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Good morning. NYC is back 
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Nasdaq
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13,429.98
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S&P
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4,173.85
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Dow
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34,382.13
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Bitcoin
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$49,787.33
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10-Year
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1.626%
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Macy's
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$18.08
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*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET.
Here's what these numbers mean.
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Markets: Despite a strong day yesterday, all three major US indexes closed lower for the week. Time for a breather (though Macy's probably wants to keep the party going).
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Economy: Retail sales didn’t budge last month, when greater spending at restaurants and bars was offset by lower sales at clothing and furniture stores. March’s big gain was revised upward from 9.7% to 10.7%, though.
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Francis Scialabba
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You might’ve heard: On Thursday, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people don’t need to wear masks in most indoor and outdoor settings. While many celebrated a full-faced summer, businesses struggled to make sense of an assignment they were handed with few instructions.
Large retailers including Target, Starbucks, Macy’s, and Hope Depot haven’t yet changed their in-store mask requirements. But other companies have.
- Yesterday, Walmart said that fully vaccinated customers and employees won’t need to wear masks unless required to by local laws.
- Disney relaxed outdoor mask requirements at Disney World starting today.
- Trader Joe’s said fully vaccinated customers won’t be required to wear a mask.
But the “mask police” assignment just got tougher
People will still have to wear masks to patronize businesses that require them, shifting more responsibility onto workers who’ve spent more than a year on the mask beat. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union wasn’t happy about the CDC’s summer plans, saying they conflict with local guidelines and force frontline employees to be the bad guys.
Big picture: Ultimately, state and local governments will have to decide whether to keep or throw out mask mandates. As of Friday morning, 10 states had adjusted their mask guidelines following the CDC’s announcement.
- After Nevada updated its coronavirus precautions Thursday night, two big Vegas casino operators, Wynn and Las Vegas Sands, said vaccinated guests don’t have to wear masks.
Looking ahead...the CDC said masks are still advised on planes, but it will be looking at updating those guidelines along with those for daycares, summer camps, and schools.
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Giphy
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The criminal group DarkSide told its hacker-workers it’s shutting down. That name should ring a bell, because the group was responsible for the infamous ransomware attack that led to the six-day shutdown of the largest gasoline pipeline in the US.
- In a sign that the country still hasn’t recovered from DarkSide’s attack, Washington, DC, was crunched for gas yesterday.
On Monday, DarkSide semi-apologized for all the chaos, saying, "Our goal is to make money, and not creating problems for society." Still, it managed to do both: Following the ransomware attack, Colonial, the pipeline operator, paid DarkSide $5 million.
So why get going when the going’s good?
It wasn’t DarkSide’s choice, allegedly. A message posted on the Russian OSINT channel on Telegram explains that the group lost access to its site and, more importantly, the cryptocurrency account through which it pays its hackers was drained.
While we don’t know whodunnit, when President Biden was asked earlier this week if the US would respond to DarkSide’s attack with its own cyberwarfare, Biden said, to paraphrase, he’s not not down.
Looking ahead...DarkSide could reassemble its anti-justice league of hackers in the future, but most likely would do so under a different name.
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Francis Scialabba
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In the US...last week, we mentioned average daily doses fell 21% from the week prior. This week was much better—the vaccination rate even ticked up. Plus, the FDA authorized the use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for kids ages 12–15, and now Walgreens and CVS are administering the shots to teens nationwide.
Around the world...the head of the WHO would rather the US not do that. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged wealthy countries to distribute more vaccines to lower income countries before immunizing their younger populations.
The latest headlines
Ohio gets creative: To spur demand for vaccinations, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said the state will hold drawings and award $1 million each to five lucky residents who’ve received the Covid-19 vaccine.
Damn Yankees: Eight members of the NY Yankees organization have tested positive for Covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated. The incident shows that, while the vaccines have been proven to be highly effective against the coronavirus, “breakthrough” cases can still occur.
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It’s not your fault. It’s your wallet.
You might have what we like to call The Butt Bulge.
BUTT don’t worry. There’s an easy way to keep your cards safe without adding some junk to your trunk.
The antidote? The Ridge Wallet.
It’s the wallet that brings the party to the front. Made of premium carbon, titanium, and aluminum, it’s 60% slimmer than the original wallet and designed to fit in your front pocket.
Or hey, The Ridge Wallet will also fit in the front pocket of a certain someone in your life—perhaps they’ve had the same mustache for 45 years—that has an upcoming holiday dedicated to them.
Get The Ridge Wallet for yourself—or gift it to someone who still calls you “Champ” or “Sport”—for 10% off with code BREW10.
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COLLECTIBLES
Gotta Catch ’Em Elsewhere
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Giphy
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If you go to Target to buy Pokémon cards anytime soon, prepare to feel like Team Rocket: unsuccessful. The chain is pulling Pokémon, MLB, NFL, and NBA trading cards off shelves after card-seeking customers have gotten increasingly unruly. Target said the response stems from “an abundance of caution.”
We can understand the passion. It’s been an Ultra Ball of a year for collectibles, as prices for sneakers, trading cards, and even NFTs have skyrocketed. A few highlights...
- A holographic Charizard sold for ~$400,000.
- A Michael Jordan rookie card went for a record $738,000.
- YouTuber Logan Paul claims to have spent $2 million on Pokémon cards.
S/o to any Brew readers whose nine-year-old selves put plastic protectors on their best cards.
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Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
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Stat: The Bill and Melinda Gates fortune of more than $124 billion is equivalent to the combined market cap of Twitter, Marriott, and Ford, larger than Morocco’s annual GDP, and triple Harvard’s endowment, according to the NYT. Figuring out how to divvy that up following their split won’t be easy.
Quote: “Without question, he’s become the single most important factor in crypto.”
JP Thieriot, CEO of the crypto exchange Uphold, told the FT that the crypto universe revolves around one man: Elon Musk. Musk’s tweets on bitcoin and dogecoin this week drove dramatic swings in prices.
Read: Why the hybrid workforce of the future depends on the ‘Geriatric Millennial.’ (Index)
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The 10,000 competitors in our Fantasy Investing Competition have survived their first trading week. Dogecoin did its best interpretation of a bungee jumper, the Dow had its worst day since January, and the inflation boogeyman reared its head. Here’s a quick recap.
The leader: With a total return of 18.8%, Siddharth Sazzala is proof that sometimes timing the market > time in the market. He only joined the game on Thursday but is already lapping the field with a crypto-only portfolio powered by a 43.5% gain in dogecoin.
The best trade: Our fifth-place contestant, Don White, found a hidden gem in Innsuites Hospitality Trust, a real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Phoenix. He's up 98.2% on his position for a total gain of $18,538.
Update on the Brew Crew: The top Brew Crew performer so far is Creative Director Blake Solomon with a whopping 1.1% return. The most creative strategy, however, goes to writer Matty Merritt, who tripled down on her Nebraska roots with a portfolio made exclusively from corn.
Bottom line: The average return among all 10,000 players was -1.51%, so if you had just sat on your initial capital and didn’t make a single trade, you’d be in pretty good shape.
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BuzzFeed News found President Biden’s Venmo account after looking for it for less than 10 minutes.
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China landed a rover on Mars, becoming the second country to accomplish the feat.
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Lumber prices fell for their fifth straight day. Is lumber’s 15 minutes of fame about to be over?
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Coca-Cola is discontinuing its energy drink line in the US.
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The CFO of Goldman Sachs’s consumer business is bolting for JPMorgan, the latest in a string of executive departures from the Goldman unit.
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It’s a big weekend in sports: The NHL playoffs begin today, the NWSL season kicks off, the Preakness is held today, and the NBA’s regular season ends tomorrow.
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Let’s talk dough. The U.S. pizza industry is expected to be worth $54 billion by 2023—and Piestro’s robots make pizza at a fraction of the cost of traditional pizzerias. Here’s your chance to snag a slice of this tasty opportunity: Invest in Piestro here.*
Wait, hold up, $500 smackaroos off your next trip? For the next 24 hours, try Dollar Flight Club for just $1. Make Summer 2021 your best one yet with deals to Hawaii from $109. Greece from $233. Or Portugal from $268 round trip. It’s time to fly, join The Club for just $1 today.*
It’s here: OZY Fest 2021, aka where "TED meets Coachella," is streaming live this weekend. If you want to ask Dr. Fauci a question, dance with Sevyn Streeter, or pitch Mark Cuban an idea, grab your tickets here. Proceeds benefit scholarships at HBCUs.
Can I binge it? This site, first seen in our Sidekick newsletter, answers some of life’s most important questions, such as, “Can I binge Silicon Valley in three weeks?” The answer: Yes, if you watch three episodes per day.
Conversation starters:
*This is sponsored advertising content
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Francis Scialabba
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This week's Brew Crossword, created by Victor Fleming, is best enjoyed on a patio, lemonade in hand and Sinatra on the radio.
Give it a whirl.
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Business podcasts →