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Good morning and Happy National Bourbon Day. Might as well use the occasion to clear up a few things about your dad’s drink of choice.
- All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. For example, whiskey that's made in Scotland is called scotch.
- Among other requirements, bourbon must be distilled from a mash that’s at least 51% corn (hence the sweet flavor).
- Kentucky produces 95% of all bourbon.
Got it?
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Nasdaq
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14,069.42
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S&P
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4,247.44
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Dow
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34,479.60
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Bitcoin
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$38,905.50
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10-Year
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1.453%
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Ethereum
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$2,519.50
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*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 7:00pm ET.
Here's what these numbers mean.
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Markets: Bitcoin got a boost yesterday after Elon Musk said Tesla would accept bitcoin transactions again once miners started using "reasonable" amounts of clean energy. Still, it significantly lags its crypto sibling ethereum in gains this year.
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World: After 12 years, Benjamin Netanyahu is no longer the prime minister of Israel. That job now belongs to Naftali Bennett, a right-wing leader and millionaire tech entrepreneur who formed a coalition with parties across the political spectrum.
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Leon Neal/Getty Images
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Yesterday, leaders of the world's wealthy G7 nations wrapped up their first IRL reunion in two years. Besides one hilarious mixup over uneven gifting, the headline announcement was a pledge to send 1 billion Covid vaccine doses to lower-income countries through Covax, the joint initiative of the WHO and the Gavi vaccine alliance.
The US will provide about half those shots and use the additional $2 billion it promised Covax in February to help pay for it.
Is it enough?
The G7 plan is a much-needed boost for Covax, which originally sought to deliver 2 billion doses by the end of 2021 but has so far only distributed ~83 million. That's a big problem, because the WHO estimates 11 billion doses are needed to vaccinate 70% of the global population.
Zoom out: The Center for Global Development says it would cost $50–$70 billion to vaccinate the world, equivalent to <0.1% of global GDP. "The costs of being in this pandemic are so enormous...it will be history's greatest bargain," policy fellow Rachel Silverman told the NYT.
Time's ticking
The Economist estimates that the pace of Covid-related deaths is speeding up, with hotspots prevailing throughout South America, southern Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Covid deaths this year have already eclipsed last year's total.
While the G7 countries are offering more vaccines, their plan doesn't solve logistical issues that have made it difficult for some recipient countries to use doses before they expire.
Big picture: "Vaccine policy is economic policy," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in April. The IMF has raised its global growth forecast, but Georgieva noted that "economic fortunes are diverging dangerously" and more equitable vaccine distribution and support for lower-income countries is needed. Critics say this 1 billion pledge doesn't go far enough.
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Unsplash
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There's a reason you've been yawning even more than usual while watching MLB games this year: Baseball pitchers have been accused of illegally applying "sticky stuff" to baseballs to make them harder to hit.
- These substances—some of which are glue-like material used by World's Strongest Man competitors—allow the pitchers to increase the amount of spin they put on the ball.
- More spin = less contact
How much less contact? Well, the advantage pitchers gain from the sticky stuff may be contributing to one of the most pitiful batting displays in baseball's long history. The league-wide batting average is below .240, the worst since 1968. Almost a quarter of batters have struck out, which would be a record.
Pitchers themselves aren't exactly pushing back. When asked if he used Spider Tack, one of those weightlifting aides, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole said, "I don't quite know how to answer that, to be honest."
Looking ahead...this week, the MLB is expected to announce a major step-up in the enforcement of rules banning foreign substances. Boosting offenses and maintaining what’s left of MLB’s integrity is critical to the long-term success of the league.
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They might be tuning into the all-virtual E3, which started Saturday and runs through tomorrow. The preeminent gaming conference is the industry's biggest announcement spree of the year, and we rounded up the biggest news so far.
Microsoft will expand its subscription gaming service, Xbox Game Pass, to smart TVs and its own future streaming devices. It's the company's latest move to build a console-optional future.
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Microsoft will also make the next two releases from Bethesda—the publisher behind popular franchises including Fallout, Skyrim, and Dishonoured that it acquired last year—exclusive to Xbox and Windows PCs, including the blockbuster science fiction game, Starfield.
Ubisoft generated buzz with a second Mario + Rabbids crossover and a first look at its new Avatar game.
Nintendo could use tomorrow's announcement reel to finally unveil a new-and-improved Nintendo Switch.
Big picture: Sony and EA are skipping the showcase. E3 has been losing exhibitors and, some argue, relevance ever since its ’00s heyday when, for instance, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr went on stage to promote The Beatles: Rock Band.
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Blue Origin
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Stat: Jeff Bezos's rocket company Blue Origin auctioned off a seat on its first crewed spaceflight for $28 million. This person, who will be named in the coming weeks, will join Bezos, his brother, and another unidentified traveler on a first-class trip to the edge of space July 20.
Quote: "He was gone."
Danish soccer star Christian Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest when he collapsed on the field during the team's Euro 2020 match on Saturday, Denmark's team doctor explained. Eriksen was resuscitated and is currently in stable condition at a hospital, but tournament officials were criticized for restarting the game.
Read: Where did the microchip vaccine conspiracy theory come from anyway? (Reveal)
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Fed meeting: This week's main economic event is the meeting of the Federal Reserve on Tuesday and Wednesday. While the central bank isn't expected to make any changes to policy, it could update its economic forecasts in light of higher inflation and a booming rebound from the pandemic.
Juneteenth: On Saturday, Americans will commemorate the end of slavery by celebrating Juneteenth. Awareness of the holiday surged last year following the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and many companies made Juneteenth a paid day off.
Biden + Putin: The heads of the US and Russian governments will meet on Wednesday, the final day of Biden's first overseas trip.
Everything else:
- The US Open for golf starts on Thursday.
- Father's Day is on Sunday (the best present you can give him is to let him watch golf).
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What else to watch: Dave Season 2 on Wednesday, Pixar's Luca on Friday, and the new Rick and Morty season on Sunday
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Weekend Conversation Starters:
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Can you rank the following nuts from most expensive to least expensive? Answers are determined by the retail price for 1 lb. on the site nutstop.com.
Pistachios, pecans, peanuts, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, almonds, cashews, walnuts
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Most expensive to least…
- Pine nuts
- Macadamia nuts
- Pecans
- Pistachios
- Cashews
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Peanuts
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✢ A Note From Fundrise
(Here's all the legal jargon we know you love reading.)
✤ A Note From eToro
eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal.
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