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TOGETHER WITH
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Good morning.
Morning Brew is growing like a digital media weed, so we (the writers
of this newsletter) want to take a moment to welcome all the folks
who've recently joined various teams at the company, from revenue to
product to our personal favorite, editorial.
We’re so excited to have you, and whatever awkward moments you may have had on Zoom—no one noticed.
Except you, Tom. Either you have three identical shirts or...
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NASDAQ
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14,007.70
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+ 0.14%
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S&P
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3,911.23
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- 0.11%
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DOW
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31,375.83
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- 0.03%
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GOLD
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1,838.80
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+ 0.25%
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10-YR
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1.161%
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- 0.70 bps
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OIL
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58.38
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+ 0.71%
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*As of market close.
Here's what these numbers mean.
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Government: President Trump's second impeachment trial began yesterday
with a graphic video showing the violent mob attacking the Capitol.
Democrats are hoping to bar Trump from ever holding public office
again.
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Economy: Yesterday, President Biden met with top business leaders, including the CEOs of JPMorgan and Walmart, to chat about his economic policy and his $1.9 trillion stimulus plan.
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Markets: The 1959–1966 Celtics championship run lives another day. The S&P and Dow snapped their six-day winning streak, but the Nasdaq hit another record high.
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Francis Scialabba
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Without
Twitter we wouldn’t have Bernie memes, dogecoin at record highs, or
something to do while “watching” TV. But, as the company’s earnings report revealed yesterday, it still has a long way to go to compete with the giants of social media from a business standpoint.
Twitter recorded quarterly revenue of more than $1 billion for the second time in Q4, up 28% from last year. Daily active users jumped 27% to 192 million (slightly short of expectations).
So Twitter’s growing...but it’s still tiny
With a
market valuation of ~$48 billion, Twitter is worth 6% of Facebook, which
pulled in about 28x as much revenue as Twitter last quarter. And while
Twitter pays the bills exclusively through advertising, it accounts for
just 0.8% of the global digital advertising market.
Writing in New York Magazine, Big Tech critic Prof. Scott Galloway made the case for booting CEO Jack Dorsey and overhauling Twitter, which he called a “terribly run company.”
- The day
it IPO’d in 2013, Twitter’s stock price closed at $44.90; it closed at
$59.87 yesterday. That’s not something you brag about with a “How it
started…” post.
But there are signs of life
Long criticized for failing to innovate on its product experience, Twitter has recently...tried to innovate.
It launched an audio-based platform called Spaces (which will compete
with Clubhouse), and acquired Revue, a company in the most booming
industry of all: newsletters.
Even spicier, it’s reportedly building
a highly anticipated subscription service to diversify away from its
purely advertising-based revenue model. One paid approach may allow
users to “tip” people they follow for access to exclusive content.
Zoom out: Almost one year ago, Twitter reached a deal with activist investors who wanted to oust Dorsey from his position. Dorsey’s still here...but he has a lot to prove.
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Francis Scialabba
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It's been 334 days since we last wore jeans. What's the latest news on Covid-19?
Virus: The WHO team probing the coronavirus's origins said it was "extremely unlikely" the virus leaked from a lab, and more likely that it jumped from an animal species to humans.
Vaccines: The number of US adults willing to get vaccinated rose from September to December...but was still <50%, the CDC reported. Yesterday, a Walgreens exec said ~60% of nursing home staff and 20% of residents have declined shots.
Births: In China, registered births fell
15% last year, according to government data. Although Beijing dropped
its one-child policy in 2015, births have continued falling since then
and additional declines from the pandemic could place more stress on
China's workforce and healthcare and pension systems down the line.
- The US is also projected to have a "birth bust" of 300,000 fewer babies this year.
Travel: To keep highly contagious variants out, Britain will require
international travelers arriving from countries on its watch list to
pay $2,400 for a 10-day hotel quarantine. Lying or breaking the rules
could incur fines up to $14,000 or 10 years in prison.
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Francis Scialabba
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Yesterday morning, the United Arab Emirates's spacecraft, al-Amal (meaning "Hope"), entered
a stable orbit around our galactic neighbor, Mars. China's Tianwen-1
spacecraft is expected to join it today, and the US's Perseverance rover
is slated for a Feb. 18 touchdown on the planet's surface.
The nifty science-museum details: From
its equatorial orbit, the UAE's satellite will scan the entire surface
of Mars every nine days, per mission officials. To reach orbit, the
SUV-sized spacecraft used onboard autonomous computers, since the
22-minute time-lag between it and Earth means ground control is
impossible.
The geopolitical backstory: The satellite is part of the UAE's effort to transition its economy away from oil and toward science and tech, in case oil prices top out.
Big picture:
Space is where countries project what IR majors call "soft
power"—showing off their technological abilities as a means of juicing
their standing among allies and rivals.
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The other
day, we were chatting with a pal who told us he thought “all forms were
boring.” After we spat out our coffee, we looked that chap right in the
eye and told him how wrong he was.
“My friend,” we said, “you have clearly never interacted with Typeform, the insanely versatile form builder that helps your biz create forms which scoff at the very concept of ‘boring.’”
“We are trying not to lose our temper at your ignorance of Typeform’s glory, but we are flabbergasted that you’ve never encountered Typeform’s beautiful customizable interface, which allows you to fully customize your form to match your brand.
“Kind sir, there’s almost nothing you can’t do with Typeform. Feedback. Lead gen. Market research. Surveys. Event sign-up. Heck, you can sell stuff. And every Typeform gives your user a people-friendly, conversational experience.”
That’s when our friend looked at us, a twinkle in his eye, and said, “I’ll start using Typeform right away.”
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Getty Images
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Every Wednesday, we answer a reader-submitted question about business and the economy. Got something to ask us? Click here.
From Judy B. in Boston: Please explain the difference between the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve.
The Brew's answer: Thanks
for asking so politely. Generally speaking, the Treasury enacts fiscal
policy (i.e., taxation and spending policies set by Congress), while the
Fed handles monetary policy (which affects the money supply).
Let's start with the Treasury, which manages
the US' finances. It collects taxes, print money, enforce finance laws,
manage public debt, oversee national banks, and even regulate the
alcohol industry.
- The
department is headed by Secretary Janet Yellen, who is an important
economic advisor to the president and has accomplished enough to get her
own Hamilton-style rap.
The Treasury in action: When Congress passed the CARES Act, the Treasury was responsible
for sending direct payments to individuals, doling out PPP funds,
providing rental assistance, and helping out struggling state and local
governments.
Now do the Fed
Chaired by Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve has a "dual mandate" to pursue maximum employment and price stability.
It can do that by setting interest rates, buying/selling government
bonds, and changing how much money banks must keep in their reserves.
The Fed in action: To keep markets stable during Covid, the Fed bought
a lot of government bonds and mortgage-backed securities to inject cash
into the economy. It lowered interest rates to near-zero to reduce
borrowing costs for households and businesses, and even set up limited
emergency lending programs.
Hope that helps! Feel free to ask more questions here.
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Giphy
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This year's Super Bowl viewing numbers were much like
Patrick Mahomes: incredibly impressive in general, but bested by older
peers. Including both traditional TV and streaming platforms, about 96
million people watched the game, per CBS, which is a 5.5% drop from last
year and the smallest Super Bowl audience since 2007.
Why? Closed bars and restaurants, plus smaller gatherings, meant fewer "passive viewers," or people who watch the Super Bowl for the wings and dip, rather than for the football.
- Plus...for
networks as well as the rest of us, it's annoying that Tom Brady is as
good as he is. With Brady's Bucs already ahead by 15 points at halftime,
the game wasn't particularly close, which drags on ratings.
One bright spot: The streaming audience was up 65% from last year at 5.7 million viewers per minute.
Zoom out: Each year, broadcast networks CBS, NBC, and Fox pass
the big game around like a profit-printing pigskin. By carrying the
first—and hopefully only—Covid-era Super Bowl, CBS pulled the short
straw.
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Eli Lilly's CFO resigned after an investigation uncovered "inappropriate personal communications" with more than one employee.
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GameStop stock continued to tumble, falling to about $50 a share. At its intraday peak Jan. 28, it hit $483.
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Colin Kaepernick has a SPAC.
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Lyft’s
revenue declined 35% last year but it narrowed its losses due to
aggressive cost-cutting. Shares gained 10% after its earnings report.
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Rebecca Black's "Friday" turns 10 today. She's releasing a remix to mark the anniversary.
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Your best career move is calling. The CMA (Certified Management Accountant) certification is the global benchmark for finance and accounting pros that can land you a rewarding job beyond just the salary boost. Get the career you want with a CMA.*
Sound investment means finding the right home for your money. Caliber
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Another great newsletter: Insider's
10 Things in Politics newsletter takes you inside the top stories at
the nexus of politics, policy, and power. Yep, that juicy. Check it out.
Viral videos: We simply have to include these for your viewing pleasure: 1) a cat filter gone terribly wrong and 2) really, really, really bad nachos
Planet Earth: It's pretty cute.
*This is sponsored advertising content
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The Chronicle of Philanthropy published a report
on America’s biggest donors of 2020, who collectively gave $24.7
billion to nonprofits last year. We’ll give you their rankings and
initials...can you name the donors?
1. JB
2. MS
3. MB
5. JD
13. BG + MG
15. SS
31. MJ
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When you share the Brew with your network, you earn free swag like our classic Morning Brew t-shirt.
Are
you one of those people who is always going places? Then you probably
need a shirt. Might as well be this bad boy with the Morning Brew logo
plastered across the chest.
Hit the button below to learn more and access your rewards hub.
Click to ShareOr copy & paste your referral link to others:
morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=a17a7110
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JB - Jeff Bezos
MS - MacKenzie Scott
MB - Michael Bloomberg
JD - Jack Dorsey
BG + MG - Bill and Melinda Gates
SS - Sheryl Sandberg
MJ - Michael Jordan
Today's Headlines
JUST IN: Secret Plot Against Donald Trump BUSTED - Major Revelation...
Now we know >>
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Joe Biden's Press Secretary Jen Psaki ruthlessly mocked the Space Force during her daily press briefing.
Apparently she doesn't know that the Space Force is the 6th official branch of the U.S. Military and is HIGHLY respected.
Space
Force is filled with personnel who conduct space operations, advanced
engineering, acquisitions, and intelligence operations that nobody on
the Biden team can even comprehend.
Let's
just say, the Space Force operations are WAY over the head of the dopey
Biden team who is clearly just bumbling and stumbling through the job.
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Breaking News: Michelle Finally Snaps - Melania Sent Her Over The 'Edge'
Politicians And Sponsors Shocked
{Continue Reading}
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February 10
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| FEATURED BIOGRAPHY
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| Mark Spitz
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| FEATURED EVENT
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| 1996
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| Kasparov-versus-computer chess match
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SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY
| ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY
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Glenn Beck
American television and radio personality
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Joe Biden Revives Story We ALL Know is False
Only
OPEN if You Support Police Lives Across America? (sponsor)
Marco Rubio Blasts Biden from Senate Floor over Border
Chaos
Mike Huckabee Makes it Clear Just How Radical Joe Biden Really
Is
Here’s Biden’s New Face Mask Plan – Good Luck With That
Joe!
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| ADVERTISEMENT |
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| ADVERTISEMENT |
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