Wednesday, September 8, 2021

BREW WITH HEADLINES

 


Daily Brew

TOGETHER WITH

Wendy's

Good morning. An interesting trend to start off your day: The share of people expecting to work past the age of 62 dropped to 50.1% in the latest NY Fed survey, the lowest level on record. The other 49.9% must have let their parents throw out their rare Pokémon cards.

Welp, lesson learned. Have a great Wednesday (yes, it's Wednesday already).

— Neal Freyman, Jamie Wilde, Sherry Qin

MARKETS


Nasdaq

15,374.33

S&P

4,520.03

Dow

35,100.00

Bitcoin

$46,623.10

10-Year

1.373%

Ethereum

$3,390.83

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

  • Markets: Stocks had a rather uneventful return to trading following the long weekend. Not so with crypto as bitcoin stumbled the day El Salvador adopted it as an official currency. President Nayib Bukele tweeted that he was “buying the dip”—El Salvador now owns nearly $26 million worth of bitcoin.
  • Covid: 75% of US adults now have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. But with the health crisis still raging, President Biden will lay out a “six-pronged strategy” to beat this latest wave in a speech tomorrow.

DEALS

What's the Deal...With All the Deals?

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 12:  Jerry Seinfeld performs during the GOOD + ...

Manny Carabel/Getty Images

A most excellent question, considering corporate deals of all kinds, from takeovers to IPOs, are happening at a record-setting pace this year.

Mergers and acquisitions

M&A activity hit $1.8 trillion in the US and $3.6 trillion globally through the first eight months of the year, according to Dealogic data cited by the WSJ. That’s on track to break the record set in 2015. 

What happened: With most of the uncertainty created by the pandemic in the rearview, companies are strategizing for the long-term, either by adding scale or gaining exposure to newer industries. A few examples: 

  • AT&T spun off its WarnerMedia division and combined it with Discovery to better compete in the streaming wars. 
  • Square planted a flag in the growing “buy now, pay later” sector by acquiring Afterpay for $29 billion. 
  • John Deere bought a Silicon Valley robotics startup to accelerate its development of autonomous farm equipment.

For the banks that advise on these deals, life is . Goldman Sachs made $1+ billion in M&A fees each of the past three quarters, a level it only topped once in the 10 years before Covid-19 hit. The dealmaking surge is one of the main reasons Goldman is the best performing stock in the Dow this year, up 56%. 

IPOs

2021 has been the busiest year for IPOs since 2000, according to Axios. 279 companies have IPO’d in the US this year, easily beating last year’s total of 218. 

  • Side note: That number doesn’t even include public offerings via SPACs, which have increased to 423 so far this year from 248 in 2020. 

Looking ahead...because it’s hard to get much work done in Mykonos, August was its typical slow self for dealmaking. But get ready for a deluge of announcements once bankers head back to their monitors this fall, including potential IPOs from Chobani, Discord, Reddit, Instacart, and Rivian. – NF

        

TECH

Apple Sends “Save the Date” for New iPhones

Apple invite for its hardware event

Apple

Apple’s spilling the details on its iPhone 13 lineup—unless Tim Cook’s too superstitious to name it that—on Sept. 14. Yesterday, the company sent out invites for its annual (and still virtual) launch event where it’ll announce new products.

The new phone lineup isn’t expected to feature major changes like last year’s design overhaul and 5G upgrade, according to Bloomberg. But content creators (aka everyone on Instagram) should be stoked. Some rumored updates:

  • A new A15 chip for faster browsing, scrolling, etc.
  • Professional editor-level photo and video resolution.
  • The despised black bar, or “notch,” at the top of the previous iPhone models’ screens will get smaller.
  • A portrait mode-like feature will come to video recording, so you can blur out any evidence your fancy restaurant pic was taken at The Cheesecake Factory.

Apple could also use the event to announce new AirPods, Apple Watches, and streaming content or devices for Apple TV+.

Zoom out: Apple’s had a better pandemic than nap dresses, recently rising above a $2.5 trillion market cap. What it announces next Tuesday will show where the company is focusing its efforts heading into 2021’s holiday shopping season and beyond. – JW

        

Detroit Free Press

And now for some news Apple definitely won’t send any invites over: Ford has poached the executive who led Apple’s secretive car project to become its own “chief advanced technology and embedded systems officer.”

That executive is Doug Field, who’s basically to high-tech cars what banana peppers are to sandwich toppings—one of the GOATs. Field was at Tesla to help launch the bestselling Model 3, and is considered one of the key figures in a new era where automobiles rely nearly as much on software and the cloud as they do axles and steering wheels. 

Ford is pumped. CEO Jim Farley called the hire a “watershed moment for our company” as it pivots to electric and self-driving cars.

Apple is the opposite of pumped—let’s go with gutted. Its car project, known as Titan, has gone through many ups and even more downs since it began in 2014. Losing Field could set a release back further, and may even “spell the end” of Apple’s car ambitions, the Financial Times suggests.

+ While we're here: Toyota announced a $13.5 billion investment in the development of next-gen batteries for EVs. And sign up for Emerging Tech Brew for all the EV news your heart desires. — NF

        

SPONSORED BY WENDY'S

The Three Tastiest Words Ever

Wendy's

Wendy’s. Breakfast. Croissants.

Let’s say that again, together, with feeling: Wendy’s. Breakfast. Croissants.

Made with fresh-cracked egg, a hot, buttery, flaky croissant, and your choice of oven-baked bacon or grilled sausage, these toasty tasty treats tantalize totally.

Dang we got so excited we started to alliterate. But prepare yourself for what is truly HEADLINE NEWS: Wendy’s Bacon, Egg and Swiss and Sausage, Egg and Swiss. Croissants. Are. Only. $1.99. Each.

And since we know we are talking to some Certified Morning People™, let us assure you that other than reading this here e-newsletter there is no better start to the day than with a $1.99 Bacon, Egg and Swiss or Sausage, Egg and Swiss Croissant.

So yeah, there’s a new breakfast queen in town. And she’s got red hair, pig tails, and a metric ton of breakfast croissants with your name on them.

This morning, we ask only that you choose wisely, choose Wendy’s.

GRAB BAG

Key Performance Indicators

Woman walks on a college campus

Photo by Victoria Heath on Unsplash

Stat: The gender gap among college students is growing. Women accounted for a record 59.5% of college students at the end of the 2020–2021 school year, while men made up just 40.5%. This year could bring even wider disparities: For the 2021–2022 school year, women sent in 3.8 million college applications, compared to men’s 2.8 million.

Quote: “If Ms. Spears wants to terminate the conservatorship and believes that she can handle her own life, Mr. Spears believes that she should get that chance.”

In a surprise court filing, Britney Spears’s father and the conservator of her estate, Jamie Spears, asked a judge to end the 13-year conservatorship that Britney has called “abusive” and left the singer with little control over her own life. 

Read: The disastrous voyage of Satoshi, the world’s first cryptocurrency cruise ship. (The Guardian)

        

FINANCE

The Death and Life of NYC’s Financial District

NYC's Financial District

Photo by jennieramida on Unsplash

Leading up to the anniversary of the September 11 attacks this Saturday, we’ll feature stories that explore the economic impact of 9/11, 20 years later.

Watch any episode of Billions or Succession and you’re bound to see multiple tracking shots of lower Manhattan, showcasing the district as a global hub for finance.

These days, that’s not the case. New York City’s financial district, which was devastated when the World Trade Center towers fell, has undergone a transformation in the last 20 years that many say has been mostly positive for the area—it now has a more diverse industry base, an influx of residents, and greater tourism. 

The backstory: On the eve of 9/11, the Financial District (FiDi), was a finance hub. 55% of office tenants in downtown Manhattan were in finance or insurance, according to the Downtown Alliance. 

In the years after the attacks, many banks left the neighborhood, primarily for Midtown. But FiDi didn’t empty out. 

  • Companies in sectors like media—including Spotify, Condé Nast, and at one point, Morning Brew—established offices there, offsetting the loss of finance workers.
  • Plus, more people made FiDi their actual home. The neighborhood’s residential population has more than doubled since 2000, according to a WSJ analysis. 

Looking ahead...the Covid-19 pandemic has presented fresh challenges for lower Manhattan, with a major downturn in the number of commuters and tourists hurting local businesses. – NF

        

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

  • Impossible Foods launched meatless chicken nuggets in US restaurants and, later this month, they’ll be in supermarkets. Wonder if they taste like...nvm.
  • Mexico’s supreme court decriminalized abortion, a landmark move in a country with the second-largest Catholic population in the world. 
  • Billionaire investor George Soros wrote that BlackRock’s recent investments in China are a “tragic mistake.”
  • Steph Curry asked Twitter users if they had any crypto advice. Nah, never.

BREW'S BETS

Let’s take this outside. And meet SimpliSafe’s new Wireless Outdoor Security Camera! This eagle-eyed tech takes SimpliSafe’s award-winning security system and extends it to the outside, with a crisp 1080p HD resolution and ultrawide 140° field-of-view. Make it part of your custom SimpliSafe system today.*

This disruptive investment opportunity will be gone soon. WFH cyberthreats are at an all-time high and 70% of connected home devices are vulnerable to hacks. Gryphon’s patented home solutions combat these threats and you can invest in their public funding round before it closes Friday; invest here.*

Miss you, Steve: Steve from Blue's Clues is back with a ridiculously beautiful message. He's so good.

Fall 2021 preview: This is the most comprehensive one we’ve seen yet, getting you prepared for all the new movies, books, and TV releases in the coming months.

*This is sponsored advertising content

GAMES

The Puzzle Section

Word Search: If watching TV is a big part of your life, you're going to want to check out today's puzzle.

Urban Planner

You are looking at the street grid for which US city? 

Seattle street grid

SHARE THE BREW

We think you should share the Brew. Not only is it a smart thing to do for your friends, it’s also the smartest way to get showered in free Brew swag and exclusive content.

Your referral count: 0

Click to Share

Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=a17a7110

ANSWER

Seattle. You can have more fun with street grids here.

  Encyclopaedia Britannica | On This Day

September 08
Richard I

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY


King Richard I

king of England

READ MORE
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres: painting of Joan of Arc

FEATURED EVENT


1429

Paris attacked by Joan of Arc

READ MORE
Britannica Premium Ad - Know better and scroll smarter this year with Britannica premium.

MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

Stephen Colbert

Leni Riefenstahl

Mark McGwire

Gerald Ford

Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner in Star Trek

Siege of Leningrad

ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY







SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY

September 8, 2021

AZ Elections Procedures Draft Analysis: OVER 170 Fraud Concerns Found
EZAZ.orghas orgnaized volunteers to examine the 2021 Elections Procedures Manual Draft and they are finding serious fraud capabilities. ... Read More ›
How I Fixed My Acid Reflux
Thousands of Men and Women Worldwide Have Been Successful With Eliminating Their Heartburn Pain Within 2 Days, and Curing The Root Cause Of Acid Reflux Permanently... Read More ›
LEAKED EMAIL: Biden Admin Blocking Stranded Americans From Escaping Taliban
The State Department refused to grant official approval for private evacuation flights from Afghanistan to land in third countries, even though the department conceded that official authorization... Read More ›
Wuhan Lab Documents Show Fauci ‘Untruthful’ About Gain-of-Function Research
Dr. Anthony Fauci has been accused by critics of lying after newly released documents appear to contradict his claims that the National Institute of Health did not fund gain-of-function research at... Read More ›
Taliban Taps Terrorist Wanted by FBI for New Government
A Taliban spokesman on Tuesday announced the appointment of a terrorist on the FBI’s most-wanted list to a cabinet-level position in its new government.Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is a senior leader in... Read More ›
CNN caught altering video of Joe Rogan to make him look sicker than he really is
CNN can't stand that Joe Rogan recovered from COVID. ... Read More ›
Exposed: American Defeat In WW3 Now Certain...
And it won't be China, Russia, or ISIS pulling the trigger. In fact, it's much closer to home... It's already been banned in several key liberal states…... Read More ›


Today's Top Headline

As Donald Trump Makes Noise About 2024, Melania Trump Tries To Stay Out of The Public Eye

 

From Our Partners

Do NOT Buy Car Insurance Until You See This

 

Trending

Unemployment Benefits Expire for Millions Without Pushback From Biden

Larry Elder Claims Slavers Owed For 'Property Stolen' After Civil War

The Founder of The ATP Says He Supports Novak Djokovic's Breakaway Player's Association



Trump to Newsmax: We Rebuilt US Military, and 'They Gave It to the Taliban'

Special: Unsuspecting Americans to Be Hit Hard by This U.S. Scheme to Confiscate Your Savings

Trump: Dems Have Newsom Recall Election 'Rigged' to Win

Drawing: Carlos Diniz (1928-2001). Courtesy Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban, the entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner, has purchased a stunning set of drawings of the World Trade Center — and is giving them a permanent home in New York by donating them to the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

1 big thing: COVID rewires companies


Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

 

Companies are hiring chief medical officers and consulting firms are adding pandemic practices as American business adapts to COVID's long haul, Axios business editor Kate Marino reports.

  • In the absence of a federal mandate on vaccines, companies are trying to find their way through a combination of government data, partnerships with hospitals and universities, and outside consultants.

What's happening: Consulting firms are evolving and adding practices to focus on remote work strategy, workflow technology and employee burnout.

Case in point: EY appointed Susan Garfield to the newly created position of chief public health officer last December. Garfield has worked in public health and life sciences for 25 years.

  • She and her team advise clients on getting ready for the next health catastrophe.

Another example: Wells Fargo is in the process of recruiting its first chief medical officer.

  • Amtrak has been working with George Washington University on its pandemic response since August 2020.

Share this story.

Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story
 
 
2. Tech's great handoff


Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

 

Most of today's tech giants are run not by their founders, but by a new breed of successor CEOs tasked with holding true to the mission while continuing to pump up growth, writes Axios managing editor Scott Rosenberg, who has been covering the web for 27 years.

  • Why it matters: Silicon Valley has long embraced a "founders know best" philosophy. But eventually, successful founders get old and tired and rich — and lose interest in the meetings, the management messes, and the sheer hard work of running a company.

The rundown:

  • Amazon founder Jeff Bezos handed the reins to new CEO Andy Jassy in July. Bezos remains chairman, and has been busy visiting the edge of space and founding a new "fountain of youth" biotech startup.
  • Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin continue to own a controlling share of Google and its holding company, Alphabet, and sit on its board. Both stepped back from day-to-day responsibilities in 2019, leaving the company under CEO Sundar Pichai's command.
  • Apple founder Steve Jobs died back in 2011 (the tenth anniversary of his passing is next month), leaving Apple in the hands of Tim Cook. Cook has brought the firm to new heights of profitability and power.
  • Microsoft founder Bill Gates stepped down as CEO in 2000, left the company's full-time employ in 2008, resigned as board chairman in 2014 and left the board last year. Satya Nadella took over from Gates' successor, Steve Ballmer, in 2014 and has led a renaissance in profile and valuation.

That leaves Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg as the last founder standing atop any of tech's five trillion-dollar giants.

  • Facebook is the youngest company in the bunch. Zuckerberg, 37, is the youngest of the founders.
  • His enthusiasm for running Facebook has shown little sign of lagging.

In the next tier down in size and valuation, some tech firms still have founders at the helm (Marc Benioff at Salesforce). Others from a previous generation (Oracle's Larry Ellison, Adobe's John Warnock) have stepped back.

Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story
 
 
3. 🎓 Women rule college
Data: National Student Clearinghouse. Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

60% of college students were women, an all-time high, and 40% were men at the end of the 2021 academic year, The Wall Street Journal's Doug Belkin reports (subscription):

  • "U.S. colleges and universities had 1.5 million fewer students compared with five years ago, and men accounted for 71% of the decline."
  • "This education gap, which holds at both two- and four-year colleges, has been slowly widening for 40 years."

What's next: In the next few years, if the trend continues, two women will earn a college degree for every man, Douglas Shapiro of the National Student Clearinghouse told The Journal.

Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story
 
 

A message from Facebook

Internet regulations are as outdated as dial-up
 

 

Facebook supports updated regulations, including four areas where lawmakers can make quick progress:

  • Reforming Section 230.
  • Preventing foreign interference in our elections.
  • Passing federal privacy law.
  • Setting rules that allow people to safely transfer data between services.
 
 
4. Pic du jour


Composite of two images. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech via AP

 

The Mars rover completed its first sample grab — a core slightly thicker than a pencil, from a briefcase-size rock nicknamed "Rochette," NASA announced.

  • During Perseverance's first sampling attempt last month, the unexpectedly soft rock crumbled, AP reports. Flight controllers found harder rock for the second try.

The rover has 40+ sample tubes. Future spacecraft will collect the specimens and deliver them to Earth a decade from now.

Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story
 
 
5. Biden's climate alarm: "Everybody's crisis"
President Biden comforts a resident as he tours the flood-prone Lost Valley neighborhood in Manville, N.J., yesterday. Photo: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

President Biden — on a tour of New Jersey and New York damage from Ida, which killed 50 people in six Eastern states — warned in Queens after walking past buildings with water-level marks high on their walls:

[W]e got to listen to the scientists and the economists and the national security experts. They all tell us this is code red; the nation and the world are in peril. And that's not hyperbole. That is a fact. 
They’ve been warning us the extreme weather would get more extreme over the decade, and we’re living it in real time now. 

Biden, saying his climate infrastructure plans would create "good-paying jobs," added that fires in the West "sent smoke all the way to the Atlantic."

  • "The storm in the Gulf, as you’ve now figured out, can reverberate 10 states away ... devastating industries all over America." 

Read his remarks.

Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story
 
 
6. Mapped: Global vaccine gap
Data: Our World in Data. Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

The World Health Organization is keeping up the pressure on wealthy nations not to hoard vaccines.

  • "Less than 2% of adults are fully vaccinated in most low-income countries compared to almost 50% in high‑income countries," the WHO says.
  • "These countries, the majority of which are in Africa, simply cannot access sufficient vaccine to meet even the global goals of 10% coverage in all countries by September."
Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story
 
 
7. 100 years ago today: First Miss America


Cover: One Signal Publishers

 

The first Miss America Pageant was 100 years ago today, on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, N.J.

  • "Atlantic City's Inter-City Beauty Contest" was started by local businessmen to extend the shore tourism season past Labor Day, Miss America says. The winner was crowned "Golden Mermaid." In 1922, the Boardwalk contest became "Miss America!"

The Washington Post's Amy Argetsinger is out this week with "There She Was," a history of Miss America:

How had this pop-culture relic of the 1920s survived so far past its natural shelf life? The answer seemed to lie with the women who competed for its crown ... The women’s movement had set out to vanquish Miss America — and ended up accidentally resuscitating it instead.

Read an excerpt ... More on the book.

Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story
 
 
8. Exclusive: Mark Cuban's gift to New York
Drawing: Carlos Diniz (1928-2001). Courtesy Mark Cuban

Above: the "Superman View."

  • After the artist's family offered the WTC drawings for sale, Cuban gifted them to the Smithsonian ahead of Saturday's 20th anniversary of 9/11.
  • "It strikes an emotional chord with every American," Cuban told me. "I wanted the actual drawings to be where any American can see them, and the Smithsonian was the right home."

World Trade Center blueprints ... WTC timeline ... 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story
 
 

A message from Facebook

Why Facebook supports reforming Section 230
 

 

The internet has changed a lot in the last 25 years — the last time comprehensive internet regulations were passed.

Facebook supports updated regulations — like reforming Section 230, to set standards for the way larger tech companies enforce rules about content.

Columnists
Biden Now Polling Somewhere Between Toe Fungus and The Lincoln Project

Kurt Schlichter


CNN 'Fact-Checker' Tries Rescuing Rolling Stone from Their Fake News Story

Brad Slager


Toxic Victimhood

John Stossel


Two Questions about Afghan Refugees

Byron York


There Goes Grandma Over the Cliff

Stephen Moore


On the 20th Anniversary of 9/11, the Taliban Is Stronger Than it Was in 2001

Kay Coles James


The Media Coaches Democrats, Trashes Republicans

Tim Graham


Is the Left Losing Its Grip on California?

Star Parker


The 9/11 Problem That Was Not Fixed

Terry Jeffrey



Tipsheet
Rand Paul Calls on Fauci to Be 'Immediately Removed' After What New Bombshell Documents on Wuhan Research Show

Leah Barkoukis


The Biden Administration Really Didn't See This Coming in Afghanistan

Matt Vespa


Kristi Noem Issues Executive Order Banning Telemedicine Abortions

Landon Mion


Dr. Scott Atlas, Others Throttle Bangladesh Mask Study: 'Extremely Weak Tea'

Scott Morefield


Psaki Says There is 'No Rush' to Recognize the Taliban as Afghan Government

Landon Mion


Two Victims of 9/11 Attacks Have Been Identified

Landon Mion


One College Campus Is Peddling Total Science Fiction Regarding Their COVID Vaccine Mandate

Matt Vespa


ADVERTISEMENT
Democrats' Policies Are a Gift to China

Betsy McCaughey


Will Canadians Be the First to Take a Stand Against Creeping Sanitary Authoritarianism?

Rachel Marsden


The Texas Abortion Ban Violates Conservative Principles

Jacob Sullum


No, the Pro-Life Movement Is Not About Controlling Women

Michael Brown


Biden Failed Americans and Our Allies in Afghanistan

Tommy Hicks


Can’t Sit on the Sidelines Anymore

John and Andy Schlafly


'Global Warming' Is New Orleans' Big Easy-Out

Bob Barr


American Enterprise Institute Is Right about Musk

Jerry Rogers


Haiti Needs the UN Stabilization Mission to Return

David Vanderpool


Abortion is Not Just a Women’s Issue - Men Are Hurting, Too

Nathan Misirian



More Colleges and Universities Implement Tightened COVID-19 Restrictions Regardless of Vaccination Status

Madeline Leesman


Biden Declares Climate Change a Pressing Issue After 48 Years in Government

Spencer Brown


Majority of Americans Concerned about Direction the Country Is Headed

Reagan McCarthy


Political Cartoons
Bearing Arms
Michigan Men Try To Get Their Guns Back From Sheriff | Tom Knighton

Massachusetts Town Seeks To Limit Where Gun Stores Can Open | Tom Knighton

DC Program Seeks To Stop Violence With...Violence? | Tom Knighton

David Frum Beats His Discordant Drum, Again | Ranjit Singh

What Is Really Hurting Pro-Gun Efforts In Florida? | Tom Knighton

ADVERTISEMENT
_______SUBSCRIPTION INFO_______

 UN Condemns Texas Pro-Life Law More Strongly Than the Taliban

Texas Slams ‘Dumpster Fire’ Portland Over Travel Boycott

SPECIAL: baking soda & death

Dems Gripe; Redistricting Reforms THEY Wanted Are Unfair to THEM

Amazon Creates New Censorship Team to Prevent ‘Violence’

No comments: