Tuesday, March 30, 2021

BREW WITH HEADLINES

Daily Brew

TOGETHER WITH

Fundrise

Good morning! It's a great day for a fresh look.

MARKETS


 

NASDAQ
-0.60%
13,059.65
S&P
-0.09%
3,971.09
Dow
+0.30%
33,171.37


Bitcoin
+3.71%
$57,714.41
10-Year
+3.00 bps
1.715%
JPMorgan
-1.55%
$152.68

 

*Stock data as of market close, bitcoin as of 8:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

  • Markets: Stocks, particularly in the banking sector, held up pretty well following the hedge fund blow-up that captivated Wall Street this weekend. Expect more ups and downs in trading this week as investors adjust their positions ahead of Q1’s close.
  • Nation: Opening statements began in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who faces three criminal charges, including second-degree murder, in the death of George Floyd last year. 

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MARKETS

About the New Markets Section...

Wall Street bull standing next to bitcoin

Francis Scialabba

Today, the Brew unveiled a brand new design for our Markets section with some pretty big changes. So before we get into the day's business news, we wanted to provide a little insight into why we made the switch.

From a graphics POV, we got rid of some unnecessary white space so that, with just a quick glance, you can tell if indicators moved up or down.

You also probably noticed that we removed oil and gold. In their place, we added 1) bitcoin and 2) a "flex" spot, which will allow us to showcase any security—whether it's a tech stock, oil, or dogecoin—that made an interesting move the previous day. Today we picked JPMorgan stock because of the turmoil around the banking sector.

As for bitcoin…

After much consideration we believe the time has come to feature it daily at the top of the newsletter. Perhaps you just took a tequila shot out of happiness. Maybe you just chucked your computer out the window in a fit of rage.  

So why'd we do it? Simply put: Its price is noteworthy. Bitcoin, as the flagship cryptocurrency, has grown tremendously as an asset over the last decade, earning wider acceptance among Fortune 500 companies, institutional financial firms, and individual investors alike. We think our Markets section will be more relevant to readers with bitcoin in it.

By the way, this is not an endorsement of bitcoin—we have no opinion on whether you should buy or sell it. It's simply a recognition that finance, just like anything else, is changing, and our newsletter should reflect that.

        

PUBLIC HEALTH

US Gets a Side Stitch on the Anchor Leg

Line to get Covid shots

Francis Scialabba

After a brutal winter surge, Covid-19 cases fell dramatically in late February and managed to sit steady for a month. But now, despite a vaccine campaign that's trounced expectations like a Beeple NFT, numbers are creeping back up. 

The seven-day rolling average for new cases is back above 60,000 and rising, and deaths (which typically lag a couple weeks) are up 3%. 

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is worried. At an emotional press conference yesterday, she warned of "impending doom" from another surge and implored the public to take a page from Prof. Moody and practice some constant vigilance. 

Onto the better news

Over one-third of adults (about 95 million people) have received at least one shot, according to the CDC. Almost 53 million are fully vaccinated. And within three weeks, President Biden says, 90% of adults will be eligible to receive the vaccine within five miles of their home.  

Yesterday, the CDC also reported that the first "real world" study of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines showed 90% efficacy and that they help prevent asymptomatic infections. 

  • The first shot alone confers 80% protection, although experts aren't sure how long that lasts without the second booster shot. 
  • But unlike those who promise to "grab lunch soon," vaccine recipients have followed up: Almost 96% of two-shot recipients get their second dose in the recommended time-frame. 

Zoom out: Rising caseloads reinforce that more vaccines doesn't immediately translate to less Covid in the short-term. Yesterday, Biden pleaded with state and local leaders to maintain or reinstate mask mandates as the rollout continues. 

+ While we're here...the latest installment in Covid-19: Origin Story. In a draft report obtained by the AP, WHO researchers investigating the coronavirus said it most likely jumped from bats to another critter to humans. A lab leak was determined to be "extremely unlikely."

        

SHIPPING

If You Love Something, Let It Float

Marine map with circle around Ever Given

MarineTime

Well, folks, we did it. With the power of jokes, tugboats, and high tide, the Ever Given was freed from the Suez Canal yesterday after nearly a week of blocking it. While the ship might want to return to the anonymity of container transportation and leave the paparazzi behind, it's not that easy: The backlog of traffic at the Suez could take almost a week to clear and could ultimately create more congestion as ships begin to arrive at their destinations at the same time. 

  • The average wait time for a berth at ports in the LA area, the biggest US gateway for goods from Asia, is already about eight days thanks to existing logjams.

Zoom out: The clog blocked more than 10% of global shipping traffic and brought up lots of talk about the fragility of global supply chains. 

        

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Fundrise

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  • Over the past 5, 10, 20, and 40 year periods, if you owned an investment portfolio with a 30 percent allocation to private real estate (instead of a portfolio with 60% stocks and 40% bonds), you likely would’ve generated a higher return with more annual income and less volatility compared to a more traditional portfolio.

Mmmm, that 30 Percent Real Estate Diet tastes reeeaalllll good. Start diversifying your portfolio with Fundrise today.

GRAB BAG

Key Performance Indicators

A man smokes a joint during a demonstration for the decriminalization of...

Thomas Samson/Getty Images

Stat: 10.7% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 became addicted to marijuana within a year of trying it for the first time, according to a new study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics. That's comparable to the same age group's addiction rate (11.2%) for prescription opioids.

Quote: "It had essentially gorged on more debt than it could handle." 

Bloomberg columnist Tim O'Brien argued that the liquidation of Archegos Capital, an obscure hedge fund that bet big on stocks like ViacomCBS and Discovery and was forced to sell off $20 billion in shares on Friday, is symbolic of a lack of transparency on Wall Street. 

Read: How mRNA technology could change the world. (The Atlantic)

        

RETAIL

Hell's Hottest Spring Look

Singer Lil Nas X holds "Satan" Nikes in front of face

MSCHF

Lil Nas X's unofficial “Satan” Nikes sold out of its 666 pairs in under a minute on Monday. The updated Nike Air Max 97s are part of a collab between the “Old Town Road” singer and New York-based art collective MSCHF, which is known for online stunts including chopping up a $30k fine art print last year.

The sneakers allegedly contain a drop of real human blood mixed into the red ink sloshing around inside the air bubble. Nike was quick to say it didn’t create, endorse, or bleed into the sneaker—then it later sued MSCHF for selling “unauthorized Satan Shoes.“ It's worried about the social media blowback: Everyone from South Dakota’s governor, Kristi Noem, to football player Trevor Lawrence tweeted their varying levels of concern about the eternally damned shoes this weekend. 

Zoom out: Lil Nas X timed the sneaker drop with his most recent music video release for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” the steamiest take on going to H-E-L-L we’ve ever seen.

        

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

  • The Biden administration announced an ambitious plan to boost offshore wind power in the US.
  • Petr Kellner, the Czech Republic's richest man, died in a helicopter crash in Alaska along with four others.
  • Ark Invest, an investment firm that had an incredible run in 2020, is launching a space exploration exchange-traded fund (ETF) today. 
  • Volkswagen accidentally leaked the new name it had chosen for its US operations: Voltswagen. A name so clever you'd think we came up with it. 
  • Carbone, the exclusive Italian restaurant with a global reach, now has its own pasta sauce for retail.

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GAMES

Trump or Biden?

The New York Times published an entertaining game yesterday that tests your intuition about the 2020 election and the American landscape. You are shown a Google Maps street view of a particular neighborhood, then have to guess which presidential candidate the locals voted for in the last election.

Here's one example. Can you tell whether Biden or Trump won this area? 

 

 

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ANSWER

Trump won here by 16 points. "Here" is Worth, Illinois, in suburban Chicago.

Activists Want Corporations to Boycott Ga. Over Election Law

Biden Regime Preparing Executive Orders on Gun Control

SPECIAL: Make Your Colon Clean as a Whistle

SD Gov. Noem Kills Transgender Bill, but Orders Ban

AP Tells Reporters Not to Call Immigration Surge a ‘Crisis’

Columnists
Covid Passport System Is the Start of Medical Fascism

Matt Vespa


You Know It's Bad When Bill Maher Is the Left's Voice of Reason

Larry O'Connor


A Dangerous Judicial Power Grab

Derek Hunter


The American Civil War Is Over Judeo-Christian Values

Dennis Prager


Chris Frye Is Helping Stage New Castle's Comeback

Salena Zito



Biden Fails First Test to Control Prescription Drug Costs

Chris Stansbury


How Big Banks Are Planning to Force Americans into the ‘Great Reset’ Trap

Justin Haskins


Autocracy vs. Democracy or China vs. America?

Pat Buchanan


Biden & Democrats: 'American Lives Don't Matter'

Wayne Allyn Root


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Papered Over: The Missing Headlines

Jason Killmeyer


Jim Crow and the Georgia Voting Law

Cal Thomas


Cancel Culture Comes to Georgia and Comes for Me

John Albers


It Takes Big Energy to Back Up Little Wind and Solar

David Wojick


The Church Must Assume the Front Lines in Confronting America’s Suicide Crisis

Tim Clinton


Khamenei's Preferred Choice in Iran’s Upcoming Presidential Election Show

Cyrus Yaqubi


Is There No Introspection Among Left-Leaning Journalists?

Michael Brown



INVESTING
Loews Corporation to Change Ticker Symbol to ''L'' | Personal Finance, Financial Advice, Money, Busi




Tipsheet
Vaccine Passports in Florida? DeSantis Has the Perfect Response.

Leah Barkoukis


Using the Legislative Timeline to Slow Down Dems' Radical Agenda

Congressman Andy Biggs


Is Kamala Harris Laughing At Parents Unable to Send Their Kids Back to School?

Matt Vespa


Buttigieg Has an Update About His Mileage Tax Idea That He Said 'Shows a Lot of Promise'

Leah Barkoukis


Here's the Narcissistic Shirt Jim Acosta Wore While Receiving His COVID Shot

Beth Baumann


Teachers Don't Feel Safe Enough to Teach In-person... Except When It's a Convention Center Full of Unaccompanied Minors

Beth Baumann


Wait...Did Fauci Just Say the COVID Vaccine Was *His* Idea?

Matt Vespa


CNN Throws Left-Wing News Outlet Under the Bus, Gets Accused of 'Sleazy' Reporting

Connor McNulty


South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem Vetoes Bill to Protect Women's Sports and Ban Trans Athletes

Beth Baumann


President Trump Shreds Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx for Their Latest COVID Claims

Beth Baumann


Hunter Made a Shocking Admission About His Gun Scandal In Text Messages

Beth Baumann


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Political Cartoons
Bearing Arms
19-Year Old New Yorker Arrested For Fifth Gun-Related Crime | Cam Edwards

Utah Protestors Gather At State Capitol To Support Gun Rights | Tom Knighton

Productive Dialogues Don't Begin With Forfeiting Our Gun Rights | Tom Knighton

NYTimes Columnist Wants To Rebrand Gun Control Movement | Cam Edwards

PA Governor's "Common Sense" Gun Controls Don't Make Sense At All | Cam Edwards

Today's Headlines...

Nancy Pelosi Just Proved Why She’s the WORST House Speaker in History

[RESTOCKED!] Get Your Trump Collectible Pocket Watch Today (sponsor)

This Flashback of Kamala Harris Talking about the Border will Crush Her

SHOCKING Video Shows the Horrifying Truth at the Border

Former Trump Official Just Socked Biden Admin with Scorching Demand

Lara Trump Hired As Fox News Contributor

Lara Trump Hired As Fox News Contributor

Here's What We Know >>


 

Watch Ted Cruz Absolutely Eviscerates Democrats...

Watch Ted Cruz Absolutely Eviscerates Democrats...

Read This Alert >>>

White House Confirms Biden Will Sign Executive Order...

White House Confirms Biden Will Sign Executive Order...

Read This Alert >>>


 

Clarence Thomas is about to hand Joe Biden the defeat he was waiting for

Clarence Thomas has been waiting years for a case like this to come down the pike.

And a lower court handed him that opportunity on a silver platter.

Now Clarence Thomas is about to hand Joe Biden the defeat he was waiting for.

 March 30th, 2021

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Kamala Harris Musters Fake Accent, Laughs When Discussing Struggling Parents
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Mexico Seeks US Support for Welfare Programs to Curb Migration
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Worst Senior Moment Yet: Biden Has Multiple Verbal Stumbles in Only 53 Seconds
On Monday, President Joe Biden gave remarks from the White House on the progress of COVID-19 vaccination efforts amid rising cases of the... Read More ›
"I'm Scared" - CDC Director Chokes Back Tears As She Fearmongers Impending Doom
In a stunningly emotional outburst during this morning's COVID-19 Response press conference, new CDC Director Rochelle Walensky went... Read More ›
Learn This ONE Move To Take Down An Attacker
There's one simple fighting move that can save your life. It can take down an attacker no matter how big they are. You can master the technique in a few hours. It doesn't… Read More ›

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