☕ Going faster

A mall staple has gone bankrupt... April 23, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [GACW]( Good morning. Getting customer feedback is important. Without feedback, the NYT would never know when a Connections category was too hard. And the McRib would never have come back. Which is why we’re requesting your feedback on the newsletter. If you have five minutes, please [take this survey]( that asks for your thoughts on the Brew, from the layout to the topic selection. When you do, you’ll be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a $250 AmEx gift card. Thanks! Our No. 1 goal is to make the Brew the best experience it can be for you. (Here’s the [survey link]( one more time). —Sam Klebanov, Molly Liebergall, Cassandra Cassidy, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 15,451.31 +1.11% S&P 5,010.60 +0.87% Dow 38,239.98 +0.67% 10-Year 4.623% +0.8 bps Bitcoin $66,406.20 +2.25% Tesla $142.05 -3.40% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 11:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Tech stocks staged a Robert Downey Jr.-level comeback, helping [snap]( six-day losing streaks for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq as investors await earnings from Tesla, Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet this week. Tesla will be under particularly intense pressure when it reports later today—shares of the EV maker sank to their lowest level since January 2023.  TRANSPORTATION [High-speed rail is coming to the US (not a joke)]( [Brightline West train model]( West Good news for SoCal lovebirds impatient to reach the spontaneous marriage capital ASAP: Construction on a high-speed rail line connecting the LA area and Vegas [kicked off]( yesterday. Brightline West, a subsidiary of the company behind the Brightline Miami-Orlando rail link, is undertaking the $12 billion project, hoping to launch service in time for the LA Olympics in 2028. Billed as “America’s first true high-speed passenger rail system,” Brightline West expects its electric trains to: - Dash between the LA metro area and Vegas in just over 2 hours, compared with a 4-hour-minimum traffic-troubled drive. - Carry at least 11 million passengers on the 218-mile journey per year, with 25 trains each way daily. It’ll be quick: Reaching 186 mph, its locomotives will be the fastest in the country, outspeeding the Amtrak Acela, which maxes out at just over 150 mph on parts of the Northeast Corridor between Boston and DC. The US plays catch-up The US has been a slow coach in the high-speed rail department, with just a few hundred miles of tracks that allow for speeds above 100 mph. Meanwhile, in China: - About 26,000 miles of high-speed rail have been built since 2008, connecting major population centers and remote parts of the country. - The speed on a 1,050-mile train ride from Beijing to Harbin averaged 211 miles per hour as of 2022, per CNN. Other countries such as Spain, France, and Japan also have extensive high-speed rail networks that cover much of their territory. Big picture: Brightline West isn’t the only high-speed train on the way in the US—there are [multiple rail projects]( in the works across the country, including an effort to speed up the Acela and a proposed Houston-Dallas link. But many plans don’t get beyond the blueprint stage, derailed by cost overruns and legal challenges.—SK PRESENTED BY GACW [Last chance to spin this wheel]( [GACW]( No need to buy a vowel—[GACW]( has this one solved. They’ve reinvented the wheel, earning them [TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023]( honors. Now they’re [inviting investors to join them]( for just one more week. Why reinvent the wheel? Rubber tires are expensive, wear out quickly, and fill up landfills. Mining companies pay $75k every six months to replace truck tires. GACW’s wheel can save them millions. It lasts the lifetime of the vehicle and is 100% recyclable. That’s why GACW has already made $3m+ in sales. Now they’re ready to take on the $280b tire market with wheels for mining, construction, the military, and more. Don’t miss your chance: [Become one of GACW’s earliest shareholders by April 29](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Donald Trump in court during his criminal hush money trial]Victor J. Blue/Getty Images The first ever criminal trial of a former US president is underway. Prosecutors [kicked off]( the trial of Donald Trump yesterday by arguing that the ex-president committed election fraud in 2016 by paying off adult film actress Stormy Daniels to bury an embarrassing story about her relationship with him in the lead-up to the vote. Trump’s attorney countered, “There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It’s called democracy.” The former publisher of the National Enquirer, who allegedly engaged in “catch-and-kill” schemes to hide damaging information about Trump, briefly testified as the first witness in the case, and will continue today. Columbia took classes virtual amid pro-Palestine protests. Columbia University opted not to have [in-person classes]( yesterday as tensions rose on campus after the arrest last week of more than 100 protesters calling on the school to divest from companies connected to Israel, and Jewish leaders expressed concern for students’ safety following antisemitic incidents near Columbia. It’s not the only Ivy roiled by protests: Police arrested 47 demonstrators supporting Palestine at [Yale]( yesterday. Dozens of protesters were also arrested yesterday at NYU, where a “Gaza Solidarity” encampment had been set up. SCOTUS appears ready to side with cities regulating homelessness. During oral arguments yesterday, the majority of the high court [seemed prepared]( to allow cities to ban sleeping outdoors in public spaces even if they don’t provide shelter. The case, considered the most important legal battle concerning homelessness in decades, has created unusual political alliances: Some liberal cities have joined with conservative groups as they try to address public encampments. But the justices appeared divided along more typical ideological lines, with the conservative judges seeming more sympathetic to an Oregon city’s argument that local communities should be able to decide how to handle the problem. RETAIL [This store may be gone next time you hit Cinnabon]( [Express storefront]( Raedle/Getty Images After trudging through years of tanking sales that screamed “who want me?,” clothing company Express, which also owns Bonobos and UpWest, [filed]( for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday and announced it’s slimming its in-person presence. Closing sales begin today at 95 of the 500+ US Express locations and at all 10 UpWest stores. Express will continue to sell online as usual while it prepares for a potential sale to a group of property investment firms led by brand manager WHP Global. - Express had almost $1.2 billion in debt and $1.3 billion in assets as of March 2 after sustaining multimillion-dollar operating losses from 2020 through 2022. - Revenue is [down]( ~10% from 2019. What went wrong? Ever since WFH came to stay, consumers haven’t bought as much of the office formalwear that fills Express racks. The retailer [didn’t adapt]( to the broader “casualization” of fashion, while its competitors did, GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders said. Plus, its clothes just kind of look like…clothes, and fail to stand out, he argued. Zoom out: A few other retailers have already declared bankruptcy this year, including another Ohio-based store, fabric seller Joann.—ML TOGETHER WITH OONI [Ooni]( The next big thing in outdoor cooking. And yeah, we mean big. The newest addition to the Ooni oven lineup is the [supersized Koda 2 Max](. This gas-powered oven has a massive 24-inch cooking surface, two independently controlled cooking zones, and a brand-new, Bluetooth-enabled Digital Temperature Hub. [What’ll you serve up first]( STREAMING [Subscription hopping is the new channel surfing]( [Drawing of someone jumping across cords]( Scialabba Faced with rising prices and disappointing shows, an increasing number of Americans are putting “cancel streaming subscription” reminders in their GCal, the NYT reported. The number of “[serial churners]( or cost-savvy customers who hop between streaming services, is on the rise, according to new data from subscription research firm Antenna. - Nearly 30 million subscribers canceled three or more streaming subscriptions in the last two years. These customers accounted for ~40% of all new subscriptions and cancellations in 2023. - But that doesn’t mean they’re gone for good: A third resubscribed to the service they canceled within six months. Big picture: As transient subscribers become the norm, streaming services are scrambling to adapt. The planned joint sports venture from Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery seeks to emulate the success Disney has found from bundling so far. Others are turning to incentives, like Peacock. Right before hosting the NFL playoffs this year, the platform offered new subscribers a one year subscription for half price. The play was successful: The platform scored a big increase in subscribers, but its cancellation rates stayed average. Meanwhile, at Netflix…which boasts a much lower cancellation rate than any other platform, the company announced last week that it’s going to [stop reporting]( quarterly subscriber numbers, citing engagement as a better metric for success.—CC GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Bags coming off an Emirates airplane]Horacio Villalobos/Getty Images Stat: Things are starting to get back to normal for Emirates after it had to cancel hundreds of flights due to flooding from historic rainfall in Dubai, but the airline still has a major organizational challenge ahead of it: It’s got 30,000 pieces of [luggage]( that need to be returned to customers. This goes way beyond just having an Airtag in your bag to help track it down. CEO Tim Clark published a letter over the weekend apologizing to passengers whose plans were disrupted, and said a task force has been assembled to deal with the plethora of left-behind luggage. Quote: “Things already happen outside regular hours and you need to keep on top of that to some degree—but that’s very different to something happening to, say, Apple at 2am or even 4pm on a Saturday. What do you do then?” Your day-trader friend who’s always got half an eye on their second monitor when you’re trying to have a conversation could soon become even more distracted. According to the Financial Times, the New York Stock Exchange is [polling]( market participants on whether they’re eager to have 24/7 trading, as the SEC weighs a proposal from startup 24 Exchange to open an all hours exchange. While some may be jonesing to buy stocks at 3am without any of the currently necessary workarounds, one institutional broker told the newspaper that going always on could create staffing headaches. Read: Historical markers are everywhere in America. Some get history wrong. ([NPR]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [The FTC]( sued to block a $8.5 billion fashion industry acquisition. Tapestry, parent of Coach and Kate Spade, wants to acquire Capri Holdings, which owns Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Michael Kors. - [The Supreme Court]( will consider whether the Biden administration can regulate “ghost guns,” which people assemble themselves, making them harder for law enforcement to trace. - [The head of Israeli military intelligence]( stepped down over the country’s failure to anticipate the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, potentially prompting more government resignations. Separately, an [independent report]( found Israel had not provided evidence for its claims that the UN agency that administers humanitarian services in Gaza had been compromised by militants. - [Kroger and Albertsons]( agreed to sell more grocery stores in hopes of winning approval from regulators to merge. - [The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame]( named its latest inductees, and it’s probably the first time Cher, the Dave Matthews Band, and Ozzy Osbourne have been grouped together. RECS [Tuesday To Do List] To quote, or not to quote: In honor of Shakespeare Day, here are some words [invented]( by The Bard. Today I learned: A [buttload]( is an actual unit of measurement. Watch: How to make [pancakes]( so easy they can be a weekday breakfast. Have a surreal conversation: An AI Salvador Dali is [answering]( his famous lobster phone. Stuck at home? [Grab your virtual ticket]( to hear finance leaders from Mastercard, Headspace, and many more to discuss AI, toolkit strategies, and finance operations. $5.6t wellness industry pioneer: [Aura’s digital platform]( is unlocking mental wellness resources for millions. [Join execs from Spotify and Facebook and become a shareholder]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: Today’s Mini is so enjoyable you can almost taste it. [Play the Mini here](. Billy Shakespeare trivia Happy Shakespeare Day! To celebrate the baddest bard in the whole darn land, here’s a trivia category based on some of his most iconic lines. We’ll give you a famous quote from a Shakespeare play with a missing word or phrase, and you have to fill it in. 50,000 bonus points if you can name the play. - “The fault, dear Brutus, is not _______, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” - “Uneasy lies the head that ______.” - “The lady doth _______, methinks.” - “What’s past is _____.” - “_________? That which we call a rose / By any other word would smell as sweet.” - “It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of ______, / Signifying nothing.” SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=a905682a]( ANSWER - in our stars (Julius Caesar) - wears the crown (Henry IV Part 2) - protest too much (Hamlet) - prologue (The Tempest) - What’s in a name (Romeo and Juliet) - sound and fury (Macbeth) The takeaway: Shakespeare coined a plethora of phrases we still use today. Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: plethora, meaning “a large or excessive amount of.” Thanks to Mary W. from Biloxi, MS, and a whole slew of others for the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✢ A Note From GACW This is a paid advertisement for Global Air Cylinder Wheels, Inc.’s Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at [invest.globalaircylinderwheels.com](. ✤ A Note From Aura Health This is a paid advertisement for Aura Health’s Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at [invest.aurahealth.io](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( Sam Klebanov, [Molly Liebergall]( and [Cassandra Cassidy]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Get smarter in just 5 minutes - Money & Career: [Money With Katie](  [Bossy]( Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2024 Morning Brew. All rights reserved. 22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011