Friday's Fast Five: Week of 12.15

Behind Apple’s Split With Goldman Sachs  (The Wall Street Journal): When Apple and Goldman Sachs teamed up to launch the Apple Card in 2019, it was a big deal for both companies. Apple was becoming a bigger player in the payments space, and Goldman was expanding into consumer lending. According to some, it’s been a troubled marriage. Apple recently sent a proposal to Goldman to exit from the contract.

Ego, Fear and Money: How the A.I. Fuse Was Lit (The New York Times): The people who were most afraid of the risks of artificial intelligence decided they should be the ones to build it. Then distrust fueled a spiraling competition.

Temu, the Chinese e-commerce platform, is drawing shoppers from U.S. dollar stores, data shows (CNBC): Temu, the fast-growing Chinese e-commerce platform selling $4 home decor and $10 shirts, is successfully taking on U.S. dollar stores including industry leader Dollar General, according to the latest market share data.

In Potential Deal to Take Macy’s Private, It’s All About the Real Estate (Bloomberg): The potential acquirers of Macy’s Inc. probably aren’t interested in trying to arrest the storied department-store operator’s decades-long decline. Instead, analysts say the investors are likely eager to buy its real estate assets and potentially spin off its higher-end Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury chains.

McDonald’s to Launch CosMc’s, an Alien-Inspired Restaurant Serving Slushes To-Go (The Wall Street Journal): The planned chain is part of the Golden Arches’ expanded bet on to-go eating, and aims to grab a slice of the iced-beverage sales that have helped power record sales for Starbucks recently. CosMc’s is named for an orange alien mascot featured in past McDonald’s advertisements.