SPAC

We(Finally)Work

Four words we didn’t know would ever make it to the Brew? WeWork is going public. 

The rumors are true: The shared office space company is merging with a SPAC, BowX Acquisition Corp., to make its debut in the public markets, which have been waiting for WeWork like a prom date at the bottom of the stairs since 2019.

WeWork’s character arc was looking very Sméagol → Gollum back then... 

A recap: Cofounder and former CEO Adam Neumann tried and failed to take WeWork public in fall 2019. The big trouble came when the company’s S-1 filing was made public, revealing a murky corporate governance structure and a dog-ate-my-homework business plan: The company spent almost double what it made and had no clear path to become profitable in the future. In other words, the emperor had no clothes and no plans to buy any. 

WeWork’s value plummeted from $47 billion at its peak to $2.9 billion post-meltdown. In the months that followed, Neumann was stripped of all his titles and SoftBank, an existing mega-investor in WeWork, swooped in to bail the company out with a $5+ billion infusion. 

Now, WeWork is back up to a respectable $9 billion valuation. To tie it back to Tolkien: WeWork’s looking more Gandalf the White than Gollum. 

What changed? 

Covid-19 ushered in a work-from-anywhere revolution, but “anywhere” being the couch or the bed quickly lost its appeal. Now, flexible office space is back in demand, and WeWork 2.0 provides just that. 

• CEO Sandeep Mathrani expects WeWork to turn a profit by the end of this year, following some belt-tightening measures he made last summer. Mathrani told the WSJ that WeWork has cut jobs, re-worked lease agreements, and sold off assets. 

Bottom line: The company has narrowed its focus from Neumann’s zany plan to “elevate the world’s consciousness” to being “more or less, a normal real estate company,” as finance professor Jay Ritter explained to the NYT. 

COVID

Vaccine Tracker

It’s our weekly tradition that we hope will end soon.

In the US...yesterday, the country broke its record for most doses administered in a single day: 3.4 million. At the current rate, the US would hit President Biden’s new goal of 200 million shots administered in his first 100 days. 

Around the world…growing supply could allow 70% of the global population to be vaccinated this year, per new research from the Duke Global Health Innovation Center. But short-term hurdles remain: India is restricting exports of its vaccine stockpile as it confronts a surge in cases.

More headlines

Come one, come all: Six states are now offering Covid-19 vaccinations to all residents 16 or older, and at least 30 others plan to open up eligibility to adults before the end of April, according to CNN. Check out the map above from Ariadne Labs for a more comprehensive timeline.

They are the future, after all: Pfizer kicked off clinical trials this week for testing its Covid-19 vaccine on kids aged 6 months to 11 years old. Moderna said earlier this month it had started testing its vaccine on kids.

ELECTION

Dominion Isn’t One for Casual Fridays

Dominion Voting Systems ditched the Hawaiian shirt and khakis yesterday, instead filing a $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News. The suit alleges that the news giant played a key role in circulating false claims that Dominion’s voting machines were used to rig the election against Donald Trump. 

The lawsuit argues that Fox News leveraged its platform to defame Dominion, severely damaging its business in the process. “If this case does not rise to the level of defamation by a broadcaster, then nothing does,” reads a copy of the lawsuit seen by the AP. 

Big picture: Dominion has filed separate defamation lawsuits against several members of Trump’s posse, including lawyer Rudy Guliani, attorney Sidney Powell, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. And yesterday, lawyers for Dominion left the door open for going after individual Fox News broadcasters as well. 

Bottom line: While the cases brought against Fox are mounting, it still enjoys sizable First Amendment protections as a news organization. Dominion lawyers would have to show that Fox “acted with ‘actual malice’ and ‘reckless disregard’ for the truth, typically a high standard to meet,” writes the NYT. 

SPONSORED BY HARRY'S

You’re Gonna Want a Smooth Face

Listen, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. But life could get—what’s the word—awesome pretty soon. And you can look your best for the Awesome Era with Harry’s. 

As life returns to normal-ish, you can try Harry’s new, sharper blades. We’ve heard from guys who shave four times a week, and they say the eighth shave is just as smooth as the first. 

Even though they upgraded their razors, Harry’s prices are staying the same, aka $2 per blade for an eight-pack. So even if life goes from boring to bonkers, your shaving costs won’t budge. 

Harry’s is confident you’ll enjoy their stuff, so they’re offering a special trial offer for Morning Brew readers. You’ll get:

• A five-blade razor
• A weighted ergonomic handle 
• Hydrating shave gel 
• A travel blade cover 

All for free; just cover $3 for shipping when you sign up through any of the links here. Get your free shaving supplies—and get your moneymaker ready for primetime—here. 

GRAB BAG

Key Performance Indicators

Stat: If you subscribed to all flagship streaming services from big media/tech companies, your bill would come out to $92/month, according to Bloomberg. That’s just about on par with the cost of a typical cable TV package: $93.50/month.

Bonus stat: The unemployment rate in South Dakota is just 2.9%, compared to the national rate of 6.2%. The economic recovery has been uneven across geographic lines. 

Quote: “It's never good news when a bunch of people learn the name of a boat.”

Philip Bump, national correspondent for the Washington Post, summed up this week’s disaster-you-couldn’t-look-away-from in a single tweet. The boat he’s talking about, of course, is the Ever Given, whose traffic mishap in the Suez Canal has caused utter chaos in global trade. The ship will probably remain stuck in the canal, blocking all traffic, until at least next week. 

Read: Your Saturday deep dive into the underworld of finch smuggling. (Guernica)

DEMOGRAPHICS

Das Sind Viele Babys

Germany’s federal statistics office found that the country got busy increasing its birth rate by 0.8% in December 2020 and January 2021, about nine months after the pandemic started.

This jump in births runs counter to the current and even pre-pandemic fertility rates in the rest of Europe, the US, and other wealthy nations: 

• There will be 300,000 fewer births this year in the US, according to estimates.
• China reported a 12% drop in births from 2019–2020.
• Countries with older populations showed their age. Italy, for example, reported its lowest birth rate last year in over a century.

Nothin’ hotter than chaos. Recessions and pandemics tend to lead to lower fertility rates, and the US still hasn’t recovered from the 2008 financial crisis baby bust. And while fewer births = fewer baby showers you have to go to, a steady decline exacerbated by economic instability can funk up everything from social security to interest rates.

How did Germany do it? No one’s totally sure, but some economists are pointing to Kurzarbeit, Germany’s state-funded safety net. The Brew is pointing to Berlin’s sexy brutalist architecture.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• ThredUP, a secondhand clothing site, popped nearly 43% in its public debut. Retail Brew will have in-depth coverage on Monday, including an interview with the CEO.
• Facebook is opening up its Bay Area offices to some employees starting in May.
• ViacomCBS and Discovery shares plunged more than 27% each yesterday following analyst downgrades. Guess that’s what happens after you write about how well their stocks were performing just a few weeks ago.
• Amazon is going on the PR offensive ahead of the tallying of union votes at an Alabama warehouse next week.
• Our newsletter homies Axios and sports publication The Athletic are eyeing a merger and a SPAC deal, per the WSJ.

BREW'S BETS

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No plans this weekend? We recommend bawling/crying to one of these films with an optional glass of red in-hand.

Weekend Conversation Starters:

• These 200 questions
• What are the greatest fantasy books ever written?
• Rinse before dishwasher or is that the dishwasher’s job? 

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FROM THE CREW

Brew's Bookshelf

Every other week, Brew's Bookshelf brings you a few of our favorite, business-related reads. On this special Saturday edition, let's try questioning everything we know.

1. When organizational psychologist Adam Grant drops a new book, you drop everything and read it. His latest, Think Again, teaches you to embrace the possibilities that come with changing your mind. 
2. It's probably blasphemous for us to even mention...but A World Without Email from productivity expert Cal Newport offers insight into how we developed our inbox addiction and what to do about it.
3. Sarah Jaffe's Work Won't Love You Back challenges the importance of work as part of your identity and breaks down how "doing what you love" has tricked people into a new tyranny of labor. 

GAMES

Brew Crossword

In honor of putting on shorts for the first time since September, we’re also changing things up with the crossword puzzle this week. Instead of one 15x15 crossword puzzle, we’re bringing you three 5x5 Brew Mini puzzles. Math checks out, right?

To make it even more fun, the Minis have graduated levels of difficulty. Try them out and work your way up!  

Easy
Medium
Hard