☕️ Extra credit

How your credit score impacts your dating prospects... February 13, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Read Write Own by Chris Dixon]( Good morning. Today is Mardi Gras, the climax of Carnival season, and if you want to sound in the know, you can use the official Mardi Gras greeting in Cajun French, laissez les bons temps rouler. We do not know how to pronounce that, but we can tell you what it means in English: “Let the good times roll.” And the times they are indeed rolling—Lent starts tomorrow, then Easter arrives in just over six weeks. Apparently no one told Winter Storm Lorraine, which is smacking the Northeast this morning. —Cassandra Cassidy, Sam Klebanov, Molly Liebergall, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 15,942.55 -0.30% S&P 5,021.84 -0.09% Dow 38,797.38 +0.33% 10-Year 4.172% -1.5 bps Bitcoin $49,945.14 +3.41% Nvidia $722.48 +0.16% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: The Dow closed at a [record high]( while the other major indexes dipped slightly as investors await a firehose of information this week: A new government inflation reading drops this morning, and 61 companies in the S&P 500 report earnings. Nvidia kept inching up and at one point overtook Amazon, briefly becoming the fourth-most-valuable company listed in the US.  ENTERTAINMENT [The music industry is going country, and so is Beyoncé]( [Beyoncé at the 2024 Grammys ]( Kevin Mazur/Getty Images For a genre of music that has rarely gone mainstream, country is now coming to dominate the industry…with help from Beyoncé. During the Super Bowl on Sunday, Beyoncé dropped two new songs, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” and announced a [country album]( scheduled for release on March 29. Members of the Beyhive weren’t surprised: She’s been hinting at it for years, wore a giant cowboy hat to the Grammys, and is, after all, from Houston. Still, her announcement has sparked a new conversation around who gets to make country music. The country song on her album Lemonade, “Daddy Lessons,” was [deemed ineligible]( for country music categories at the 2017 Grammys by the Recording Academy’s country music committee, and her performance of the song at the Country Music Association Awards with the Chicks got criticism from some country fans. Other Black artists, such as Lil Nas X, haven’t always been welcomed by the genre. But as country gains mainstream popularity, many see potential for a new era as the genre grows. Everyone’s grabbing a banjo Take it from indie-popstar Lana Del Rey: “The music business is going country.” That’s what the artist, who is releasing a country album in September titled Lasso, told Billboard this month. She’s not wrong: Rapper Post Malone, who debuted on the country charts last year, has also confirmed that he has a country album [in the works](. What changed? Maybe music execs finally listened to Eric Church’s “Springsteen” and realized what every person in a state with a Bojangles knows: Country music is good music. But more likely, the change is thanks to…Morgan Wallen. - Country music streaming grew 24% YoY through Q3 2023. Wallen was responsible for almost a third of the growth, according to entertainment data company Luminate. - Last June, No. 1 and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart were country songs: “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen and the “Fast Car” cover by Luke Combs. Big picture: Gen Z and millennials are also driving the surge in country. In 2023, 36% of streams of Spotify’s Top 50 songs were country songs, compared to 2% in 2016.—CC   PRESENTED BY READ WRITE OWN BY CHRIS DIXON [You own the internet]( [Read Write Own by Chris Dixon]( The internet wouldn’t be the same without people to watch, read, and share. So why don’t you get more say in its future? You might soon—thanks to something called blockchains. Need a refresher on the [blockchain]( Think of it as a new kind of computer—one that shifts ownership of digital services from big, centralized platforms to decentralized networks that put people in charge. In his new book, [Read Write Own]( Chris Dixon breaks down the promising world of blockchains. Explore how blockchains have the power to reshape the future of the internet. [Get your copy]( of Read Write Own to see how the internet can be a place where people co-create the platforms they use most. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [The Permian Basin]Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images The oil and gas industry gets another mega-merger. As consolidation of companies extracting energy in the Permian Basin continues, Diamondback Energy [announced]( plans to buy Endeavor Energy Partners, the area’s biggest privately held oil and gas producer, in a cash-and-stock deal valued at around $26 billion. It’s the latest acquisition as energy companies look to grow and secure drilling sites with high oil prices remaining high: Exxon Mobil is snapping up Pioneer Natural Resources in a $60 billion deal, and Chevron is buying Hess for $53 billion. Israel rescues two hostages amid deadly Rafah strikes. The Israeli military said it had rescued [two hostages]( among the more than 100 still being held by Hamas from the Oct. 7 attack. The raid to free them from an apartment in the southern Gaza city of Rafah included airstrikes that killed 94 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is Hamas-run. This came as Israel is preparing for a ground offenisve in Rafah, which it considers a Hamas stronghold, where the UN estimates 1.3 million Palestinians are currently living, many because they fled from the north to escape the war. Meanwhile, a Dutch court [ordered]( the government to stop sending fighter jet parts to Israel because of concerns they could be used to violate international law. Bitcoin may be headed to the moon. Crypto may not be back to having celebs hawk it during the Super Bowl after a series of scams and bankruptcies rocked the industry, but yesterday, the price of bitcoin [rose]( higher than $50,000 for the first time since December 2021. Last month’s decision by US regulators to allow [spot bitcoin ETFs]( which pushes the digital currency toward the mainstream by making it easier for people to access, didn’t initially significantly drive up prices, but interest in the ETFs helped spur the recent rise. GOVERNMENT [Biden is officially a TikToker]( [Actor Steve Buscemi with a backwards red hat and a skateboard on his shoulder, saying, 'how do you do, fellow kids?']( 30 Rock/NBCUniversal via Giphy Yo youngsters, word on the street is President Biden is lowkey goated. Or at least he’s joined TikTok and posted his first video this weekend: A tongue-in-cheek [Super Bowl Q&A]( captioned “lol hey guys” garnered more than 6 million views as of last night. The president’s reelection campaign runs the new BidenHQ account—complete with “Grows the economy” in the bio and a profile pic referencing the [Dark Brandon meme](. His debut on the platform is widely seen as a way for him to woo Gen Z voters amid concerns about his age. - While young Americans helped Biden win his first term, he alienated some of them with his stance on the Israel–Hamas war and his climate policy. Some polls have shown him trailing the likely GOP candidate, Donald Trump, among voters in their 20s. - Embracing TikTok could help him reach younger voters: Almost a third of American adults under age 30 regularly get news on the app, per Pew Research Center. Biden, of course, didn’t invent TikTok politicking. Indonesian presidential candidates have [danced and livestreamed]( in the run-up to the country’s election, which is taking place tomorrow. TikTok comes with risks…the Chinese-owned app is banned from most US federal government devices due to security concerns, and the president has already gotten flak from Republicans for using it.—SK   TOGETHER WITH FACET [Facet]( Matters of the wallet. Spending habits are like fingerprints—they’re unique to the person. And in relationships, these habits can be (and often are) a major source of stress. Luckily, [the experts at Facet]( will put together a financial plan for you and your partner that takes both your habits into account. [Learn more](. What’s your money love language? [Ordering takeout]( spending on social]( up the tab at a group dinner]( buying plane tickets]( PERSONAL FINANCE [This dating app is for people with good credit scores]( [Neon Money Club Score app]( Neon Money Club A new app for singles isn’t focused on finding Pams for all of the Jims who know the best spot in town for margaritas—it just wants to connect singles who pay their bills on time. Applications are now open to [join Score]( a limited-time dating app for people with credit scores of 675 or above, developed by the financial wellness platform Neon Money Club. “Before you can educate people, you need to get their attention,” Neon Money Club CEO Luke Bailey told [TechCrunch](. Score isn’t a Tinder replacement—it’s a social experiment aimed at making people 1) feel more comfortable discussing money in their relationships and 2) better understand personal finance. That’s why applicants who don’t make the cut receive resources on how to improve their credit scores. The dating app will only run for ~90 days. But Score isn’t purely a stunt. People really are more likely to start serious relationships if they have high credit scores, according to [research]( by the Federal Reserve. Financial literacy is hot…especially among Gen Zers, who care more about financial compatibility than any other generation, according to a Northwestern Mutual [survey](. Some young singles [went viral]( last summer for adding their credit scores to their Hinge profiles and watching the matches pour in.—ML   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Chocolate coins]Getty Images Stat: Planning to buy that special someone chocolate for Valentine’s Day? We hope you’ve been saving up because the quintessential “I bought this at the drugstore on the way to our date” gift is extra pricey this year thanks to a spike in the [cost of cocoa](. Last week, a metric ton of cocoa was trading at a record $5,600, per Bloomberg—surpassing the previous high price set in 1977. It’s due to a poor harvest caused by climate conditions in West Africa, where 60% of cocoa is grown. A food and beverage economist told CNN that retail chocolate prices have climbed 17% over the past two years. Still, the National Confectioners Association says ~92% of Americans plan to buy chocolate or candy for the holiday. Quote: “I’m so sorry if the Super Bowl advertisement caused anyone in my family pain.” For some, the ads are the most exciting part of the Super Bowl, but one group unhappy with this year’s marketing efforts was the cousins of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Several of them criticized a Super PAC spot supporting him that repurposed an ad from his uncle John F. Kennedy’s successful 1960 presidential campaign, prompting RFK Jr. to [apologize]( and explain he’d had no hand in making the ad—while leaving it pinned to the top of his X feed. It’s not the first time RFK Jr.’s campaign has caused family drama to spill out into the open: In October, four of his siblings said, “Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision, or judgment.” Read: How Bill Ackman’s Harvard battle made him the face of an anxious billionaire class. ([New York Magazine]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [An average 123.4 million viewers]( watched the Super Bowl across all platforms, making it the most watched broadcast in the history of television. Meanwhile, [movies]( had a rough weekend, taking in $40 million—the lowest box office for a Super Bowl weekend in more than 30 years (not counting 2021, when most cinemas were closed). - [Donald Trump]( filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to halt a ruling rejecting his claims of immunity from prosecution for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss. - [Tiger Woods]( introduced his new clothing brand, Sun Day Red, a partnership with TaylorMade Golf. It’s Woods’s first big brand move after ending his 27-year partnership with Nike. - [JetBlue’s]( stock soared after-hours yesterday, after activist investor Carl Icahn revealed he’d taken a stake in the airline. - [Jeff Bezos’s]( move from Seattle to Miami could save him $600 million in taxes as he sells off some of his Amazon stock. - [Bob Edwards]( the longtime host of NPR’s Morning Edition, has died at age 76. RECS [Tuesday To Do List] Fly for less: The right time to book [cheap airfare]( for every vacation season. Kind of blue: The [scientific answer]( to “What color are blueberries?” is more complicated than you’d expect. Spend the night in: Recipes for a [Valentine’s Day dinner]( at home that won’t break the bank. Wear them well: Why black jeans [fit differently]( from blue ones. Rep Morning Brew: From socks to t-shirts to hoodies, we’ve got all the Morning Brew merch you didn’t know you needed. [Grab your new favorite clothing here](. A new era: With technological innovations and connected solutions, healthcare clinicians can [precisely diagnose and treat patients]( faster than ever. GE HealthCare is motivated by the breakthroughs in healthcare. [Learn about healthcare’s bright future]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: Today’s Mini (with no black squares!) took Neal 43 seconds to complete. Can you beat him? [Try it here](. Made-up holiday trivia Not only is today Mardi Gras, but it’s also Galentine’s Day, a holiday invented by Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation to celebrate women’s friendships the day before Valentine’s Day. It’s one of many fictional holidays created by TV shows. In this quiz, we’ll give you a made-up holiday, and you have to name the show that introduced it to the world. - Festivus - Best Friends Day - Chrismukkah - Merlinpeen - Federation Day - Trashgiving 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]( ANSWER - Seinfeld - SpongeBob SquarePants - The O.C. - 30 Rock - Star Trek - Sesame Street ✳︎ A Note From Facet Facet Wealth, Inc. (“Facet”) is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. This is not an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities. This is not investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( Sam Klebanov, and [Molly Liebergall]( 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