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2020

Too Big to Mail

Yesterday, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said he's pausing controversial changes to the U.S. Postal Service until after Election Day "to avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail." 

What that means: USPS retail hours will stay the same; mailboxes and mail sorters will stay put; processing facilities will remain open; and overtime will be approved as needed. 

About those changes

DeJoy took over USPS in June and enacted some budget-balancing measures to right the ship at the struggling agency. Those measures included...

• Eliminating overtime pay 
• Leaving mail at distribution centers until the next day if couriers are running late 
• An effort to encourage early retirements for non-union workers 
• Reassigning or displacing 23 execs, a move that centralized power around DeJoy and sidelined decades of institutional knowledge, per the WaPo.

Yesterday, DeJoy specified that initiatives on pause "predate [his] arrival." He did not say whether recently removed or decommissioned mailboxes and sorters will be returned. 

Zoom out: USPS changes have big implications for the many businesses that rely on its services. DeJoy might find himself on Santa's naughty list after securing approval last week to hike commercial package rates during the busy holiday season (so are FedEx and UPS).

The other concern is democracy

DeJoy said USPS will get "standby resources" ready for unexpected demand this fall, and reiterated yesterday that USPS is "ready today to handle whatever volume of election mail it receives." 

• But USPS didn’t exactly inspire confidence after warning states it can't guarantee mail-in ballots will be delivered on time.

At least 14 state attorneys general have sued, saying DeJoy stepped outside his authority and should have gotten approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission. Some Democrats are also asking for a probe into his holdings in USPS competitors and contractors.

Looking ahead…Congress is in for a bundle of DeJoy in the coming days when the USPS chief chats finances with House and Senate committees. Expect USPS to get more mentions throughout this week's Democratic convention. 

RETAIL

Curbside Your Enthusiasm

Walmart rode the "well, there's nothing else to do...might as well shop" ethos of the pandemic to another magnificent quarter, according to its Q2 results yesterday.

The star of the show was—no surprise here—online U.S. sales, which nearly doubled (97% growth) over last year. U.S. same-store sales increased 9.3%, just a tick below Q1 but still much higher than any other quarter in the past few years. 

Big picture: As the superstore among superstores, Walmart's earnings give us insight into pandemic shopping trends. A few highlights:

• Electronics, like TVs and computers, were crazy popular, according to CEO Doug McMillon, as was more general merchandise.
• Fewer trips, more stuff per trip. Shoppers decreased the frequency of errands because leaving the house is less fun these days.
• Government aid was an important factor encouraging Americans to spend. Walmart said sales started to weaken after federal stimulus dried up in July. 

Bottom line: Walmart has not only survived the pandemic, it's thriving. Just let us know when the inflatable pools are back on the shelves.

ENERGY

California Steaming

California energy leaders, regulators, and operators are all sniping at each other like Christine and Chrishell to place blame for what could be the largest power outage in the state’s history. 

The backstory: A monster heatwave is hammering California and the western U.S.—temperatures in Death Valley (130°F) came within striking distance of the highest ever recorded on Earth. On Friday and Saturday, some residents lost power with no warning, and the state energy operator said rolling blackouts are coming this week. 

The blame game: Gov. Newsom launched an investigation into the surprise outages on Monday. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) blames the operator, which blames a) the PUC for not requiring utilities to hold enough energy reserves and b) the extreme heat itself, which strained both California’s and nearby states’ grids, preventing California from buying from neighbors. 

Some trade groups blame the state’s embrace of renewable energy. Friday’s outage happened right at sundown, when the system transitioned from solar to gas-powered energy.

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A Little Something Called ‘Science’

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Augustinus Bader? They prefer a little something called “science.”

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Well, skincare industry, Augustinus Bader scoffs at “impossible.”

Try the newest Skincare Science from Augustinus Bader here.

INTERNATIONAL

COVID-19 Around the World

U.S.: Tennessee became the tenth state to enact liability protections against coronavirus lawsuits for businesses, schools, and nursing homes. Tennessee doesn't have a statewide mask mandate. 

South Korea: After rigorous contact tracing and testing got its outbreak under control, South Korea is teetering on a second wave. Nearly 500 cases have been linked to a single church in Seoul, and if infection rates don't flatten, the government is expected to retighten restrictions. 

South Africa: Following five months of super strict lockdowns, South Africa relaxed alcohol and cigarette sale restrictions yesterday. Thanks to COVID-19 lockdowns, South Africa has recorded just one flu case as the season comes to a close.  

France: The Champagne Committee, France's sparkling wine authority, is capping the 2020 grape harvest 21% below last year's haul. The industry has lost $2 billion in sales because of the pandemic, and vintners are trying to limit supplies to keep prices up. 

Meanwhile, in China...it's time to party? Last weekend, thousands attended a water park musical festival in Wuhan (the virus’s origin city), which hasn't reported a local infection for three months.

STR/AFP via Getty Images

BANKING

Citi Does an Oopsi

If you’re embarrassed about dropping the ball at work...find comfort in not being the employees at Citi who accidentally sent about $900 million to a group of Revlon lenders last week. 

Wait, what? Citi was serving as the “administrative agent” between Revlon, the embattled cosmetics company, and its (very angry) creditors. But Citi mistakenly paid those lenders much, much more than it meant to...like, 100x the amount it intended. 

• Reports say Citi is explaining to federal regulators how it made such a colossal gaffe, and on Monday the bank sued Brigade Capital Management, a hedge fund that won’t give some of the money back. 

According to court documents, Brigade is arguing the $176 million it received from Citi was intended to pay off Revlon’s entire balance. Citi says of course not—it was just an interest payment that was supposed to total $1.5 million. It called Brigade's actions "unconscionable." 

Zoom out: The Economic Times calls it "one of the biggest screw-ups on Wall Street in ages."

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Amazon is expanding its physical office footprint in six U.S. cities, including New York City. Apparently Bezos hates Zoom meetings.
• The pandemic is making the gender pay gap worse, a new study finds.
• Uber and Lyft are reportedly considering a franchise model in California as they face legal pressure to classify their drivers as employees.
• Notre Dame suspended in-person classes for at least two weeks after an off-campus party caused a surge in COVID-19 cases.
• Netflix canceled Hasan Minhaj's talk show, Patriot Act, after six seasons.
• Dream job alert: Bud Light Seltzer is hiring a Chief Meme Officer.

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BREW'S BETS

Podcast recs: Our very own Business Casual podcast is fantastic, but we know it's not the only entertaining biz show out there. So with help from the Business Casual team, we put together a list of the top 10 business podcasts. You'll never guess who's No. 1.

Level up: Seven months in, what we know and don’t know about COVID-19 (a great resource), plus the lessons learned from pandemics past.

Scenes from the NBA bubble: Jimmy Butler’s got a coffee side hustle and Kawhi Leonard is all of us when we don’t want to talk to anyone.

FROM THE CREW

Calling all college students: We want to hear from you.

Since COVID-19 upended higher education, we’re curious how our college student readers are spending this fall, whether it's attending in-person classes, deferring for a year and hitchhiking across Siberia, or camping out in your childhood bedroom for Zoom U. 

Let us know here.

MAP QUEST

What do the yellow dots on this Bloomberg map represent? 

Bloomberg

MAP QUEST ANSWER

The location of super yachts right now.