Good morning. If you're one of the roughly 75 million people on the East Coast under various blizzard and winter storm advisories, we a) hope you're staying safe and b) think you can probably call it on Dry January. —Matty Merritt, Jamie Wilde, Neal Freyman | | | |  | Nasdaq | 13,770.57 | | | | | S&P | 4,431.85 | | | | | Dow | 34,725.47 | | |  | 10-Year | 1.771% | | | | | Bitcoin | $37,719.70 | | | | | Apple | $170.33 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: To close out one of the most unpredictable stock market weeks in recent memory, the stock indexes surged higher—and the Dow had its best day of 2022. Just how volatile was the market this week? The S&P swung at least 2.25% every single day…and ended up on Friday afternoon around where it started Monday morning.
- Economy: US employers are paying up for their workers. New data showed that overall compensation climbed 4% annually last quarter, the biggest jump in two decades. That's still not enough to keep up with inflation, which is climbing at its fastest pace since 1983.
| | Saul Loeb/Getty Images At 6:39am on Friday morning, the heavily trafficked Fern Hollow Bridge located in Pittsburgh's East End collapsed with five cars and a bus on it, injuring 10 people. And because irony is real, President Biden was scheduled to arrive in Pittsburgh only hours after the splinter to promote, what else, the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that he recently signed into law. The details: The Fern Hollow Bridge was built in 1970 and had received a "poor" rating in regular inspections from 2011–17, according to the National Bridge Inventory. - 29 bridges in Pittsburgh are considered to be in poor condition and at least 53 have a poorly rated component.
- Kent Harries, a University of Pittsburgh engineering professor, told Public Source that just because a bridge gets a poor rating doesn't mean it's necessarily on the verge of collapse.
The Fern Hollow Bridge, for its part, was most recently inspected last September. The details of that inspection haven't been released and the cause of the collapse is still being investigated (the bridge's 2019 report mentioned problems with the deck and superstructure). Pittsburgh's 2022 budget contains only $7.25 million for bridge updates, and repairs are made on a "worst come, first served" basis. Two researchers estimated it would cost roughly $458 million to address every single bridge issue in the city famous for its bridges. Biden told Air Force One, "Yinz gotta make a pit stop" The president reshuffled his Pittsburgh itinerary to visit the site of the bridge collapse and speak with first responders and officials. He also used the occasion to tout the funds the infrastructure package would bring to cities like Pittsburgh for bridge upkeep and repairs. - Under the law, more than $27 billion will be spent over the next five years fixing the 45,000+ bridges around the country that are currently rated in poor condition.
- "The idea that we've been so far behind on infrastructure for so many years, it's mind boggling," Biden said.
Administration officials said this program isn't just for bridges about to bust—it will also hopefully encourage local governments to take on more lower-priority projects sooner.—MM | | J. Kempin/Getty Images Warren Buffett once wrote, "Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." That quote has become eerily autobiographical. Yesterday Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, made nearly $10 billion on its investment in Apple alone, whose stock it began buying in 2016. Apple shares jumped nearly 7% after it managed to sidestep the supply chain bottlenecks that have dogged competitors and report record quarterly revenue. - Not known for his bets on the tech industry, Buffett has remained bullish on the iPhone maker, amassing a 5.4% stake and calling Apple "probably the best business I know in the world."
- As Apple's share price has skyrocketed over the years, Berkshire has returned nearly 5x its investment on Apple, as of earlier this month.
Buffett also showed this week that his commitment to companies in unsexy sectors can be prudent when markets get turbulent. Since the start of 2020, Berkshire Hathaway has outperformed Cathie Wood's Ark Innovation ETF, a fund comprised of disruptive tech companies that's collapsed over the past few months. Looking ahead…after two years of going virtual due to the pandemic, Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting, aka "Woodstock for Capitalists," will be held in person on April 30. Book your flights to Omaha now.—NF | | Waymo Autonomous car company Waymo is suing the California Department of Motor Vehicles over a request to share its fleet's crash info with the public. The Alphabet subsidiary is also demanding that the DMV keep under wraps how it responds when its vehicles—which have just-in-case drivers—experience emergencies, veer off course, and navigate steep hills and tight curves (aka all of San Francisco, where Waymos are almost as common as soup dumplings). Waymo's reasoning? These are "trade secrets" that would give its competitors, like GM's Cruise, a leg up and releasing the intel would have a "chilling effect" on the entire industry because no one wants their proprietary tech put on blast. Others, including the DMV, argue that the public should know more about their autonomous neighbors, especially since Waymo's developed a bit of a track record: With 24 crashes, it accounted for the most autonomous-mode crashes in CA last year out of its peers (though no serious injuries or fatalities), Insider reports. Looking ahead…expect more regulatory tussles as autonomous vehicles slowly but surely make their way onto city streets. Waymo tripled the size of its CA fleet last year and started testing vehicles in New York and New Jersey.—JW | | | Meet the OCA Therma, Cariuma's latest shoe release that can keep your tootsies toasty all winter long. This sustainable take on the classic high top will have you lookin' and feelin'  without compromising ol' Mother Nature. The sustainability wizards at Cariuma handcrafted this 100% vegan shoe with natural rubber, high-performance vegan suede, and an ultra-plush faux-shearling lining made from GRS-certified recycled plastic. Therma sneakers can handle anything winter might throw at ya. Snow? No problem. Slush? Bring it on. Therma is water-repellant and designed for total warmth—even the insoles are lined! And for those weird transition days when it's unclear whether you need a short-sleeved shirt or a parka, Cariuma cleared a 34k waitlist to bring its best seller back in stock–OCA in suede + canvas. With these low tops, you can keep it cozy any day, any season. These kicks are never on sale, but Brew readers get a special offer—claim yours today. | | The Why Axis. Used with permission. Stat: Americans are not OK during the pandemic. According to the General Social Survey, the share of people who said they were "very happy" plunged from 31% in 2018 to 19% in 2021, while the share of people who were "not too happy" surged from 13% to 24%. Over the past few decades, the very happy people had outnumbered the not-too-happies by about three to-one. Quote: "Over the past two years, we prioritized certain strategic projects that distracted us from the laser-focus we needed to have on our core business: scaling our beauty brand." Emily Weiss, founder and CEO of Glossier, told employees in a Wednesday email that the online beauty startup would be laying off over one-third of its corporate staff (about 80 employees). The brand that brought us "looking wet" as a makeup trend has grown to a valuation of more than $1 billion, but, "We also got ahead of ourselves on hiring," Weiss wrote. "These missteps are on me." Read: Seven technologies to watch in 2022. (Nature) | | - US airlines have canceled nearly 5,000 flights between Friday and Sunday due to the Nor'easter.
- 60 million households have ordered free at-home Covid tests through the government's website, the White House said. Get yours here.
- 10 billion Covid-19 vaccine doses have now been administered globally.
- Chevron had its best quarter since 2014 thanks to booming energy prices.
- Your office might have its own sound one day.
| | People say they like healthy food, but dogs actually love it. This year, feed them fresh, human-grade food from The Farmer's Dog. It's not "dry" or "wet"—it's steamed meat and veggies, pre-portioned and delivered to you. Get 50% off your first box today.* Back in the days of yore, you had to own a mahogany desk to add private real estate to your investing portfolio. Today, ANYBODY can capitalize on alternative investments. Learn how in this interactive guide, together with Fundrise.* Express yourself: Check out all the brand-new emojis that are coming to an iPhone near you. Weekend conversation starters: *This is sponsored advertising content | | | There's no better snow day activity than curling up with a clever crossword puzzle. Try it here. | | | Written by Neal Freyman, Matty Merritt, and Jamie Wilde Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. WANT MORE BREW? Industry news, with a sense of humor → - Emerging Tech Brew: AI, crypto, space, autonomous vehicles, and more
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