TECH

President Trump vs. Chinese Apps

Late on Thursday, President Trump issued executive orders threatening to ban the popular Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat in the U.S. in the next 45 days. While we have written lots of words about what a TikTok ban (and rumored acquisition by Microsoft) would mean, Trump’s attack on WeChat has a potentially more disruptive ripple effect.

First, what is WeChat?

It’s a messaging app with over 1 billion users owned by Tencent, one of the largest companies in China. But, similar to other Chinese apps like Alipay, WeChat has morphed into a “super app” crammed with all sorts of extra features that allow users to transfer money and shop online, in addition to sending messages. 

• It’s also a popular way for users in the U.S. to communicate with friends and family back in China, given that other U.S. messaging apps are banned by the Chinese government. 

Apple isn’t going bananas for a ban

The world’s largest company does 20% of its iPhone sales in China, but the executive order would force it to pull WeChat from its App Store. Here's the problem: When Chinese consumers were asked if they would rather give up their iPhones or WeChat, they voted to keep WeChat by a margin of 20-to-1, Bloomberg reports.  

• If a ban goes through, former iPhone users could turn to Chinese tech giant Huawei for their next phone, benefitting another Chinese company President Trump has tried to constrain. 

Experts are still trying to decode the language of the order, which left many things open-ended. So we don't know yet the potential consequences for the many U.S. companies—along with Apple—that operate in China. 

Bottom line: The Trump administration continues to warn of the security risks posed by Chinese firms scraping data from American consumers. Banning WeChat would be *cough* an unprecedented escalation of the U.S. and China’s “tech cold war.” 

ECONOMY

A Report on the Jobs Report

The U.S. added 1.8 million jobs in July while the unemployment rate ticked down to 10.2%, the Labor Dept. said yesterday in its monthly jobs report. 

It’s progress. Despite the COVID-19 outbreak across the South and West last month, employers continued to extend offer letters, though not at the rate they did in May or June. 

There is one concerning trend. More people are going without a job for longer periods. 6.5 million workers have been unemployed for 15–26 weeks, up 4.6 million from last month.

Why’s that a big deal? Economists say the longer you go without a job, the less likely you are to land a new one.

• Work isn’t like riding a bicycle. As months go by, in-demand skills change, and your proficiency in a certain software might not be the asset it once was. 

Looking ahead...the recovery has a long way to go. The economy has only added back 42% of the jobs it lost during the pandemic, and any full rebound is dependent on solving the health crisis first.

EDUCATION

New York Goes Back to School

Yesterday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he’ll allow schools in the state to open for in-person instruction this fall. That includes New York City, the onetime epicenter of the coronavirus, and the largest school district in the country. 

The decision makes Cuomo a rebel with a cause. Major cities including Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, and Atlanta are all opting to start the year with virtual classes.

• Cuomo cited New York’s low positive test rate as a reason for reopening schools.
• The order doesn’t mandate that schools reopen across the state, just that they’re allowed to. Local officials will need to put a plan together if they want to move forward with in-person classes. 

The economic angle: Work and virtual school go together like Chopped contestants and trying to make ice cream in the dessert round. The issue is especially pronounced among low-income parents, who are less likely to be able to work from home or have the tech tools for online education. In an NYC Dept. of Education survey, 75% of parents said they want their kids to go back to school. 

SPONSORED BY THE MOTLEY FOOL

When Great Investing Minds Think Alike

It’s rare that legendary investors and cofounders of The Motley Fool, David and Tom Gardner, formally agree on the exact same stock–it’s only happened 26 times over the entire history of Motley Fool Stock Advisor.

Actually, make that 27. 

Because these captains of investment have come to agreement once again, and history has taught us that big things can happen when these two think alike.

Here’s a quick refresher on the results from some of the other times Dave and Tom chose the same stock: 

• Netflix is up 17,608% 
• Tesla is up 4,564% 
• Amazon is up 20,226%

In fact, across the 26 stocks David and Tom have agreed on, the average return (as of 8/6/20) is 931%.

Dave and Tom won’t let us spill the beans on this “all in,” under-the-radar stock, so you’ll just have to sign up for Stock Advisor and find out for yourselves. 

Sign up here. 

[Returns as of 8/6/2020]

SPORTS

So. Many. Sports.

After weeks (years?) of no sports, there are suddenly more balls and pucks flying around than airplanes. Here is everything that’s been going on in the sports world:

Golf: The PGA Championship, golf’s first major of the year, is currently underway in San Francisco. The Brew's pick? Watch out for Tommy Fleetwood. 

NHL: Hockey's resumed play with a 24-team tournament in fanless arenas in Toronto and Edmonton and it’s been wacky. 

NBA: The NBA has had zero players test positive for COVID-19 since entering the famous "bubble" in Orlando. And without spectators, players are shooting lights out.

MLB: After the St. Louis Cardinals and the Miami Marlins experienced serious coronavirus outbreaks, the league released updated safety regulations...and the shortened season soldiers on.  

MLS: Commissioner Don Garber has discussed the possibility of resuming regular-season games with fans after a successful "MLS is Back" tournament. Orlando City will take on the Portland Timbers in the final next Tuesday.

Bottom line: Without any $$ from ticket sales, leagues are banking on TV viewership to drive revenue. So far, the results are promising. 

INFORMATION

No Rest for the Wiki

The Washington Post has an interesting writeup of how Wikipedia is dealing with COVID-19. A few stats:

• As of the end of July, there were 5,000 Wikipedia articles about COVID-19 and its impacts written by more than 67,000 editors across 175 different languages.
• The main English COVID-19 article had more than 4,000 editors and 22,000 total edits. It received more than 73 million page views as of July 30.

Bottom line: Experts told the WaPo that Wikipedia's process actually does a much better job of limiting the spread of misinformation than Facebook or Twitter. Time to fire off a strongly worded email to our eighth-grade English teacher. 

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• An Air India Express plane crashed at an airport in the state of Kerala yesterday, and at least 17 people were killed.
• The Paramount Consent Decrees, which have set restrictions over movie studios since the late 1940s, are now history after a judge's ruling. 
• Berkshire Hathaway reports earnings today, because Buffett doesn’t take Saturdays off.
• Billboards are showing signs of recovery in the ad industry.
• Oil drilling in the U.S. hit a 15-year low.

BREW'S BETS

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Keep it warm, keep it gooey: Tuesday was National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, so celebrate by perusing our vast collection of cookie recipes from Morning Brew readers. 

Saturday conversation starters:

• Have you ever actually grilled a cheese sandwich? Or is it time to return to the original name of “Toasted Cheese Sandwiches"?
• What is the best Jonathan Swan meme? 
• When and if you saw a celebrity, did you try to snap a pic? What if they snapped back?
• How would you walk around a city if you were trying to imitate a video game? 

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SATURDAY HEADLINES

Pretty sure we did a food-themed Saturday Headlines a few weeks ago, but food headlines are truly the gift that keeps on giving. Three of these nutritious headlines are real while one is as synthetic as “Red Dye 40.” See if your sensitive news palette can spot the fake. 

1. "A Taiwanese airline is hosting a 'Hello Kitty'-themed flight to nowhere, and it includes a Michelin-star meal"
2. "Chipotle using avocado pits from its popular guacamole for new clothing, accessory line"
3. "Apple is releasing 10 copies of a limited-edition cookbook focusing on 'minimalist' recipes to celebrate the next-gen HomePod"
4. "'Breakfast' macaroni and cheese coming in 2021, says Kraft"

SATURDAY HEADLINES ANSWER

Apple isn't releasing a cookbook and thank goodness for that—you'd probably have to buy a case and a charger to go along with it.