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Good morning. Sending virtual Sonic Limeades to our readers out West, where things are getting punishingly hot.
- 40 million people will experience temps of 100°F or more in the coming days.
- The low in Phoenix Tuesday night was 91°. The low. Was 91.
- Salt Lake City tied its all-time record at 107°.
But hey, look on the bright side. You could be a Sixers fan.
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Nasdaq
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14,039.68
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S&P
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4,223.70
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Dow
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34,033.67
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Bitcoin
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$38,546.30
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10-Year
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1.580%
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Carnival
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$29.28
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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: Stocks were thrown for a bit of a loop
following a semi-surprise announcement from the Fed (more in just a
sec), but companies benefiting from “reopening” like energy and cruise
lines got a boost.
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Alex Wong/Getty Images
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Just like your friend’s Covid-delayed wedding, the Fed’s interest rate hikes finally have a date: 2023.
By then,
central bankers project, the economy will be in a strong enough position
for the Fed to raise interest rates that influence everything from
mortgages to business investments. 2023 is one year earlier than the
Fed’s previous estimates.
Why move the timeline up?
All those
sweet, sweet antibodies coursing through your immune system. Says the
Fed: “Progress on vaccinations has reduced the spread of Covid-19 in the
United States" and therefore “indicators of economic activity and
employment have strengthened.”
- Nearly
45% of the US population is fully vaccinated, and hard-hit states like
California and New York removed most Covid-related restrictions this
week.
How we got here: In
March 2020, the Fed dropped interest rates to near-zero and launched a
barrage of stimulus measures to steer the economy through its darkest
days. It worked pretty well, and the question the Fed’s faced recently
is: When has the economy recovered enough that these stimulus efforts,
including a bond-buying program and super-low interest rates, aren’t
needed?
We’re not there yet. The Fed said it wouldn’t further update its strategy until “substantial further progress” is made.
But what about inflation?
The Fed has been pressured to pump the brakes on the economy after a run-up in prices
this spring led to the highest inflation readings in years. Powell has
consistently argued that higher inflation is temporary, but now he may
be taking it a little more seriously: “Inflation could turn out to be
higher and more persistent than we expect,” he said, while the Fed revised its inflation expectations higher.
Looking ahead...the interest rate hikes in 2023 are just central bankers’ expectations, and could change based on the shape of the recovery.
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Pool/Getty Images
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President
Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met face-to-face in Geneva
yesterday to discuss light dinner-table topics including human rights,
nuclear treaties, and—the one we’re focusing on—cybersecurity. But
first, to set the scene...
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Biden called Putin a “worthy adversary” leading up to the summit and gifted him a crystal bison sculpture and custom aviators.
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Putin threw down some Russian philosophy
in a press conference after the meeting: “There is no happiness in
life, there is only the mirage of it on the horizon, so we’ll cherish
that."
So what did they say about cybersecurity?
Remember,
both the hack of Colonial Pipeline, which led to a gas shortage on the
Eastern seaboard, and the forced shut down of meat supplier JBS’s
facilities in the US have been attributed to cybercrime groups operating
in Russia.
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What Biden wants: Russia to take responsibility for cybercriminals acting within its borders.
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What Biden got: Putin agreed to “begin consultations” regarding cybersecurity with the US.
Zoom out:
Just last week, Russia, along with 20+ other countries including the
US, agreed not to shelter cybercriminals or be involved in the hacking
of other nations’ infrastructure (like the Colonial Pipeline) during
peacetime. However, Russia has a poor track record of upholding such
agreements.
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Get ready for the most intense season of House Hunters
you’ve ever seen, because construction of homes in the US in the last
20 years is 5.5 million units short of historical levels, according to a
report released yesterday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The pandemic
only made the bad, worse, when supply chain bottlenecks and labor
shortages throttled new development. Now, the US is experiencing a
housing affordability crisis: The median price of an existing home hit
an all-time high of $341,600 in April, up 19% from 2020.
Big picture:
There aren’t enough houses being built to account for population
growth, aging and destroyed units, or even to replace all the haunted
farmhouses.
Looking ahead...in response to the report, top WH economic advisor Brian Deese said,
“We need a once-in-a-generation investment in increasing housing
supply.” NAR released a slew of policy recommendations to accompany the
report, hoping they can be folded into President Biden’s infrastructure plan.
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CARIUMA is putting ROYGBIV to work this summer as they deck out their super comfortable, eco-friendly, undeniably stylish shoes in a range of colorways that POP.
Just look at the OCA Canvas—CARIUMA’s best selling shoe (heck, it recently had a 26k-person waitlist). It’s the perfect transitional sneaker with a broken-in fit, an array of hues, and a low profile you can dress up or down all year round.
And those super fly, 6x sold out IBI sneaks? We’ve been peepin’ a pair in that Morning Brew lookin’ blue. They’re featherweight and machine-washable, meaning no matter how much dust you kick up, your IBIs can stand out all summer long.
No time for laces? We hear you there, fellow minimalists. Cop a pair of IBI Slip-ons in Raw Red and sail away in shoes that have a 3x smaller carbon footprint than the average sneaker.
Brew readers can get 15% off a new pair of CARIUMAs right here. (Hop to it—this offer won’t be around for long.)
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Stat: The average number of video streaming services utilized per US user declined
for the first time on record, from 7.23 in November to 7.06 in April,
according to research firm Omdia. There are only so many friends’
passwords a person can remember.
Quote: “It’s very close to a nuclear disaster, what has happened here.”
Muditha Katuwawala, a coordinator at Sri Lankan volunteer organization the Pearl Protectors, discussed the recent sinking of a cargo ship off Sri Lanka’s coastline with the Washington Post.
Now at the
bottom of the ocean floor, the ship’s cargo of plastic pellets,
chemicals, and other waste harmful to marine life is filling the
surrounding water: “In the coming weeks, this is going to be a regional
problem,” Katuwawala said.
Read: What I learned at a Dodge City meatpacking plant. (The Atlantic)
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Courtesy of Google and Paul Warchol
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As bars,
restaurants, and baseball stadiums welcome more foot traffic, Google
said, “Hey, gimme some of that.” This morning, the tech giant will open
its first official permanent physical retail space in NYC’s Chelsea
neighborhood, which, considering all the real estate Google’s bought
there, should seriously consider renaming itself Alphabet City.
Why it matters: The
launch of brick-and-mortar retail may seem odd for a company that makes
$147 billion in revenue from digital ads. But the store is intended
less as a sales generator and more as a brand-building exercise. Some
highlights include...
- A room full of flatscreen TVs for customers to try Google’s Stadia gaming service.
- Something
called an “imagination space,” a 17-foot round glass structure where
you can experience Google’s latest and greatest services.
- A showroom for Google’s hardware products, such as Pixel phones.
Big picture:
Google is not going all-in on physical retail like Apple, but it’s at
least trying to put in a better effort than Microsoft. The company that
graced us with Excel closed all of its Microsoft Store locations except four last year.
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GM
is boosting spending on electric and autonomous vehicles to $35 billion
through 2025, accelerating the arms race among global automakers.
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Spotify launched its Clubhouse rival, Spotify Greenroom.
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Facebook said it will begin testing ads in its Oculus virtual reality headsets.
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How Airbnb’s Smart Pricing algorithm widened racial disparities among hosts.
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Slack will now allow you to schedule sends.
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Pride is about being comfortable in your own skin. And Bombas
is helping you be your comfiest self with high-quality socks,
underwear, and tees featuring colors of the Trans, Lesbian, and Bisexual
flags respectively. Shop the Pride collection today.*
All about metabolic love. If you love prioritizing your metabolic health, you’ll love Sakara’s metabolism super bar. It’s full of plant protein, fiber, and stimulant-free actives that heal and energize. Get 20% off Sakara’s best-selling, metabolism-boosting products with code JUNEBREW.*
Brew Mini: We completed this one in under a minute—can you get below :45? Play it here.
The state of automation: What
jobs are easily automatable? Which ones are more difficult for robots
to conquer? We’ll answer those questions and more at Emerging Tech
Brew’s virtual event June 24. Register here.
For the product managers: Or anyone who wants to think like one. Here’s a list of 250+ curated Twitter threads helping you get better at product management.
*This is sponsored advertising content
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We’re not
going to sugarcoat it: This week’s Three Headlines and a Lie is a little
(and a lot) gross. See if you can spot which headlines are real and
which one is fake. Whatever happens, you're welcome for the imagery.
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NBC’s Ultimate Slip N’ Slide competition show halted due to “explosive diarrhea”
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An Olympic hopeful says her burrito is to blame for her positive drug test
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Petition urging Jeff Bezos to buy and eat the Mona Lisa gains steam
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Scientists are trying to engineer a tastier cicada
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Cicadas aren't getting tastier any time soon | | | |
that Color on You
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