☕️ Record breaker

Airbus ends the plane duopoly... February 16, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [HOKA]( Good morning. Yesterday, we called Mark Zuckerberg the “billionaire grand dork of the metaverse.” Today, he joins our podcast. In his first interview since roasting the Apple Vision Pro on Instagram, Mark Zuckerberg spoke with Neal and Toby on Morning Brew Daily about why he decided to make that video, the existential risk of AI, the wagyu cattle he’s raising, and a lot more. The Zuck interview will go live later this morning, and you won’t want to miss it. To listen right when it drops, subscribe to MBD on [Spotify]( [Apple]( [YouTube]( or wherever you get your [podcasts](. —Matty Merritt, Molly Liebergall, Cassandra Cassidy, Adam Epstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 15,906.17 +0.30% S&P 5,029.73 +0.58% Dow 38,773.12 +0.91% 10-Year 4.240% -2.7 bps Bitcoin $51,651.00 -0.36% Crocs $121.63 +12.24% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 12:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: The S&P 500 closed at another [record high]( on Thursday as stocks rallied to overcome worse-than-expected retail sales data released earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Crocs surged 12% after its profits devoured Wall Street expectations.  ECONOMY [CBO: Immigration could boost the economy long term]( [Immigrant groups at the US-Mexico border]( John Moore/Getty Images While politicians debate the border until blood vessels in their foreheads pop, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says it would be better for the economy if we lay out the welcome mat. The nonpartisan group released a report last week saying that a surge in immigration could [boost]( the US GDP by $7 trillion over the next 10 years. The Department of Homeland Security said net immigration jumped to 3.3 million people entering the US last year, compared with an annual average of just under 1 million about a decade ago. But the CBO’s report laid out a few reasons why that growth could be beneficial: - If immigration continues at its current rate, the labor force will increase by nearly 5.2 million people by 2033. That would mean more workers, more taxes paid by those workers, and more demand for goods and services. - The CBO did say, however, that wages could grow more slowly since migrant workers usually work lower-wage jobs. The population effect Some economists believe the 2022 and 2023 jump in immigration helped stave off a recession in the US and allowed industries like hospitality to rebound from pandemic-era labor shortages. Other high-income nations like China and Japan are sweating buckets thinking about how their countries’ aging populations will soon catch up with them. But the US’ population of young people is growing thanks to immigrants: The largest group of immigrants entering the country are 25–54. The context: Capitol Hill is fighting to address the influx of people crossing the US–Mexico border. Last week, House Republicans blocked a border reform bill. It’s unclear if or when Congress will pass immigration legislation—but it will likely remain a major issue in the 2024 elections. Big picture: An expanding population won’t be without growing pains. Cities with asylum laws, like [New York]( and [Chicago]( are currently struggling with the number of people who need housing and legal help.—MM   PRESENTED BY HOKA [Weatherproof office-proof]( [HOKA]( Commuting requires planning: remembering chargers, making lunch decisions, wearing layers for unpredictable office temperatures. Fortunately, HOKA is making one of those daily decisions a whole lot easier. [HOKA’s waterproof Transport GTX]( sneaker keeps feet dry, regardless of what it looks like outside. Designed with the city dweller in mind, these comfy kicks are geared toward [any kind of commute]( walking, biking, hiking (in which case, props). Plus, the Transport GTX is decked out with sustainability features and stylish design elements that will keep you reaching for your pair every morning. Don’t waffle over what shoes to wear when there’s a chance of rain. [Shop the HOKA Transport GTX](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Donald Trump]Spencer Platt/Getty Images Trump’s first criminal trial officially has a start date. The hush money trial will begin with jury selection on March 25, a New York judge [decided yesterday]( denying the demands for a delay by the former president’s legal team. Trump is accused of directing a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels and then covering it up to avoid the story becoming public during the 2016 election. The charges, which include falsifying internal records, are punishable by up to four years in prison, though it’s unclear if Trump would serve jail time even if he’s convicted. In addition to the hush money case, Trump is also facing allegations of interfering in the 2020 election and illegally hoarding classified documents. OpenAI unveiled its text-to-video AI tool. Named Sora, the tool can generate videos [up to a minute long]( based on a user’s text prompt. CEO Sam Altman showed off the model by fielding prompts from X users and posting the resulting videos, including a [wizard]( casting a spell with lightning and a street-level tour of a [futuristic city](. OpenAI promises the model can create “complex scenes with multiple characters” but admits it can struggle with a prompt’s physics and cause-and-effect. The company is making Sora available to experts, artists, and filmmakers to get feedback before rolling it out more widely. Google’s Lumiere tool is expected to compete with Sora in the AI text-to-video space. Police ruled out terrorism in the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade shooting. The shooting, which left one person dead and 22 others injured as the NFL team celebrated its victory in Kansas City on Wednesday, was likely the result of [an argument]( between several people, police said. At least three people were detained, two of them under the age of 18. Police added that they recovered several firearms. There have been 49 mass shootings in the US so far in 2024, leading to more than 80 deaths and 170 injuries, ABC News reported. TRAVEL [Boeing’s flop is Airbus’s slay]( [Airbus plane with a crown]( Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images The planemaker duopoly could be going mono: While Boeing works to make sure nothing else flies off its planes, Airbus is soaring ahead of its crisis-riddled competitor. Passing ships: Boeing’s stock is down almost 20% this year thanks to the [gaping hole]( that appeared in a 737 Max 9 mid-flight, leading the FAA to ground and then cap production on the company’s best-selling 737s. Meanwhile, Airbus—the world’s largest commercial plane manufacturer—is up about 5% over the same period. If you’re reading this, Boeing, look away: - Airbus obliterated the industry record for new orders last year and now boasts a decadelong backlog of orders—the largest in planemaker history. This year, it’s boosting aircraft deliveries by ~9%. - By 2026, Airbus said it should be producing 75 A320neo planes, its 737 Max competitor, per month (Boeing’s pre-scandal goal was 57/month). Nobody’s perfect. Airbus also had to ground 400 of its planes in January after discovering potential flaws in some of the engines powering its A320neo crafts, according to [Bloomberg](. But this hasn’t slowed its roll. Airbus has so much cash that it announced it will pay out a [special dividend]( of 1 euro per share.—ML   TOGETHER WITH ADVISOR [Advisor]( It just makes cents. Did you know working with a financial advisor could help you retire with an extra $1.3m?* Advisor.com lets you compare [expert financial planning and advising services]( select a vetted financial advisor to handle your investing. [Give your money some TLC](. SPORTS [Caitlin Clark shatters NCAA scoring record]( [Caitlin Clark]( Kirk Irwin/Getty Images Like a worn-out turntable stylus, Caitlin Clark can’t stop breaking records. The senior Iowa point guard broke the women’s NCAA scoring record last night against Michigan, surpassing the previous record of 3,527 points and cementing her status as the greatest women’s NCAA baller of all time. Clark, who was named a midseason Player of the Year this week, has brought undivided attention to a sport often overshadowed by the men’s version. She’s averaged over 32 points per game (USC’s JuJu Watkins is second with 27.7) and, in December, became the first Division I player—man or woman—to accumulate 3,000 points, 900 assists, and 800 rebounds in a career. It’s not just scoring records. With fans anticipating the milestone, tickets to last night’s game cost $375 on average—the most expensive ticket ever for any women’s basketball game, college or professional. - Prices typically decrease as it gets closer to an event in order to sell seats—but not for Clark’s games. Tickets spiked more than $100 in the two weeks leading up to last night. - The face value of a typical Iowa women’s basketball ticket outside of season ticket packages is just $15. There’s another record to be broken. Lynette Woodard, who played women’s college bball for Kansas in the 1970s, scored 3,649 points in her four years. She doesn’t officially hold the NCAA record because the NCAA didn’t include women’s sports at the time. In any event, Clark will probably break that one soon, too.—CC   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg]Lester Cohen/Getty Images Quote: “Look where we’re at in our careers. Look at our age and look at what we’ve done, and we still love each other, so why not do something together?” Frodo and Sam. Tina and Amy. Snoop and Dre. Some bonds transcend friendship into something much greater. And some are so powerful that the only way to harness them is to launch a ready-to-drink “Gin & Juice” cocktail together. That’s precisely what longtime collaborators and pals Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre [announced]( this week, 30 years after their song got a generation of fans to pretend they like gin. Available in apricot, citrus, melon, and passionfruit, Gin & Juice enters a crowded but growing RTD beverage market. Stat: When it comes to housing, boomers are doing their best Leo in The Wolf of Wall Street impression and saying, “I’m not f*cking leaving.” According to a report from real estate brokerage Redfin, nearly 40% of baby boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) have been in their current homes for [at least 20 years]( as they wait for mortgage rates to come down. That’s up from 24% in 2012. Another 16% have stayed between 10 and 19 years. Meanwhile, the average US homeowner has lived in their house for 12 years, almost twice as long as in 2005, Bloomberg reported. The Great Boomer Dawdling is largely to blame for the market’s inventory shortage, making it harder for younger first-time buyers to find a home. Read: Why Americans suddenly stopped hanging out. ([The Atlantic]( QUIZ [The year of quizzing dangerously]( [New Friday quiz image]( The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s Weekly News Quiz has been compared to cutting into room-temperature butter. It’s that satisfying. [Ace the quiz](. NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Special counsel David Weiss]( charged a former FBI informant with lying about President Biden and his son Hunter’s alleged role with the Ukrainian company Burisma. - [Japan]( fell behind Germany and became the world’s fourth-biggest economy after an unexpected slip into recession. - [The White House]( confirmed reports that Russia has obtained a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon, but said it is not capable of causing destruction on Earth. - [Waymo]( issued its first-ever recall after a software problem caused two of its self-driving cars to crash into a truck in Phoenix. - [Instagram and Threads]( both owned by Meta, will stop recommending political content to users unless they specifically opt in. - [Fani Willis]( the Fulton County district attorney prosecuting the Georgia election interference case against former President Trump, testified at a hearing yesterday over an alleged improper relationship with a lawyer she appointed to the case. RECS [Friday to-do list] Watch: Return to the Saturday mornings of your childhood with the [nostalgic trailer]( for Marvel’s animated series X-Men ’97. Reach the green: These former golf courses have been [reclaimed by nature]( and turned into parks and preserves. Grow closer: Five science-based [tips to improve]( your relationship with your partner. Read: The wild story of how The Cut’s personal finance columnist [got scammed out of $50k]( by someone she thought worked for the CIA. Love is $150: The best Valentine’s gift for your finance team? [Take a demo with BILL]( and they’ll give you a complimentary $150 Amazon gift card. [Kiss tedious financial tasks goodbye]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Picdoku: For those about to rock, we salute you. Check out [today’s Picdoku]( featuring your favorite rock-and-roll bands. Friday puzzle Today’s question comes from the good folks at [NPR](. Think of a word for a person who helps you. Copy the last three letters, repeat them at the front, and you’ll get a new, longer word that names the person who hurts you. What words are these? 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 Answer: Mentor + tormentor Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: dawdling, meaning “doing something or going somewhere very slowly, taking more time than is necessary.” Thanks to Michael from El Paso, TX, for not wasting our time with the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✳︎ A Note From Advisor *Starting portfolio value of $50,000 with an income of $100,000. Assuming a 20% annual savings rate with a 3% increase in income annually for 25 years, then 1% increase annually for the last 5 years. Without Advisor illustrates a 5% rate of return while with an advisor illustrates an 8% rate of return. This visual is for illustrative purposes only and is not a guarantee. The hypothetical 3% net value add for professional financial advice is based on the Vanguard whitepaper “Putting a value on your value: Quantifying Advisor’s Alpha.” Please read the methodologies used in the paper. The value of professional advisement varies by client and portfolio. Please perform your own due diligence before choosing an investment advisor. [( Written by [Adam Epstein]( [Matty Merritt]( [Molly Liebergall]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( and [Neal Freyman]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. 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