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TOGETHER WITH
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Good morning. On
behalf of all the writers at Morning Brew, we want to wish a very happy
birthday to fellow scribe Alex Hickey. Alex is responsible for so much
of the great content you read in this newsletter and is an indispensable
member of our team. Plus, she’s a damn fine chef.
If you want
to offer your well wishes, send a picture of your dog (Corgis preferred)
and a b-day message to hickey at morningbrew dot com.
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NASDAQ
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12,742.08
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+ 0.66%
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S&P
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3,720.88
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+ 0.53%
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DOW
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30,294.54
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+ 0.46%
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GOLD
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1,889.80
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+ 1.65%
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10-YR
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0.929%
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+ 1.30 bps
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OIL
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48.35
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+ 1.11%
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*As of market close
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Jobs: The number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the U.S. shot up to 885,000 last week, another concerning data point in the labor market's recovery. That's the highest level in three months.
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Markets: Stocks closed at all-time highs. Investors are expecting a stimulus deal to get done, someday, somehow.
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Covid: An advisory panel recommended the FDA approve Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, which could come through today.
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Francis Scialabba
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Well, pretty soon. Yesterday, crypto exchange Coinbase filed paperwork with the SEC to go public. It's likely to be one of the first big IPOs of 2021.
The rundown:
Coinbase was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, and
has since grown from a bitcoin exchange into one of the foremost crypto
companies.
- Armstrong incited controversy earlier this year when he explained
in a blog post that Coinbase was a strictly apolitical company and
offered buyouts to any employees who disagreed. Sixty took him up on
it.
Run the numbers: Coinbase has raised
over $547 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Union
Square, and BBVA. It was most recently valued at about $8 billion and
boasts about 35 million users, more than Schwab.
This is really a story about crypto's glow-up
Cryptocurrencies
were once the Gunther of the financial world because of their
volatility and murky-at-best legal status. But this year, they're approaching Phoebe (irrefutably the best cast member).
- Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, is up over 200% on the year.
- Just this week, it surpassed $20,000 for the first time ever on its way up to $23k.
Bitcoin's
price is surging as more Patagonia vests embrace crypto. Traditional
investors such as Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller have come
out in favor of bitcoin. Institutional investors Fidelity and MassMutual
have also gotten on board, and financial platforms Square and Robinhood
now allow crypto trading.
There are a couple major unknowns
Coinbase hasn’t announced
1) which exchange it will list on or 2) how the IPO will be structured.
We could even see a blockchain-based IPO—if the SEC is in the mood to
approve that sort of thing. If not, Coinbase could follow Spotify and
Slack's path to a direct listing.
Bottom line: If
you've ever hung out with crypto folks, you know they're the people at
the bar who order a round of French 75s. Coinbase's IPO will not be
typical.
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Giphy
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In September, news broke that Walmart planned to invest in the imperiled social media giant TikTok. It didn't make no
sense—TikTok faced a ban from the U.S. unless it found an American
buyer, and an investment would give Walmart an intro to its young and
choreographically talented user base—but it seemed like an odd couple.
What's next, Sam's Club x Twitch?
Nope, what's next is more Walmart x TikTok. The TikTok ban is still in legal limbo, but today, Walmart will test out a pilot version of shoppable content on the platform. How it works:
- Ten of the biggest
TikTok creators, including Michael Le and Taylor Hage, will display
Walmart's fashion items in a livestream on its profile. During their
displays, pins will pop up for users to click on and add to their carts.
- Online shoppers can also browse all the featured items after the event.
Zoom out: Big
Tech behemoths including Facebook, Google, and Amazon have tried to
integrate social media and shopping, but no one's quite cracked the nut,
at least not in the U.S.
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Kungahuset
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Yesterday, Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf said his country "failed" its pandemic response.
Refresher: While
other countries enacted strict lockdowns when the pandemic began,
Sweden gambled on an open economy and voluntary guidelines, with the
goal of eventually reaching herd immunity. The reality:
- Sweden's economy shrank 8.5% in the first half of the year.
- It's logged 350,000
cases and 7,800+ deaths (more than its Nordic neighbors combined). On
Monday, a government report said officials failed to protect nursing
home residents, who account for nearly half of Covid-related deaths in
Sweden.
- Hospitals are overwhelmed and healthcare worker resignations are rising.
- Anders Tegnell, Sweden's Dr. Fauci, admitted there are "no signs of immunity in the population that are slowing down the infection."
While Tegnell has defended
his approach, a second wave of cases this fall forced Sweden to change
its tack. In the last month, it’s banned gatherings larger than eight,
stopped late-night alcohol sales, and moved some high schools to remote
learning.
Looking ahead...EU
regulators should release a decision on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
Monday. If it's approved, Swedish healthcare workers get dibs around
Christmas.
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Most annoying thing in the world? Mosquitoes. Second most annoying? Manually entering employee expenses at the end of the year.
Divvy is a spend management system that saves you hours of data entry, making your work life way less annoying. Instead of you tracking down receipts, Divvy tracks expenses in real time, then syncs that data with your accounting system.
Plus, with Divvy’s live, human support only a phone call away, you might even make a new, incredibly helpful friend while you’re at it.
It’s simple, really: Save time. Save money. Demo Divvy for free by clicking on this sentence.
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Francis Scialabba
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The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the most popular long-term commitment after marriage, fell to a record low
of 2.67%, according to Freddie Mac. That's 1) the 15th record low this
year and 2) the lowest since Freddie started tracking ~50 years ago.
Bargain
basement rates have pushed folks who might otherwise have held off a
few years into the homebuying ring. Compared to 2019, mortgage
applications are up 26% and refinances 105%, per the Mortgage Bankers
Association.
Economists
expect that momentum to continue into 2021, especially after the Fed
recommitted Wednesday to its bond-buying program (which includes
mortgage-backed securities that have helped keep rates down).
While we're here...amazing news for aspiring Chip and Joanna Gaineses. Returns on home flips are at a two-decade high,
according to ATTOM Data Solutions. But good luck getting your hands on
cheap property: Surging home sales have squeezed supply and inflated
prices.
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The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew's Weekly News Quiz has been compared to being right about bitcoin.
It’s that satisfying. Ace the quiz.
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Google got hit with its third antitrust lawsuit in several months, this one over its search practices. Some good news: Its $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit was cleared by EU regulators.
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Robinhood's
had a couple of days. Yesterday, it paid a $65 million fine to settle
the SEC’s charges that it misled customers...one day after MA regulators
filed a complaint against the app.
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President-elect Joe Biden
said cybersecurity will be a top priority following the recent
suspected Russian hacking of top U.S. agencies and Fortune 500
companies.
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Coca-Cola will cut 2,200 jobs globally as part of a restructuring effort.
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FedEx said its profit almost doubled last quarter during the shipping boom.
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Michael Regan, North Carolina’s environment secretary, is reportedly Biden’s pick to lead the EPA.
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A super gift just for you. Sakara’s Metabolism Super Powder
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$180 billion is a lot of bones. That’s how much is spent per year on osteoarthritis treatments. Most treatments only address the symptoms, but Cytonics’s drug works at a molecular level. And they’re taking investments in this revolutionary approach. Invest here to join their online public offering.*
Weekend listening: Did you know we have another podcast? It's called Founder's Journal,
and it's Morning Brew CEO Alex Lieberman's audio diary made public
daily. Check out our top episodes and you'll be hooked: 1) The acquisition 2) AMA on remote work and personal branding and 3) interview questions.
Help us help you: Take this quick survey to help out our brand partnerships teammates, who make this newsletter possible. Thanks!
Follow Friday: It's all about YouTube today. Cooking with Sam the Cooking Guy, science stuff with The Cozy Robot Show, theme park history with Defunctland, musical analysis with Todd in the Shadows, and travel with Minority Nomad.
*This is sponsored advertising content
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Giphy
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Tomorrow, we
are very excited to publish a special edition newsletter on dating and
relationships during the coronavirus pandemic. And we all know the best
part about dating and relationships are the funny/weird stories we tell
each other after the fact.
If you went on dates during the pandemic (virtual or otherwise), we'd love to hear from you about your experience. You can share your stories anonymously here.
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Think of a
familiar four-word phrase that means "to be last." Together the first
two words are a synonym for the last word. What phrase is it?
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When you share the Brew, you earn rewards.
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Hit the button below to start sharing the Brew.
Click to ShareOr copy & paste your referral link to others:
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"Bring up the rear." That's a real knee-slapper.
Source
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