Monday, August 15, 2022

☕ The Great Retrofit

How the climate bill will transform America's homes...
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Morning Brew

Ally Robotics

Good morning. Almost 40 years ago, Steve Jobs told Apple's early employees: "It's better to be a pirate than join the navy." In that spirit, the mad geniuses in our education department have put together an eight-week virtual course that will teach you to zig where others zag in the world of business.

It's called the Business Essentials Accelerator, and it's sure to provide you with an unconventional—and even fun—way to learn the fundamentals of communication, operation, and innovation.

Apply here to join the next cohort, beginning Sept. 26.

—Neal Freyman

MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE

Nasdaq

13,047.19

S&P

4,280.15

Dow

33,761.05

10-Year

2.838%

Bitcoin

$24,293.87

BB&B

$12.95

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

  • Markets: The vibes have shifted on Wall Street as upbeat inflation data offers hope that the Fed can pull off a soft landing after all. The S&P has recovered about half of its 2022 losses since mid-June, and the VIX, considered Wall Street's "fear gauge," is at a four-month low. Even meme stocks are getting more love—Bed Bath & Beyond is on track for its best month ever.

ENVIRONMENT

Climate bill could transform America's homes

Jack Doherty, photovoltaic project manager for Revision Energy, carries a solar panel to the roof ridge of a home at OceanView at Falmouth Ben McCanna/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

This week, President Biden will sign the biggest climate bill in US history—a landmark event in the fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the worst effects of climate change.

One way the government aims to get there is by putting its giant thumb on energy markets so that cleaner options are more affordable to consumers. To see this strategy in action, look no further than the bill's incentives that push America's 122 million households to become lean, green, clean-energy machines.

The big picture: Buildings contribute 12.5% of total US greenhouse gas emissions, according to the EPA, so reducing their use of fossil fuels would contribute significantly to decarbonization efforts.

To that end, the bill provides about $100 billion for electrification programs at the neighborhood level, the nonprofit Rewiring America told Axios. If you're a homeowner, here are some programs to know:

  • The Energy-Efficient Home Improvement credit: Households can claim a tax deduction of up to 30% for upgrades that save energy, such as updating electrical panels, adding insulation or more energy-efficent windows, and installing heat pumps (here's what those are).
  • Residential Clean Energy credit: The bill resurrects and beefs up a credit for homeowners installing renewable energy systems like rooftop solar panels. The incentives will cut the cost of a typical $20,000 solar installation by as much as $6,000, per the NYT.
  • Rebates for high-efficiency appliances: Low- and middle-income families can claim rebates up to $840 for a greener stove or oven and $8,000 for a heat pump for space heating or cooling.

Bottom line: Government incentives for clean-energy upgrades are not new. But by boosting the $$$ offered and extending credit programs for many years, the Biden administration wants to show Americans hurting from inflation that they can save money on their energy bills by going green. Through taking environmentally friendly steps such as installing solar panels and buying a heat pump water heater, a household could save $1,800 annually, Rewiring America says.

        

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WORLD

Tour de headlines

More US lawmakers travel to Taiwan Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

More US lawmakers visit Taiwan. A delegation of lawmakers led by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey touched down in Taiwan less than two weeks after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island, which China claims as its own territory. Like Pelosi, the new delegation is showing up to demonstrate the US' support for Taiwan—but it's set to further enrage China, which unleashed a wave of military drills around the island following Pelosi's trip.

Salman Rushdie is "on the road to recovery." One day after being stabbed, the acclaimed author was taken off of a ventilator and was able to speak, his agent said. The man accused of stabbing him, a 24-year-old man from New Jersey, has been charged with attempted murder and assault. The attack on Rushdie was praised by several hardline newspapers in Iran, where in 1989 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for Rushdie's death. The Iranian government hasn't commented officially.

Crypto milestones: For a brief moment on Sunday, the price of bitcoin topped $25,000 for the first time since mid-June as part of a five-day winning streak. And ether surpassed the $2,000 mark on Saturday for the first time since late May. For bitcoin, which has recently traded akin to a risky tech stock, the gains appear linked to broader forces lifting markets higher. Ether, meanwhile, is benefiting from excitement over a planned software upgrade to the Ethereum network, dubbed the Merge.

INTERNATIONAL

Fan-favorite walrus put down in Norway

The walrus, Freya Tor Erik Schrøder/NTB/AFP via Getty Images

Freya, a 1,300-pound walrus that delighted onlookers in Oslo, Norway, this summer, was euthanized by authorities on Sunday. The country's Directorate of Fisheries said the decision was "based on an overall assessment of the continued threat to human safety" presented by Freya, and came after ruling out all other options.

The irony is, it was humans who may have posed the biggest threat to Freya. The walrus drew crowds of spectators in recent weeks as she hopped up on boats (and occasionally sank them) and sunbathed on the piers of the Oslo Fjord. Authorities warned people to leave her alone out of concern for their safety, but they didn't listen—continuing to swim alongside her and taking pictures at close range.

Why was Freya such a sensation? Not only was she a magnificent animal (named after the Norse goddess of beauty and love), but also walruses are rarely seen in this part of Norway. The last known sighting of a walrus this far south in the North Sea was nearly 10 years ago, CNN notes.

        

CALENDAR

The week ahead

House of the Dragon screengrab HBO

Back to Westeros: HBO will try to make everyone forget the final season of Game of Thrones with the release of GOT spinoff House of the Dragon on Sunday. There's a ton of pressure on the network to recapture the success of GOT, which was HBO's most-watched show in history and the No. 1 Emmy winner of all time.

Earnings: Mega-retailers take center stage this week after sending shivers down investors' spines with gloomy forecasts. Walmart, which reports earnings on Tuesday, slashed its profit outlook for the year in July due to rising costs, and earlier this month cut 200 corporate employees.

Sports: The WNBA playoffs start on Wednesday. And so does the Little League Baseball World Series. I'll be rooting for the fellas from Middleborough, Massachusetts—the first MA team to make the tournament since 2009. This year is the 75th anniversary of the tournament.

Everything else:

  • GOP Rep. Liz Cheney could lose her seat in the Wyoming primary on Tuesday. She's been a fierce critic of former President Trump.
  • Today is the 75th anniversary of India's independence.
  • She-Hulk: Attorney at Law hits Disney+ on Thursday.

GRAB BAG

Key performance indicators

A gold oil drum Francis Scialabba

Stat: Saudi Aramco, the Saudi energy giant, notched record profits of $48.4 billion in the second quarter due to surging oil prices. That's more than the combined profits of ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell last quarter, which themselves posted record income. Saudi Arabia's economy is projected to grow more than 7.6% this year—the most of any country. Maybe they'll be able to pay for that vertical city after all?

Quote: "Don't forget about us."

Today marks one year since the Taliban captured Kabul, Afghanistan—and one Afghan woman told ABC News to remember the suffering of the country's women, whose rights have been stripped since the Taliban regained power. Over the past year, the Taliban have banned women from having jobs, blocked them from traveling without a male guardian, and restricted girls from attending secondary schools.

Read: What I eat as a 27-year-old consultant making $225k/year in Washington, DC. (Bon Appetit)

TOGETHER WITH CUTS

Cuts

Comfort + versatility = your new wardrobe. CUTS Clothing has perfected workleisure by creating outfits that work for going to the office (even if the office is your couch) and going out. Their biggest sale ever is happening this week only. Get up to 50% off sitewide.

        

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

Warning: These are pretty bleak…

  • A man rammed his car into a barricade near the US Capitol, fired gunshots into the air, and fatally shot himself on Sunday. There are no indications that he was targeting any Members of Congress, US Capitol Police said.
  • At least five US citizens were among eight people wounded in a shooting in Jerusalem on Sunday. The suspected shooter, a 22-year-old Palestinian man living in East Jerusalem, surrendered to authorities.
  • At least 41 people died and 45 were injured after a fire broke out at a Coptic church in Egypt.
  • Scotland's police are investigating a threat against author JK Rowling after she tweeted that she was feeling "very sick" about the stabbing of Salman Rushdie.

BREW'S BETS

Dive back into the week:

Psychology of a hero: An analysis of The Lego Batman Movie and narcissism.

GAMES

The puzzle section

Turntable: Procrastinate diving into your stuffed inbox with today's Turntable. Play it here.

Do they share a border?

We'll give you a pair of US states or countries. You have to figure out whether they share a border.

  1. Brazil and Argentina
  2. North Dakota and Wyoming
  3. Russia and North Korea
  4. Florida and Mississippi
  5. Iran and Afghanistan
  6. New York and Rhode Island

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ANSWER

  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Yes
  4. No
  5. Yes
  6. Yes—we've been over this before. They share a small maritime border.
         

Written by Neal Freyman

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