|
TOGETHER WITH
|
|
|
Good morning and welcome to August, the best month to be born in by far.
|
|
|
NASDAQ
|
10,745.27
|
+ 1.49%
|
|
|
|
S&P
|
3,271.12
|
+ 0.77%
|
|
|
|
DJIA
|
26,428.32
|
+ 0.44%
|
|
|
|
GOLD
|
1,991.90
|
+ 2.55%
|
|
|
10-YR
|
0.537%
|
- 1.90 bps
|
|
|
|
OIL
|
40.40
|
+ 1.20%
|
|
|
*As of market close
|
-
Economy: Consumer spending increased 5.6%
in June, a much-needed bit of good news after Thursday's GDP horror
show. The extra unemployment benefits introduced by the CARES Act
officially expired yesterday, and Congress is still far apart on a new
relief bill.
-
Markets: Wall Street tied a bow
on its fourth straight month in the green. A lot of that has to do with
Big Tech, which has gone full Beast Mode during this pandemic.
|
|
|
Francis Scialabba
It’s been rumored for months, but late last night President Trump actually said the words out loud:
“As far as
TikTok is concerned we’re banning them from the United States,” he told
reporters on Air Force One. “I will sign the document tomorrow,” aka
today. It’s not clear what authority the president will use to ban one
of the world’s most popular social media apps from operating in the
U.S., but Bloomberg says it'll be through executive order or under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
This is pretty wild
TikTok had the best quarter for any app ever in
Q1 as the pandemic swept across the world and kept people at home. It
has up to 80 million active monthly users in the U.S. and infiltrated
the highest rungs of popular culture. If you’re looking for the top songs in the country...better start your search on TikTok.
So why ban TikTok?
The app is
caught up in the epic tug-of-war between the U.S. and China. It’s owned
by the Chinese tech firm ByteDance, an arrangement U.S. government
officials say presents grave national security risks.
- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed data from American TikTok users could be handed over to the Chinese government if it demands it.
- TikTok has denied these
allegations, and recently hired an American CEO, former Disney exec
Kevin Mayer, to show it’s committed to the stars and stripes.
Earlier on
Friday, reports swirled that Microsoft was in talks to buy TikTok’s U.S.
operations to calm the government’s national security fears. Trump said
he did not support that kind of deal.
Looking ahead...the
consequences of a TikTok ban are large enough to make your head spin,
affecting everything from geopolitics to the advertising industry. Let’s
see what happens today.
|
|
|---|
|
Giphy
Yesterday, a
potential coronavirus vaccine from drugmakers Sanofi and
GlaxoSmithKline became the sixth candidate to join Operation Warp Speed.
The two companies inked a $2.1 billion deal with the U.S. government to advance clinical trials and development.
Quick refresher
Operation
Warp Speed is the name of the government's all-out blitz to develop a
vaccine by the end of this year. The fund has made sizable investments
in five separate prospects, but the $2.1 billion it’s sending
Sanofi/GSK’s way is the biggest check so far.
-
Bigger doesn’t mean better: Sanofi/GSK's candidate hasn't advanced beyond preclinical trials, remaining well behind other leading candidates who are already in Phase 3 (typically the last step before FDA approval).
Zoom out: So
far, the vaccine development process has been a lot like playing darts
blindfolded—the more you throw, the better chance you have of hitting
the bullseye.
|
|
|---|
Three
teenagers, including a 17-year-old from Tampa, FL, suspected of being
the “mastermind” behind last month’s massive Twitter hack, were arrested yesterday.
The
suspected leader is being charged with more than 30 felony counts,
including communications fraud, identity theft, and access to a computer
without authority.
The backstory: On July 15, Twitter descended into chaos
when hackers targeted 130 accounts of some of the most prominent people
in the world—such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Joe Biden—and promoted a
cryptocurrency scam that netted the hackers more than $100,000.
- Some expressed relief
that a little bitcoin was all the perpetrators were after. Twitter has
become the de facto platform for world leaders to communicate policy, so
who knows what would’ve happened if the hackers had more Joker-like
intentions.
In a
statement, Twitter said, “We appreciate the swift actions of law
enforcement in this investigation and will continue to cooperate as the
case progresses.” It also released a fuller assessment of what it believed happened that day, and the steps it’s taking to prevent another attack.
|
|
The world’s masters of mixed martial arts use MANSCAPED to take care of business and trim their sensitive parts safely.
The official electric trimmer of UFC—MANSCAPED’s The Lawn Mower™ 3.0—is the only electric trimmer with Advanced SkinSafe™ Technology for the ultimate protection while grooming your undercarriage.
So when lowly copywriters at business e-newsletters and UFC fighters need to get below their belts, they only trust The Lawn Mower™ 3.0 to do the job, and here’s why:
- Waterproof & cordless design for easy use in the shower
- Rechargeable 600mAh lithium-ion battery
-
It’s trusted by over 1,200,000 men worldwide.
You’ll also receive free boxers and a free travel bag.
Get this limited time offer here.
|
|
|
Giphy
|
What seeds? Those seeds. The seeds everyone is talking about.
In recent
weeks, people in dozens of U.S. states and in some countries abroad have
received packages of seeds they did not order. What we know about the
seeds:
- The USDA has identified 14 different kinds, including flowering plants (morning glory), veggies (cabbage), and herbs (lavender).
- They appear to be coming from China.
- Get a package? DON’T
PLANT THE SEEDS (you might be introducing an invasive species). The
government says you should contact your state plant regulatory official
instead.
What’s going on? The
USDA thinks the unsolicited seed deliveries are part of what’s known as
a “brushing” scam in e-commerce. A seller on a platform like Amazon or
Etsy will send out packages with items of little value, which allows
them to forge positive reviews and boost sales. So...maybe a topic for
an HBS case study rather than a Stephen King novel.
Bottom line: This bizarre episode highlights the importance of positive reviews to online sellers. In fact, a whole cottage industry has sprung up in China to help merchants get better reviews.
|
|
|---|
AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images
Muslim pilgrims crowd around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest site, in 2016. They are participating in the Hajj, an annual pilgrimage of millions of Muslims to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and one of the world's largest religious gatherings.
This is now...
|
STR/AFP via Getty Images
Far fewer
pilgrims crowded around the Kaaba this week. Saudi Arabia is not
allowing any outsiders to come into the kingdom for the Hajj this year
due to the pandemic, and those who are participating are subject to strict restrictions.
That's where high tech
comes in. Pilgrims were given wristbands to measure their movements
upon entering Mecca, and they'll be subject to numerous thermal scanners
for temperature monitoring.
|
|
|---|
-
James Murdoch,
son of Rupert, has resigned from the board of News Corp., the parent
company of the WSJ and the New York Post. He cited "disagreements over
certain editorial content published by the Company’s news outlets and
certain other strategic decisions."
-
Apple
shares surged after Thursday’s earnings report, and it topped Saudi
Aramco to officially become the world’s largest company by market
value.
-
United Airlines
is planning to resume more than 25 international routes in September,
but it'll still be flying just 37% of its overall schedule from last
year.
-
Chevron and Exxon Mobil lost a combined $9.4 billion last quarter.
-
Shoutout to the Brew's puck fans: The NHL restarts today.
|
|
Bamboo, sugarcane, organic mamona oil, and cork. No, those aren’t the makings of a delicious summer cocktail. They’re the materials used to make the impossibly stylish, comfy, and sustainable kicks by CARIUMA. A restock of their popular IBIs just hit the shelves, so get these Morning Brew team favorites before they’re gone. Click here to get an exclusive 15% off for a limited time.
|
|
Crypto: Want to sound smart the next time your cousin brings up cryptocurrency? Here’s everything you need to read, in chronological order.
Morning Brew helps you with your morning Brew: Perfect the art of the French press with this calculator.
Weekend conversation starters:
|
|
|
On this
week's edition of Saturday Headlines, we’re talking
misinformation—something Saturday Headlines knows all about. Three of
these headlines are real, but one is fake. Can you figure out which is
which?
- "Hackers gain access to traffic lights in Denver suburb but only to show they could improve traffic flow"
- "Tim Allen assures fans he's alive after he trends on Twitter"
- "Ransomware attack on Garmin thought to be the work of 'Evil Corp'"
- "Tim Tebow's Bible message triggers 'sensitive content' warning from Twitter"
|
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment