| Good morning. Not many people can upstage Lady Gaga, J.Lo, or a new president. But 22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman managed to steal the show at the inauguration with her transfixing poem, "The Hill We Climb." Here's an excerpt: Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we'll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division | | | |  | NASDAQ | 13,457.25 | + 1.97% | | | | S&P | 3,851.85 | + 1.39% | | | | DOW | 31,188.38 | + 0.83% | | | | GOLD | 1,871.90 | + 1.72% | |  | 10-YR | 1.083% | - 1.20 bps | | | | OIL | 53.28 | + 0.57% | | | *As of market close | - Markets: New president, same bull market. Stocks closed at record highs yesterday following a wave of strong earnings reports and new, pro-stimulus leadership in Washington. In fact, the Dow and the S&P posted their best Inauguration Day performance since Reagan began his second term in 1985.
- Government: Democrats officially took control of the Senate after three new Democratic senators, Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff, and Alex Padilla, were sworn in.
| |  SAUL LOEB/POOL/AFP via Getty Images | Because he had a very productive Wednesday. Just before noon, former Vice President Joe Biden shaved the "former" and "Vice" off that title when he was sworn in as the 46th President of the US. - Former Senator Kamala Harris made history as the first-ever woman, African American, and South Asian American to become VP.
After the ceremony, Biden got right to work. And like Hogwarts or a cow's stomach, his first day was segmented into four parts. No. 1: Containing Covid In an executive order, Biden mandated mask-wearing and physical distancing in federal buildings, on federal land, and by all federal employees. - He also halted former President Trump's efforts to leave the World Health Organization.
No. 2: Containing the economic fallout from Covid Biden extended a federal moratorium on evictions and asked the relevant agencies to do the same for foreclosures on federally guaranteed mortgages. Americans with student loan debt also won't owe principal or interest through the end of September. - Some in Biden's Democratic Party want him to erase up to $50,000 per person in student debt, but Biden's team has maintained a goal of canceling up to $10,000.
Biden also froze last-minute regulations enacted by Trump so that his administration can evaluate whether they'll keep them. No. 3: Reversing Trump's policies on immigration Biden ordered an end to construction of the border wall while the administration studies its legal status and called on Congress to defend the "Dreamers" program for undocumented Americans, a program Trump targeted. - Biden also ended the travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries.
- Biden's broader immigration platform involves creating a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people.
No. 4: Combating climate change Biden signed a letter indicating that the US will rejoin the Paris Agreement, which Trump had pulled out of. He also took action on other environmental efforts by 1) overturning softer standards on emissions 2) imposing a moratorium on oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and 3) revoking a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Looking ahead...we see push notifications in your future. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said there would be more proclamations over the next 10 days. | | At dawn, flags replace crowds in D.C. 
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images Like everyone else, Trump leaves the Northeast for Florida 
Pete Marovich - Pool/Getty Images This year, we fist bump 
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Wonder what A-Rod and Bill were talking about... 
JONATHAN ERNST/POOL/AFP via Getty Images How many people can you identify in the socially distant crowd? We spy Bernie. 
SAUL LOEB/POOL/AFP via Getty Images | | | Become president. Just before noon yesterday, the @POTUS, @VP, @FLOTUS, @PressSec, and @WhiteHouse accounts changed hands to the Biden administration, while the old accounts from Trump's time in office began the process of being publicly archived. - One twist: The new administration isn't inheriting any followers from 45. Each account listed above was reset to zero yesterday, a departure from how Twitter handled the transition from Obama to Trump in 2017.
Because the new administration will have to rebuild these accounts' followings from scratch, the Biden team isn't happy. The new president's digital director Rob Flaherty called Twitter's handling of the transition "profoundly insufficient." Still, they're off to a strong start. As of last night, the @POTUS account was already up to 3.5 million followers, @VP was sitting at 6.5 million, and the first-ever @SecondGentleman account for Douglas Emhoff, Harris's husband, had attracted around 840K. Zoom out: Biden will almost certainly use Twitter more conventionally than Trump. But the platform is likely to remain a critical tool for communicating government priorities, as it's become for other global leaders. | |  | The best and brightest bizzes are turning to Electric for the best and brightest IT support. Electric IT not only raises the IT bar with lightning-fast tech support, proactive security standardization, and IT cost savings upwards of 70%—they'll straight up send you a Bose Solo 5 Soundbar just for taking a meeting with them to discuss your IT needs. SOUNDS PRETTY SWEET, RIGHT?! (Sorry, that's the Bose talking). Book a meeting with Electric IT and get your Bose Soundbar today. | |  Giphy | President Biden is facing so many challenges on the homefront, it's easy to forget the one that lies 7,000 miles away. But yesterday, China proved again why it's the top geopolitical thorn for the US, when it placed sanctions on former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and 27 other Americans. - On Tuesday, Pompeo declared that China was committing "genocide" against minority Muslim groups in the Xinjiang region, one of a series of moves the Trump administration made in its last few days to rankle Beijing.
Biden's team will also take a hard line on China: - During his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken said he agreed with the "genocide" label and argued that the US should restrict business ties with the Xinjiang region.
- Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen said China is "clearly our most important strategic competitor."
- And Biden plans to keep Trump's tariffs for now.
Zoom out: While Biden has pledged to play bad cop with China, he will probably try to do it with a group of allies by his side, rather than adopt Trump's "go it alone" approach. | |  Francis Scialabba | Americans know how to put on an inauguration. We also know how to scrub a countertop. So says consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble, which raised its annual sales forecast for the second time yesterday. P&G owns brands like Bounty, Tide, and Dawn, which all grew in popularity as everyone became more germ-conscious during the pandemic. The stats, via P&G: - Cleaning and sanitizing has increased 30% compared to pre-Covid levels
- Dishwasher cycles: +15%
- Air freshener spraying: +20%
- In-home paper towel usage: +15%
It all amounted to organic sales growth of 8% last quarter to $19.8 billion. Will the cleaning boom last? P&G thinks so. It cited strong growth in China, which has been far more successful than the US in containing the pandemic, as evidence that less coronavirus does not necessarily mean lower demand for its products. But P&G stock stayed flat after its announcement, meaning that investors are skeptical we'll be sanitizing 40x/day post-pandemic. | | - Amazon sent a letter to President Biden saying it's prepared to use its infrastructure and relationships to help with Covid-19 vaccine efforts.
- Morgan Stanley's profits rose 51% last quarter, and CEO James Gorman sounded a bullish tone on future growth prospects for the bank.
- Alibaba stock gained more than 5% after cofounder Jack Ma appeared in a 50-second video, his first public sighting in 2.5 months.
- United Airlines posted a rough Q4, with revenue down 69%.
- Many QAnon conspiracy theorists were dejected after the inauguration failed to materialize into the "Great Awakening" that had been prophesied.
- Jay-Z launched a $10 million fund to invest in minority-owned cannabis companies.
| | | Don't settle for less. Yieldstreet's Short Term Notes target annual yields of 3.5%-4.5% with durations of just 3-6 months and minimums as low as $1,000. Learn more here.* It's all happening curbside. Customers are "clicking and collecting" curbside and in-store 78% more than they were pre-pandemic. So getting to know these consumers is more crucial than ever. Sailthru's got the info on four types of Pickup Personas right here.* Work playlist ideas: Sort through all the Spotify playlists posted to r/spotify using this site. More inaugural poetry: In 1961, Robert Frost became the first poet to recite a work at an inauguration (JFK's), but it did not go according to plan. Amanda Gorman's went a lot better. *This is sponsored advertising content | | | This week's crop of headlines might be the most bizarre we've ever assembled. Three are from real news stories, but one is just too weird to be true. Can you spot the fake? - "Joe Exotic, with limo waiting outside prison, fails to get Trump pardon"
- "1st preserved dinosaur butthole is 'perfect' and 'unique,' paleontologist says"
- "'Most Lived In' home in America welcomes its 100th family in the last 10 years"
- "Dublin priest says he 'bored' two armed burglars out of his home"
| | | There is no official "Most Lived In" house in America. We made that one up. | | |
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