Good morning. Not only does Canada have better views of Niagara Falls, but they also beat the US last night to win the gold in women's hockey. If we were sore losers, we would point out that gold medals are actually made of at least 92.5% silver. But we're not. So we wouldn't do such a thing. —Matty Merritt, Jamie Wilde, Neal Freyman | | | |  | Nasdaq | 14,124.10 | | |  | S&P | 4,475.01 | | | | | Dow | 34,934.27 | | | | | 10-Year | 2.032% | | | | | Bitcoin | $44,096.57 | | | | | Shopify | $746.85 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 9:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Stocks went down, then back up, then closed pretty much where they started on a quieter day on the earnings/Ukraine/Fed front. The e-commerce platform Shopify is another pandemic winner that's been absolutely crushed during the "reopening": Its stock has fallen to its lowest level since June 2020.
- Economy: Americans seem to have a college stoner-level appetite for spending. Retail sales increased 3.8% in January over December, far more than expected, as inflation proved no match for the exhilarating feeling of buying new furniture and cars.
| | Twitter Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal confirmed to the WaPo yesterday that he will take "a few weeks" of paternity leave following the birth of his second child. While that's still shorter than Twitter's standard 20 weeks of paid family leave, Agrawal's decision—just a few months into his tenure—is a notable one given his role as boss of one of the most influential tech firms in the country. By taking time off work to build a crib and support a floppy neck, Agrawal is following in the footsteps of other Silicon Valley dads like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who each took a few months of paid leave when their children were born several years ago. Ohanian in particular has been a vocal champion of paid paternity leave. But other high-powered tech leaders have made headlines for mostly continuing to work right after the birth of their children. - In 2015, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer sparked controversy when she said she'd only take two weeks off after giving birth to twins and would be "working throughout" that time.
- After the birth of his youngest child in 2020, Elon Musk said that he had plenty of time to build spaceships and get into Twitter fights because his then-partner Grimes played a "much bigger role" in taking care of the baby.
Argawal's move also comes a few months after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took paternity leave to care for his newborn twins, which earned the scorn of Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan, among others. - Rogan quipped, "Isn't [paid leave] supposed to be for the person who gave birth?"
- Buttigieg responded to his critics that he felt "blessed" to have the "flexibility to take care of our newborn children, which is, by the way, work."
Many don't have that flexibility: The US is the lone wealthy country that doesn't have a paid parental leave mandate. And despite 73% of US adults supporting federal funding for paid family leave, 23% of civilian workers had access to it as of last March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. President Biden's Build Back Better plan would have provided four weeks of universal paid leave, but it crashed and burned in the Senate.—MM | | Francis Scialabba  Facebookers become Metamates. Mark Zuckerberg announced at a Tuesday all-hands meeting that Meta's employees will henceforth be called "Metamates" rather than "Facebookers" to align with a new set of corporate values based on being teammates (for instance, FB's slogan of "Move fast and break things" is now "Move fast together"). But some, including Meta employees, are questioning whether the tech industry should continue its cutesy name tradition considering tech careers aren't quirky and novel anymore.
 CDC wants to "give people a break" from masking. The agency's director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, signaled she may ease mask requirements in the next few weeks in response to fewer Covid cases and hospitalizations. Recently there's been a rush of organizations lifting Covid restrictions, from Disney World removing its mask mandate for vaxed guests to various sports teams not requiring proof of vaccination to enter arenas.
 Y'all are DoorDashing…a lot. The food delivery company's stock popped nearly 40% after it said that customers placed a record 369 million orders last quarter, which is a 35% increase from a year ago. "There was a lot of skepticism about whether people were going to keep using this product" as the economy reopened, CFO Prabir Adarkar told Bloomberg, but it's clear "the benefit of convenience is enduring."
| | The Office/NBC via Giphy And not just because they've been (rightfully) kicked out of the group chat. Google announced big privacy updates yesterday that would limit the ability of advertisers to track Android users' activity across apps, especially when it's done covertly. Details are sparse, but one specific change will get rid of advertising ID, a unique alphanumeric code attached to each Android user. If digital ad companies reading this feel a bit queasy… It's probably because when Apple rolled out similar privacy changes last year, it upended mobile advertising. Meta was hit especially hard, since anyone who gets served ads for matching pet + owner PJs on Instagram can understand how lucrative personalized ads are for the tech giant. - After Meta revealed that Apple's privacy update could cost it up to $10 billion in lost revenue, its market value plunged $232 billion the day after—the biggest single-day drop in Wall Street history.
Google pinky swears its changes won't be like Apple's, though it didn't mention its tech rival directly. In its blog post introducing the update, Google assured its partners it'll a) offer a "privacy-preserving alternative path" to its current ad capabilities and b) won't implement the changes for two years to give the industry time to adjust.—JW | | | Ever get confused by a crossroad sign pointing in a hundred different directions? Well, investing can feel a bit like that—social media and memes might send you one way, chatter about inflation sends you another, and we all have that one cousin who's an armchair expert on the markets. Instead, let E*TRADE provide you with the resources to help you with your goals. E*TRADE has been in the game a long time, supporting all types of investors on their financial journeys with easy-to-use tools, no account minimums, and $0 commissions on stocks and ETFs. And now that it's part of Morgan Stanley, E*TRADE combines the best of both companies to give you even more ways to pursue your financial goals and invest long-term. For a limited time, use code REWARD22 to earn $50 or more when you open and fund an eligible E*TRADE account. *Paid Advertisement | | Francis Scialabba The housing situation in Miami is more uncomfortable than being in Miami in July. It just topped New York City to become the least affordable housing market in the US, a new RealtyHop report showed. Miami's housing problems had been brewing for a while, but when wealthy Northerners decided to relocate to the South Florida coast last year, rents went ballistic, shooting up 34% annually last December. Run the numbers: With Miami's median home price of $589,000 and average household income of $43,401, the typical household would have to spend 78.7% of their income on homeownership costs, per The Real Deal. The general benchmark is to spend no more than 30% of your income on housing. But that's just not viable for a huge chunk of the city's workforce, who are low-paid employees in the hospitality or service sectors. - Home health care and personal aides, for example, would need to nearly double their median salary to rent a one-bedroom unit, and more than triple their pay to buy a home.
Zoom out: Miami's affordability crisis could be a preview for other cities that have seen a population boom in recent years, such as Austin, Nashville, and Bozeman.—NF | | George Frey/Getty Images Stat: Deaths from car crashes fell more than 18% in Utah in 2019, the year after it became the first and only state to lower the cap on a driver's blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.05%. The move has received pushback from alcohol industry groups, who say it's a misguided approach, but advocates are hailing it as a road safety breakthrough. Quote: "It's like some venereal disease or something. I just regard it as beneath contempt." When 98-year-old billionaire Charlie Munger starts bringing up STDs, it could only be in reference to one thing: cryptocurrency. At the annual Daily Journal shareholders meeting, Munger, a longtime crypto critic, said he's "proud" of the fact that he hasn't invested in it. Read: As Covid recedes, what do societies owe immunocompromised people? (The Atlantic). | | - The US countered Russian claims that it withdrew troops from the Ukrainian border, saying it added as many as 7,000 in recent days.
- China's digital yuan didn't have its Olympic moment.
- Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and several other European regions announced plans to scrap most or all of their Covid restrictions.
- Roblox stock had its worst day ever (down 26.5%) when it reported a slowdown in bookings.
| | | Because investing is a long game. E*TRADE knows that everyone's financial journey is different. That's why E*TRADE gives you powerful ways to pursue your financial goals with the right tools, resources, and support. So don't bench your savings. Start making real moves with E*TRADE here. *Paid Advertisement | | Feel stupid (in the best way): Here are 30 questions to elevate your awareness of the place in which you live. We have a lot of homework to do. Stuff that went viral: 1) The guy who spends $2k/month on water and 2) the best memes of Putin sitting at massive tables. (Thanks to the excellent newsletter, Garbage Day, for the recs.) Pods to help you prepare: If you're trudging toward spring, and maybe even making plans for summer, check out these podcast episodes to prepare for coming out of social hibernation: | | Brew Mini: Today's clues contain a secret message that connects to a word in the puzzle. Can you find the linguistic treasure? Three headlines and a lie Three of these news headlines are real and one is faker than your dad's girlfriend's new Jimmy Choo bag. Can you guess the odd one out? - NHS recruits sheep to "calm" 12 year olds getting Covid jabs
- Baby Shark is getting a feature-length movie in 2023 doo doo doo doo doo doo
- Humans find AI-generated faces more trustworthy than the real thing
- New York Fashion Week's biggest winner: squid
| | From the minds that bring you trivia every single day in the Brew, we present…Black History Month trivia. But this isn't us quizzing you. It's an all-in-one toolkit so that you can host BHM trivia for your colleagues or friends. - True story: We played it as a company last week, and because everyone had so much fun we thought, "Why not release it to our entire audience?"
You can find everything you need to host trivia, including the instructions, questions, and answers, at this link. | | | No squids are walking the runway this year. | | | ✳︎ A Note From E*TRADE No commissions on online stock, options and ETF trades. Exclusions and other fees may apply. For more information on pricing, visit etrade.com/pricing. The material provided by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley or any of its direct or indirect subsidiaries (E*TRADE) is for educational purposes only and is not an individualized recommendation. This information neither is, nor should be construed as, an offer or a solicitation of an offer, or a recommendation, to buy, sell, or hold any security, financial product, or instrument discussed herein, or to open a particular account or to engage in any specific investment strategy. E*TRADE Securities LLC, Member SIPC, and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Member SIPC, are separate and affiliated subsidiaries of Morgan Stanley. | | | Written by Neal Freyman, Jamie Wilde, and Matty Merritt Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here. WANT MORE BREW? Industry news, with a sense of humor → | ADVERTISE // CAREERS // SHOP // FAQ
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