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Good morning. With former President Barack Obama turning 60 today, we decided to read the always-interesting "List of presidents of the United States by age" Wikipedia page, and found out some interesting things:
- The youngest to assume the presidency was Teddy Roosevelt (42) and the youngest to be elected was JFK (43).
- The median age at inauguration of incoming US presidents is 55 years.
- John Adams was the first of six presidents to live into their 90s.
- At 78, Joe Biden became the oldest newly inaugurated US president.
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Nasdaq
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14,761.30
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S&P
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4,423.15
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Dow
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35,116.40
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Bitcoin
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$38,331.31
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10-Year
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1.175%
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Robinhood
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$46.80
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*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET.
Here's what these numbers mean.
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Markets: The S&P closed at a record high on news that Carmelo Anthony will join LeBron James as a Laker (and strong earnings reports, of course). Individual investors pushed Robinhood shares 24% higher to close above its IPO price.
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Government: An investigation into NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo found that he has sexually harassed multiple women during his time in office and created a work environment that is “rife with fear and intimidation.” Cuomo, who is facing calls to resign from President Biden and others, said “the facts are much different than what has been portrayed.”
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CRYPTO
There’s a New Crypto Sheriff in Town
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Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
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Business icon Charlie Munger has called bitcoin “rat poison.” Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey said it could bring about “world peace.” What does SEC Chair Gary Gensler think?
Let’s go with somewhere in the middle: “rat peace.” In a major speech on crypto yesterday, Wall Street’s top cop said he’s intrigued by the technology but wants more regulation to protect investors.
Run the numbers: Just a dozen years after bitcoin was introduced to the world, the crypto sector has exploded in value.
- The market is worth about $1.6 trillion, Gensler said.
- 77 tokens are worth at least $1 billion each and 1,600 are worth at least $1 million.
But right now it’s the “Wild West,” according to Gensler. Crypto is “rife with fraud, scams, and abuse in certain applications,” and many investors could get hurt if more safeguards aren’t put in place.
To clean things up, Gensler asked Congress for more resources to police the crypto world, such as the authority to monitor crypto exchanges.
Regulation should be welcome in crypto, Gensler said, because it sets guardrails and can pave the way for success. After all, it wasn’t until the government installed traffic lights and speed limits that the auto industry really took off, Gensler told Bloomberg.
Why does it matter what Gensler thinks?
As the country’s top financial regulator, he could hand down the most significant rules for the crypto industry to date.
But here’s something you may not know: Gensler is kind of a crypto nerd himself. After working on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, he spent three years teaching a class at MIT called “Blockchain and Money” (you can watch his lectures on video here).
Bottom line: Gensler’s belief about crypto can be summed up in two words—“speculative investment.” He seems poised to let the industry grow, but under more parental supervision.
+ For more: If you're curious about investing in crypto, here's a quick primer on the dos and don'ts.
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Kena Betancur/Getty Images
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New York City became the first major US city to require vaccines for indoor activities. Mayor Bill de Blasio said yesterday that proof of vaccination will be required at all indoor venues including bars, gyms, Broadway shows, and Marie’s Crisis, which combines all three.
- Children under 12, who don’t have a federally authorized vaccine available yet, are excluded from the requirement.
Meanwhile, masks won’t be required indoors because, according to de Blasio, they could disincentivize New Yorkers from getting the vaccine. That approach differs from other cities like San Francisco and New Orleans, which have reinstated indoor mask mandates.
Plus, more companies introduced vaccine rules
Microsoft joined other Big Tech companies in requiring workers to be vaccinated to work at its offices.
Meat supplier Tyson will require all of its 120,000 US workers to be vaccinated. Tyson’s announcement stands out because, so far, most vaccine mandates have only applied to corporate workers, not employees on the front line. That divide’s best illustrated by Walmart, where only corporate workers need to show proof of vaccination.
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China’s crackdown on tech companies has claimed another victim: Tencent, the owner of Riot Games and maker of Honor of Kings, the world’s top-grossing game in 2019 and 2020.
A state-owned newspaper wrote on Tuesday that gaming addiction in China was on the rise and labeled it “opium for the mind.” The article, which deleted the reference to opium later, fueled investor fears of potential regulation and sent Tencent’s shares sliding more than 10% yesterday. Tencent responded by banning all in-game purchases for minors and tightening the time limit on play for kids.
Why it matters: In recent months, the Chinese government has intensified its scrutiny of the country’s tech giants over data security and monopoly concerns. Nine of the top 10 market value losers in July are Chinese firms, per Bloomberg.
Tencent may not be a household name in the US, but its fingerprints are all over the American tech industry. Its investment stakes include...
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40% of Fortnite maker Epic Games
- 12% of Snap
- 5% of Tesla
- 5% of Activision Blizzard
Bottom line: International investors burned by China’s regulatory bombshells have lost more than $1 trillion this year.
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So you know what’s needed to take your business to the next level. But if you’re not sure how to give that baby wings, it could feel like, “Houston, We have a problem.”
Or maybe you’re the one leading the strategy or design or marketing for your business every day. But do you really understand all the pieces, technology, and people that need to come together to make it a reality?
If you’re breaking out into a cold sweat, don’t fret. We made a quiz for you to test your ability to implement products that can scale without the pressure.
Plus our partners at SAP sprinkled tips throughout to help you along the way—they’re committed to helping businesses all around the world run at their best every day.
Who knows, maybe you eventually launch an IRL product that is a rocket ship. If that’s the case, we’d like 98 tickets please and thank you.
Take the quiz.
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Francis Scialabba
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Stat: Business travelers are responsible for 55%–75% of major airlines’ profits despite accounting for 10% of all passengers, industry experts told the NYT. And at major hotel chains like Marriott and Hilton, business travelers account for 70% of global revenue. So when will they come back? It could be years.
Quote: “I had no work experience, life experience, anything like that before I signed on to this quarter-million-dollar loan. I thought I would come out making much more than I did.”
Dylan Boigris, a 2016 Miami Law graduate, began his career making about $45,000 as a public defender. With tuition rising and salaries...doing the opposite, law school is losing its luster, the WSJ reports.
Read: A profile of the original influencer, Sean Combs. (Vanity Fair)
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Sipping OJ while reading this? You’re an endangered species.
After seeing fruit juice sales steadily decline over the years, PepsiCo has decided to squeeze juice brands out of its portfolio. It’s selling a controlling stake in Tropicana, Naked, and its other juice brands to a French private equity firm for $3.3 billion.
Zoom out: Tropicana may be the most popular refrigerated OJ in the US, but it can’t fight an ebbing tide for fruit drinks overall. Fruity beverage consumption in the US fell 19% between 2011–2020, per Beverage Marketing Corp. Pepsi’s juice sales soured even faster, dropping 36% over the same period.
Blame it on the C6H12O6
Despite a brief uptick in fruit juice sales last year (Vitamin C for immunity, more time for breakfast), the category is suffering the same long-term decline as sugary cereals. Big Beverage has responded to customers’ aversion to “-ose” ingredients by shifting away from sweet drinks and toward seltzers, bottled water, and diet sodas. Coca-Cola discontinued its smoothie and juice brand Odwalla last year, along with other underperforming brands.
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The CDC enacted a new eviction moratorium that covers 90% of the US population and will last until Oct. 3.
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Blizzard President J. Allen Brack is leaving the company amid a firestorm of alleged workplace harassment at the video game company.
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Spirit Airlines has canceled a significant share of its flights for the third straight day, partially due to a tech outage.
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Clorox is the latest pandemic darling to fizzle; its stock fell the most it has in more than 20 years yesterday.
Olympics links
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US hurdler Sydney McLaughlin broke her own world record to win gold in the women’s 400m hurdles.
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The men’s 400m hurdles, won by Norway’s Karsten Warholm in world-record time, could go down as one of the best races ever run.
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US men's basketball advanced to the semifinals with a victory over Spain. They'll play Australia on Thursday.
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Simone Biles took bronze on the balance beam, which she said “means more than all of the golds” she's won.
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Non-Olympic videos of the week: An orangutan encounters sunglasses. Some “detachable finger” magic.
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Word Search: You are going to really enjoy this one, we promise. Play it here.
Guess the skyline
This US city made an appearance at the top of one of our infrastructure stories this week. Can you name it?
The National Committee for Quality Assurance
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