Good morning. If data is the new oil, then oil is the new school lunch Gushers. Due to the run-up in oil prices and tech's collapse, energy giant Saudi Aramco overtook Apple as the most valuable company in the world yesterday with a market capitalization of about $2.43 trillion. More proof of the changing of the guard: In October 2020, Zoom was worth more than Exxon Mobil. Now, Exxon's market cap is 14x bigger than Zoom's. —Neal Freyman, Jamie Wilde, Matty Merritt | | | |  | Nasdaq | 11,364.24 | | | | | S&P | 3,935.18 | | | | | Dow | 31,834.11 | | |  | 10-Year | 3.001% | | | | | Bitcoin | $28,512.18 | | | | | Carvana | $30.00 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 7:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: The Nasdaq dropping 3% in a day used to be an earth-shattering event on Wall Street—now it's simply called "May 2022." Tech stocks continued their total collapse after another hot inflation reading yesterday morning. Carvana, which was labeled a pandemic winner, has crashed nearly 92% from its peak and laid off 12% of its workforce on Tuesday.
- Government: Democrats were unsuccessful in passing a bill that would enshrine Roe v. Wade abortion rights protections into law. They needed 60 votes and got 49.
| | | | Know Your Meme Yesterday's inflation report was like a doctor beginning their evaluation with, "Well, the good news is…" It doesn't exactly make you excited to hear the rest. Either way, let's start with the good news. Which is this: Inflation seems to have peaked. Consumer prices grew 8.3% annually in April, down from the 8.5% pace in March. That's the first time the rate of inflation has dropped in eight months. - The slowdown was driven in large part by a drop in energy costs, including a 6.1% monthly drop in gasoline prices.
- Used vehicle prices continued their descent, and apparel prices also dropped.
Now for the "but…" Inflation is still uncomfortably high, and yesterday's report indicated that it's not going down without a serious fight. Here's why: Core CPI, which strips out unpredictable gas and food prices, jumped from March to April. And while inflation in goods may be easing, surging prices in the services arena (rents, recreation, medical) have now become a major concern as employers hike wages to attract workers. That's especially worrisome because, unlike inflation in goods, services inflation can't be solved by working out supply chain kinks. - In one dramatic example, airfares jumped 18.6% annually last month for their biggest gain on record.
- Shelter costs (aka rents) rose 0.5% for their third straight monthly gain. They account for one-third of the overall CPI.
Big picture: Last month, a record share of Americans said that inflation was their No. 1 financial problem, and the people in charge are playing the blame game. President Biden blames external shocks like Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine, Republicans pin it on the stimmy-happy Democrats, and others argue the Fed is at fault for misreading the situation and not hiking interest rates sooner. Or, like Fed Governor Chris Waller, you could simply not give a hoot how it came to be. "At this point, I don't care what the reasons are. Inflation is too high and my job is to get it down," he said this week.—NF | | | Your PTO is approved, you're finalizing your itinerary, and you're rea-dyyyy for that long-overdue vacation. You've planned so well that it's only logical to account for alllll the things you didn't plan for, too. You might be thinking, "That terrible mishap would never happen to me." Well, for many of us at the Brew, we learned the hard way that travel doesn't always go according to plan. To help you learn from our mistakes, we teamed up with battleface to break down what can go wrong—and how travel insurance can protect your precious vacay. battleface offers customized travel insurance plans to safeguard your getaways from any what-ifs. Trip cancellations? Check. Luggage with all those cute 'fits goes MIA? Check. Medical emergency? Major check. Now check out our article so you can plan for the unexpected and fully enjoy that (zero-stress, everything's-gonna-be-perfect) time off. | | Airbnb  Airbnb dropped its biggest redesign in a decade. As customers increasingly seek out longer-term rentals, Airbnb introduced a search tool that sorts listings into categories such as tiny homes, "amazing pools," and even caves. It also unveiled a feature that allows you to split time between two properties for stays of one week or longer.
 Drug overdose deaths set another record. More than 107,000 Americans died from a drug overdose in 2021, a 15% increase from the year before (which was also a record high), per new CDC estimates. Experts attributed the jump to a rise in overdose deaths involving fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is often cut into other drugs including meth, heroin, and cocaine.
 Disney's a marvel: After Netflix's Q1 debacle, everyone was anxious to see whether Disney's streaming empire would similarly downsize. Nope: Disney+ added 7.9 million more subs last quarter, beating expectations. Across its three streaming services (Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+), Disney has a total of 205.6 million subscribers, which is inching closer to industry-leader Netflix's 221.6 million.
| | Ice Age/Fox via Giphy Coinbase shares skidded 26% yesterday after dropping a Q1 earnings report that showed less stability than a stablecoin. As economic growth and the value of cryptocurrencies crater, traders on the exchange have stopped flinging around crypto like it's glitter at a rave. Compared to the previous quarter… - Two million fewer monthly transacting users were on the platform.
- Trading volume fell 44% and transaction revenue decreased 56%.
The company doesn't expect a speedy bounceback. Instead, it set a lower bar for the next quarter, predicting its numbers will only get worse as investors become more bearish. But CEO Brian Armstrong still believes we're all gonna make it. "Ironically, I've never been more bullish on where we are as a company," he said in the earnings call. He also assured users via tweet that "we have no risk of bankruptcy" (that's good) after users were surprised by new terms and conditions announcing that their Coinbase assets could be seized in that event. Bottom line: Coinbase is shrinking faster than Lake Mead. It was trading at a valuation of more than $112 billion on its first day as a public company; now, it's valued at less than $12 billion.—JW | | Grant Thomas The majority of young people surveyed in a Generation Lab–Morning Brew poll responded that abortion access is at least "somewhat important" in determining where they'll live in the future. Check out the full poll results here. | | Rappers Gunna and Young Thug, who were both arrested this week. Prince Williams/Getty Images It's been a wild week for hip-hop fans who are still recovering from Kendrick Lamar's deepfake into Will Smith. On Monday, popular Atlanta rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, was arrested as part of a broad indictment targeting 28 people for gang-related activity. - Georgia prosecutors allege that Williams is one of the organizers of the Atlanta gang Young Slime Life (YSL), which has been accused of a number of violent crimes, including a 2015 murder.
Behind the charges is a 1970s statute created to take down mobsters, known as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Prosecutors are using the state's RICO law to charge Williams and his associates—including rappers Yak Gotti, Gunna, and Williams's brother Unfoonk—with crimes they may not have committed, but were involved in vis-a-vis YSL. The law allows the state to find multiple parties guilty if it can prove that everyone in the organization committed two or more serious crimes that were part of a larger racketeering plan. Big picture: A critical part of the state's argument hinges on using Wiliams's own lyrics as evidence, a tactic that isn't necessarily new in the world of rap. In the indictment, prosecutors named nine songs that they claim are evidence of Williams's criminal activity. Williams's lawyer told the LA Times the claims were "frivolous" and that they will "fight it and litigate it ethically, and lawfully and zealously."—MM | | The Simpsons/Fox via Giphy Stat: In March, every day was the world series of poker. US casinos had their best month ever, recording $5.31 billion in revenue (and that doesn't even include revenue from casinos run by Native American tribes). This related stat kinda broke our brain: Gamblers spent $8.19 billion on slot machines alone in Q1. Quote: "My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane." Not exactly what you want to hear as an air traffic controller, but miraculously a passenger with no flying experience managed to land a plane safely in Palm Beach on Tuesday after the pilot suffered a medical emergency. Read: An illustrated history of the iPod and its massive impact. (Cult of Mac) | | - Prominent Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin. The media outlet and reporters who witnessed the scene said Israeli forces shot Abu Akleh, while Israel's defense minister said he did not know who was responsible.
- Google unveiled its first smartwatch, the Pixel Watch, as well as a bunch of new/upgraded gadgets.
- Cleaner air is associated with a rise in Atlantic hurricanes, a government report found.
- Manhattan office update: Just 8% of office workers are back in the office 5x a week. 28% are fully remote.
- Real news: Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment bought movie rental company Redbox in an acquisition valued at just $31 million.
| | TOGETHER WITH LINCOLN FINANCIAL | | Today's moves  tomorrow's security. Lincoln Financial products and solutions can help shape your desired financial future, all while helping you achieve the freedom to live life your way, right now. From protecting your loved ones to building a diversified portfolio with tax-advantaged benefits, find your sweet spot with Lincoln Financial. Learn more here. | | Eggs do it all: 24 egg recipes, from frittatas to burritos. A playlist for tough times: Songs to listen to while checking your portfolio in 2022. ICYMI: the Vineyard Vines x Brew Collection is here. That's right, we collabed with Vineyard Vines to bring the Brew a bit of the Good Life. Shop the Collection. | | Brew Mini: Any geography buffs in the house? This Mini is for you. Three headlines and a lie Three of these news headlines are real and one is faker than your friend's "soft yes" in the groupchat for a Memorial Day cabin trip. Can you guess the odd one out? - Man accused of killing his wife wins GOP primary from jail
- Dolly Parton and Doja Cat team up with Taco Bell for Mexican Pizza: The Musical
- Canada MP regrets calling into debate from toilet
- One lawyer's 10-year battle to make Santa much shorter
| | | We made up the Santa one. | | | ✳︎ A Note From Lincoln Financial Lincoln Financial is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation and affiliates. Copyright 2022
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