| Good morning. Here's an interesting stat: Trading volumes at major cryptocurrency exchanges fell more than 40% in June. Maybe buying dogecoin isn't as fun as buying Yankee Candles in person. | | | |  | Nasdaq | 14,733.24 | | | | | S&P | 4,384.63 | | | | | Dow | 34,996.18 | | |  | Bitcoin | $32,910.98 | | | | | 10-Year | 1.365% | | | | | SPCE | $40.69 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Stocks once again hit records as Q2 earnings season—and its sky-high expectations—begins today. Despite a successful flight on Sunday, Virgin Galactic (SPCE) shares plummeted when it revealed a plan to sell $500 million in stock.
- Commodities: Wood you look at that—after a record surge, lumber just wiped out its entire gain for 2021 with supply/demand reverting to more typical levels.
| | | Giphy | Hot girl summer has quickly transitioned to "warily watching Delta summer" as the highly contagious Covid-19 variant leads to higher case numbers and fresh lockdowns across the world. Here's the latest. Where curbs are being added Sydney, Australia, has been on lockdown since June 26 to slow a spike in cases, and regional leaders say the order could be extended past the original expiration date on Friday. "We just want people to stay at home. The virus won't spread if people don't leave home," New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said. The Dutch prime minister apologized for an "error of judgement" when he lifted some pandemic restrictions three weeks ago. The country reinstituted curbs on eating and drinking establishments. Tokyo entered a state of emergency yesterday that will extend through the entire duration of the Olympics, and other parts of eastern Asia also reintroduced social distancing rules. Boosters are here Facing rising cases, this week Israel will become the first country in the world to administer a Covid-19 booster vaccine shot; it'll be given to adults with serious preexisting conditions. Medical workers in Thailand who have already been given two doses of China's Sinovac vaccine will also be given shots of AstraZeneca's vaccine as a booster. In the US, Dr. Fauci has said that booster shots aren't recommended right now because a full vaccination regimen provides significant protection against serious illness. But life goes on While some places like Australia are trying to stamp out every single case, other (more vaccinated) countries are accepting Covid as a fact of life. Britain said it would continue with its plan to drop nearly all Covid-19 restrictions next week, but warned its citizens to keep wearing masks indoors. In the US, which is more or less fully reopened for business, cases rose 47% last week, the biggest increase since April 2020. Experts warn that the number of deaths could soon rise in unvaccinated areas of the country, but for now they're down 27% nationwide from two weeks ago. | | | Yamil Lage/Getty Images | Cuban police cracked down on protesters and blocked social media sites following this weekend's demonstrations, which amounted to some of the largest anti-government protests in the country in decades. Thousands of Cubans marched Sunday to protest food shortages, power outages, surging prices, and the government's handling of the pandemic. Cuba's economy fell 11% in 2020, the biggest annual decrease in almost 30 years. The crisis has pushed people to the brink—it's very rare to see protests of this scale in Cuba, a country where the Communist regime keeps a close eye on dissidents. President Biden voiced support for the protestors. "We stand with the Cuban people and their clarion call for freedom...from the decades of repression and economic suffering to which they have been subjected by Cuba's authoritarian regime," he said yesterday. Big picture: Since 1958, the US has introduced varying levels of trade bans with Cuba. President Obama abstained from a symbolic UN vote opposing the US' embargo on Cuba for the first time in US history, signaling a move to repair relations. But when Trump took office, he took a harder line and placed more sanctions on the country. President Biden has yet to reverse any of the Trump admin's decisions. | | | Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images | The MLB All-Star festivities have the makings of dramatic reality TV: a smashing start with the Home Run Derby, a comeback after last year's cancellation, and a switcheroo with economic and political implications. Last night, a commercial paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee reminded viewers that the game was supposed to take place in Georgia and blamed the "radical left woke crowd" for moving it. The backstory: In April, the MLB said it was moving the All-Star Game from Georgia to Denver due to Georgia's new voting law. The MLB said the law was at odds with the league's values and that it opposes restrictions on voting. The MLB wasn't the only corporate giant to publicly oppose the voting law. Delta and Coca-Cola, both based in Georgia, along with 72 Black executives around the country, spoke out against Georgia's and all other laws that would make it harder for Black, Latino, and other minority populations to vote. Zoom out: A tourism board in Georgia said losing the game cost the state $100+ million in economic activity, though MLB estimates are slightly lower. Either way, Denver businesses are happy to play host. | | SPONSORED BY POLICYGENIUS | | Big fancy hat:  SPF 400: The best deal on home and auto insurance: Hmm, better check on that. With summer in full swing, avoiding sunburns and keeping sand out of your sandwich aren't the only things you need to think about. Protecting your home and autos—and getting a better deal for it—should be top of mind. Policygenius makes the whole process of comparing and bundling policies easy breezy, whether it's your first time getting coverage or you're looking to switch and save. In fact, they've saved customers an average of $1,250 per year over what they were paying before. That's money you could put toward the most embarrassingly floppy beach hat you never knew you needed. Start comparing home and auto insurance with Policygenius today. | | | Dimitras Dishes | Stat: The price of arabica coffee beans hit its highest level in five years due to higher demand and a severe drought in Brazil, which is the world's top coffee producer. Brazil's harvest this year is expected to drop the most since 2003, per the USDA. Quote: "I rather hate it and I would much prefer to spend my time on design and engineering, which is what intrinsically I like doing." Elon Musk said in court yesterday that he doesn't actually like being the CEO of Tesla, but he has to do it "or frankly Tesla is going to die." Musk is being accused by Tesla shareholders of orchestrating a harmful, self-dealing takeover of SolarCity in 2016. Read: How California ended up with a massive almond industry. (Dr. Sarah Taber) | | | Wallpaper Flare | Two grillmakers, one mass-market and one high-tech, recently filed to go public after seeing one too many sad hot dogs on the Fourth of July. - Weber: Boasting 23% of the US grill market and a legacy that started marinating in the '50s, Weber is the Mustang of grills. When the company filed for an IPO yesterday, it said that revenue for the six months ending March 31 grew 62% annually to $963 million. It could go public at a valuation of up to $6 billion, per Bloomberg.
- Traeger: While Weber made its name with classic charcoal domes, younger rival Traeger is known for its smart grills that cost up to $2,000. For that price, you get three tiers of wood-fired, stainless steel grilling action, all controllable by a smartphone or Apple Watch. Last week, Trager filed to go public and celebrated by buying app-connected meat thermometer company, Meater.
Zoom out: Grillmakers were positioned perfectly over the flame during the pandemic, when quarantined people fought boredom with hobbies like cooking. Speaking of, does anyone have a grilled banana bread recipe? | | - The FDA is adding a warning to J&J's Covid-19 vaccine about a link with a rare but potentially serious neurological disorder known as Guillain-Barre syndrome.
- Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce behemoth, raised $3.6 billion at a valuation of nearly $38 billion. The next step: IPO.
- British lawmakers and soccer officials criticized social media platforms for allowing racial abuse of English players following their loss to Italy in the Euro final.
- ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, has reportedly shelved its IPO plans after being warned about data security by Chinese regulators.
- The number of people who went hungry last year rose to include almost a third of the global population, a new UN report showed.
| | | The breeziest shorts for long summer days. Vuori's Ponto Shorts deliver lightweight comfort from sunrise to sunset—heck, go ahead and sleep in 'em. Their DreamknitTM fabric has you covered (just enough) all summer long. Get 20% off your first pair here.* Crown the cream of the cream of the crop. Thousands of you submitted your dream Chobani® Coffee Creamer flavors. The top three flavors have risen, but there can only be one champion creamer: Vote for your favorite.* Tech Tip Tuesday: Every now and then, a new kitchen utensil arrives to take the culinary world by storm. Behold—the ultimate fork. Dead startup toys: It's exactly what it sounds like. Toy versions of failed iconic startups. *This is sponsored advertising content | | | Bottom line: Most of them stink. And most of them are unnecessarily long or inefficient. That's why Morning Brew cofounder and executive chairman Alex Lieberman is giving you 6 Steps for Successful Meetings on his podcast, Founder's Journal. You'll learn when it's actually time to have a meeting, when it's not, and how to get the most out of them. Listen to Founder's Journal here. | | | Brew Mini: Today's is especially delicious...play it here. Shark Week It's Shark Week on Discovery, so naturally we're going to ask you some questions about the TV show Shark Tank. Can you identify each shark from the clues below? Your choices are Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Robert Herjavec, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, and Daymond John. - The richest of all the sharks
- Investor in Scrub Daddy, considered one of the most successful startups to come through Shark Tank
- Campaigned to be the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
- Barack Obama's ambassador for global entrepreneurship
- Recognized as a global leader in information security
- Sold their namesake real estate business for $66 million in 2001
| | | | Morning Brew cofounder Alex Lieberman is interviewing Shopify's smart-as-a-whip president Harley Finkelstein in an exclusive, live taping of Founder's Journal on Thursday afternoon. How can you join? Hit 3 referrals to this newsletter and you'll be able to learn from Finkelstein's sharp entrepreneurial instincts and hear how he thinks about the future of e-commerce. You've got just two days left, so start sharing now. | | | 1. The richest of all the sharks = Mark Cuban
2. Scrub Daddy investor = Lori Greiner
3. Campaigned to be the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada = Kevin O'Leary
4. Barack Obama's ambassador for global entrepreneurship = Daymond John
5. Recognized as a global leader in information security = Robert Herjavec
6. Sold their real estate business for $66 million in 2001 = Barbara Corcoran | | |
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