Wednesday, April 14, 2021

BREW WITH HEADLINES

 

Daily Brew

TOGETHER WITH

The Motley Fool

Good morning. It’s a big day in the world of business. Coinbase will strut into the public markets and earnings season kicks off with more traditional financial institutions reporting their Q1 results, including JPMorgan. 

It’s also a big day in the world of nuts: National Pecan Day. Did you know that pecans are the only major tree nut native to North America? 

MARKETS 1-DAY PERFORMANCE


 

Nasdaq
+1.05%
13,996.10
S&P
+0.33%
4,141.59
Dow
-0.20%
33,677.27


Bitcoin
+4.69%
$63,120.73
10-Year
-4.7 bps
1.622%
Roblox
+9.40%
$82.05

 

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

  • Markets: Stocks shrugged off the Johnson & Johnson vaccine news (more on that in just a sec) and data showing higher consumer prices (also more ahead). Roblox shares hit a record after inking a partnership with Hasbro to sell Nerf blasters.
  • Crypto: Bitcoin hit a record high ahead of Coinbase's historic direct listing today. Based on the Nasdaq’s reference price of $250/share, the crypto exchange will be valued at ~$65 billion when it hits the public markets.

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PUBLIC HEALTH

Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Doses

A gif of Homer Simpson slowly backing into leaves and disappearing.

Giphy

Yesterday, Johnson & Johnson joined millions of disappointed students on dreaded waitlists after the CDC and FDA recommended pausing its single-dose Covid vaccine while they investigate reports of rare blood clots. 

  • Like, six-cases-out-of-6.8-million-administered-doses rare. 

Emphasis on the "recommended." While all J&J shots administered through federal channels are paused, state vaccine programs can make their own decisions. But over two dozen of them, including New York and California, have joined CVS, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid in immediately pausing shots. 

The agencies say this is out of an "abundance of caution" while they determine if the vaccine caused rare blood clots and low platelet counts in six women shortly after their vaccinations. One of the women died and one is in critical condition.

Some public health experts think it's the right move and that the agencies are doing their job. Some are concerned that the review could increase vaccine hesitancy and maintain that Covid risks outweigh clot risks. 

Does this sound familiar?

The arguments are pretty similar to what the EU went through last month, when several countries paused the AstraZeneca vaccine (which hasn't been approved in the US) due to a few dozen reported cases of blood clots.

  • The bloc deemed the shot safe and resumed vaccinations, but regulators did add “very rare” clotting to the side effects list.
  • Last Friday, the EU announced it's now also looking into four blood clot cases tied to Johnson & Johnson's vaccine. 

The damage to vaccine supply

For now, it's not bad. The White House is working with national and state partners to get people rescheduled from Johnson & Johnson appointments to Moderna or Pfizer. Even with a disruption, the administration is confident it can administer 3 million shots/day. 

  • To-date, J&J has accounted for <5% of all US shots administered. 

Looking ahead...the CDC committee that makes recommendations on immunization practices meets today to discuss when J&J's one shot gets a second shot. The acting FDA Commissioner said the pause should last only "a matter of days."  

        

SPAC

Biggest SPAC Deal Ever

A woman stands outside the Grab transport office in Singapore on June 13...

Roslan Rahman/Getty Images

Southeast Asian "superapp" Grab is going public through a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp. The deal values Grab at $39.6 billion, making it a) the most expensive SPAC merger ever and b) the largest share offering ever from a Southeast Asian company in US markets.

  • Through the deal, Grab will raise $4 billion to tap the pandemic-driven influx of ~40 million Southeast Asians estimated to have gotten online for the first time in 2020.

Honey, where's my superapp?

Singapore-based Grab is a *takes deep breath* ride-hailing, food-delivering, hotel-booking, online-banking, mobile payment-facilitating, insurance-providing goliath with over 187 million users. The company started with just the Lyft-like service in 2012, and has been sending other apps to their jiggle-delete graves ever since.

But while Grab is a jack-of-all-trades, it's a master of one: Its food delivery business accounted for more than 50% of revenue in Q3 of last year and, unlike its other services, is expected to break even by the end of this year. 

Looking ahead...shares are expected to go live on the Nasdaq following the deal's completion in July.

        

ECONOMY

The Prices They Are A-Rising

Gas pump with dollar bills

Francis Scialabba

US consumer prices increased the most in nearly nine years in March: 0.6% over the prior month and 2.6% over last year.

  • Driving more than half of the increase: gas prices, which shot up 9.1% month over month. 

We don't need to call in the Hardy Boys to figure out what's going on. In March, Americans were swiping their Chase Sapphires with gusto as states eased restrictions, while at the same time supply-chain bottlenecks led to lower inventory levels for businesses. That's a recipe for a price bump.

So should we be worried about inflation? Many experts say no. Consider where we were last March: inside watching Tiger King, spending money on nothing but toilet paper and desk organizers. A big annual increase in prices simply doesn't tell us much when the point of comparison is so abnormal.

  • Some economists are concerned that too much stimulus will cause an overheated economy. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers told the FT, "I'm concerned that what is being done is substantially excessive."

Looking ahead…the Fed expects a temporary bump in prices that will smooth out once supply chains figure their Suez out. 

        

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The Motley Fool

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  • Netflix, up 27,019%
  • Amazon, up 1,615%
  • Apple, up 2,137%

The best things really do come in threes (OH, TRICYCLES? There’s another one). 

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[Returns as of 3/26/21]

GRAB BAG

Key Performance Indicators

Country landscape

RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images

Stat: More than 50% of the global market share for seeds is controlled by three corporations: Bayer, DuPont, and Syngenta. Farmers' rights activists are worried about the growing privatization of the genetic sequences of plants: The number of patents on plants has increased from less than 120 in 1990 to 12,000 currently.

Quote: "We do get outgunned."

Charles Rettig, the commissioner of the IRS, told the Senate Finance Committee yesterday that tax evasion in the US costs the government about $1 trillion a year, up from about $440 billion a decade ago. The main culprits: wealthy Americans and large corporations.

Read: Your definitive guide to autonomous vehicles. (Emerging Tech Brew)

        

SUPPLY CHAIN

Bad News, Boba Lovers

Boba

Giphy

Savor the satisfying snap of an XL straw puncturing a bubble tea lid this week, because next week the boba supply chain is drying up. The slurpable little tapioca balls are the latest victim of a pandemic-strapped supply chain, reports the SF Chronicle. 

It's a lot to chew on: Big-time boba shop Boba Guys posted an Instagram video explaining that 99% of US boba is imported from overseas. Taiwan is the biggest supplier of pre-made balls, but even US shops that roll their own pearls depend on tapioca starch from cassava plants grown in Thailand. 

  • And if you know a US cassava farmer, Boba Guys wants their digits, no cap. 

Zoom out: Global supply chains are still spazzing out from factory hiccups earlier in the pandemic, and it's affecting everyday life in big ways (semiconductor chips) and small (boba).

Looking ahead...it could take months to regain a stable supply of boba.

        

EXPLAINER

Q&A: Why Should I Care About Earnings?

Every Wednesday, we answer a reader-submitted question about business and the economy. Want clarification on something you read in the Brew? Click here and ask.

Question from Reha in Boston: How does a company's quarterly earnings report affect its stock price?

Brew's answer: Whew. It's that time of year again. Every three months, publicly traded companies give the Securities and Exchange Commission a detailed account of their financial performance from the previous quarter. Then, execs usually host a conference call to parse the data in front of analysts and whichever media interns drew the short stick.

"Earnings" is basically a fancy word for profit: what companies make after expenses. But an earnings report can also show metrics like revenue, subscriber counts (in the case of companies like Netflix), and predictions for future performance, aka "guidance."

Creditors use earnings information to help determine a business's creditworthiness, and investors use it to gauge things like whether a company is tracking on long-term goals, the leadership team's effectiveness, and industry standing. Generally, if a company's earnings underperform analysts' expectations, shares might decrease; if they beat expectations, shares  may rise. But sometimes, if earnings were underwhelming but the company drops some exciting information about what's ahead, investors send prices up.

If you have more questions about earnings, bookmark this guide.

        

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

  • Apple announced a hardware event on April 20 with the tagline, "Spring Loaded." Expect iPad updates.
  • Q1 revenue at LVMH, the French luxury group, topped pre-pandemic levels.
  • Fortnite maker Epic Games is valued at $28.7 billion after its latest funding round.
  • Charles Schwab accidentally sent $1.2 million to the Fidelity account of a woman in Louisiana (she had requested $82.56). She spent some of the money on a house and an SUV, which have since been seized.  

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BREW'S BETS

Become a memelord: Each week in our Sunday Edition newsletter, we hold a meme battle—and we're still accepting entries for this Sunday. Find the blank meme template here, then, once you create your hilarious meme, submit it at this link

Who’s No. 1? Here’s how Americans rank all 50 states

We're close to the end of the newsletter: How about a funny viral video

Q&A: Yahoo! Answers is shutting down on May 4, but it's legacy as one of the weirdest places on the internet will live on. The Verge compiled the best of the site

GAMES

Twilight Zones

Which country has the most time zones? 

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ANSWER

With 12 time zones, France has the most. Confused? France has lots of overseas territories spread across the globe, mainly from its colonial empire days (including Martinique in the Caribbean Sea and French Polynesia in the South Pacific). Russia has the most contiguous time zones: 10 across a single landmass.

 

 

  _______SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______

Columnists
No More GOP Suicide Pacts

Kurt Schlichter


Crowder Calls Out Censorship

John Stossel


The Press Is Infrastructure for Biden

Tim Graham


The MLB's Unforced Error Could Be Georgia's Walk Off Homerun

Kelly Loeffler


Gov. Hutchinson's Distortion of President Reagan

Star Parker



The Destruction of American Exceptionalism

Ken Blackwell


511 Police Officers 'Feloniously Killed' On Duty in Last 10 Years on Record

Terry Jeffrey


'America First' in Vaccinations

Betsy McCaughey


Uncle Sam Needs You for a Counter-Psychological Warfare Strategy

Austin Bay


ADVERTISEMENT
The Supreme Court Reaffirms That COVID-19 Regulations Must Comply With the First Amendment

Jacob Sullum


Progressive Lies Must be Confronted Today Before They Become Tomorrow’s Truths

Cliff Nichols


This Isn’t Asa Hutchinson’s GOP Anymore

Frank Cannon


On Israel’s Independence Day, Let’s Remember the Quest for Freedom is Never Finished

Yael Eckstein


Transgender Travesty by Dems

John and Andy Schlafly


The Fight Over Identity

Ben Shapiro


Humpty Dumpty Democrats Are Destroying the English Language – On Purpose

Bob Barr


Leftists Don’t Really Care About Virtue

Jeremy Frankel


The Value of Organized Religion to a Representative Republic

Tom Purcell


When the Patient Becomes the Physician

Mary Szoch


Lockdowns Are Here Forever

Jason Garshfield


Don’t Let Ballot Harvesting Destroy More Lives. Stop H.R. 1

Jordan Tygh



INVESTING
The Forgotten Depression

Why Are Interest Rates So Low?

Small Business Confidence Shrinks


Tipsheet
GOP Group Spotlights Individuals 'Hardest Hit' by MLB's Decision to Boycott Georgia

Reagan McCarthy


While America Slept: The Story of a Distracted Military and a Rising China

Congressman Mark Green


EXCLUSIVE POLL: One in Four Students Believe Biden Mentally Unfit

Reagan McCarthy and Spencer Brown


Minnesota Mayor's Traffic Stop Suggestion to Police After Duante Wright Shooting Will Get Cops Killed

Matt Vespa


FDA to Lift Longstanding Regulations on Abortion Pill Distribution

Reagan McCarthy


Republican Senate Arm Brings in Major Fundraising Haul in Quarter One

Reagan McCarthy


Republican Senators Eviscerate Biden's Decision to Withdraw Troops From Afghanistan

Reagan McCarthy


Watch: Townhall's Frontline Footage from the Brooklyn Center, MN Riots

Julio Rosas


New Mexico Dem Governor Under Fire for Sexual Harassment Settlement With Former Staffer

Reagan McCarthy


Yes, What The Japanese Are About to Do...Is How We Got Godzilla

Matt Vespa


CNN Technical Director Admits What We All Knew What That Outlet Was Doing Throughout Trump's Presidency

Matt Vespa


ADVERTISEMENT
Political Cartoons
Bearing Arms
Rhode Island Considers Still More Gun Control | Tom Knighton

New Wyoming Law Protects Firearm Industry From Anti-Gun Banks | John Petrolino

Those Tough New Jersey Gun Laws Hard at Work | John Petrolino

NC Paper Pushes For Red Flag Laws | Tom Knighton

South Carolina Man Giving "Florida Man" A Run For His Money | John Petrolino

‘Squad’ Member Calls for Abolishing Police After Daunte Wright Incident

Jason Whitlock Gets Twitter Jail for Criticizing BLM for Buying Large Mansions

Jen Psaki bizarrely stereotypes white conservatives, gets mocked in response

Here’s How Many Voters Still Think Cheating Affected 2020 Election

Newsmax.com

Beware of Joe Biden's Coming Socialism...

Blockbuster New Book Reveals Details of Creeping Socialism and Why the Democrats Have Embraced a Radical Agenda for America!



Joe Biden and Democrats ran for office in 2020 on the most radical platform ever concocted by their national party.

They want to fundamentally change America with massive tax increases on working Americans and businesses.

 


FOX
Daily update April 14, 2021


NEWS

Fox stands behind Tucker Carlson after Anti-Defamation League urges his firing
In a letter sent Sunday to the civil rights group and shared with The Associated Press, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said Carlson had “decried and rejected ...
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'Gutfeld!' review: Fox News talk show lives in glass house when critiquing Trump-obsessed media
And that was one night after former Trump press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, the new co-host of Fox's “Outnumbered,” was the premiere episode's big ...
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Smartmatic Calls Bulls--t on Fox's First Amendment Argument
Smartmatic, the election technology company suing Fox News for ... billion lawsuit, denouncing Fox's free speech argument as flagrant self-deception.
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Surprise: Fox News Is Full of Sympathy for the Officer Who “Accidentally” Shot Daunte Wright
On Monday, Fox News host Martha MacCallum insisted that viewers “think about [Potter] as well today, because that officer's life is forever changed by ...
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Biden wants to withdraw all 2500 US troops from Afghanistan by 9/11: senior defense official
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. President Biden plans to remove all American troops from ...
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North Dakota fisherman reels in record-breaking walleye
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. That's officially a big fish. A ...
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Possible pork shortage could strike during summer months
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. Time to prepare for yet another shortage.
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Fox News Media Hires Google Executive as Legal Boss (Corrects)
Fox News Media has named a former Google Cloud executive and head of legal for Oprah Winfrey's media company, Bernard T. Gugar, as its new top ...
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Squad member calls for end of US policing, which she says is 'intentionally racist'
The progressive lawmaker also appeared to equate policing with 'government funded murder'. By Brittany De Lea | Fox News.
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New conservative group wields unorthodox tactics to block Biden agenda, nominees
Former Speaker of the House and Fox News contributor Newt Gingrich analyzes the Democrats' nearly $2T coronavirus stimulus package.
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WEB

Fox News - White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a briefing | Facebook
... press secretary Jen Psaki holds a briefing. Fox News is live now. Just now ·. White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a briefing. Related Videos ...
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