☕️ Put a ring on it

The FTC wants to stop the supermarket super merger... February 27, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [The Fundrise Flagship Fund]( Good morning. This intro is for anyone working in marketing: If you’ve got a slow morning ahead of you, turn it into an opportunity to get ahead with Marketing Brew’s Feb. 28 event exploring how AI is going to change your industry. Leaders from Meta, Microsoft, UpWork, and more will explain how they’re already integrating AI with their customer service, brand strategy, and digital ads, and will leave you with tips that, for once, you might want to try at home. [Grab your virtual ticket here](. —Cassandra Cassidy, Molly Liebergall, Sam Klebanov, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 15,976.25 -0.13% S&P 5,069.53 -0.38% Dow 39,069.23 -0.16% 10-Year 4.299% +3.9 bps Bitcoin $54,602.55 +5.55% Amazon $174.73 -0.15% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks [fell]( as the Dow got a special delivery from Amazon, which joined the index yesterday, replacing Walgreens. That didn’t give the Dow a boost for the day, but it should help the index—whose performance is trailing the S&P 500—going forward by giving it more tech power.  RETAIL [FTC sues to block supermarket merger]( [Illustration of a grocery bag with the bottom cut off]( Francis Scialabba Aiming to keep the cost of your Sunday evening grocery trip from increasing, the FTC announced yesterday that it’s [suing]( to block the $25 billion Kroger–Albertsons merger. The FTC alleges that the merger—which would combine the second and fourth largest grocery store chains in the US—would lead to [higher food prices]( for customers at a time when Americans are already spending more of their money on food than they have in the last thirty years. The proposed mega grocery chain would own 5,000+ stores across the country, including popular stores like Fred Meyer, Ralphs, and Safeway, and would control 15%–20% of the market—still short of Walmart’s 5,200 stores and more than 25% market share. What do Albertsons and Kroger say? Both companies claim customers would actually see lower prices if they teamed up. And while the FTC claims the merger would result in lower wages and worse conditions for workers, Kroger and Albertsons note that they are mostly unionized, and argue that together they’ll be better able to compete with largely nonunionized big shots like Amazon, Costco, and Walmart. (But the unions representing their workers oppose the deal.) They saw the FTC coming: Under the Biden Administration, the FTC has [challenged]( several mergers that it claims could drive up consumer prices, including the proposed JetBlue–Spirit tie-up. In anticipation of antitrust challenges, Kroger had already pledged $500 million to reduce prices and $1 billion to increase wages, and offered to [divest ~400 stores]( by selling them to Piggly Wiggly owner C&S Wholesale Grocers. That wasn’t enough…the agency called the proposal “inadequate” and said it fell “far short of mitigating lost competition.” That’s probably because weighing the price of Dijon has the FTC feeling deja vu about Albertsons’s $9 billion merger with Safeway in 2014. Safeway and Albertsons won approval for that deal by agreeing to divest 146 locations to a private operator…which went bankrupt less than a year later.—CC   PRESENTED BY THE FUNDRISE FLAGSHIP FUND [Buy low, sell high]( [The Fundrise Flagship Fund]( Arguably the most famous mantra in investing is, as we all know, easy to say and hard to do. For example…in 2023, interest rates reached the highest levels we’ve seen in over two decades. The effects were widespread, but the real estate market in particular suffered major losses as demand dropped like a rock. The classic investing question…do falling prices mean it’s time to bail or time to buy? [For the Fundrise Flagship Fund, it’s time to buy](. The Fund is gearing up to take advantage of today’s market by expanding its $1+ billion private real estate portfolio, and it plans to [invest hundreds of millions into well-located residential and industrial assets]( over the next 12 months. [You can add the Flagship Fund to your portfolio right now, starting with as little as $10](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson attends a press conference after Hungary's parliament has voted yes to ratify Sweden's NATO accession]Sweden’s prime minister has something to smile about. JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images Sweden is set to become a NATO member. Sweden will soon be the 32nd member of the military alliance, after Hungary’s parliament [voted]( yesterday to allow the nation to join NATO following more than a year and a half of saying “you can’t sit with us.” Sweden and Finland both sought to join after Russia invaded Ukraine. All member countries must approve any new ones, and while Finland got a quicker nod, Hungary’s authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, blocked a vote on Sweden’s bid for more than 18 months. His decision to finally allow the vote, which went 188 to 6 in favor of admitting Sweden, paves the way for Sweden to join NATO as soon as this week. Microsoft is looking at a broader AI future than just OpenAI. Microsoft has been at the forefront of the AI revolution through its $13 billion stake in the ChatGPT-maker, but yesterday it showed it’s also making other AI bets, announcing it will pursue several partnerships and is [investing]( $2.1 billion in French startup Mistral AI. Mistral’s tech will be available to Microsoft Azure users. Microsoft President Brad Smith [told]( Axios that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is “brilliant,” but “just as the printing press quickly evolved beyond Gutenberg, AI is quickly evolving beyond any single individual.” Palestinian Authority shakes up government, eyeing post-war Gaza role. Mohammad Shtayyeh, prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, submitted his government’s [resignation]( to President Mahmoud Abbas. The move came after neighboring countries and the US pressured the Palestinian Authority to make changes so that it could manage Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas ends. Abbas, who has asked the government to stay on until he can form a new one, is expected to appoint Mohammad Mustafa, a former World Bank official and chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund, as prime minister. Separately, President Biden [said]( a deal for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas could come as soon as this weekend. LAW [The Supreme Court debates online free speech]( [barbed wire around a phone]( Francis Scialabba Big Tech titans clashed with conservative-led states yesterday in two Supreme Court cases that could strip social media companies of much of their power to moderate content. In the cases NetChoice v. Paxton and Moody v. NetChoice, trade groups that represent social media sites including Meta and Google are [challenging]( state laws in Florida and Texas that would bar tech companies from 1) removing content on their social media sites that could be seen as political and 2) banning accounts based on the viewpoints they share—even if they [violate]( user agreements. Here’s what each side argued before the high court yesterday: - Attorneys for Texas and Florida say the laws (designed largely to shield conservative voices from moderation) protect people’s First Amendment rights against big companies’ ability to remove and shadowban content they deem harmful. - The social media companies maintain that they need to be able to remove disinformation and other harmful content, citing examples like spam, pro-terrorism speech, and the Tide Pod Challenge of 2018. The decision is expected by June. During yesterday’s oral arguments, the justices appeared skeptical of the states’ laws and their arguments that deplatforming counts as censorship. But if the court does uphold the Texas and Florida laws, the social media companies’ bipartisan public and private sector allies say hate speech would flood platforms like TikTok and Facebook, likely driving advertisers away. Another option for the sites, if the court’s decision forces them to allow all opinions, could be to prohibit entire topics—like race or gender—from being discussed at all.—ML   TOGETHER WITH IT’S SKINNY [It’s Skinny]( 🤌 A tasty investment opportunity. What happens when you make a great-tasting pasta with just nine calories and zero net carbs? Meet [It’s Skinny]( the top-selling pasta on Amazon. Now you can share in their growth as they scale in their $131b market. [Join leading investors like Tim Draper and become an It’s Skinny shareholder](. TECH [Samsung wants to put a ring on your finger]( [Samsung smart ring]( Pau Barrena/Getty Images If you like your health, Samsung thinks you should put a Galaxy Ring on it. The company best known for catering to iPhone haters [flashed a prototype]( of its first-ever smart ring at the Mobile World Congress that began in Barcelona yesterday. The wearable will track sleep and activity patterns for the Samsung Health app and may also enable contactless payments. Samsung’s debut as a jeweler makes it the first tech giant to enter the electronic ring game, which has been [dominated by startups]( like Finland-based Oura. Industry watchers expect the ring race to heat up, as Apple is also reportedly mulling whether to start [encircling fingers]( (probably at Tiffany prices). Why ring it up? Samsung is betting that some users might be more comfortable sleeping with a ring rather than one of its Galaxy smartwatches, but its VP of Digital Health, Dr. Hon Pak, envisions customers wearing multiple devices for a more complete picture of their health. - The first-gen ring will measure heart rate, breathing, and movement during sleep. - You’ll be able to get one sometime this year in platinum silver, gold, or ceramic black. It’s just a start…Samsung is developing noninvasive glucose monitoring and blood pressure sensing for its wearables.—SK   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [A hand holding a 100 dollar bill]SOPA Images/Getty Images Stat: When it comes to cash, it really is all about the Benjamins: There are more [$100 bills]( in circulation than any other kind of US paper money, according to the Wall Street Journal. And there are now more than twice as many hundos out there as there were in 2012, data from the Federal Reserve shows. The prevalence of the denomination is in part because people tend to hang on to them longer than smaller bills, rather than forcing a cashier to hold them up to the light. But these days, most transactions aren’t happening with any bills—cash is only the third most popular payment method in the US, with 60% of payments being made with credit or debit cards. Quote: “There’s a sh*tshow going on in Seattle.” The CEO of Ryanair, the budget airline beloved by your friend who won’t stop talking about when they studied abroad in Europe, is [none too happy]( with Boeing. Michael O’Leary did not hold back recently about his frustrations with the delays that Seattle-based Boeing’s safety problems have caused in getting new planes for the carrier. “We don’t really know how many aircraft we’re going to get from Boeing,” he explained, and, if it’s not enough, he warned Ryanair might have to cut flights or [raise prices]( as much as 10% during its busy summer season. Read: Why are there suddenly so many car washes? ([Bloomberg]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Donald Trump]( is appealing the $350 million verdict against him in the New York civil fraud case. Meanwhile, [prosecutors]( have asked the judge to impose a gag order on Trump in an upcoming New York criminal trial over an alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. - [US Air Force member Aaron Bushnell]( died after lighting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, saying he would “no longer be complicit in genocide.” - [The lunar lander Odysseus]( sent back its first images from the moon. But the Intuitive Machines spacecraft’s mission is expected to be [cut short]( since it landed on its side, giving its solar panels less sunlight. - [Altice USA’s]( stock jumped 36% yesterday following reports that Charter Communications is thinking about buying the broadband company. - [Adidas]( is selling off another batch of Yeezy sneakers after cutting ties with rapper Ye over his antisemitic comments. RECS [Tuesday To Do List] Enter the matrix: A [new game]( tests your movie trivia knowledge by having you place films into a grid. Focus: [Stare at a dot]( for one minute to boost your concentration. Choose wisely: As streaming services raise prices and bundle up, here’s [a guide]( to which ones are best for you. Measure up: Here’s a list of [units of measurement]( invented mostly to be funny, because we’re not above considering time in beard-seconds. Mint shutdown blues?: Origin has all the [budgeting features]( you loved with Mint, plus free tax filing, AI-powered planning, and automated investing. Just $12.99/month. [Your first month’s free]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: Hunks and marsupials unite in today’s Mini. [Play it here](. Guess the logo A North American pro sports team announced a major rebrand yesterday, unveiling this new logo. Can you name the team? [NBA team logo for quiz] 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 [Los Angeles Clippers]( Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: prototype, meaning “an original model on which something is patterned.” Thanks to Jennifer from Los Angeles for the inspiring suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✢ A Note From The Fundrise Flagship Fund Advertiser’s disclosure: Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the Fundrise Flagship Fund before investing. This and other information can be found in the [Fund’s prospectus](. Read them carefully before investing. This is a paid advertisement. ✳︎ A Note From It’s Skinny This is a paid advertisement for It’s Skinny’s REG CF offering. Please read the offering circular at [invest.itsskinny.com](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( [Molly Liebergall]( and Sam Klebanov 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](  [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