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Why did Square buy Tidal? March 05, 2021 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( [Daily Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [Monogram]( Good morning. Here’s a fancy word to drop in conversation today: antepenultimate, which means “third from last.” Let’s use it in a sentence: Today is the antepenultimate day for our Brew water bottle giveaway. That means on Sunday, your opportunity to win this limited-edition swag item will close. How can you snag one? Get five other people to sign up for the Brew this week. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Lakers starting lineup or the folks in your #dogpics Slack channel—once you hit that five number, the water bottle is yours. [Start sharing here](. MARKETS NASDAQ 12,723.47 - 2.11% S&P 3,768.47 - 1.34% DOW 30,924.14 - 1.11% GOLD 1,694.90 - 1.22% 10-YR 1.564% + 7.90 bps OIL 64.02 + 4.47% *As of market close. [Here's what these numbers mean](. - Energy: Oil prices shot up more than 4% after OPEC countries and their allies decided against [increasing output](. Earlier this week, gas prices hit an average of $2.71/gallon, their [highest level]( since 2019. - Markets: The Brew prides itself on brevity, but even we are going to need more than two sentences to talk about what happened. More in a sec. - Covid: On Wednesday, the US averaged [more than 2 million vaccines]( being administered daily for the first time. Let's gooooooooooo. ECONOMY [Maybe Don't Check Your 401(k) Today]( [Jerome Powell sitting at a desk looking concerned ]( Alex Wong/Getty Images Yesterday, the S&P notched its third straight loss and the Nasdaq [turned negative]( on the year, briefly falling into the dreaded "correction territory"—a 10% drop from its most recent closing high. Like our declining attention spans and Soylent, you can blame this one on Big Tech, whose shares, once the biggest winners of our WFH world, have [dragged]( the indexes down. - Other industries are doing better, particularly "cyclical" stocks like finance and energy that typically gain during periods of fast growth, inflation, and higher interest rates. Speaking of fast growth, inflation, and higher interest rates... They've really spooked markets the last few weeks. As Congress nears another round of stimulus, investors expect supercharged economic growth (nearly 5% this year) and more inflation. Inflation worries have sent [bond yields](—still low by historic standards—spiking, making investors worry that the Fed will raise interest rates to put a brake on the economy and keep inflation in check. Yesterday, they turned to Fed Chair Jerome Powell for a reassuring hug. In an interview with the WSJ, Powell [said]( that while he expects some inflation ahead, he doesn't think it'll last and the Fed will keep interest rates near zero.  - That sounded reassuring, but investors are still feeling nervous about inflation and the Fed potentally hiking rates. They continued to drop stocks and bonds, sending yields higher. What is Powell seeing? Before he raises interest rates, Powell wants inflation to hover around the Fed’s 2% target and see unemployment low again. He doesn’t expect either of those to happen this year. - The consumer price index, a measure of annual inflation, was most recently [measured at]( 1.4%. - Last week, jobless claims rose to 745,000. Private payrolls added 117,000 jobs in February, ADP [estimates](, well shy of the 225,000 economists predicted. The Labor Department releases its February jobs numbers today. Interest rates aren't the only monetary policy tool. The Fed [could]( also try buying longer-term bonds to push yields down, or capping yields and committing to buying as many bonds as needed to keep things there. Bottom line: "We will be patient," Powell [said](. "We're still a long way from our goals." �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=Nasdaq%20Turns%20Negative%2C%2010-Year%20Rises%20as%20Fed%20Sticks%20to%20Status%20Quo%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fstories%2F2021%2F03%2F04%2Fnasdaq-turns-negative-10year-rises-fed-sticks-status-quo%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%2C%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3Da905682a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A MUSIC [When You Find Out Square Bought Tidal]( [RapperJay-Z looking confused at an LA Clippers game ]( Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images Yesterday, Square CEO Jack Dorsey [said]( his company is buying music streaming service Tidal for about $300 million in cash and stock. We're guessing you read that sentence and thought...got it. Cool. One question: What? First, the backstory: Tidal, which was bought by rapper Jay-Z (and a few other artists) in 2015, aimed to compete with Spotify and Apple Music by offering exclusive music and videos. But those big competitors have mostly edged it out. - In 2017, Jay-Z [sold]( 33% of Tidal to Sprint in a deal that valued Tidal at $600 million. He bought that stake back as part of the Square acquisition. The blueprint: Dorsey says the goal is for Square to "make the economy work for musicians" like the payments company has for retailers. That could mean integrating merchandise sales, hosting collaboration tools, or even—hope you're sitting down, NFT content ahead—helping musicians get more bang for their tunes by creating [non-fungible tokens]( of their work. As part of the deal, Jay-Z will join Square's board. Nicki, our DMs are open. �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=Why%20Jack%20Dorsey%E2%80%99s%20Fintech%20Square%20Bought%20Tidal%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fstories%2F2021%2F03%2F04%2Fjack-dorseys-fintech-square-bought-tidal%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%2C%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3Da905682a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A ENTERTAINMENT [Theaters Reopen at Matinee Capacity]( [NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 23: A view of the Regal E-Walk movie theat...]( Noam Galai/Getty Images There are two things New York City and San Francisco can agree on: 1) LA is not a "true city" and 2) it's time to reopen movie theaters. SF opened theaters Wednesday and NYC [lifted the curtains]( today...with pandemic precautions, of course. - Theaters are capped at 25% capacity. - Wearing a mask is required, except for when you're downing nachos and Coke in NYC. In SF, you can't buy any concessions, but...doesn't everyone sneak in candy anyway? New York and California are the film industry's two biggest American markets With theaters in both states closed for nearly a year, Hollywood mostly paused blockbuster releases. But now that local and state governments are relaxing business restrictions, studios will finally aim to unleash the movies they've avoided sending straight to streaming services, like the James Bond film No Time to Die (scheduled for release on 10/8) and Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch (TBD). - The box office's biggest film this weekend: Tenet. In true Chrisopher Nolan fashion, Warner Bros. is disregarding time to re-release it following a disappointing [September debut](. Zoom out: The struggling cinema industry is getting some hopeful plot twists. Over the Lunar New Year, China [shattered]( box office records, and last weekend, Tom & Jerry [posted]( the second-best opening of any US release during the pandemic. �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=NYC%20and%20San%20Francisco%20Reopen%20Theaters%20at%2025%25%20Capacity%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fstories%2F2021%2F03%2F04%2Fnyc-san-francisco-reopen-theaters-25-capacity%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%2C%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3Da905682a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A SPONSORED BY MONOGRAM [When It’s Right, You Can Feel It in Your Bones](#) [Monogram]( Sometimes when a solid investment opportunity comes along, you can just feel its potential to your very core. In this particular case, tune in to what your joints are telling you. [Monogram]( is aiming to disrupt the $19.6 billion joint replacement industry by making joints that are custom-designed for patients. Their robot makes implants tailored to each patient’s needs, ensuring better care. So instead of the one-size-fits-all orthopedic implants that have remained the same for 40 to 50 years, Monogram is creating [high-precision, 3D-printed, patient-specific implants]( and precision placing with state-of-the-art surgical robotics. Now to the investment part: You can invest in Monogram right now! Why right now? Because this raise is for a limited time (i.e., not forever), so [invest in the future of orthopedic medicine while you still can](. GRAB BAG [Key Performance Indicators]( [MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 28: Owner Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks ...]( Michael Reaves/Getty Images Quote: "Because we can!" Mark Cuban explained to DealBook why the Dallas Mavericks are [now accepting dogecoin](, a cryptocurrency that originates from a meme, as a method of payment for tickets and merch. "Sometimes in business you have to do things that are fun," he said. Stat: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage [topped 3%]( for the first time since last July, Freddie Mac revealed yesterday. It might signal the end of a period of record-low borrowing costs, which contributed to a refinancing frenzy and house-buying boom. Read: The era of audio creators has arrived. ([New York Times]() �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=Key%20Performance%20Indicators%3A%20March%205%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fstories%2F2021%2F03%2F04%2Fkey-performance-indicators-march-5%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%2C%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3Da905682a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A QUIZ [Non-Quizzable Tokens](#) [Weekly news quiz]( Francis Scialabba The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew's Weekly News Quiz has been compared to cracking open an egg with one hand—successfully. It's that satisfying. [Ace the quiz](. WHAT ELSE IS BREWING - [BUZZ](, an exchange traded fund (ETF) tracking stocks that get social media hype, launched yesterday. - [The Kings of Leon]( will become the first band to release an album in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) today. [Here's what an NFT is](. - [The US]( suspended tariffs on UK goods, including Scotch whisky, as the two countries prepare to negotiate a broader trade deal. - [Paramount+]( debuted yesterday as the latest entrant in the streaming wars. [Read our piece]( to learn why (seemingly) every streaming service has a plus sign in its name. - [Gap]( said it would rebound to sales growth this year. - [The "new normal" ads]( are here and they are unsettling. BREW'S BETS Human-grade dog food without the fridge. TLDR: more time for you, more time with Fido. [Sundays]( is the only air-dried, human-grade dog food. It's all-natural, takes zero prep, and it beat competitors 40–0 in a blind taste test. Great odds. [Save 35% with code BREW](.* Running a small business is no small task. [The SumUp Plus Card Reader]( is the most affordable, easy-to-use payment solution designed for any business. The 3-in-1 portable reader costs just $19 and accepts swipe, chip, and contactless (NFC) payments. [Get started with SumUp today](.* Follow Friday: Gen Z gets enough TikTok mindshare. Check out the app's coolest Boomers and beyond, like [Nick Cho](, [Walter Clair](, [grandma_droniak](, [Jess](, and[j-dog](. Rabbit hole: If you haven't checked out the Comedy Actors Roundtable series, [now's a great time to start](. Two words: [color explorer](. *This is sponsored advertising content GAMES [Friday Puzzle](#) Let’s try another one of those “Fermi problems,” where you have to use logic to estimate a really large number. Here’s the question: How much revenue did the Holland Tunnel collect in tolls in 2018? - For some background, the tunnel runs between New York City and New Jersey, and charged $15/car in 2018. E-ZPass users received a $2.50 discount during peak hours and a $4.50 discount during off-peak hours. - Plus, it only charges one way, from NJ to NYC. Alright, see you back here in an hour. 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=a905682a]( ANSWER $202.7 million. If you got close, let us know your methodology!             Written by [Alex Hickey](, [Eliza Carter](, [Jamie Wilde](, and [Neal Freyman]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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