Stock Watch: Inflation

Will Varner

Icebreakers With... Barbara Corcoran

Courtesy of Barbara Corcoran

You will learn more about succeeding in business in a 30-minute conversation with Barbara Corcoran than in most college courses. 

We’d know, we did ’em both. The real estate mogul, Shark Tank mainstay, and host of the podcast Business Unusual answered our Icebreaker questions with the same empathetic-but-no-BS attitude she displays on TV. Check out our interview below. 

What is the most frequent reason you’re “out” on a company on Shark Tank?

A guy who doesn’t make eye contact with me or the women on the set. It happens more than you think. They want a guy as a partner and that’s where it ends—and you can tell right away when they stand on that set. 

Are they just intimidated? 

Yes, but even when they’re not making eye contact because they’re intimidated I’m out right away. And I’m out for a good reason: because building a business takes a lot of on-the-spot pressure, fast-on-your-feet kind of thinking. You have to be able to perform under pressure. And I see right away this person is going to fold under pressure. 

What is your secret skill?

I’m a helluva good tarot card reader. And I’ve lived long enough to see that most of what I’ve predicted has proved out. I’ve gotten very confident in my later years. 

Wait—how did you get into tarot cards? 

Out of need, thinking on my feet. I went to a real estate conference at a young age and it was the first time I rented a booth, trying to hustle business straight from other brokers. Anyway, when I got to the conference there was nothing at the booth—I was mortified. So my associate and I ran out and bought tarot cards, and I started reading. And after about 40 minutes, there was a line a mile long for the tarot cards. 

It was the best thing I ever thought of to promote business. 

If you could do something that you don’t do because it’s bad for you, but you could do it without any repercussions—what would you do?

I would throw my phone off the Brooklyn Bridge and never read another text. Free myself. 

You should do that.

You know, I hate the word “should,” but I am going to do that now. What you just said. I’m going to do that this summer. I go to the beach, and I’m always on my phone when I never used to be. I had no TV, no radio, no phone, and I don’t think I’ve known that degree of relaxation probably for the last 15 years. 

Yeah, I’m going to do that...I’m going to leave my phone in Manhattan. See how I survive. I will probably feel young again and relaxed. 

There’s so much more of the interview at this link. 

How to Leave a Company Gracefully

Each week, Morning Brew's Head of People Ops Kate Noel answers reader-submitted questions about work in 2021. 

Q: "I’m struggling with the possibility of leaving my company of almost 2.5 years. I’ve never felt supported or appreciated by management, and I don’t particularly like my colleagues. Do you have advice on how to have that conversation gracefully?"—Ashley

A: Hi Ashley, I’m sorry that your experience at work has turned into a sour one. Let's talk next steps. You can have the notice conversation gracefully by letting your manager know as directly as possible (in person or over videochat) before submitting your resignation notice. You don't have to share with your manager why you’ve decided to leave, but be prepared to be asked the question by HR during your exit interview. End the news by saying that you are grateful for the experience and have learned skills that you will carry throughout your professional career.  

Don't believe me? Check out what another Sunday Edition reader submitted in response to a previous Make It Work post. 

"Hi, Kate. I just read your response to the person looking at changing jobs. I don’t disagree with what you wrote, but my experiences also include “how” I quit and change jobs. Even with the bad environments, I still left with good feelings, graciously, lots of warnings, and smooth transitions. Any scorched-earth actions will follow a person to future jobs. I still get calls and good references from past employers."—Darren Z.

Oh! And please please give your employer a two-week notice, meaning 10 full business days, at minimum. Notices longer than two weeks is an awesome look on you, too (side note: I would recommend a minimum of three weeks if you’re at the Director level or higher). 

Something bothering you at work? Ask Kate for advice here.

Revenge of the Retail Traders

Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Before there was GameStop, there was Hertz.

Last June, a gang of Robinhood traders helped push the rental car’s stock up nearly 600% in less than a week, which was a curious thing to do considering the company had just filed for bankruptcy, was weighed down by nearly $19 billion in debt, and had roughly 700,000 cars parked with no one to drive them. Things were looking pretty bleak. 

The Hertz traders were ridiculed as “nuts,” emblematic of the casino-type stock market that had emerged when the coronavirus wiped calendars clean. And they may very well have been nuts.

But they were vindicated

This week, Hertz reached a deal with a couple private equity firms to take it out of bankruptcy. That deal is a stunning victory for shareholders.

It values the company at about $7 billion, and equity holders will receive up to $8/share. During the trading frenzy last June, Hertz topped out at $6.25 a share, which means if you were the fool who bought Hertz at its peak, you’d still have been undervaluing the company.

This arrangement is...highly unusual. Writing in Vanity Fair last June, former Wall Street banker William Cohan explained what happens in typical corporate restructuring cases:

• “What happens 99.9% of the time is that existing shareholders get wiped out and the creditors, most of which won’t get their money back, divide up what’s left of the carcass.”
• He predicted “there will be no recovery for the shareholders. As in zero.”

At the time, most analysts agreed with Cohan. 

But very few predicted how Hertz’s fortunes would change as the economy rocketed out of the pandemic. Blocked from traveling to many other countries, Americans are turning to road trips for summer 2021 vacations. Used cars accounted for more than a third of consumer price increases last month. 

Hertz has also gotten a little lucky—yes, we’re talking about the chip shortage. Car manufacturers have had to slow production of new cars for lack of semiconductors, meaning rental car companies with fleets of used cars are in the right place at the right time.

A full recovery for Hertz isn’t a slam dunk, Bloomberg writes. Revenue hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels and the chip shortage, while now an advantage, could turn into a liability if Hertz is forced to keep buying used cars, which are expensive and could degrade the quality of its fleet.

Bottom line: Throughout this rollercoaster of a pandemic-era stock market, it’s nearly impossible to tell which investors are smart, which ones are dumb, and which are just plain lucky. 

Open House

Welcome to Open House, the newsletter section that highlights the most interesting home listings that even Davina from Selling Sunset could sell. We’ll give you a few facts about a property and you try to guess the price. For this week’s listing, let’s head to the Windy City.

This 6,200 square-foot home is located in the hip Logan Square neighborhood. Amenities include:

• 5 beds, 5 baths
• A rooftop deck with a hot tub
• Concealed kitchen appliances so no one knows you have a fridge
• A performance space to reenact scenes from Dirty Dancing for your guests

So, how much to have the time of your life? First, make a guess and then scroll to the bottom to find out.

Just Click It

1. Secretary Pete (yeah still not used to that) on the future of transportation. (The Verge)
2. MLB legend Alex Rodriguez on how he became CEO of his own company. (Business Casual)
3. The lure of H Mart, where the shelves can seem as wide as Asia. (NYT)
4. An oral history of Tom Holland's sensational Lip Sync Battle performance. (Insider)
5. Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss: How a satirical twist on "live, laugh, love" became the internet's new mantra. (In The Know) 
6. Around the world in rare and beautiful apples. (Atlas Obscura)
7. The strange, soothing world of Instagram's computer-generated interiors, aka "renderporn." (New Yorker)
8. People are returning their pandemic puppies . (Bloomberg Quicktake)
9. The Eurovision Song Contest is back. Here's everything you need to know. (Quartz)
10. How to land a marketing internship. (Marketing Brew)

*Listen up, investors. Everybody knows contemporary art has been one of the best investments in recent years. Yet this lucrative asset class was only available to the ultra-wealthy. No more: Masterworks is a great way to diversify your portfolio, and they’re letting the Brew Crew skip the 25,000 waitlist.*

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Meme Battle

Welcome back to Morning Brew's Meme Battle, where we crown a single memelord every Sunday.

Today's memelord: Alex from Alexandria, VA, with this new spin on a classic.

This week's challenge: You can find the new meme template here for next Sunday. Once you're done making your meme, submit it at this link. We'll pick a new memelord in next week's Sunday Edition and provide you with another meme template to meme-ify. 

$2 million

✤ A Note From Masterworks

*See important info