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Good morning. Say
what you want about Morning Brew, but we aren’t stubborn and our ego is
the size of an ant's brain. So when tens of thousands of you wrote back
with constructive feedback about our Markets section redesign...we
listened.
To make the
section more readable and accessible, we're rolling out an updated
design today that we think is a big improvement. The goals:
- Make it easier to read
- Look better on dark mode across all of your devices
- Be easier on your eyes, especially right after waking up in the morning
We aren’t complete pushovers—bitcoin is staying ;)
Have a great weekend.
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Nasdaq
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14,082.55
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S&P
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4,211.47
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Dow
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34,060.36
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Bitcoin
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$52,974.83
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10-Year
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1.645%
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Ford
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$11.26
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*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET.
Here's what these numbers mean.
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Markets: The S&P closed at a record high. But Ford? Not so much. The automaker’s stock tumbled yesterday after the company warned that the global chip shortage is cramping its business. In that, it’s not alone.
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Francis Scialabba
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And it’s not just because Aaron Rodgers could join a football team near you. There’s actually been a lot of good news recently. Here’s a rundown.
Q1 GDP was a banger. Economic output grew at a 6.4% annualized rate
in the first three months of the year, the Commerce Department said
yesterday. Much of the growth was driven by Americans swiping their AmEx
Golds: Personal consumption grew 10.7%, the second-fastest pace since
the 1960s.
- Now, the US economy is less than 1% off its pre-Covid peak.
- Experts
credit unprecedented interventions by Congress and the Fed for leading
what now appears to be a “V”-shaped recovery in many sectors.
Covid cases are falling. After chilling at an uncomfortably high level for weeks, new coronavirus infections in the US dropped 16% in the past week: 55,000 daily cases vs. 66,000 last week.
- Even in Michigan, which recorded an alarming surge recently, cases fell by about 30%.
- This weekend, 100 million Americans will be fully vaccinated.
Earnings are on  . Halfway through earnings season, S&P 500 companies have reported the strongest earnings growth
in more than a decade. Big Tech names like Alphabet, Facebook, Amazon,
and Microsoft have shown that the shift to digital is only accelerating,
even as people venture outside. And thanks to strong consumer spending,
companies like McDonald’s said sales have returned to pre-Covid levels.
Full reopenings are coming. Yesterday,
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city will “fully reopen” for business
July 1, just 14 months after the city was paralyzed by an initial
Covid-19 wave. California, also a pandemic hotspot, has set its full
economic reopening for June 15. Heck, even cruises could restart by mid-July, the CDC said yesterday.
Zoom out: While
the situation in the US is highly encouraging, in India it’s only
getting worse. As variants run rampant in the country, scientists don’t
expect the brutal second wave to peak until the middle of May.
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Giphy
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Joe Biden
has been president for exactly 100 days, which means it’s time to do the
whole, “Let’s compare the stock market performance under Biden to other
presidents” shindig.
So? How does it compare?
The S&P has gained more than 10%
since Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, making it the best first 100
days for the stock market since FDR in 1933. After Biden, it’s…
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JFK (1961): 9.27% gain for the S&P in 100 days
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George H.W. Bush (1989): 7.93%
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Donald Trump (2017): 5.32%
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Average since 1929: 3.8%
Zoom out: The
occupant of the White House is just one factor among many that
determines stock market performance, and the economic recovery from
Covid-19 was well underway before Biden was elected. Still, the surging
market reflects investor excitement for the future, even if Biden gets
his way with tax hikes on capital gains and corporations.
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Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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Yesterday, the FDA moved forward with a proposal to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. It also promised
to focus efforts on keeping the tobacco products off the market,
instead of targeting individuals who use them. That provision came in
response to warnings the FDA received from civil rights leaders that the
ban would lead to criminalizing the roughly 85% of Black smokers who
use menthol cigarettes.
- In a note
to regulators earlier this week, the ACLU and dozens of other groups
said, “Our experience with alcohol, opioid, and cannabis prohibition
teaches us that this is a policy disaster waiting to happen, with Black
and other communities of color bearing the brunt.”
Black health
experts have been working to get menthol-flavored tobacco products
banned for over a decade, citing tobacco companies’ aggressive marketing
campaigns targeted at Black smokers.
Big picture: Menthol cigarettes account for about a third of total sales in the US. They were banned in the UK and EU last May, but tobacco producers won’t let it happen in the States without a fight.
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Trying to stay hydrated can feel like a pain—maybe that’s why 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. But with beam’s Elevate Hydration Starter Pack, it’s as convenient as three tasty drinks:
Drink 1: Elevate Balance powder for the morning. This
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hydrating electrolytes plus prebiotics and probiotics to support a
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Drink 2: Elevate Energy powder for midday.
This powder’s no slouch—it’ll knock out your post-lunch slump with
electrolyte energy powder formulated with beetroot, green coffee bean,
and citrulline.
Drink 3: Elevate Recovery powder for the end of the day. The
emails are sent and it’s time for more hydrating electrolytes, plus
non-GMO collagen peptides and BCAA for joint and muscle health.
Get a boost in energy, glowing skin, and a happy gut when you get hydrated with beam.
Try beam’s Elevate Hydration Starter Pack for just $29 today only.
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Annice Lyn/Getty Images
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Stat: Women lost at least $800 billion in income
last year, according to a new report from Oxfam International. That’s
more than the combined GDP of 98 countries, and reflects the
disproportionate harm Covid-19 inflicted on women, who had made
significant gains in the workforce leading up to the pandemic.
Quote: "We
are looking at it but in a lot of cases gig workers should be
classified as employees...in some cases they are treated respectfully
and in some cases they are not and I think it has to be consistent
across the board."
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told Reuters his department will scrutinize
gig economy companies’ controversial relationships with the workers who
make them tick. Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Grubhub shares all fell after
Walsh’s comments were published.
Read: Nomadland, my mother, and the frontier’s broken promise. (The Drift)
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Chris Graythen/Getty Images
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As expected,
former Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence was selected by the Jacksonville
Jaguars No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft last night.
What most of us didn’t expect was that the Tennessee wonder boy would use his signing bonus to invest in cryptocurrency. Lawrence has partnered
with Blockfolio, a crypto investment app, to invest his estimated
$22,630,055 signing bonus in bitcoin, ether, and yes, dogecoin.
Big picture: Lawrence joins a couple other NFL players who are dabbling in bitcoin.
- In 2020,
offensive tackle Russell Okung became the first NFL player to get paid
in bitcoin when he diverted half his salary to the crypto.
- Like any
Chiefs fan at 8am on gameday, tight end Sean Culkin was ready to go even
harder and decided to convert his entire 2021 salary to bitcoin.
Looking ahead...it’s
unclear what the multiyear partnership between Lawrence and Blockfolio
means for the world of crypto or sports endorsements, but we’re guessing
he’s got bigger dreams than a Wheaties box.
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Francis Scialabba
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The feeling
of getting a 5/5 on the Brew's Weekly News Quiz has been compared to
still being able to do a cartwheel. We have no idea what that feels like
but one can imagine.
Ace the quiz.
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Amazon posted its biggest profit ever last quarter.
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Twitter shares fell as much as 10% after missing user targets and offering lower guidance for the current quarter.
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Endeavor,
the owner of sports and entertainment assets including the UFC, gained
5% in its trading debut. And Elon Musk joined the board.
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Disneyland is reopening today in Anaheim for the first time since March 2020.
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Volkswagen is being investigated by the SEC over its “Voltswagen” April Fools debacle.
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Disrupting a market literally cannot wait until tomorrow. Cytonics is developing first-in-class innovative therapies for treating osteoarthritis—the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions worldwide. And today is the last day to own shares. Sign up to invest here.*
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Goodbye, Calibri: Calibri
has been Microsoft’s default font since 2007, when it replaced Times
New Roman across Microsoft Office. Now it’s time for another
upgrade—check out the five finalists for Microsoft’s new font.
Follow Friday: Long boi duck, Facebook’s campus foxes, and The Humboldt Gator are all wild animals with more followers than most humans.
*This is sponsored advertising content
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Below are two clues for words that are homonyms of each other. Can you guess the words?
Example: "Number after one / Also" = Two and too
- Uninterested / Panel
- Permitted / Spoken
- Walked / Adhesive
- Cries for help / Satisfy
- Propelled / Finished
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- Bored and board
- Allowed and aloud
- Paced and paste
- Pleas and please
- Threw and through
This video has left me speechless!
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Hydrate 
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