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Good morning. It’s a weekend packed with celebrations—today is Juneteenth, the first time it’s been commemorated as a federal holiday after the government passed a historic bill this week.
And tomorrow is Father’s Day, which is reminding us of all the beautiful children in the Brew family. And by children we mean newsletters other than this one, of course. If any of these topics interest you, be sure to sign up for insights and laughs: Emerging Tech, Retail, Marketing, and Sidekick, our newsletter that’ll give you recs on smarter living.
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Nasdaq
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14,030.38
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S&P
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4,166.45
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Dow
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33,290.08
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Bitcoin
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$35,470.21
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10-Year
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1.438%
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Russell 2K
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2,237.75
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*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET.
Here's what these numbers mean.
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Markets: The Dow closed out its worst week since October and the small-cap Russell 2000 had its worst week since January. Investors are fretting about the Fed’s announcement that it’s set to hike interest rates by 2023, but in fact it may be even earlier than that—St. Louis Fed President Jim Bullard told CNBC that the central bank could start raising rates in 2022 to combat higher-than-expected inflation.
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Your dreams of trying an authentic Montreal bagel are still limited to allowing a New York City one to get stale. Yesterday, Canada extended restrictions on nonessential travel across the US border until July 22.
Those restrictions have been in place since March 2020, when countries across the globe shut down international travel to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Many are, in a word, frustrated
The US’ and Canada’s economies are more intertwined than CatDog.
And while goods can be shuttled between the two countries, the tourism and services industries on both sides of the border are feeling the pinch. Lawmakers and businesses in both the US and Canada have lashed out at the Canadian government for what they say is putting politics over science.
- “The complete lockdown we’ve experienced is not consistent with science and it’s very, very bad for our economy,” said US Rep. Chris Jacobs of New York.
- "We need to open the border for fully vaccinated travelers immediately," Harley Finkelstein, the president of Canadian ecommerce giant Shopify, tweeted.
About those vaccinations...to keep the virus at bay, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the border would stay mostly closed until 75% of the population has received the first dose and 20% have been fully vaccinated. As of yesterday, 65% had received a first dose and nearly 17% had been fully vaxxed, per the Covid-19 Tracker Canada project.
Big picture: Canadian and American businesses that rely on cross-border traffic are getting FOMO as other countries open up to international travelers. Yesterday, the European Council recommended that EU countries gradually lift restrictions on non-essential travel from 14 countries, including the US.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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88% of the American West is currently experiencing a drought, and the US’ largest reservoir, Lake Mead, is at its lowest level since it was filled in the 1930s. With a record-breaking heat wave sizzling its way across the West this week, officials will almost certainly declare the first-ever water shortage for the Colorado River, which feeds Lake Mead.
The shortage will affect much more than Californians’ shower times. No “good” in this list but here’s...
The bad: agriculture. Rising water prices and dwindling government subsidies means farmers are letting fields of almonds (one of California’s most lucrative crops), tomatoes, and other produce go fallow.
The ugly: fishing. 17 million salmon are being chauffeured from drying rivers to the ocean, possibly costing more than $800,000 but saving 23,000 industry jobs.
The also-bad-and-ugly: power. Grids are already struggling to keep the A/C running, and capacity at hydroelectric power facilities is plummeting. At Lake Mead’s Hoover Dam, it’s down 25%.
Looking ahead...fire season could start earlier and last longer than usual because of this drought.
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In 2021, even Santa isn’t immune to supply chain fiascos. Severe backlogs at Chinese ports are threatening disruptions in electronics, appliances, furniture, and toys just as the retail industry prepares for its peak holiday shipping season in August.
The backstory: The worst of the shipping bottleneck is at Yantian, the largest port in China and the one that exports >90% of the world’s electronics. Last month, a spike in Covid cases led to a total lockdown in Guangdong, the southern Chinese province where Yantian and other busy ports are located, for about a week.
Cases have since dropped and the port is back to operating at about 70% capacity, but it’s too late. ~160,000 containers are still waiting to be shipped, and experts say the delays caused by this backlog are worse than when the Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal.
Zoom out: Analysts have noted that stop-and-start supply chains are one of the main factors driving inflation to its highest levels in years—and as long as Covid-19 is around, disruptions seem to be the new normal.
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Let’s not beat around the bull, bear, or bush about this: Investing hasn’t always been accessible to everyone.
But things are changing. In fact, 3x as many Black investors as white investors (15% vs. 5%) reported investing in the stock market for the first time in 2020.
Ally is creating actionable solutions to bridge the gap and empower investors of any type, race, or background. Through education and expert insights, Ally strives to make investing accessible and digestible to all.
One such solution is their commitment to offering free digital conferences to investors.
Their next one, Becoming a Better Investor, will stream on YouTube Live, June 23 from 10am to 3pm. You’ll hear from industry pros and Ally thought leaders like Lule Demmissie as they break down investing hot topics and how-tos so you can build wealth with confidence.
Get your free all-access pass right here.
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Bernadett Szabo - Pool/Getty Images
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Stat: Cristiano Ronaldo, soccer star and noted sugary drink critic, became the first person to reach 300 million followers on Instagram. Trailing him are The Rock (246m), Ariana Grande (244m), and, if you scroll down the list long enough, you can find his soccer rival Lionel Messi (218m).
Quote: “I’m prepared to cringe.”
Jordan Muse, head of account leadership at The Martin Agency, told Marketing Brew that brands should tread lightly with their marketing efforts around Juneteenth to avoid the “rainbow-washing” that has become synonymous with Pride-related corporate initiatives.
Listen: Economist Betsey Stevenson discusses the “take this job and shove it” economy. (The Ezra Klein Show)
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In this new Summer 2021 segment, the Brew’s personal finance writer Ryan Lasker is nose-diving into our inbox to address your personal finance questions. Submit your money woes here.
I have recently been hired for my first full-time position. The company is offering a 401(k) plan, but I also have a separate Roth IRA. Which one should I prioritize maxing out first?—Calla from Hawaii
Congrats on the new gig. I’m going to use you as a shining example that it’s never too early to save for retirement.
To answer your question, those sweet, sweet tax benefits of 401(k) and IRA retirement plans come in two flavors: traditional and Roth.
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Traditional plans let you contribute a portion of your paycheck before income taxes, but you’ll pay them on withdrawals in retirement.
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Roth plan contributions are taxed now, not later.
Your first priority should be to take advantage of your employer’s traditional 401(k) match. If your budget allows you to contribute more than that, or your employer doesn’t offer a match, answer this: Do you expect your tax bracket in retirement to be higher or lower than it is now?
If yes, prioritize the Roth. But if you think you’ll retire with a similar lifestyle to your current one, focus on the 401(k).
If you’re unsure of your retirement plans (fair) use this rule of thumb: Prioritize Roth if you’re early in your career, and traditional options if you’re mid- to late-career. In the end, as long as you’re contributing to a retirement plan, you’re doing the right thing.
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ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, said in an internal memo that revenue increased 111% to $34.3 billion in 2020, and its gross profit rose 93% to $19 billion. Jeez.
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Chinese officials are drawing up plans to not only lift all family planning caps, but also to actively encourage childbirth, per the WSJ.
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The newest version of Boeing’s 737 Max jet completed its first test flight yesterday.
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A diamond found in Botswana clocked in at 1,098 carats, making it the world’s third-largest diamond and the biggest one discovered since 2015.
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Our favorite number is 26,259% as of June 16. Why? It’s how much we’d be up if we had invested in Netflix when The Motley Fool first recommended it. But with their new list of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49,” that number is possibly once again within reach. Get the list for free here.*
Ready to get eyeballs-deep in summery beach bliss? Polarized goodr sunglasses won’t slip or bounce—no matter how wild of a time you’re having. Protect your peepers with goodr’s all-new Tropical Opticals starting at $25.*
A Waffle House into a Waffle Home: As punishment for losing his fantasy football league, one journalist was forced to spend 24 hours in a Waffle House, but for every waffle he ate he could subtract one hour off the clock. He documented it all.
Weekend Conversation Starters:
*This is sponsored advertising content
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Brew Puzzle Master Mary Tobler threw a Real Housewife of NJ in today’s puzzle, so you know it’s going to be good.
Play the puzzle here.
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