Good morning. The US House of Representatives still does not have a speaker since a small faction of rebels in the Republican party keep blocking Rep. Kevin McCarthy from securing the 218 votes needed to clinch the position. And after going 0–11 in votes so far, McCarthy is racking up a losing streak that's verging on Process-era Philadelphia 76ers territory. In fact, the only times the House has needed more ballots to choose a speaker were before the Civil War. Will today be the day for a breakthrough, or just another scene from Groundhog Day? We'll find out when the House reconvenes at noon ET. —Matty Merritt, Max Knoblauch, Jamie Wilde, Neal Freyman | | | |  | Nasdaq | 10,305.24 | | | | | S&P | 3,808.10 | | | | | Dow | 32,930.08 | | |  | 10-Year | 3.719% | | | | | Bitcoin | $16,848.51 | | | | | Silvergate | $12.59 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Even in 2023, we're still on that "good news is bad news" grind. Stocks dipped after new reports showed that the US jobs picture has remained stronger than anticipated—a sign that the Fed will keep hiking rates to slow inflation. We'll get the clearest sense of the labor market this morning, when the government drops December's jobs report. US employers are expected to have added 200,000 jobs last month.
- Stock spotlight: After crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital revealed that its finances got rocked by FTX's implosion, its stock got rocked on the NYSE. The bank suffered $8.1 billion in customer withdrawals following FTX's collapse and needed to sell assets at huge losses to meet those obligations.
| | | | Midway Games via Giphy While the House has spent the last week in Jackass Forever mode, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) got serious and proposed a new rule yesterday that could impact everyone from Big Tech execs to unpaid social media interns. The potential rule would ban noncompete agreements, a common mechanism used by companies to keep employees from jumping ship and working for competitors. It's been a long time coming In a 2021 executive order, President Biden asked the FTC (led by antitrust shark Lina Khan) to target noncompetes. And the proposal the agency came up with flexes more muscle than it has in the past: The plan would make all new and existing noncompetes illegal, as well as require companies to inform employees that any previous noncompete agreements are void. Why are noncompetes a thing? They're pitched as a way to protect trade secrets so someone working at Domino's doesn't leave and design a pizza tracker app for Pizza Hut (okay, not a bad idea). But as noncompetes have flooded industries across the board, the FTC—and even the Treasury Department—say these agreements are essentially trapping workers in lower wages. Putting an end to the practice could boost wages by $300 billion every year, and release workers from career inertia, per the FTC. Noncompetes are truly everywhere: In one high-profile case in 2016, Jimmy John's settled a lawsuit with the Illinois state attorney general's office, saying it would not enforce its noncompete that barred workers from making subs (and sub-adjacents) within a three-mile radius of any JJ shops for two years. As if Jersey Mike's would even need those dry sandwich secrets. Looking ahead…the FTC's 3–1 vote in favor of the proposed rule is the first step of the agency's rulemaking process. Next up is 60 days of public comment. But there's no date set for a final vote, and the plan is sure to face challenges even if it does cross the finish line. The US Chamber of Commerce—which represents a lot of big, powerful corporations—threatened legal action against such a change in 2021.—MM | | | Ya know that ol' needle-in-a-haystack saying? That's what it feels like to look for a new credit card with benefits you'll actually use—nearly impossible, and as boring as the cliché itself. But your search is over: This card has it all. What's the scoop? Peep this one's features: - 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 21 months (that's one of the longest on the market, BTW)
- an additional, lengthy 0% intro APR on purchases
- $0 annual fee
Oh, and that's not all it offers, either. But don't take our word for it—dig in to this expert review for the full details. Apply for this zero-interest card here. | | Ethan Miller/Getty Images  Damar Hamlin is awake. Doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said the Buffalo Bills safety had woken up on Wednesday night, two days after he had gone into cardiac arrest during an NFL game and was sedated. Hamlin has been able to communicate via writing, and his first question was whether the Bills won their game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The doctors responded: "The answer is yes, Damar, you won the game of life." That Bills–Bengals game has been canceled by the league, and NFL teams are still preparing to play in an anything-but-normal Week 18 this upcoming weekend.
 Pineapple Express slams California with wind and rain. A weather event known as a Pineapple Express storm has caused thousands of power outages and at least two deaths in California, which has been under a state of emergency since Wednesday. The storm brings with it 100+ mph winds and buckets of rainfall, which has led to flash flooding and landslides in parts of the state. Parts of Northern California were evacuated or placed under weather advisory, and forecasters have warned that more storm systems are expected to hit the area next week.
 Drama at the southern border ahead of Biden's visit. The president is planning to visit the US–Mexico border for the first time in his tenure on Sunday, and before his trip he announced tighter restrictions on migrants who try to come into the US without authorization, telling them to apply for asylum in their home countries instead. Meanwhile, Mexico arrested the son of drug lord "El Chapo," who is himself allegedly one of the top traffickers of the deadly opioid fentanyl.
| | Photo Illustration: Dianna "Mick" McDougall, Source: Getty Images Big January-in-the-Northeast vibes out of Bed Bath & Beyond yesterday, as the company announced in a public filing that it has "substantial doubt" about its ability to continue and could potentially file for bankruptcy. BBBY expects to report a 33% sales decline compared to Q3 last year (which included Black Friday). The company anticipates losses to reach $385.8 million—a 40% spike from last year—and warned that it may not have cash for suppliers and lease agreements in the coming months. In response, shares fell to their lowest level in ~30 years, marking a 96% decline from the stock's recent peak during its period in the meme stock limelight (more on that in a bit). What happened? Maybe shoppers are just less impressed by towels these days. But the retailer also committed numerous own goals, such as by replacing big brands with private labels amid supply chain snarls and at a time when pandemic-era shoppers wanted to shell out for a KitchenAid. There was also the case of meme stock investor Ryan Cohen, who announced a ~10% stake in the company in March, which prompted retail investors to also pile in. In August, however, Cohen exited his position and shares plummeted 45%.—MK If you're shopping for more retail news, sign up for Retail Brew. | | FOOD & BEV Nonalcoholic beer is having a moment | Francis Scialabba Nonalcoholic beer, wine, and spirits are grabbing headlines because it's Dry January—the month when people stop drinking and the worst time to go on a family vacation. But it turns out that drinking 0% ABV IPAs has turned into a year-round phenomenon for health-conscious customers. Retail sales of nonalcoholic beverages grew more than 20% last year, and 120% over three years, per Nielsen. Beer giants Ab Inbev and Heineken have launched O'Douls competitors, and so have upstart nonalcoholic breweries like Athletic Brewing Co.—which recently raised $50 million from Keurig Dr. Pepper. Alcohol-free wine and spirits represent much smaller pieces of the category's sales pie, but new brands pedaling adaptogens, nootropics, and whatever else Erewhon marks up have been launched by celebs including Bella Hadid and Katy Perry. Meanwhile, sales of alcoholic beer and wine have declined year over year, and alcoholic spirit sales grew less than 1% annually. That's not to say people are teetotaling. Actually, over eight in 10 people who buy nonalcoholic drinks also buy alcoholic drinks. Plus, the nonalcoholic drinks sector, despite its recent growth, is a shot glass to Big Alcohol's das boot, with the former representing a tiny 0.47% of the broader buzzed industry.—JW | | Francis Scialabba Stat: New medicines launched by US drugmakers reached a median price of $222,003 last year, according to Reuters. These astronomical prices were fueled by three uber-expensive gene therapies approved by the FDA—one of them, from Hemgenix, costs $3.5 million, making it the most expensive drug ever. Congress did cap annual drug price increases via the Inflation Reduction Act, but that doesn't cover the cost of new medications. Drugmakers, meanwhile, say the cost of their drugs doesn't reflect what patients pay out-of-pocket for them. Quote: "Maybe we cried too much last year." The CFO of Walgreens acknowledged that the company was being overdramatic about the effects of theft on its business. Last year, the retailer warned that increased theft (or "shrinkage," in industry terms) would account for a meaty 3.5% of sales, so it hired private security guards and barricaded toiletries like they were the "Mona Lisa." But apparently the level of shrinkage hasn't been significant and those guards weren't effective, so it's winding down its use of private security companies. Read: The "breakthrough" obesity drugs that have stunned researchers. (Nature) | | Getting a 5/5 on the Brew's Weekly News Quiz has been compared to when you 100% a video game. It's that satisfying. Ace the quiz. | | - South Carolina's Supreme Court struck down an abortion ban after about six weeks of pregnancy, saying it violates the state constitution.
- ChatGPT's creator, OpenAI, is considering selling shares at a valuation of around $29 billion, which would make it one of the most valuable private US startups, per the WSJ.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military to observe a 36-hour ceasefire for Orthodox Christmas. Ukrainians dismissed it as propaganda to buy time for Russian troops to regroup.
- Delta is launching free wi-fi for members of its frequent flier program starting Feb. 1.
| | Where to look for 2023 trends: Usually they show up on Pinterest before anywhere else. Hope you like sequels and spinoffs: The movies that are coming to theaters this year. It's no Pokémon: The worst TV theme song you've ever heard. Wonder who created the iPod and made Nest a household name? That would be Tony Fadell, and he's joining the Brew for a FREE leadership workshop next Tuesday, Jan. 10. Learn the strategies Tony has used throughout his extensive career, and you also might be in for a surprise gift. Register now. Personal finance tips: Money Scoop is a thrice-weekly personal finance newsletter that makes you smarter about your money. You'll learn how to better invest, budget, spend, manage your taxes, and much more, all for free. | | Jigsaw: Relive the spectacle of New Year's Eve in Times Square with today's jigsaw puzzle. Solve it here. Friday puzzle This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious as to just how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so ordinary and plain that you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is highly unusual though. Study it and think about it. You still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out. Try to do so without any coaching. | |  New year, new marketing strategy? Marketing Brew has you covered with the latest industry updates every weekday. Learn more here.
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| | | There is no letter "e," which is the most commonly used letter in the English language. | | |
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