STOCKS

SEC Pulls the Emergency Brake on Hertz

Yesterday, Hertz suspended its plan to sell up to $500 million in stock in a last-ditch effort to raise money. 

What happened? Someone at the SEC got mad they didn’t get to upgrade their Ford Focus. Earlier in the day, Hertz halted trading of its stock after the regulator said it would investigate the bankrupt rental car company’s controversial proposal.

The backstory: Hertz’s business has crumbled ever since, well...you know. It filed for bankruptcy on May 22, and four days later its stock hit a low of $0.40. After that? Chaos.

• Hertz’s stock went ballistic, surging over 1,400% to a high of more than $6 at one point on June 8.
• Because to amateur investors with nothing else to do, bankruptcy = opportunity. 96,000 Robinhood traders bought Hertz shares over the span of one week. 

Mind you, as all this was going on Hertz was still bankrupt, meaning it didn't have enough assets to satisfy its debt obligations (and Hertz was almost $19 billion in debt). With a turnaround unlikely... 

Hertz busted out the spare tire

In its now-kibashed plan to sell stock, Hertz wrote, “we expect that common stock holders would not receive a recovery through any plan unless the holders of more senior claims and interests...are paid in full.”

• Translation: Even if Hertz emerged from bankruptcy, the common stock it planned to issue would almost certainly end up worthless.
• And worthless stock is exactly what it sounds like. “It is incredibly creative and they get props for that, but I wouldn’t buy those shares,” Nancy Rapoport, a professor at UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law, told Bloomberg.

Bottom line: From the sudden deterioration of its core business to casual traders’ infatuation with its stock, Hertz embodies the bizarro-world of the coronavirus pandemic. 

BRANDING

Brands on Defense Over Offensive Imagery

The U.S.’ current reckoning with racial injustice has led some companies to remove racist imagery from their brand names and packaging.

In the pantry

Aunt Jemima owner Quaker Oats (itself a PepsiCo subsidiary) said it would change the syrup and pancake mix brand’s packaging this fall and decide on a new name shortly after. The decision followed a wave of social media posts highlighting the 131-year-old brand’s roots in slavery-era stereotypes—the name Aunt Jemima comes from a song in a minstrel show. 

Then, food and candy bigwig Mars said it would “reevaluate” its Uncle Ben’s rice brand. “Now is the right time to evolve the Uncle Ben’s brand, including its visual brand identity, which we will do,” it said in a statement. 

In the locker room

Critics from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to former offensive lineman Tre Johnson have used this moment to renew calls for the NFL’s Washington Redskins to change their name. Earlier this spring, Land O'Lakes said it would remove the image of a Native American woman from its products.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Introducing Twitter for Your Ears

In the days of yore, the word “tweet” actually referred to a noise made by birds. Now, Twitter is bringing the term back to its aural origins—by debuting an option to tweet in audio form. 

• The feature is currently available to a limited group of iOS users, but will roll out to all users over the coming weeks. 

Twitter says the goal is to add “conversational nuances” that are lost in text-based exchanges—as if “covfefe” wasn’t clear enough. But while audio may convey more nuance, it’s much harder to regulate than text. Moderators have to locate the potentially offensive portion of an audio file. 

Speaking of moderation…

The DOJ dropped a proposal yesterday to snatch tech’s legal immunity out from under it. It’s a broader version of the executive order President Trump issued last month, and would hold companies such as Twitter and Facebook liable for illegal activity that’s facilitated on their platforms.

That would be a massive blow...but Trump and the DOJ need Congress’s support to pass that kind of legislation.

SPONSORED BY WEWORK

Making the Office Work for You

Many companies have been figuring out just how to get their teams back to work.

So in the third and final part of our office discussion guide with WeWork, we’re digging into the details for bringing your company back to the office.

Whether your company has five employees or 5,000, your old office probably isn’t cut out for the new normal. How are you going to adapt? How will you collaborate in new ways?

In this piece, we explore some safe ways to get back to the office for all kinds of companies, whether it’s making a city your campus or expanding on your work from home strategy.

Take a read of our final office-based article right .

COVID-19

Beijing Wants to Stay Second-Wave Free

As a cluster of new coronavirus cases emerges in Beijing, Chinese officials are trying to avoid déjà vu.

• 70% of flights departing from Beijing’s two airports were canceled Wednesday.
• Schools, entertainment venues, and some bars were shut down. 
• Retail stores and restaurants are once again requiring customers to wear masks.

Must be a bad outbreak, huh? Not exactly. The government discovered 31 new cases on Tuesday linked to a major food market that supplies the city with fresh produce. More than 100 new cases have been identified over the past week. 

Big picture: Compared to the U.S., where new COVID-19 cases are rising in many southern states, the Beijing outbreak is tiny. But the Communist Party in China has recently bragged about its coronavirus response compared to Western countries—so authorities are treating any little spark as a potential blaze. 

+ While we’re here: NYC is ready to enter “phase 2” of reopening, which includes outdoor dining, on Monday.

CURRENCY

Banks Run Out of Money

If we had a nickel for every nickel that U.S. banks have...we wouldn't have very many nickels. 

Testifying before a congressional committee about monetary policy yesterday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell brought up an interesting piece of news: U.S. banks are facing a coin shortage. 

Penny for your thoughts, Jerome?

“The flow of coins through the economy has kind of stopped,” Powell said.

• With retail stores across the country closed, there just aren't very many places for consumers to exchange physical money.
• Exacerbating the shortage, the U.S. Mint decreased coin production to help keep its employees safe from the virus. 

Powell assured the committee that he’s aware of the issue and it’s being addressed. “We all don’t want to wake up to headlines in the near future such as ‘Banks run out of money,’” he said.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• The former Atlanta police officer who shot Rayshard Brooks in the back was charged with felony murder.
• Google pledged more than $175 million to Black businesses and said it would diversify its leadership to include more Black representation.
• Target will raise its minimum wage to $15/hour months before it planned to.
• Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, are donating $120 million to scholarships at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. 
• Lyft said its entire fleet would go electric by 2030.
• HSBC has revived plans to cut 35,000 jobs. It had put them on hold due to COVID-19.

BREW'S BETS

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Pod rec: If you’re looking for deep analysis on exciting business topics, make sure you check out Barron’s Streetwise podcast. Barron's Magazine columnist and industry vet Jack Hough talks to influential CEOs (like Disney’s former boss Bob Iger) about trends, investment themes, and the future of industries. .

Robintrack: It's a site that shows how many Robinhood users hold a particular stock over time. It's awesome—check it out.

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FROM THE CREW

Brew's Bookshelf

Every other Thursday, we’re bringing you our favorite business-related reads. In honor of Pride Month, this week’s selection explores the history of the LGBTQ movement and its impact on businesses. 

Activism: The Queering of Corporate America by Carlos Ball traces a half-century of LGBTQ activism that's not only shaped how big businesses treat queer communities, but turned many into allies and advocates.

Memoir: The Glass Closet by Lord John Browne tells the former BP CEO’s story of coming out and the challenges LGBTQ employees face in the workplace.

History: The Gay Revolution by Lillian Faderman traces the fight for LGBTQ civil rights from the 1950s to the 2010s, exploring protests, the impact of the AIDS epidemic, and the fight for marriage equality. 

Got another recommendation for us? .

MAP QUEST

This one should occupy most of your day. Do you know what the colors on this map represent? 

MAP QUEST ANSWER