TRAVEL

Cruise It or Lose It

Last night, the Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas departed Miami, the first time a cruise ship has sailed from a US port in 15 months.

Granted, it’s just a two-day trial run consisting of the company’s employees and their guests, but the voyage is a milestone for an industry that’s been closely linked to the pandemic ever since the Diamond Princess was forced to quarantine in Japan in February 2020.

The backstory: Given how easily germs spread on a packed ship, the CDC clamped down on cruises, first issuing a no-sail order in March 2020 then instituting a four-phased restart plan in October. 

That methodical approach has frustrated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’s argued the federal government was unnecessarily kneecapping an industry that supports almost 159,000 jobs in his state. On Friday, DeSantis won a big legal victory when a judge ruled that the CDC’s guidelines for restarting cruises were the most “extensive, disabling, and exclusive” restrictions the agency’s ever imposed on an industry.

The judge’s decision means that on July 18, the CDC’s restrictions on cruises will become more like recommendations, similar to the health guidelines governing other hospitality-related industries like hotels and airlines.

Choppy waters still lie ahead

Last week, Royal Caribbean delayed a cruise from Fort Lauderdale scheduled for July 3 after eight crew members tested positive for Covid-19. And earlier this month, two passengers on a fully vaccinated cruise in the Caribbean tested positive.

But as Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley wrote on Facebook, “Two steps forward and one step back!” The first nonexperimental oceangoing cruise ship to sail from US waters since the pandemic began, the Celebrity Edge, will depart this Saturday from Port Everglades with the CDC’s blessing.

E-COMMERCE

A Shopping Festivus for the Rest of Us

It’s Amazon Prime Day, a holiday you can’t attack for being co-opted by consumerism because that is precisely the point. 

Today and tomorrow, Amazon will offer more than 2 million deals to its Prime members to juice e-commerce sales during what is typically a lull in the shopping calendar.

This year’s event represents a return to normal after the company shifted Prime Day to October last year due to the pandemic. That turned out to be a pretty good move…

• In two days, Amazon sold $10.4 billion worth of goods, up 45% from 2019.
• Its third-party sellers topped $3.5 billion in sales, up nearly 60% annually.

Big picture: Inventing a holiday to get people to shop has turned out to be such a brilliant idea that other retailers like Walmart, Target, and Kohl’s have all started offering mega-deals of their own to coincide with Prime Day.

Looking ahead...this Prime Day is Jeff Bezos’s last as CEO. He’ll step down on July 5 to make way for AWS head Andy Jassy. 

CRYPTO

Bitcoin Mining Gets the Shaft in China

Chinese bitcoin mines are closing as quickly as Blockbusters in the 2000s.

On Friday, local authorities in Sichuan province halted operations at the 26 largest local mines. Taken together with similar moves in other mining hubs, more than 90% of China’s bitcoin mining capacity is now at least temporarily offline, according to the state-run Global Times.

Why crack down? As Elon Musk has realized, bitcoin mining—the process of creating new digital tokens and maintaining the blockchain ledger—requires vast amounts of energy. Authorities are concerned about the environmental impacts of mining and the strain it puts on electrical grids.

Why it matters: The restrictions mean bitcoin mining could shift out of China, which handled 75% of the world’s mining capacity before the increased scrutiny, and arrive in...

America? Miners continue to open up facilities in states like Texas and South Dakota, and in Kentucky, you’ll even get a tax break if you spend at least $1 million on new mining equipment.

Bottom line: China’s mining crackdown is widely seen as responsible for dampening bitcoin prices, which are now 44% below their all time high. 

SPONSORED BY QUICKBASE

No-Code, Yes Plz

You probably think because we are a digital media company we’re all about that #codelife—toiling away in a dark room turning 1s and 0s into nyan cat bitcoin memes.

But Quickbase has shown us how their no-code platform can help your organization improve operations through real time insights and automations across even the most complicated of processes.They utilize all of this digital transformation to do away with the rigid systems and siloed data that hold you and your team back.

First, heck yeah to all of that. But second, how does Quickbase use no-code to bring organizational agility to your org? Quickbase:

• Offers solutions that work the way people do
• Illuminates the path to better decisions
• Brings the power of software to more people

So if you’re in need of agility, and tired of rigid systems and siloed data (who isn’t????), Quickbase is the solution. 

Say yes plz to Quickbase with a free, personalized demo here.

GRAB BAG

Key Performance Indicators

Stat: Did you know that Cuba has five Covid-19 vaccine candidates in development? We didn’t. And one of them, the Soberana 2 vaccine, has shown 62% efficacy with just two of its three doses in late-phase trials. 

Quote: “Space is hard.” 

We’ll take your word for it, Shane Kimbrough. The NASA astronaut and a colleague faced a number of unexpected challenges (like a loose helmet) while installing new solar panels on the International Space Station, but they finally got the job done in a spacewalk yesterday. 

Read: The small-town mystery of who bought the $731 million Powerball ticket. (Washington Post)

CALENDAR

The Week Ahead

Economic data: Home sales data on Tuesday and Wednesday will reveal how many people still buy houses when prices are at an all-time high. Speaking of higher prices, a key inflation reading drops on Friday.

Fed talks: Fed officials have a surprising number of speaking gigs this week, and you know they’ll be grilled about their plan to raise interest rates in 2023. On Tuesday, Chairman Jerome Powell will discuss the economic recovery on Capitol Hill. 

Are aliens among us? Tucked into the $2.3 billion coronavirus relief package passed in December was a requirement for the Pentagon to deliver an unclassified report on unidentified flying objects (UFOs) to Congress. That report is coming on Friday. 

Everything else

• The primary for NYC mayor is on Tuesday.
• Also on Tuesday, Facebook will roll out its podcast product.
• F9 will try to supercharge the summer box office when it arrives in theaters on Friday.
• The Tour de France begins on Saturday.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• MLB’s new rules on pitchers’ applying sticky stuff to baseballs begin today. 
• American Airlines is cutting 1% of its July flights as it figures out how to rapidly scale up and meet rising passenger demand. 
• The SPAC backed by billionaire investor Bill Ackman is acquiring a 10% stake in Universal Music Group, the home of Taylor Swift and other major artists, in a complex and unusual deal.
• Jon Rahm won his first golf major in a thrilling US Open.

BREW'S BETS

The gift of quality time and groceries. When you get your groceries delivered through Instacart, you also get the chance to spend more time on the stuff that really matters. Get free delivery* on your first Instacart order here.*

Build a stronger portfolio with...buildings?! Fundrise is a simple, tech-driven way to invest in private market real estate with as little as $500—giving you access to a historically powerful and exclusive asset class right from your phone. Diversify your portfolio with Fundrise.* 

For a kick in the butt: a YouTube page with some serious workout routines. See you here tomorrow, very sore. 

Dive back into the week:

• Shallow dive: Type “dvd bouncing logo” into Google search on desktop and wait five seconds
• Medium dive: 25 micro-habits of effective managers
• Deep dive: Money like you’ve never seen it before
• Cannonball: Visions of the future vs. reality 

FROM THE CREW

Brunch Anyone?

World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit founded by chef José Andrés, has partnered with thousands of local restaurants across the US during the pandemic to distribute over 36 million meals to people in need. But there's more work to do.

For the next two weeks, the Brew is running a fundraiser with World Central Kitchen. We'll be throwing $10,000 into the pot, and if you join us and donate any amount, you'll get access to our exclusive cookbook, Brunch with the Brew, featuring recipes from our favorite food and business leaders. 

A few favorites: 

• Tahini cinnamon rolls from Food Network star Molly Yeh 
• Spicy Greek-inspired lamb bolognese with poached eggs and aged feta from Cava cofounder Dimitri Moshovitis

Get those recipes and more by making a donation today.

GAMES

Guess the Landmark

Can you name the famous landmark covered up by the yellow rectangle? 

ANSWER

The Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris

✤ A Note From Fundrise

(Here's all the legal jargon we know you love reading.)

✤ A Note From Instacart

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