☕ Record breaking

Meals of the rich and famous are taking over TikTok... July 08, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [Laundry Sauce]( Good morning. PSA for anyone getting married and preparing to send a million thank-you notes: The price of a USPS first-class “Forever” stamp is rising from 63 cents to 66 cents, effective tomorrow. You don’t hear much about stamp inflation, but it’s been soaring. The price of stamps has jumped 32% since early 2019, when they cost just 50 cents. Then again, the USPS has to make up for emptier mailboxes somehow. Volume for first-class mail (which includes letters) has plunged 51% since 2006. Gen Z: You saved tinned fish and cottage cheese. Now bring back pen pals. —Abby Rubenstein, Molly Liebergall, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 13,660.72 -0.13% S&P 4,398.95 -0.29% Dow 33,734.88 -0.55% 10-Year 4.068% +3.0 bps Bitcoin $30,310.68 +1.21% Samsung 69,900 KRW -2.37% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 2:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks [ended]( the short week on a sour note yesterday as investors digested job market data that makes it likely the Fed will hike interest rates this month. Though the US added fewer than expected jobs last month, wages grew faster than anticipated, so it looks like JPow and friends can push rates higher without causing a recession. - Stock spotlight: Samsung fell yesterday after revealing that its [profits]( dropped 96% last quarter, giving the company its smallest quarterly profit since 2009 as it continues to sit on more memory chips than the market wants.  ENVIRONMENT [The heat is on]( [A graph of the average global temperature]( Average global temperatures via Climatereanalyzer.org If you spent the past few days fanning your pits while crouching in front of a cranked-up AC and housing down cherry Icees, get used to it. Earth just keeps shattering [temperature records](. - Monday ranked as Earth’s hottest day in 100,000+ years. Then the globe pulled a three-peat as each subsequent day through Thursday broke the heat record set the day before, making July 3–6 the hottest four days on record. - The steamy week followed the warmest June ever, according to the World Meteorological Organization. - And it’s no better down where it’s wetter: Sea ice levels off the coast of Antarctica have hit record lows, and the North Atlantic has recently surged passed its previous high temps…by a lot. Why now? According to researchers, the rising mercury can be attributed to a combination of global climate change from human greenhouse gas emissions and the naturally occurring El Niño phenomenon, which raises temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and tends to bring hotter weather with it. So, we’re likely in for even more blistering days as July progresses—and possibly even the hottest year ever. The dangerous heat levels are already impacting how we live and work. - Heat safety has been a major sticking point in the ongoing, contentious negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters Union that represents its drivers, causing the company to tentatively agree to air condition its trucks. - Beijing halted all outside work this week as the city experienced its longest streak of days above 95 degrees Fahrenheit since 1961. But there are hopeful signs: If it’s going to keep getting hotter, we’ll have to figure out how to deal with it while also weaning ourselves off the fossil fuels that contribute to climate change—and sweltering Texas has provided an example of how that might work. The state’s been able to keep its power grid running despite the heat wave thanks in large part to its [solar and wind]( energy supply.—AR   TOGETHER WITH LAUNDRY SAUCE [Stop to smell the laundry]( [Laundry Sauce]( Yep, we said laundry. Because you deserve extraordinary scents that make you want to stop, take a huge sniff, and appreciate the fact that your clothes smell amazing. [Laundry Sauce]( partnered with fragrance experts to create the best-smelling laundry pods on the planet. Their pods turn the mundane task of laundry into something exciting—so boring laundry can’t hold you back anymore. Who says laundry has to be a chore? Laundry Sauce [elevates your everyday]( by adding a touch of luxury to your laundry so you can feel special without dropping a pretty penny. [Sauce up your life](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [A Ukrainian flag above a destroyed building]Daniel Carde/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images It’s been 500 days since Russia invaded Ukraine. As the conflict [drags on]( the fighting has reached a stalemate, though Ukraine is hoping to turn the tide with its recently launched counteroffensive. That effort got a boost yesterday when the US made the controversial decision to send Ukraine [cluster munitions]( which are small scattered bombs that are banned in many countries because of their potential to harm civilians. Whoever ultimately wins, the war has already been a humanitarian disaster—the UN estimates at least 9,000 civilians have been killed. It has also impacted the global economy as most Western businesses have pulled out of Russia, and several nations have worked to wean themselves off Russian oil. You’ll need an appointment to score an Apple headset. Desperate to strap Apple’s $3,500 Vision Pro onto your face? Know that the mixed-reality headset’s [rollout]( is going to be a slow one. Bloomberg reports that the iPhone-maker will require in-store appointments and that initially these will only be available at stores in major cities. Apple has also scaled back its ambitions: According to the Financial Times, after previously projecting it would sell a million headsets in the first year, the company is now planning for just 400,000. But, if you’re willing to wait, Apple is said to be planning a cheaper version and a second-gen Vision Pro for 2026. It’s Taylor Swift’s world, we’re just living in it. If you somehow missed why the entire internet spent the day obsessing over a one-line lyric change to a 13-year-old song, it’s because Swift dropped her [rerelease]( of Speak Now at midnight yesterday. The new version nixes the controversial reference to an actress being better known for “things that she does on a mattress” in “Better Than Revenge.” It’s the third re-recorded album Swift has put out since announcing plans to revisit her first six to get control after the master recordings were sold to her enemy Scooter Braun—and the first two have outsold their original releases. In even better revenge, the singer’s Eras Tour is on track to rake in a record-breaking $1 billion soon, according to the WSJ. SOCIAL MEDIA [POV: Your office is a billionaire’s beachside kitchen]( [Private chefs make their work public on TikTok]( Meredith Hayden (@wishbonekitchen) via TikTok It’s summertime, baby, which means ice cream trucks are jingling, Friday beers are flowing, and private chefs are baking zucchini bread in the Hamptons. Equipped with unfettered access to their employers’ herb gardens, kitchen whizzes are heading to the beach with the rich and famous—and they’re giving us drool-worthy glimpses into their homes and stomachs (but usually not their names) on TikTok. The platform said views of videos tagged with #privatechef have more than quadrupled since last June to surpass the one-billion mark, as people discover the escapist thrill of watching someone feed the Kardashian kids for a living. - These TikToks frequently feature white-marble kitchen islands, multi-thousand-dollar organic grocery hauls, and heirloom tomato pies. - If Hamptons summer is the Olympics for private chefs, as one culinary vlogger [told]( the Wall Street Journal, then Meredith Hayden (@wishbonekitchen) is Michael Phelps. She’s got more than 1.7 million followers and is credited with starting the “day in my life as a private chef in the Hamptons” [trend]( (which now includes other luxurious destinations). The job is harder than short-form clips make it seem—sometimes requiring 17 straight hours of meal prep and a “[client asked, client gets]( mentality. But business is booming, and up-and-coming private chefs have started leveraging TikTok to bypass the it’s-who-you-know barriers to entry and book steady client work and brand deals.—ML   FROM THE CREW [The Crew]( Remember when Dunkin’ was “Dunkin Donuts”? From football teams to pancake mixes, a lot of household names have opted for new monikers over the past few years. Whether branding has been tweaked or changed completely, learn why top companies have decided to edit or scrap outdated or offensive logos and names. [Read the story here](. GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [The running of the bulls in Pamplona]Ruben Albarran/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Stat: Thousands of people put themselves in a position to be chased by angry bovines yesterday on the [first day]( of the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Though 16 people have died in the running since 1910, per the AP, no one was gored yesterday, and only six people suffered minor injuries. The dangers of the run don’t seem to stop people from flocking to the Spanish city to live out their Hemingway-inspired dreams—1.7 million tourists came to the festival last year, and even more are expected this year now that all Covid restrictions have been lifted. Quote: “We seek healthy economic competition that is not winner-take-all but that, with a fair set of rules, can benefit both countries over time.” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is on a high-stakes trip to China, and while there’s no denying things are tense between China and the US, she [insisted]( to Chinese Premier Li Qiang yesterday that the global economy is big enough for the both of us. But not all of Yellen’s words were so friendly: She also told American business executives operating in the region that she’d relayed her concern over recent “punitive actions” China has taken against US businesses to the nation’s leaders. Read: The Barbie movie is about more than selling dolls for Mattel. ([Bloomberg]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [China’s crackdown]( on domestic tech companies appears to be over after it wrapped up major investigations, fining Ant Financial $985 million and Tencent $415 million. - [Binance]( is losing key execs, including its general counsel and chief strategy officer, and laying off staff as regulators close in on the crypto exchange. - [A Canadian judge]( ruled that a thumbs-up emoji can be a legally binding agreement, Insider reports. - [Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter]( celebrated their 77th anniversary yesterday, extending their record as the US’s longest-married first couple. - [Britney Spears]( got into a kerfuffle with Victor Wembanyama’s security guards. Only in Vegas. RECS [Saturday To-Do List graphic] Eat like a movie star: A [cookbook]( from studio A24 features recipes like The Breakfast Club’s Pixy Stix sandwich and Buddy the elf’s breakfast spaghetti. Hot to trot: Watch (human) grandparents [race]( on a track that usually hosts the ponies. The oldest thing in the new Indiana Jones film: Here’s the real story behind the [Archimedes Dial](. Don’t throw things at the singer: An [etiquette guide]( for attending summer concerts. E-bikes made E-Z: As the [No. 1 certified e-bike carrier]( Upway delivers top-notch brands right to your door within 1 week. [Use code BREW200 for $200 off]( orders $500+.* *This is sponsored advertising content. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew crossword: Visual clues are back in today’s crossword, and anyone who’s been to Disney parks will recognize them instantly. [Play the puzzle here](. Open House Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section not interested in the whole “starving artist” thing. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price. [Estate in Edmonds, Washington along Puget Sound.]Northwest Multiple Listing Service/Zillow Today’s [estate]( is in Edmonds, Washington. It’s about 18 miles north of Seattle, near Puget Sound. The home is 4,328 square feet, includes a separate artist studio, and is surrounded by a big gate, so you can keep out anyone who says “my toddler can make that” when you show them your abstract pieces. Amenities include: - 3 beds, 4 baths - Wood-paneled basement - Your own private babbling brook How much for Pacific Northwest serenity? 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=4904f90a]( AROUND THE BREW [Run a tight ship]( [ ]( Ten-hut! [Our New Manager Bootcamp course]( kicks off on July 10. If you’re new to management and want to breeze through the challenges ahead, don’t miss it. Want to read interviews with top tech leaders from companies like Ancestry, Clockwise, and more who are innovating in their spaces? [Subscribe to Tech Brew](. 🛒 Could AI make for easier ordering? Amazon and Panera think so. [Get the full scoop]( from Retail Brew. ANSWER $7 million Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( and [Molly Liebergall]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Take The Brew to work - Marketers: [Marketing Brew]( - Corporate: [CFO Brew](  [HR Brew]( - Tech: [IT Brew](  [Tech Brew]( - Retailers: [Retail Brew]( - Healthcare: [Healthcare Brew]( Get smarter in just 5 minutes - Money & Career: [Money Scoop](  [Money With Katie](  [Raise]( Business education without the BS - Programs in [Business Essentials]( [Analytics]( and [Leadership]( Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. Please Note: We've recently updated our Privacy Policy. 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