☕️ Time for change

Plus a Q&A you don't want to miss... July 24, 2020 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( [Daily Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [Hint Water]( Good morning. During a global pandemic, you learn to take the small wins. So even though Mulan was pushed back indefinitely, we thank you Taylor Swift for gracing us with a new album. Brb gonna go look contemplatively at a tree and give it a listen. MARKETS NASDAQ 10,461.42 - 2.29% S&P 3,235.65 - 1.23% DJIA 26,652.20 - 1.31% GOLD 1,883.90 + 1.01% 10-YR 0.576% - 2.10 bps OIL 41.16 - 1.77% *As of market close - Markets: The S&P had its [worst day]( in nearly a month as earnings season rolls on. - COVID-19 update: The U.S. crossed 4 million coronavirus cases yesterday. That means at least one in 82 people in the U.S. have been infected, [Reuters calculates](. - 2020: President Trump [canceled]( parts of the Republican National Convention taking place in Jacksonville, FL, next month. MONEY [It's Time for Change]( [Penny, nickel] Francis Scialabba How many years of bad luck do we get for fishing a penny out of the wishing well? U.S. businesses are facing an unprecedented (sorry) [shortage of loose change]( as a result of the pandemic. What happened? In addition to slowed production from the U.S. Mint, customers have been increasingly buying things online while holed up at home. Which means a big chunk of the estimated $47.8 billion worth of coins in circulation...isn’t circulating. As cash registers run short, it’s become a challenge for [local laundromats]( and the nation’s biggest retailers alike: - Walmart made some self-checkout registers card-only. - Kroger is letting customers load change onto loyalty cards for future purchases. - Wawa is letting you swap a roll of dimes for a hoagie in some locations. Some banks are now paying customers to unload their piggy banks. A handful of retailers are trying to make the most of the disruption: Kroger, Wawa, and Texas grocer HEB are helping customers donate leftover cents to charities.  The U.S. isn’t alone in facing currency circulation problems. Argentina is combatting 40%+ inflation and a national mint at capacity by [importing]( printed bills for the first time in years. That’s a pricey penny With coins in short supply, the anti-penny crowd is once again [finding its voice](. For 16 years, rising metal costs have made it more expensive to make and ship pennies than they’re worth. The two-cent price tag amounted to a loss of $72+ million for the Mint last year. Nickels cost 7.62 cents apiece. - The pro-penny lobby argues dropping the penny would burden businesses and disproportionately hurt low-income Americans. The government has thought about it. The Mint [estimated]( the U.S. could save $250 million over a decade by suspending penny production.  Looking ahead…the Fed’s U.S. Coin Task Force is expected to release recommendations this month. In the meantime, consider putting your coins back into circulation by donating or converting them to gift cards (Amazon, Starbucks, Lowe’s, and Best Buy do it free). �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew!&body=Businesses%20and%20Banks%20Are%20Running%20Short%20on%20Coins:%200A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%E2%80%94Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley,%20daily.%20 ECONOMY [We Like Our Showdowns Congressional]( [Capitol Hill with a long receipt] Francis Scialabba There’s a major one brewing over the next round of pandemic relief. Yesterday, Senate Republicans continued [hammering out]( a set of initiatives aimed at buoying the economy as the latest infection spike threatens to sink it (again). - Also yesterday, the Labor Department reported that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose week-over-week for the first time since March. What’s inside this relief package Senate Republicans would launch another round of direct payments of $1,200 for people earning up to $75,000 (plus $500 per dependent child), [pouring]( $300 billion in lighter fluid on the smoldering economy. - The plan also includes $70 billion for schools, $16 billion for new coronavirus testing, and added tax credits and funding for the infamous Paycheck Protection Program. House Democrats’ proposal would continue the extra $600/week in unemployment benefits past its expiration date on July 31. Senate Republicans also want to extend the income supplement, but at a lower level, potentially 70% of people’s lost wages. Looking ahead...Republicans plan on unveiling the plan early next week. Congress will likely miss the deadline to renew extra unemployment benefits before they expire. �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew!&body=Showdown%20Brews%20Over%20Republicans'%20Upcoming%20Coronavirus%20Aid%20Proposal:%200A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%E2%80%94Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley,%20daily.%20 SPORTS [Brew Exclusive: The PLL's Paul Rabil on Navigating a Sports League Through the Pandemic](#) [PLL Paul Rabil] Twitter If yesterday’s MLB action didn’t scratch your sports itch, allow us to present a different, faster-paced option. Tomorrow, the Premier Lacrosse League kicks off its Championship Series—a winner-take-all tournament held over 16 days on a single campus in Herriman, UT. If you thought starting a new sports league was hard, try navigating one through a global pandemic. The Brew sat down with PLL cofounder and midfielder, Paul Rabil, to understand how he rolled with the punches and got his fledgling league back on the field. [Check out the conversation](. SPONSORED BY HINT WATER [Water...With Pizzazz](#) [Hint Water]( At first we thought the refreshing fruit-infused deliciousness that is [Hint Water]( was too dang good to be true. Water with the flamboyance of an all-day parade? Water with, dare we say, pizzazz? Naw, can’t be real. But Hint is very real and very tasty. And let us just reiterate, because it’s fun to type, pizzazz.  Hint packs [all the hydration]( of regular H2O and tastes 18,027,346 times better than the boring stuff you begrudgingly sip on and use to feed your plants. The best part? Hint delivers refreshment without sugar, diet sweeteners, calories, or preservatives. It only delivers pizzazz. And fruit flavor, but mostly pizzazz. That should be enough to get you to [click here]( and order delicious hydration directly to your door. But Hint also has a super cool deal for Brew readers. New customers get to enjoy 36 bottles of water for $36—yep, just $1 per bottle. [That’s the most pizzazz you can get for $36—guaranteed](. ANTITRUST [Sundar Searching “How to Testify”](#) [Google in the antitrust spotlight] Francis Scialabba This week, the Brew is previewing next Monday's antitrust hearing by profiling each Big Tech company at the table. Company name: Google Volunteered as tribute: CEO Sundar Pichai The charges: We know Google for products like Maps and Gmail (and a little thing called Search). But the tech giant also has a system of digital ad buying products that dominate the market—about one-third of all online ad spending goes to Google. Lawmakers and regulators are wondering if that’s too much. The rebuttal: Google says online ad players don’t have to use its products. Plus, antitrust law is about consumer protection...and it’s hard to see how Google’s online ad system harms consumers. [Read the full story here](. SPORTS [Tokyo Tries to Keep the Torch Burning]( [Tokyo] Clive Rose/Getty Images Tonight, we were supposed to be huddled around the TV saying things like, “Do you think the Danish handball team has a shot at gold?” and “So that’s where Micronesia is.”  But like everything else, the pandemic caused the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and its opening ceremony, which was scheduled for today. Where do things stand? The Olympics are slated to start one year from yesterday—July 23, 2021—with a full squad of athletes. But doubt is starting to creep in. The president of the organizing committee said Wednesday that if the current situation with COVID-19 continues, Tokyo [can't hold the games](. The International Olympic Committee has pledged it won’t postpone the Olympics again—they’d just be canceled. Zoom out: Japan reported a [record high]( in new daily coronavirus cases yesterday, and the population seems about as excited to play host as Larry David. A [new poll]( this week showed only 24% of people in Japan want the Olympics to go on as scheduled next year. �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew!&body=One%20Year%20Out%20From%20Olympics,%20Tokyo%20Organizers%20Try%20to%20Stay%20Positive:%200A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%E2%80%94Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley,%20daily.%20 QUIZ [T-Quiz](#) [Weekly news quiz]( What do Elon Musk, a Mars orbiter, and a record-setting IPO have in common? They all appear on our [Weekly News Quiz](. See if you can go 5/5. WHAT ELSE IS BREWING - [E-Trade]( reported a 267% annual increase in daily active revenue trades last quarter. - [SpaceX]( is in talks to raise up to $1 billion at a $44 billion valuation, per multiple reports. - [Twitter’s]( average daily user growth increased a record 34% last quarter, but advertising dried up—revenue fell about 20%. - [American Airlines]( and Southwest are reconsidering the flights they planned to add over the next two months. - [Curaleaf Holding's CEO](: Cannabis demand is at an all-time high. - [Seattle’s]( new NHL team has a name: the Kraken. [Washington’s]( NFL team will reportedly go by the “Washington Football Team” for now. BREW'S BETS Make ‘shroom for this coffee. [Four Sigmatic]( coffee is, well, coffee, plus mushrooms like Lion's Mane and Chaga for extra productivity AND immune support. It’s organic, vegan, gluten-free, and oh yeah, tastes like normal coffee. [Get up to 38% off plus free shipping right here](.* Your connection to real estate investing. [Jamestown Invest]( is a digital platform that can connect nearly anyone to rigorously-vetted, institutional-quality real estate for as little as $2,500. Their online process takes only 10 minutes and three easy steps. [Get the details here](.* Follow Friday: History buffs should follow [Letters of Note]( on Twitter; [History Cool Kids](on Instagram; [r/100yearsago]( and [r/AskHistorians]( on Reddit; and [@darrkblue]( and [@slaviccaesar]( on TikTok. An update from the Brewnited States of America: - Cofounder and CEO Alex Lieberman gave [an interview]( discussing how this here newsletter went from a humble PDF in a college dorm room to a growing and profitable media biz. - Speaking of dorm rooms, Brew U is looking for campus ambassadors to spread the word of the Brew around colleges. If you 1) love Morning Brew 2) want to have an amazing learning experience this semester, and 3) won’t tell your friends we’re old, it's a perfect fit. [Learn more here](. *This is sponsored advertising content FRIDAY PUZZLE The following four groups of letters are nonsense. But, if you add just one letter to each group then rearrange the letters, you'll create four real words. The letter you need to add is the same across all four groups. What is it? AEEHRT AGINNR CEELMO DEFLNORU SHARE THE BREW When you share the Brew, you earn rewards. From Brew swag like t-shirts and coffee mugs to exclusive content, we've got something for everyone in our premier rewards program. [Click here to get free swag.]( Hit the button below to start sharing the Brew. [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=4904f90a]( FRIDAY PUZZLE ANSWER The letter is W...how many of you got it? 1. Weather 2. Warning 3. Welcome 4. Wonderful ([Source]() ** A Note From Jamestown Invest Investing in Jamestown Invest 1, LLC’s common shares is speculative and involves substantial risks. The “Risk Factors” section of the [offering circular]( contains a detailed discussion of risks that should be considered before you invest. These risks include, but are not limited to, illiquidity, complete loss of invested capital, limited operating history, conflicts of interest, blind pool risk, and any public health emergency. In addition to the foregoing risks, the adverse economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are unknown and could materially impact this investment. Further, there is no assurance that Jamestown Invest 1, LLC will be able to achieve its investment objectives or to access targeted investments like those identified. Securities offered through North Capital Private Securities member FINRA/SIPC.             Written by [Jamie Wilde](, [Neal Freyman](, [Eliza Carter](, and [Alex Hickey]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. WANT MORE BREW?  Retail newsletter → [Retail Brew](  Tech newsletter → [Emerging Tech Brew](  Marketing newsletter → [Marketing Brew](  Quarantine newsletter → [The Essentials](  Business podcast → [Business Casual]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright ©2020 Morning Brew. All rights reserved. 40 Exchange Pl., Suite #300, New York, NY 10005