☕ Lighter than air

A new kind of aircraft is ready to fly... November 09, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Autonomix]( Good morning. WeWork filing for bankruptcy this week showed us what happens when your mission to “elevate the world’s consciousness” gets tripped up by poor planning. If you want to avoid similar mistakes, check out our Financial Forecasting course, which returns (online) on Nov. 13. In one week, you’ll learn how to turn high-level strategy into quantifiable metrics and, ultimately, walk away with a completed business budget. [Learn more here](. —Matty Merritt, Molly Liebergall, Cassandra Cassidy, Abigail Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 13,650.41 +0.08% S&P 4,382.78 +0.10% Dow 34,112.27 -0.12% 10-Year 4.497% -7.1 bps Bitcoin $35,849.99 +1.22% Warner Bros. $9.40 -19.04% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: You win some, you lose some: The S&P 500 kept on chugging to an eighth positive day, building on its [longest hot streak]( in two years, while the Dow inched downward, ending its best run since July. Warner Bros. Discovery suffered its worst day since March 2021 after reporting that although Barbie raked in $1.5 billion for the company, it still lost money last quarter.  REAL ESTATE [WeWork’s bankruptcy means more open floor plans]( [WeWork office in San Francisco]( San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images Not since Alexander Payne’s 2017 movie have we seen downsizing upset so many people. Yesterday in bankruptcy court, WeWork [asked]( landlords representing nearly $3 billion of the failed company’s debt to please, please, pleeease be open to renegotiating and canceling its leases. The SoftBank-backed, short-term office space rental company that heavily overused the word “community” and plunged from a $47 billion valuation in 2019 to ~$44.5 million now filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday evening. The company hopes to restructure its balance sheet and get out of numerous expensive commercial leases while keeping some locations open and operational. WeWork’s shrinking floor plan is everyone’s problem A few years ago, landlords scrambled to get the hot company to move its cool coworking tables and nitro coffee taps into their buildings. But many who succeeded will now be lucky if they only lose a couple million bucks. The building at 149 Madison Avenue in Manhattan sold in February at a $10.7 million loss after WeWork, its main tenant, left in 2020. WeWork plans to break at least 69 leases out of its 600+ locations nationwide as part of its restructuring plan. - Forty-one of those are in New York City—at its height, WeWork was the city’s biggest office tenant. WeWork’s planned closures would push 1.57 million square feet of office space back into the city’s already bloated commercial real estate market. - The Big Apple, Boston, and San Francisco are all expected to be walloped, as roughly 42% of WeWorks properties are in those cities. It couldn’t come at a worse time: Finding office tenants is about as difficult as finding a friend to give you a Friday afternoon ride to the airport. More than [20%]( of office space in the US is vacant right now, according to real estate services company JLL.—MM   PRESENTED BY AUTONOMIX [One microchip, $100b+ in market opportunities]( [Autonomix]( A device that can read nerve signals? Today’s capable tech is the size of a suitcase. But not for long: [Autonomix]( has been able to generate 3,000x-more-sensitive nerve detection utilizing a tiny microchip. And for something so small, the medical implications may be gigantic. Think of it as a potential GPS for the nervous system. By placing this microchip at the end of a catheter, Autonomix is developing technology that doctors can potentially use to detect a wide range of disorders. This could place the company at the core of an estimated [$100b market opportunity](. They’re also [planning a Nasdaq listing]( with the ticker “ATX”—and they’re inviting you to become a shareholder. [Invest in Autonomix today](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Fran Drescher happy from The Nanny]The Nanny/CBS via Giphy The actors strike is over. Your favorite show might finally start production on its new season: SAG-AFTRA reached a [tentative deal]( with Hollywood studios last night to end its strike, paving the way for the TV and movie industry to get back to work. Hollywood has been at a standstill since writers walked off the job in May (they made their own tentative deal in September), and actors joined them on the picket line in July. More details on how the actors union resolved thorny questions such as the use of AI likenesses are expected to emerge tomorrow after the union’s national board meets to discuss the agreement, which will have to be approved by the union’s members. ⚕️ FDA approves Eli Lilly weight loss drug. The agency signed off on Zepbound, a version of the company’s popular diabetes medication, Mounjaro, specifically to treat [obesity](. In one study sponsored by the company, patients taking Zepbound lost an average of 22.5% of their body weight. It’ll be a competitor to Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster Wegovy in the growing weight loss drug market, which analysts predict will be worth $100 billion by 2030. Lilly expects to begin selling the drug by the end of the year for $1,060/month. Disney plans steeper cost cuts. Disney reported its earnings yesterday, and Bob Iger showed why the company wanted him back to rule the kingdom: Disney [posted]( better-than-expected profits (though ad revenue was down) and narrowed its streaming losses. Iger said the wins mean Disney can “move beyond this period of fixing and begin building our business again.” Still, Iger wants to get even more aggressive in cutting costs and shave off an additional $2 billion of expenses. GAMING [The long-awaited ‘GTA VI’ trailer is almost here]( [Franklin and Chop from Rockstar Games’s Grand Theft Auto V]( Rockstar Games A decade after gamers first galavanted through the high-resolution streets of Los Santos in Grand Theft Auto V, we’re finally about to get a peek at the powerhouse franchise’s next installment. The first trailer for the new Grand Theft Auto video game—which people have dubbed GTA VI—will drop at the beginning of December, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of GTA-maker Rockstar Games, the company’s president [announced]( yesterday. Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software, Rockstar’s parent company, rose on the news, closing [up 5%](. What’s the big deal? GTA V is the second best-selling videogame ever (Minecraft reigns supreme). Analysts predict similar success for GTA VI and a higher price ($70), which could spell a heist-level payday for investors and retailers: - Back in May, Take-Two said they project “groundbreaking titles” to boost sales by $8 billion next year, hinting at a 2024 release for GTA VI. The company’s stock is up almost 31% this year, driven partly by [GTA VI buzz]( Reuters reported. - In 2013, GTA V did $800 million in global sales on its first day and drove a 43% increase in GameStop’s quarterly new software sales. Ten years later, [millions of copies]( are still being purchased. No spoilers: A teenager was recently [convicted in London for hacking]( into Rockstar’s servers and leaking 90+ videos and images from GTA VI in 2022.—ML   TOGETHER WITH UPWAY [Upway]( Breeze by with deals on e-bikes. Got places to be? This Bike Friday, [Upway]( wants to help get you there with up to an extra $1,200 off a selection of top e-bike brands. Each bike is rigorously inspected, tuned up, and certified by their master mechanics. [Bike Friday starts today](. TECH [There’s a new airship in town]( [Photo of the Pathfinder 1 airship from below]( LTA Research As the sun rose in California yesterday morning, so, too, did a new airship backed by Google co-founder and dirigible fanatic Sergey Brin. Pathfinder 1 flew its [first test flight]( on Wednesday after 10 years spent developing the next-gen airship full of “blood, sweat, and tears,” according to LTA Research CEO Alan Weston. With funding from the billionaire Brin, LTA (“Lighter Than Air”) has claimed huge breakthroughs in modernizing the old-fashioned technology. Longer than three Boeing 737s, the electric aircraft could usher in a new, greener era in flight: - LTA’s airships could eventually carry 200 tons of cargo each—roughly 10 times as much as a Boeing 737, according to Weston, making them a viable alternative to freight planes, ships, and trains. - Weston and Brin want to use the airships for humanitarian relief missions since the aircraft doesn’t require much infrastructure to take off or land. Looking ahead…Pathfinder 1 has a long journey of tests before it can fly irl. The plan is to move the operation from Cali to Akron, Ohio, where LTA is already planning to make a larger version of the craft. The airships will be among friends—Akron serves as the headquarters of Goodyear and its [dwindling fleet]( of advertising blimps.—CC   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [The Panda Express plane]Jim Watson/Getty Images Quote: “We knew that this day would come. It’ll take us a while, but life will go on here at the zoo.” Zookeepers expressed their sadness yesterday as they helped load the National Zoo’s three [giant pandas]( onto a plane bound for China, which recalled the animals as the loan agreement for them expired, leaving Washington, DC, panda-less for the first time in 23 years. For the 19-hour journey, Mei Xiang, Tian Tian, and Xiao Qi Ji rode on a FedEx cargo jet dubbed the Panda Express, tricked out with a giant panda decal and filled with bamboo as an in-flight snack. It’s unclear whether China will offer the zoo new pandas in a continuation of a diplomatic tradition that goes back to the Nixon administration. Stat: Despite the panda pullback, things actually appear to be getting [less tense]( between the US and China. Last month, a Morning Consult poll found that 48% of people in China considered the US an enemy or unfriendly, compared to more than 80% responding to the same question in April 2022. More than 75% also said they were concerned about US–China tensions, an issue that President Biden and China’s leader Xi Jinping will likely address when they [meet]( this weekend in San Francisco during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Xi also plans to dine with US business leaders. Read: The strange history of the world’s most cultish grocery store. ([The Cut]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Five Republican presidential hopefuls]( had a debate last night, but, once again, front-runner Donald Trump did not attend. - [Meta]( will make political advertisers on Facebook and Instagram disclose when they use AI to alter or create images ahead of the 2024 elections. - [Citigroup]( was fined $26 million for discriminating against Armenian American credit card applicants, whom it characterized as prone to fraud. - [Ivanka Trump]( testified that she wasn’t involved in putting together the financial statements at the heart of the New York civil fraud trial against her father and brothers. - [The rate]( for a 30-year mortgage finally fell last week with its biggest drop in over a year, spurring an uptick in new applications. RECS [To do list Thursday] Watch: Why Kirkland gives you a reason to [go to Costco]( (besides $1.50 hot dogs). Compare: [CT scans]( of fake AirPods vs. the real thing. Hit the gym: Beat the January rush and learn the [basics of weight training]( now. Get ready to disinfect: The [trailer]( for Peacock’s Monk movie is here. Mascara with 25k+ 5-star reviews. Turn heads at the Thanksgiving table with [this bestselling mascara](. Get lashes that look like extensions and last all day without flaking. [Brew readers save 20%]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: What do hope, Neil, and skiing have in common? It should become crystal clear in today’s Mini. [Play it here](. Three Headlines and a Lie Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than a “dry clean only” tag. Can you spot the odd one out? - These companies think legal cocaine energy drinks are the [future]( - A bear [stole]( a Taco Bell delivery order from a Florida family’s porch—and “then he came again for the soda” - The largest musical instrument in the world is [underground]( in a Virginia cave - New Cirque du Soleil show will [celebrate]( the Real Housewives franchise and other reality TV 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 We made up the one about Cirque du Soleil. They do have a new [country music show]( coming soon, though. Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: dirigible, meaning “an airship.” Thanks to Kady Fulkerson from New York City for the high-flying suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✢ A Note From Autonomix This is a paid advertisement for Autonomix’s Regulation A+ offering. Please read the offering circular at [invest.autonomix.com](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Matty Merritt]( [Molly Liebergall]( and [Cassandra Cassidy]( 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 With Katie](  [Raise](  [Bossy]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2023 Morning Brew. 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