| Good morning. Almost 15 years to the day after he sent the first tweet, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold it as an NFT (non-fungible token) for $2.9 million on Monday. That led us on a journey to dig up a few notable people's first tweets. - Oprah: "HI TWITTERS . THANK YOU FOR A WARM WELCOME. FEELING REALLY 21st CENTURY ."
- 50 Cent: "is in Turkey" (think he got confused with Facebook)
- Warren Buffett: "Warren is in the house."
- Brew Managing Editor Neal Freyman: "Still would rather rely on my D than onside kick, whose chance of success is much <20% with Gronk ready to receive."
| | | |  | NASDAQ | 13,227.70 | - 1.12% | | | | S&P | 3,910.52 | - 0.76% | | | | DOW | 32,423.15 | - 0.94% | | | | GOLD | 1,725.90 | - 0.70% | | | | 10-YR | 1.627% | - 7.00 bps | | | | OIL | 57.40 | - 6.76% | | | *As of market close. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Nation: A day following a mass shooting that killed 10 people in Boulder, CO, President Biden called on Congress to pass gun control laws, including renewed bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. "I don't need to wait another minute, let alone an hour, to take common-sense steps that will save lives," he said.
- Markets: Stocks fell, but the really interesting market news from yesterday is that Robinhood, the no-fee trading app, confidentially filed for an IPO.
| |  Francis Scialabba | In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, when nothing good ever happens, a panel that oversees US clinical trial safety said AstraZeneca's vaccine results may include "outdated and potentially misleading" data. The statement arrived hours after the drugmaker announced its two-shot vaccine was 79% effective in US trials. What's the hangup? AstraZeneca's data cut off after Feb. 17, and the panel says it's seen more recent data that the vaccine is closer to 69%–74% effective. One of its members compared AstraZeneca's announcement to telling your mother that you aced a class when you only got an A on the first quiz. It's unclear if the warning will delay AstraZeneca's plans to file for authorization in the coming weeks. If authorized, it would add another 50 million doses to US vaccination efforts in the first month... If officials want them. The Biden administration says current supplies can vaccinate all adults before June. AstraZeneca's vaccine is less effective than Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines and (pending further data) potentially also Johnson & Johnson's one-shot option. Add this to the growing list While AstraZeneca's vaccine has been authorized in 70+ countries, the rollout has faced Galaxy Note 7-level challenges. The vaccine's creators talked a big game even before starting trials, and when those kicked off... - They were temporarily suspended after two subjects developed rare neurological symptoms. No connection to the vaccine was found.
- A mistake resulted in some patients receiving half-doses. That trial posted better results, which researchers failed to clearly explain.
- Early results also lacked comprehensive data on efficacy for adults 65+.
There were also production issues. Europe, which made AstraZeneca's offering a pillar of its vaccination strategy, got a third of what it was promised. Over a dozen countries paused AstraZeneca shots after three dozen recipients developed blood clots (but EU regulators said it's safe last week). And South Africa is selling its doses after a trial showed AstraZeneca's shots are less effective against the new dominant strain there. Big picture: Vaccine hesitancy, in the US and abroad, started out higher than public health officials wanted. Every delay and setback threatens to diminish public confidence further. | |  Giphy | On Monday, newly minted Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser sent a memo to her 210,000 employees with a simple message: Chill out a bit, OK? More specifically, Fraser outlined measures intended to cure remote workplace malaise, aka that drowning sensation after your fifth video call in a day. - Fridays will be "Zoom-free." Staffers are banned from scheduling internal video meetings on weekend eve.
- May 28 (the Friday before Memorial Day) will be a company-wide holiday called "Citi Reset Day."
Fraser also sketched out a more flexible approach to work after the pandemic recedes. Most Citi employees will be allowed to work from home up to two days per week, though some roles will have to be 100% in-person. Zoom out: Lots of businesses have announced plans to stick with hybrid or WFH arrangements post-Covid...but not many banks have done so; these moves make Citi the first big bank to embrace office flexibility. Fraser's memo also came after Goldman Sachs CEO and WFH critic David Solomon said his company is taking steps to address the mental health of junior bankers following a viral survey that revealed a severe work-life imbalance. | |  goPuff | Delivery startup goPuff announced Tuesday that it raised $1.2 billion in funding at a valuation of $8.9 billion. That's $5 billion more than its previous valuation in October 2020. In the beginning. GoPuff was launched in 2013 by two Philly college students who, like all of us, were sick of running out of garbage bags at the most inconvenient time. Since then, the company has expanded to more than 650 cities across the US, using delivery drivers who visit micro-fulfillment centers to bring you everything you forgot at the grocery store. But if goPuff is the Kirsten Dunst of the snack and household item delivery world, cue the Clovers ready to Bring It On: Amazon's 2-hour Fresh service, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates, and Instacart are all trying to grab some of that goPuff market. Zoom out: Food and grocery delivery seemed to explode during the pandemic, and goPuff reported that its order volume increased 400% in the first half of 2020. With fresh funding, goPuff can ride the current wave and keep expanding to new cities and categories for post-pandemic needs. | | SPONSORED BY THE MOTLEY FOOL |  | You think you'd have noticed a fat stash bulging out of your favorite sleeveless vest. But we're not here to judge why there's a bunch of benjamins in your breast pocket. The Motley Fool, however, has an idea of what you could do with your newfound windfall. They think 5G could be the next world-changing tech that can potentially give you some nifty returns. But instead of investing your small fortune in a big behemoth, they've found a tiny company that could be poised to make money every time someone, say, buys an iPhone. All the deets are in their new guide "5G Supercycle: An Investor's Guide to Apple's Next Must-Have Device." Members of Motley Fool Stock Advisor get access to the guide for free, so stash that cash somewhere for a sec and get to signin' up. Be one of the first to cash in on 5G here. | |  Francis Scialabba | Stat: WeWork spent $49 million on capital expenditures last year, down from $2.2 billion in 2019—a 97.8% decrease. The company is trying (again) to go public, this time via a SPAC that Shaquille O'Neal advises, per the FT. Quote: "Stock markets in general and our stock price in particular have recently experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies and our company." In its annual report filed to the SEC yesterday, GameStop addressed meme stock mania in the most corporate-speak way possible. Read: A profile of Beeple, the digital artist who sold an NFT of his work for $69.3 million. (New Yorker) | |  Francis Scialabba | 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. Ryan from San Diego's question: Morning Brew just wrote that Fed Chair Jerome Powell said bitcoin is "not really useful as a store of value." So what is a store of value? The Brew's A: Thanks for the question, Ryan. Let's start with this thought experiment: When you buy a house, are you expecting it to increase in value over time? What about an original Monet? A fine wine? Those assets are considered "stores of value," meaning they preserve their value over time and can be exchanged or retrieved in the future. Cars, which tend to depreciate in value with more use, and cheeseburgers, which tend to get eaten in five minutes, do not store value well. So what about bitcoin? Jury's out. Bitcoin has been compared to gold, which is known as the ultimate example of a store of value because it's scarce and doesn't break down over time. Some think bitcoin could swipe market share from gold as the "safe-haven" asset of choice for investors. Others, like Jerome Powell, argue bitcoin's volatility—the fact that you can go to sleep with bitcoin at $50k and wake up when it's $65k, or vice versa—means investors will be less likely to employ it as a store of value. Have another question about business and the economy? Ask here. | | - Today is Equal Pay Day, which represents how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned the previous year. This year's Equal Pay Day is the earliest since it began in 1996, indicating the gender pay gap is narrowing.
- Intel will spend $20 billion to build two new chip plants in Arizona.
- Regal Cinemas in the US will reopen April 2 with a limited release of Godzilla vs. Kong.
- Compass, the tech-forward real estate brokerage backed by SoftBank, wants to go public at a valuation of up to $10 billion.
- Prince Harry has a new gig as the chief impact officer of Silicon Valley mental health startup BetterUp.
| | | Save five hundo on your next trip-o. For the next 48 hours, try Dollar Flight Club for just $1. We're talkin' Hawaii from $109. Greece from $247. Or Cancun from $137. All on airlines with flexible change policies. The $1 deal is only here for 48 hours. Join 1 million members saving on adventures this year.* Clothes so comfy grown men cry tears of joy. State of Matter makes menswear so sustainable, stylish, and comfortable that it's hard not to get emotional. Grab some tissues and save 20% with code brew20 when you shop their Spring Collection today.* The Marketplace 100: A list of the largest consumer-facing marketplace startups and private companies, featuring the likes of StockX and Turo. Check it out. Get smart about AI: Have you ever thought, "Wow, Spotify's algorithm just knows me" after loving a Discover Weekly suggestion? Well, sorry, it actually doesn't. Find out why next Wednesday at 1pm ET, when Emerging Tech Brew is hosting a virtual event with two AI experts to discuss the difference between AI prediction and cognition. Click here to RSVP. Mystery of the week: The curious case of the shrimp tails in Cinnamon Toast Crunch. *This is sponsored advertising content | |  | More than two weeks ago, 64 products began their quest to become the Greatest Product of All Time. Now, only two remain: Microsoft Windows and Google Search. Who will win today's matchup? Let's break it down. Microsoft Windows: Representing the Unsung Heroes region, Bill Gates's baby is used to being overlooked: The pioneering operating system carries with it over 35 years of computing innovation despite having never been the target of a TMZ piece. But one thing to remember when going up against a product with Vista and Me in its CV? It's got nothing to lose. Google Search: It cannot be overstated how important Google Search's legacy is to the question, "Is my __ normal?" Google Search was the top seed from the Simply Make Life Better region and eked out a close victory over the iPhone in the Final Four. There's no way to know for sure, but it may be feeling lucky as it enters the final test. Head to our Twitter account at 9am ET to vote on Google Search vs. Windows. | | | The American Kennel Club recently released the most popular dog breeds in the US for 2020. How many of the top 10 can you name? | | | When you share the Brew with your network, you earn free swag like our classic Morning Brew t-shirt. Are you one of those people who is always going places? Then you probably need a shirt. Might as well be this bad boy with the Morning Brew logo plastered across the chest. 
Hit the button below to learn more and access your rewards hub. Click to ShareOr copy & paste your referral link to others:
morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=8386977e | | - Labrador Retrievers
- French Bulldogs
- German Shepherds
- Golden Retrievers
- Bulldogs
- Poodles
- Beagles
- Rottweilers
- German Shorthaired Pointers
- Dachshunds
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