CRYPTO

Is This the King of Crypto?

Elon Musk impersonators have scammed investors out of $2+ million worth of cryptocurrency in the last six months, according to the Federal Trade Commission. While crypto scams have been on the rise for months, the unwitting involvement of the "dogefather" himself ties into a growing conversation about Musk's outsized influence on cryptocurrency.

In the last few months...

Bitcoin prices rose over 15% in February when Tesla said it was investing in bitcoin and taking the cryptocurrency as payment...then tanked 17% this month when Musk tweeted that Tesla was changing course. This past weekend, they fell after he replied to a tweet implying that Tesla may have sold its bitcoin holdings (Musk later said Tesla didn't). 

Dogecoin, too, rose ahead of Musk's SNL debut, sank 15% after he said it's "a hustle" on live TV, then soared over 30% last Friday when he tweeted to his 55 million followers that he's working with dogecoin's developers. 

Is he breaking any rules? 

Musk famously crossed the line in 2018 when he tweeted that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private. He didn't, and the SEC fined both Tesla and Musk and had him step down as chairman. Tesla lawyers now vet any tweets containing any information "material to the company." 

As for his crypto tweets, Musk is within bounds...for now. "It's clearly grossly irresponsible, but it may not be illegal," Better Markets CEO Dennis Kelleher told Reuters. 

• To break the law, lawyers told Reuters, Musk would need to 1) be using insider information or 2) influencing prices for the purpose of enriching himself or his associates.

Regardless of whether he's profiting or trolling, Musk's ability to send the price of an asset worth almost $1 trillion swinging by double-digit percentages is "bizarre and incredible," Bloomberg's Matt Levine writes. 

While Tesla's initial embrace of bitcoin was a major stamp of legitimacy for the crypto, the CEO's comments are now fueling critics' argument that cryptocurrency is too volatile. "If one person can dramatically alter spending power, the 'stable store of value' criteria of a currency is not met," UBS Chief Economist Paul Donovan wrote. 

While we're here...Michael Burry, the IRL version of Christian Bale's character in The Big Short, took out a $534 million bet against Tesla in Q1. He's previously expressed concerns about Tesla's profitability.

ENTERTAINMENT

WarnerMedia and Discovery Are SEC Official

Yesterday, AT&T confirmed reports that it's spinning off its entertainment division, WarnerMedia, and merging it with Discovery to create a $120+ billion media company spanning news, sports, film, scripted and unscripted programming, and whatever 90 Day Fiancé is. 

In other words, Anderson Cooper, Guy Fieri, Harry Potter, Randy Fenoli, and Wonder Woman will all attend the same holiday party next year. 

What we know

AT&T shareholders will have a majority stake (71%), and Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who "secretly architected this deal for several months from [his] brownstone in NYC," will lead it. 

• As for WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, the NYT reported that Kilar wasn't told about the deal until recently and has hired a legal team to negotiate his exit.

"The new company will be better after the deal, but it will take time," Rich Greenfield of LightShed Partners told Reuters. Both WarnerMedia and Discovery are still transitioning away from their dependence on cable, but Zaslav thinks the new company can eventually sign up 400 million streaming customers. 

HEALTH

Proof That Overworking Can Kill You

In a study meant to scare you a little, the World Health Organization and International Labour Organization found that working long hours can lead to startling health risks and caused over 745,000 deaths in 2016 alone.

The wildest part of the study? That 2016 part. It doesn't account for challenges posed by the global pandemic over the last year: frontline workers being exposed to the virus, teleworking blurring work/life balance, and employees picking up tasks from laid off or furloughed coworkers.

Big picture: While only 5% of the US population faces serious levels of overworking, a major portion of people affected by work-related illness are those living in the Western Pacific and Southeast Asian regions, according to the study.

• Some Chinese tech employees are still pushing back against the industry's "996" culture of working 9am–9pm, six days a week.

Bottom line: If you needed a final push to close your laptop while the sun is still out, let this be it: People who work 55+ hours a week have a 35% higher risk of stroke and 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, says the WHO.

SPONSORED BY THE MOTLEY FOOL

Stock Picks as Nice as the Fit of This Guy’s Suit

There are people who have their stuff together, and then there’s this guy, who—just judging off his suit and general demeanor—we would trust to manage literally anything in our life. 

But reader, we have some info. We think we know what he’s looking at on his tablet: Three “Double Down” Stock Picks for 2021 by the Motley Fool.

That’s right—you don’t have to be wearing a perfectly tailored suit to invest like you’re wearing a perfectly tailored suit. 

These potentially market-beating ideas come straight from Motley Fool Stock Advisor, a service whose followers have seen an average return of 555% on their stock picks.

But “Double Down” picks aren’t any old picks. When Motley Fool slaps the “Double Down” label on a pick, you can be sure they mean it. After all, historic “Double Down” picks include early stakes in the likes of Netflix, Amazon, and Apple.

To see the picks, join Motley Fool Stock Advisor right here.

[Returns as of 5/13/2021]

GRAB BAG

Key Performance Indicators

Stat: Every registered thoroughbred horse is a descendant of one of three stallions: the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Arabian, who came to England from the Middle East around 1700. This New Yorker piece discusses the cloudy future of the horse racing industry.

Quote: "I couldn't decide between Chinese or Korean, so it was very helpful."

When he isn't sure which cuisine to get for dinner, or what outfit to wear each day, writer Brandon Wong turns to his followers on the social media app NewNew. The app, which is still in beta, is a "human stock market" that allows users to buy shares in creators and vote in polls to help them make decisions, per the BBC.

Read: The harmful consequences of more, more, more on the internet. (Letters from Home & Away)

TRANSPORTATION

Making It Train

Sure, Broadway opening up and NYU undergrads giving each other stick-and-pokes on fire escapes are great, but nothing signifies New York City's return to normalcy more than the MTA's move yesterday to open subways to their full 24/7 schedule.

The backstory: Last May, Gov. Cuomo shut down the subway system overnight for the first time in its 100+ year history from 1am–5am daily for cleaning, disrupting many essential workers' commutes.

• Public transit systems in cities such as Chicago, DC, and LA were also hit hard during the pandemic. Only about 50% of riders in the US have returned.

MTA officials rang the NYSE bell yesterday to celebrate the opening and rolled out its #TakeTheTrain campaign on Sunday to encourage riders to ditch Uber for the underground lifestyle. But given recent violent subway attacks and a slow return to offices, New Yorkers aren't necessarily lining up at the turnstiles. Weekday ridership is currently down 63% from before the pandemic.

Looking ahead...Biden's infrastructure plan, which emphasizes public transit over roads, calls for a $621 billion investment into modernizing transportation networks.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Amazon is considering buying MGM, per The Information.
• Monthly advance payments under the expanded child tax credit will hit some Americans' bank accounts starting July 15, President Biden said yesterday.
• The World Economic Forum has called off its special meeting in Singapore in August due to Covid-19 concerns.
• The social media app Parler is back on the App Store months after it was kicked off following the Capitol riots in January.
• The median price of homes in California topped $800,000 for the first time in April.

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BREW'S BETS

Tech Tip Tuesday: Learn how to edit your iPhone photos using the TikTok formula. Virality not included.

Movie recs: Someone on Twitter asked, "What is a truly fantastic but totally underrated film that should've been a massive hit but not enough people know about?" Peep the replies for great recs.

FROM THE CREW

Do You Know the Story of Black Wall Street?

This month marks 100 years since one of the worst instances of racial violence in US history. In a neighborhood of Tulsa, OK, known as Black Wall Street—a thriving ecosystem of Black-owned businesses—a white mob attacked Black residents, killing hundreds and destroying the district. This week, we'll be discussing this event and what it means for Black finance today. 

To dive in...

1) Watch our TikTok series on what happened 100 years ago.

2) Read up on how finance is shaking up its traditional recruiting playbook to bring in more Black employees following the swelling Black Lives Matter movement last summer. 

GAMES

Where in the World?

There are 100 red dots on the map. What do they represent? 

If you get close, go ahead and give yourself full credit.

Reddit user u/animbicile

ANSWER

The birthplaces of the 100 fastest 1500m runners of all time.