Monday, September 27, 2021

☕️ Crunch time

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September 27, 2021 View Online | Sign Up

Daily Brew

Fundrise

Good morning. Back by extremely popular demand: the Brew's joggers giveaway. All you need to do is share the Brew with just 5 people this week and you'll win a pair of these fall favorites.

Joggers image

We'll make this easy. Just copy the following message, along with your unique referral link, into a Slack channel, group text, or email chain and you'll claim your joggers in no time.

  • "Hey, use this link to sign up for the Morning Brew newsletter, a fun and easy way to get your news each morning. When you do, I'll win a pair of joggers and be so relaxed I'll never bother you for anything anymore."

Click here to win joggers.

Neal Freyman

MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE

Nasdaq

15,047.70

S&P

4,455.48

Dow

34,798.00

10-Year

1.465%

Bitcoin

$43,215.57

IAG

$175.60

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 8:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

  • Markets: Stocks managed to eke out a weekly gain last week despite taking a licking on Monday. Roughed-up airline stocks such as IAG, the parent company of British Airways, have been surging thanks in part to the US relaxing Covid-19 travel restrictions.
  • Covid: The WHO has assembled a team of about 20 scientists to renew the search for the origin of Covid-19. Experts warn that time is running out to uncover how a pandemic that's killed more than 4.7 million people around the world started.

GOVERNMENT

Crunch Time for Congress

Nancy Pelosi

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Remember in college when you had three huge projects due on the same day? Democrats are feeling that same stress this week as they try to turn President Biden's signature economic proposals into law.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants Democrats to pass two huge packages: 1) the roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and 2) the $3.5 trillion spending bill that would inject an unprecedented amount of federal dollars into the social safety net, climate change mitigation, and education.

On top of all that, Congress will need to fund the federal government past Thursday at midnight in order to avoid a partial government shutdown.

The stakes are high. As they eye the midterm elections coming up next year, Democrats want to be able to show voters they can get things done and make a positive difference in Americans' lives.

Breaking it down

Here's where the three projects stand right now.

The infrastructure bill: This package would provide $600 billion in fresh funding to upgrade the country's aging roads, bridges, transit, electric grid, and broadband networks. It's already passed the Senate with support from Republicans, but more progressive Democrats want to prioritize the social spending bill. Still, Pelosi is bullish: "Let me just say that we're going to pass the bill this week," she said yesterday.

The social and environment spending bill: This one's the biggest lightning rod. Many Democrats think this package will be transformative in cutting both poverty and carbon emissions, but Republicans (and some centrist Dems) are balking at the $3.5 trillion price tag. Expect the total cost to come down as Democrats seek a compromise.

The government shutdown: Because we can all agree it would be silly to shut down government operations during a pandemic, lawmakers say they could pass a short-term spending patch with bipartisan support to keep the lights on.

Bottom line: These wild next few days in DC could make or break Biden's domestic agenda.

        

HEALTH CARE

NY Health Officials Today

A scene from Scrubs of JD saying "screams internally"

Giphy

Speaking of deadlines, another big one looms: New York is requiring employees in all hospitals and nursing homes to have received at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine as of today.

While they're supportive of the requirement, officials are warning that the mandate could lead to staff shortages at hospitals and other health care facilities.

  • The largest health care provider in the state, Northwell Health, predicts it'll have to fire thousands of employees who refuse to get vaccinated, per the NYT.
  • Buffalo's Erie County Medical Center will suspend elective in-patient surgeries if it needs to fire hundreds of workers.

To help alleviate potential shortages, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a plan on Saturday that includes calling in medically trained National Guard personnel.

This is not just a New York issue: The Biden administration wants to make sure every person working in health care is vaccinated, and a federal vax mandate for health care employees could begin as soon as next month. Officials across the US, particularly in rural areas, are concerned they'll lose staff.

        

INTERNATIONAL

Life After Merkel

Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel not leading Germany is like someone other than Mike Krzyzewski coaching Duke basketball, but that's what's going to happen after Germans voted in federal elections yesterday.

Merkel, currently the longest-serving head of state in Europe, didn't seek reelection after 16 years as chancellor.

Her legacy: Merkel is credited with steering Europe's largest economy—and really the entire continent—through a number of emergencies, including the 2008 financial meltdown, the 2015 migrant crisis, and the coronavirus pandemic.

Whoever ends up succeeding Merkel, and it's not clear yet who that is, will face increased pressure to confront climate change, a central issue in yesterday's elections. Protestors rallied in Germany ahead of the vote to pressure the government to do more to limit emissions. Merkel's Germany has fallen short of its goals to reduce its carbon footprint, and remains a top-10 polluting country in the world.

Looking ahead...Merkel will remain in charge as German lawmakers tussle to form a new government, which could take months.

        

SPONSORED BY FUNDRISE

Playing with Three of a Kind

Fundrise

What do a two-story home, a commercial building, and an e-commerce center have in common?

If you said, "You can put people in them," then…yes you're technically right. But we were thinking something else: These are three money making machines. Real estate can make money in a bunch of different ways, including property value, rental income and of course, appreciation. 

Fundrise knows that we're not all cut out to be the hands-on landlord type, or can even afford to buy real estate on our own. So they've revolutionized private real estate investing: Providing individual investors with direct access to high quality real estate all across the country. 

With flexible minimums, you can invest right now at a level that's right for you, and when you invest through Fundrise, the only hands-on management you need to do is simply on the app. 

Real estate is now in reach. Build a strong portfolio with Fundrise today.

Key Performance Indicators

A Shang-Chi still

Disney

Stat: Marvel's Shang-Chi has become the top-grossing movie at the North American box office this year, bringing in nearly $187 million, according to Comscore. In second place is another Marvel blockbuster—Black Widow.

Quote: "Within a year I think we will be able to come back to normal life."

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on ABC yesterday that we'll get back to leading our normal lives (whatever that means anymore) in the not-too-distant future, but added that we'll likely need yearly Covid shots.

Read: Lab-grown meat is supposed to be inevitable. The science tells a different story. (The Counter)

        

The Week Ahead

Fall foliage

We kind of cannibalized this section with the top story, but here's what else you should look out for.

Economic officials speak: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Fed Chair Jerome Powell will testify before Congress on Tuesday and Thursday about the country's policy response to the pandemic.

Q4 begins: The final quarter of the year will start on Friday, Oct. 1.

Everything else:

  • A holiday near and dear to our hearts, National Coffee Day, is on Wednesday.
  • Jon Stewart makes his return to television with a show on Apple TV+ on Thursday.
  • The Many Saints of Newark, which chronicles the early life of Tony Soprano, debuts Friday.
  • Walt Disney World turns 50 on Friday.
        

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

  • British PM Boris Johnson may call in hundreds of soldiers to help resupply gas stations that have run out of fuel due to panic buying.
  • Three people were killed after an Amtrak train derailed in Montana.
  • Iceland elected its first majority-female parliament.
  • Sports Brew: Team USA cruised to victory at the Ryder Cup, and Baltimore Ravens' kicker Justin Tucker hit a winning 66-yard field goal, the longest kick in NFL history.

SPONSORED BY LUNYA

Lunya

Nobody wants to answer the door in their PJs. Unless, of course, you're wearing loungewear from Lunya. This is sleepwear designed for the modern woman. Functional and flat out gorgeous, Lunya's cozy cotton silk keeps you comfortable throughout the seasons—and stylish throughout the house. Upgrade your loungewear with $20 off your first purchase using code MORNINGBREW20.

BREWS BETS

Three career tips: 1) The 10 commandments of salary negotiation 2) why "hustling" may not help you in life and 3) the surprising power of daily rituals

Dive back into the week:

GAMES

Movie Trivia

It's no surprise that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the top movie franchise by global box office receipts.

Can you name the other nine franchises in the top 10?

SHARE THE BREW

Two Words: Free Joggers

Brew reader in joggers

Brew reader Anna rocking the joggers

It's time to show the world just how much you love Morning Brew. And there's no better way to do that than by rocking the coziest Brew joggers all winter long.

Getting your hands on these sweet sweats is easier than you'd think. All you need to do is refer 5 people to the Brew this week using your unique link (see below).

The details:

  • Regardless of how many people you've already referred, you need to get at least 5 new confirmed referrals by October 3rd to win joggers.
  • Only the first 2,000 people to hit this threshold will get joggers, so lock them in now.
  • As always, only participants with a US address can win.

Get your joggers now.


ANSWER

Star Wars, Harry Potter, Avengers, Spider-Man, James Bond, Fast and the Furious, X-Men, Batman, Lord of the Rings

✢ A Note From Fundrise

(Here's all the legal jargon we know you love reading.)

       

Written by Neal Freyman

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