2021 after she asserted voter fraud in the 2020 election.)

Gay, who is Harvard’s first Black president, has apologized for her remarks on antisemitism. The Harvard community has rallied around her, with more than 500 faculty members signing a letter defending her and the university’s alumni association also expressing support for her. But others outside the Ivy League college remain furious with Gay’s testimony.

The days ahead will determine whether Gay or any more university leaders will step down, voluntarily or otherwise. But the questions over college leadership and campus culture aren’t likely to go away anytime soon. 

Larry Summers, the former president of Harvard, has described the current tension “as difficult a moment for elite higher education as any moment since the Vietnam War.”

3 things in

Markets

🔔 Before the opening bell: US stock futures rise early Tuesday ahead of the November CPI report. 

Bob Levey/Getty Images

1. Shohei Ohtani's massive $700 million contract is having an impact on Japan's stock market. The hefty contract appears to be pushing the share prices of several corporate sponsors higher, per Bloomberg, including Mitsubishi, Seiko, and others.

2. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 all notched new highs for 2023 on Monday. It comes as investors prepare for a critical week filled with central bank meetings and economic data releases.

3. How many times will the Fed cut rates? No matter what the Fed does with monetary policy in 2024, investors should pay close attention, as rates represent a significant input for the broader economy and stock market valuations. Read our rundown of what Wall Street expects the Fed to do with interest rates next year. 

3 things in

Tech

Justin Sullivan via Getty Images

1. The many faces of Sam Altman. There’s the Machiavellian politician. But there’s also the smart CEO-tactician. And the OpenAI CEO’s dueling identities have emerged amid the reports of his firing and rehiring.

2. Here’s what everyone was Googling this year. Travis Kelce. “The Last of Us.” OceanGate. “Barbenheimer.” Google Trends revealed some of the most searched trends in 2023.

3. Google just lost a landmark antitrust case. A jury sided with Fortnite developer Epic Games, finding that the tech giant held a monopoly in its Google Play Store for Android operating systems, limiting the reach of competitors' apps and charging high fees for processing in-app purchases.

3 things in

Business

Chelsea Jia Feng/BI

1.  Giant food companies are quietly ruining your favorite snacks. As costs go up, companies are forced to either raise prices or cut costs on your favorite food items by skimping on ingredients — and hoping you don't notice.

2. Toymaker Hasbro is cutting about 1,110 jobs, its CEO said Monday. That's on top of the 800 layoffs already announced. This year, layoffs have expanded beyond tech, media, and finance with retail companies also cutting. See the full list of layoffs so far in 2023.

3. The surprise exit of the Goldman Sachs Japan leader. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon had a meeting with Masanori Mochida days before he walked off the job. Mochida's hasty exit has left insiders looking for explanations and has revived concerns about Solomon’s blunt communication style.

In other news

What's happening today

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The Insider Today team

Matt Turner, editor in chief of business, in New York City. Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York City. Diamond Naga Siu, senior reporter, in San Diego. Hallam Bullock, editor, in London. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York City.

Get in touch

insidertoday@insider.com

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