Good morning. A one-act play. Neal and Max in the fall: What a pleasure it is to live in the Northeast and watch the seasons change. Jamie, in her LA home: I know, I miss New York. Neal and Max yesterday: It is so cold we now understand The Revenant's horse sleeping bag scene. Jamie:  —Neal Freyman, Max Knoblauch, Jamie Wilde | | | |  | Nasdaq | 15,153.45 | | | | | S&P | 4,713.07 | | | | | Dow | 36,252.02 | | |  | 10-Year | 1.742% | | | | | Bitcoin | $42,674.63 | | | | | Oil | $81.39 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Stocks ticked higher as investors zeroed in on Senate testimony from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who is up for a second term. Powell said the Fed would do what's necessary to get inflation back to normal levels.
- Politics: In a speech in Atlanta yesterday, President Biden advocated for tweaking Senate rules in order to pass voting rights laws. Arguing these protections "will mark a turning point in this nation," Biden proposed an exception to the filibuster that would allow election bills to pass without 60 votes in the chamber. He may not have enough support to change filibuster rules, however.
| | Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images The debate is heating up over which prefix we should attach to -demic to describe Covid. And how officials answer that question could profoundly shape government policies, as well as the course of the virus itself. How the debate began: Earlier this week, Spain's prime minister became the first European leader to argue that it may be time for the EU to approach Covid the same way it approaches the seasonal flu—that is, by scrapping quarantines and case counts and instead relying on a "sentinel surveillance" system that aims to protect vulnerable populations. The justification? Omicron appears to be less severe than prior strains of the virus and has sent fewer Europeans to the hospital than in previous waves. And while Covid vaccines don't prevent people from getting infected, they have been shown to protect against severe illness. Quick refresher on pandemic vs. endemic: - Pandemic: When a disease's growth is exponential and spreads across countries.
- Endemic: A disease that's always present, but spreads at a predictable rate.
In other European countries where there's been increased political opposition to Covid restrictions, leaders are also embracing the "e" word. The UK, for one, is "on a path towards transitioning from pandemic to endemic," its health minister said Sunday. The WHO enters the chat The health organization said yesterday that talk of Covid becoming endemic is like already crowning the Packers as the Super Bowl champions. It described a "west-to-east tidal wave" of Omicron that's projected to infect more than 50% of Europe's population in the next six-to-eight weeks. - With a "huge amount of uncertainty and a virus that is evolving quite quickly…we are certainly not at the point where we are able to call it endemic," the WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, said.
Another WHO official added that Omicron was still life-threatening to older folks, people with underlying health conditions, and the unvaccinated. Meanwhile, in the US…Covid hospitalizations hit a record high on Monday, topping the peak from last January. The number of patients requiring intensive care, however, is considerably lower than last year's record.—NF | | Photo Illustration: Dianna "Mick" McDougall; Sources: Getty Images, Bank of America Someone must've been visited by three ghosts in the night, because Bank of America decided to make life a little less difficult for account holders without piles of cash. The bank—America's second largest—announced on Tuesday that it would reduce overdraft fees by around 70%, from $35 to $10. BofA is also scrapping a $12 non-sufficient funds fee (for bouncing a check or making an automated overdraft) and will eliminate transfer fees for its overdraft protection service. The decision comes on the recently shined heels of similar moves by other large banks. - Capital One announced last month that it was eliminating overdraft fees altogether.
- In August, JPMorgan increased its charge-incurring overdraft amount to $50 (it was previously $5).
- PNC Bank introduced a 24-hour grace period on overdraft penalties.
Whether this is an example of healthy competition among industry players, or simply banks getting ahead of regulation by an increasingly scrutinous Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), is for the banks and Mr. Monopoly to know. Zoom out: Although hated by account holders, overdraft fees have been a significant revenue source for banks. According to the CFPB, major banks make about $15.5 billion per year on these charges. 80% of that amount comes from 9% of customers who get dinged repeatedly.—MK | | US Mint Maya Angelou just became the first Black woman to grace the quarter. The new coin, which the US Mint started shipping Monday, features the poet on its tails side shadowed by a flying bird—a nod to her famous autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Angelou's is the first of 20 quarter designs that will be issued over the next four years and give some much-deserved monetary facetime to women. This year, four more of those women will make their way to your 7-Eleven's cash register: - Sally Ride, the first female astronaut
- Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation
- Nina Otero-Warren, a New Mexican suffragist and politician
- Anna May Wong, a Chinese American actress
They'll join the tiny list of women who have been featured on US currency. Only one, the golden dollar coin featuring Sacagawea, was actively in circulation before this rollout. Fun fact: The "heads" side of these new quarters will still have George Washington's profile on them…but a version created by American woman sculptor Laura Gardin Fraser that was passed over for John Flanagan's design in 1932.—JW | | | Big picture talk: Investing is about making your money enhance your life in ways that reflect who you are. That's what Betterment believes, anyway. Betterment helps you be invested: In the market, but also in yourself, your future, and the world around you. With Betterment's Socially Responsible Investing, your money can work toward the issues that matter to you, such as fighting for the planet or achieving justice for all. Ya just kinda sleep better knowing your investments match your values, know what we mean? Whether you're looking to be invested in your everyday life or in creating change for the world, Betterment's for you. It's super easy to use, so you can start investing for that trip you've been dreaming about—and the world you want your kids to experience—in just a few minutes. Get started with Betterment here—it's quick and easy. | | Stat: Americans read an average of 12.6 books in the past year, according to a Gallup survey. That's fewer books than in any previous survey dating back to 1990, and two or three fewer books per year than in every year from 2001–2016. Pajama Reading Days would fix this. Quote: "In the (near) future, every person will have a parallel digital identity. Avatars, crypto wallets, digital goods will be the norm. Are you planning for this?" Reese Witherspoon is all packed and ready for a solo self-discovery hike through the metaverse. But her polarizing prediction shouldn't come as a surprise: The actor and entrepreneur bought her first NFTs in October and has gone deep down the crypto rabbit hole. Read: The subtle psychology and economics of taxi fares. (Stanford Business) | | David Livingston/Getty Images In June 2021, up to 21% of all American adults saw Kim Kardashian's Instagram post that promoted a cryptocurrency called EthereumMax. It was deemed the "financial promotion with the single biggest audience reach in history" by the UK's top finance regulator. But some say it was just a scam. Yesterday, a group of EthereumMax investors sued Kardashian, as well as boxer Floyd Mayweather and former NBA star Paul Pierce, for allegedly pumping up the crypto's price in order to sell their own EthereumMax tokens at a profit. - Mayweather wore trunks promoting EthereumMax in a fight against Logan Paul last year.
- Paul Pierce tweeted last May that he had made more money on EthereumMax in a month than he had made in an entire year working at ESPN.
EthereumMax, which has no connection to the second-largest crypto, ethereum, had dropped 98%, according to the complaint, and it hasn't recovered. Looking ahead…finance officials say to watch out for crypto scams in the year ahead. They are "by far" the top threat to investors, according to a survey of North American securities regulators.—NF | | - Chicago public school students will return to classrooms today for the first time in a week, after the teachers union and the city agreed to a tentative deal on Covid safety measures.
- United Airlines said about 3,000 employees (4% of its US workforce) are currently positive for Covid and that on one day, nearly one-third of its workforce at Newark called out sick.
- Amazon employees at an Alabama warehouse will begin voting in a second union election next month via mail-in ballots.
- The Oscars will have a host this year for the first time in four years, ABC said. Who? We don't know yet.
| | | Too much turnover? Seems to be a lot of that going around. So the experts at Workday Peakon Employee Voice have put together a report to help businesses understand how to retain top talent. With insight from over 190 million employee responses (that's right, MILLION), Workday's guide will help you notice signs of attrition earlier and collect employee feedback to uncover opportunities. Get their report here. | | Listen while you work: Two new pod episodes that will help you think about your career: 1) the key to ending burnout and 2) how to increase your salary. Songs Of Disappearance: An album that consists entirely of the calls from 53 endangered Australian birds, briefly topped Taylor Swift on Australia's top 50 albums chart last month. Give it a listen. New year = new goals. What do you want to accomplish in 2022? We want to help. Share your goals with us, and we'll give you some resources to help achieve them. A musical time travel experience: Pick a country, pick a decade, pick a mood, and this website will dish you some music that syncs all three. | | Word Search: Lego hive, rise up for today's puzzle, which asks you to identify landmarks featured in different Lego builds. Play it here. Film credits The following is an excerpt from the IMDb page of a particular actor. Can you name him?  | | | ✢ A Note From Betterment Investing involves risk. Performance not guaranteed.
Higher bond allocations in your portfolio decreases the percentage attributable to socially responsible ETFs | | | Written by Neal Freyman, Max Knoblauch, and Jamie Wilde 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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