Good morning. There's only one thing people like talking about more than how "busy" they are, and that's their most spectacular investment picks. In the Brew's new YouTube series, Point of Return, host Dan Toomey talks to regular folks about the best investments they ever made. So read the newsletter, then scroll back up to watch the first episode. —Matty Merritt, Max Knoblauch, Neal Freyman | | | READ THIS TO REMAIN A SUBSCRIBER Want to keep receiving Morning Brew? Clicking on newsletter links is the only way for us to know you are reading (and enjoying) Morning Brew. If you don't click by next month, you will stop receiving this newsletter. Click here to let us know that you're still an active subscriber. Thanks! | | | |  | Nasdaq | 15,517.37 | | | | | S&P | 4,667.45 | | | | | Dow | 35,754.69 | | | | | 10-Year | 1.496% | | | | | Bitcoin | $48,653.60 | | |  | CVS | $97.31 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 10:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: The stock market rally ran out of steam yesterday, and both the S&P and Nasdaq broke their 3-day winning streaks. CVS stock got a boost after the company detailed its plans to play a larger role in the nation's health care system.
- Economy: The consumer price index—the most anticipated economic data dump on the calendar these days—will be released this morning. Analysts predict inflation climbed 6.8% annually in November, which would be the highest since the early '80s.
| | Dianna "Mick" McDougall; Amblin/20th Century Studios; Getty Images/Jesse Grant, Hany Rizk, Blank Archives After a number of movie-musical flops this year, Disney is attempting to give 'em the ol' razzle dazzle with its release of West Side Story. The film, a Steven Spielberg-directed reboot of the 1961 classic, will premiere in 2,800 theaters today (and on no streaming platforms) across North America and it's expected to rake in $10–$15 million in opening weekend ticket sales. Come for Rita Moreno, stay to save the unfranchised There's a lot riding on the $100 million movie's release, considering just how les miserably the musical genre has fared at the box office this year. In The Heights only grossed $11.5 million in its opening weekend (despite its positive reviews) and Dear Evan Hansen brought in $7.4 million (despite its awful reviews). - And let's not even talk about how Tick Tick Boom got more attention as a TikTok sound than as a movie after it only lasted three days in Netflix's top 10.
West Side Story's financial outlook raises another existential question for the industry: Can you make a blockbuster without infinity stones? After all, Spider-Man: No Way Home's release next weekend is expected to bring in roughly $150 million. Which means that even if Peter Parker performs on the low end of projections, West Side Story would only bring in about 10% of the new Marvel movie's revenue. But the revamped 10-time Oscar-winning film has a secret weapon: Spielberg. The Ohio legend has collectively brought in almost $10 billion with his films domestically. And while the whole concept of the on-screen musical feels a tad cursed at the moment, Spielberg's bullish on the holiday season: He's released over one-third of his features around Christmas. Looking ahead...even if the Sharks vs. Jets rumble ends up with the rest of the unimpressive dance numbers of 2021, Disney will probably keep experimenting with musicals. In the crowded streaming market, last year's Hamilton release on Disney+ spiked app downloads 74% in July.—MM | | ELEONORE SENS/AFP via Getty Images Starbucks workers in Buffalo have voted yes to forming a union—the first of its kind among the chain's 9,000 corporate-owned stores in the country. It's a major victory for labor organizing efforts that have been supercharged by the pandemic. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) counted ballots from three Buffalo-area Starbucks stores on Thursday. Of the three locations, one voted 19–8 to unionize, a second voted 12–8 against, and a third voted 15–9 to form a union, but challenges to ballots will need to be resolved before a final outcome is determined. - Workers United, the union some Starbucks workers will now join, plans to object to the election that the union lost. Plus, the NLRB needs to certify the results, a process that takes about a week.
Zoom out: According to the Labor Department, less than 2% of food-service and bar workers belonged to a union last year, but the successful unionization of massive chain restaurants like Starbucks could change that. Three more Starbucks stores in Buffalo and a store in Arizona have also filed petitions with the NLRB to hold union elections.—MK | | MGM/New Line Cinema A new law announced Thursday in New Zealand would ban anyone born after 2008 from ever purchasing cigarettes in the country. So the kids hanging out behind the gas station will have to what—talk to each other? The law, which is expected to pass in 2023, would raise the legal smoking age (currently 18) by one additional year every year, beginning in 2027. So: New Zealanders 14 and under in 2023 will always be younger than the legal limit, while current smokers (and those older than 14 in 2023) will always be permitted to buy cigarettes. New Zealand has been trying to stub out smoking for a minute. In 2011, the country announced a goal of reducing the smoking rate in the country to 5% by 2025, and experts believe Thursday's announcement may keep them on track. - Around 9.4% of New Zealanders smoke, down from 18% in 2008.
- The rate among the Indigenous Maori population is significantly higher, at 31%.
- An average pack of cigarettes in NZ costs about $22.50 USD.
An anti-puffing nation: In 2020, New Zealanders narrowly voted against legalizing marijuana.—MK | | TOGETHER WITH THE MOTLEY FOOL | | Glad you asked, Mr. Shakespeare. Because The Motley Fool has some thoughts. For instance, you could be what the Fool calls a HENRY: High Earner, Not Rich Yet, that is. If despite earning a great income, you're still struggling to cultivate a meaningful nest egg, know that since 1993, The Motley Fool has been providing investment guidance to help members build their envisioned financial futures. Top picks shared with their members include AOL in 1994, Amazon in 1997, and Netflix in 2004. Yes folks, the early bird does in fact get the worm. And in these cases, that worm was a chonker. So if the above acronym feels fitting to your financial situation, join The Motley Fool's Stock Advisor service and get five free stock picks under $49 right now. That way, HENRY can instead stand for: High Earner, No Regrets, Yessir. Start here. | | Stat: This post from BTS was the most retweeted tweet in 2021, Twitter said. The K-pop group was speaking out against the rise of anti-Asian violence following the March killing of eight people in Georgia, six of whom were Asian women. #BTS was also the top hashtag of the year. Quote: "The data we're seeing is largely pointing in the wrong direction." President Biden sees a bear market for democracies, and he convened leaders from more than 100 countries around the globe to discuss ways to confront the rising threats to democratic institutions. China and Russia were not invited to the summit. Read: Eating at the worst Michelin-starred restaurant, ever. (The Everywhereist) | | The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew's Weekly News Quiz has been compared to finding a $20 bill in your jacket pocket. It's that satisfying. Ace the quiz. | | - The FDA authorized booster shots of Pfizer's Covid vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Sackler family announced that the museum will drop the Sackler name from seven exhibition spaces and a wing. The Sacklers have been accused of fueling the opioid crisis through their links to OxyContin.
- American Airlines is scaling back its international growth plans for next year, blaming delivery delays for Boeing's 787 Dreamliners.
- FanDuel inked a four-year deal with The Pat McAfee Show that's reportedly worth $30 million a year.
| | TOGETHER WITH THE MOTLEY FOOL | | Must be a blue moon. Because The Motley Fool has released not one, but three rare Double Down picks for 2022. These special recs allow investors who missed out on a prominent stock to get in again, and those who did buy to potentially add to their gains. Previous Double Downs? Oh, just Netflix and Apple. Get the picks here. | | Follow Friday: The biggest song on TikTok right now is a breakup song by 17-year-old singer Gayle. This thread breaks down how she turned a single TikTok comment into a hit that sits only behind Adele on the UK singles chart. More teenage music: Let Olivia Rodrigo's Tiny Desk Concert take you angstily into the weekend. How maps confuse us: Exhibit A and Exhibit B. | | Upgrade your morning with the Founder's Journal podcast and get smarter, faster for free. Start with some of our favorite episodes: This editorial content is supported by American Express. | | What do the following words have in common? - Assess
- Banana
- Dresser
- Grammar
- Potato
- Revive
- Uneven
- Voodoo
| | We have reached the end of our 12 Days of Giveaways, and for the grand finale we're handing out 200,000 pennies, aka $2,000. All you need to do is refer a friend before midnight (ET) tonight and both of you will have a chance to win two grand. Plus, every confirmed referral is one entry to win. So the more you refer, the more entries you get. Share to win* Disclaimer: Only readers with US addresses are eligible to participate. Here are the terms and conditions. | | | If you take the first letter and move it to the end of the word, you get the same word when read backward. | | | Written by Neal Freyman, Matty Merritt, and Max Knoblauch 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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