Good morning. After five new people introduced themselves at our all-hands yesterday, we were confronted with the startling fact that the Brew now has 149 employees. That's incredibly exciting, but our days masquerading as a coffee shop appear to be numbered. —Matty Merritt, Max Knoblauch, Neal Freyman | | | |  | Nasdaq | 15,021.81 | | | | | S&P | 4,486.46 | | |  | Dow | 35,258.61 | | | | | 10-Year | 1.596% | | | | | Bitcoin | $61,757.86 | | | | | Disney | $171.14 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: The S&P and Nasdaq gained for their fourth straight day ahead of a big earnings slate this week (Netflix is the highlight today). Disney stock got slapped with a rare downgrade from Barclays, which is fretting about slowing growth of Disney+.
- Nation: Colin Powell, the first Black secretary of state and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died from Covid complications at 84.
| | | Francis Scialabba The online real estate giant said it'll stop flipping houses for the remainder of 2021. Zillow flips houses? While it's best known as the platform for browsing home listings in Bozeman you can't afford, Zillow has also bought and sold houses for the past three years in an automated process known as iBuying. In iBuying, a seller will input information about their property online, then a company's algorithm will sort through the data and spit out an offer in as little as 24 hours. But it's not a fully automated process, and that's where Zillow is in a pickle. The company that's doing the iBuying sends a representative to inspect the property and do a gut check on the offer. But Zillow says it doesn't have enough of those people (given the historic labor shortage and whatnot) and therefore can't add any new houses on top of its current backlog. - It's a big deal—Zillow's stock fell 9.4%, its biggest drop in months, in response to the news.
That's because Zillow's house-flipping unit, called Zillow Offers, is a big deal, accounting for more than 50% of the company's revenue last year. And it's growing: Zillow bought 3,805 homes in Q2, more than it had in any other quarter by far. Rivals see an opening Opendoor is grinning like a sprinter whose opponent just went down with a cramp. Following the Zillow news, the iBuying startup boasted it was "open for business." - Opendoor was already a busier house-flipper than Zillow, more than doubling Zillow's home-buying total in Q2 with 8,494 purchases.
- Another startup brimming with schadenfreude: Offerpad, which recently went public and manages to squeeze more profits out of each home flip than Opendoor or Zillow.
Bottom line: Zillow's flip-flop comes amid signs that the moonbound housing market might finally be parachuting back to Earth. The median home sale price increased 14% annually in September, its lowest growth rate since last December, per Redfin.—NF | | | Francis Scialabba In a long-awaited report on the meme stock trading frenzy this winter, the SEC concluded that the entire episode showed that US financial markets generally work as they're supposed to. Quick recap: Shares in the struggling video game retailer GameStop erupted 2,700% in value from January 8 to January 28, a rally that appeared to begin as a coordinated effort by individual investors to fleece hedge funds who were shorting the stock. So what did the SEC find? - That "short squeeze" wasn't a big factor in the rally. The SEC said that investors trying to profit from short-sellers' collapse was a "small fraction of overall buy volume," and they attributed the majority of GameStop's skyrocketing share price to "positive sentiment."
- No proof Robinhood did anything shady. Robinhood halted trading for certain meme stocks at the height of the frenzy, citing liquidity issues. While conspiracies swirled that it did so for nefarious reasons, the SEC couldn't find any evidence to support that rumor.
Looking ahead...the SEC said it'll use the GameStop saga as an "opportunity to reflect" on the ways financial markets function, but other than that—keep calm and trade on, folks.—NF | | Amazon heard the Great Resignation news and said, "more for us." It's planning to hire 150,000 seasonal workers for this year's holiday season. To attract notoriously picky workers in 2021, it's dangling signing bonuses of up to $3,000 and recently bumped average starting pay to $18/hr. - For comparison, the "oh frick, I need a picture frame by TOMORROW" retailer hired 100k seasonal staff last year to keep up with the pandemic-induced online shopping boom.
But that's not all Andy Jassy is prepping for. Five members of the House Judiciary Committee sent the Amazon CEO a letter Sunday saying the company has one more chance to "correct the record" on previous testimonies or a criminal investigation may be on the horizon. - After articles from The Markup and Reuters last week accused the company of using data from third-party sellers to inform the creation of its own products, the committee said that completely contradicts what Amazon execs, including former CEO Jeff Bezos, told Congress in the past.
Bottom line: Amazon is no stranger to government threats, but a criminal investigation could dampen its big holiday plans.—MM | | | | *Automated pharmacy message* Your prescription is ready for pickup. And by the way, we close in ten minutes. Ok, so the robotic voice never actually says that last part, but the point remains: Traditional pharmacies are a headache (oh, the irony). That's why NowRx is redefining pharmacy by offering free, same-day prescription delivery and amazing customer service—and their potential is growing quickly. They've already raised over $5M in investments in less than 3 weeks and with NowRx's new telehealth product growing 73% month over month since inception the time to invest has never been better. NowRx is rebuilding healthcare for convenience and affordability, and after the Last Year (cue thunder and lightning SFX) it's clear how valuable that is as the company generated over $13.4M in revenue (up 90% annually) and is on pace to hit over $22M this year! Want in? Invest in the awesome potential of convenient & affordable healthcare here. | | | HBO Stat: New Jersey became the first state to record more than $1 billion worth of sports bets in a single month in September. After winning bets and other expenses were paid out, casinos and racetracks took home $82 million. Quote: "If you really want an offensive slogan on your car, then you can use a bumper sticker." Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows defended the state's new law that bans profanities on license plates. Today we're summoning the energy of the Maine driver whose license plate just reads, "F---—YoU," but actually spelled out. Read: Can MasterClass teach you everything? (The New Yorker) | | | Apple Apple hosted its second hardware event of the fall yesterday and still no new iPod Touch. Instead, the company announced third-generation AirPods, improved M1 chips, and powerful new MacBook Pros. Starting with the AirPods: They got a new design featuring shorter stems. AirPods 3 (unofficial name) will retail for $179, have an improved listening time of six hours, and support spatial audio—essentially mobile surround sound. They'll also be water and sweat resistant. You can find them in stores on October 26, and lost in your couch cushions or maybe somewhere in the car sometime after that. The Pros: Apple unveiled two new MacBook Pros, a 14-inch starting at $1,999, and a 16-inch starting at $2,499. Missing from both: the Touch Bar. Included in both: Apple's new chips, either the M1 Pro or the M1 Max—four-wheel drive versions of the M1 chip Apple debuted last fall as part of its mission to rid itself of its Intel dependency. Also returning: an HDMI port and an SD card slot. Honorable mentions: - New colors of the HomePod Mini
- A $4.99 Apple Music plan
—MK | | - The FDA is planning to allow Americans to get a booster of a different Covid vaccine than they originally received, the NYT reports. But what do you do if getting the Moderna shot has been your personality for months?
- The wealthiest 10% of Americans own a record 89% of all US stocks, according to the Fed.
- ProShares said the first bitcoin-futures ETF will begin trading today.
- Disney is delaying several theatrical releases, including the Black Panther sequel, Thor 4, and the fifth Indiana Jones installment.
- American Express is letting employees work from anywhere they want for up to four weeks per year. Where would you go?
| | Eye makeup that's kind of a big deal: With more than 15,000 five-star reviews, this clean mascara gives you lush, long lashes without the need for extensions. Get in on the hype with 15% off.* Who's there?! No need to ask when you've got SimpliSafe's new Wireless Outdoor Security Camera. With easy setup, an ultra-wide 140° field of vision, 1080p HD resolution, 8x zoom, and two-way audio, bumps in the night stand no chance this spooky season. Order today for 30% off your system.* Tech Tip Tuesday: Here's a noise generator that has some pretty unique sounds to mask distractions while you work. Super cook: If you're not feeling a trip to the grocery store, this website will take what you have at home and generate a list of recipes.
Work can be ghoulish: Ahead of Halloween, we're collecting readers' work horror stories to compile and share with everyone. Whether it was a Zoom wardrobe malfunction or a presentation gone horribly wrong, we want to hear it. *This is sponsored advertising content | | Brew Mini: Fans of a certain Netflix show might see a familiar name in this week's puzzle. Play it here. Lions, Tigers, and Bears There are six professional sports teams in the major North American leagues (MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL) that share the same name. Can you identify them? | | | Kings: Sacramento (NBA) and LA (NHL)
Giants: San Francisco (MLB) and NY (NFL)
Jets: Winnipeg (NHL) and NY (NFL)
Panthers: Florida (NHL) and Carolina (NFL)
Cardinals: Arizona (NFL) and St. Louis (MLB)
Rangers: Texas (MLB) and NY (NHL) | | HOW WAS TODAY'S NEWSLETTER? | | | Written by Neal Freyman, Max Knoblauch, and Matty Merritt Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. WANT MORE BREW? Industry news, with a sense of humor → - Emerging Tech Brew: AI, crypto, space, autonomous vehicles, and more
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Tips for smarter living → - Money Scoop: your personal finance upgrade
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 Podcasts → Business Casual and Founder's Journal Accelerate Your Career → - MB/A: virtual 8-week program designed to broaden your skill set
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