🍺 Bud’s UFC bet

…and Chipotle and McDonald’s raise CA prices   Bud returns to the octagon (Jordan Jones/Getty Images)   [Sponsored by]( Yesterday’s Market Moves   Dow Jones 33,053 (+0.38%) S&P 500 4,194 (+0.65%) Nasdaq 12,851 (+0.48%) Bitcoin $34,495 (+0.00%) Dow Jones 33,053 (+0.38%) S&P 500 4,194 (+0.65%) Nasdaq 12,851 (+0.48%) Bitcoin $34,495 (+0.00%) Hey Snackers, A Rodin sculpture worth $3.6M went [missing]( from a Glasgow museum. But good luck finding it: the piece — one of nearly 1.8K works missing from the city’s museums — was last seen 74 years ago. And here we are beating ourselves up over a lost AirPod. Stocks climbed higher on Halloween, but October marked the third straight monthly drop for both US stocks and consumer confidence, as sticky inflation keeps gnawing at wallets and spooking investors. The Fed’s expected to hold rates steady at its meeting today. Light AB InBev hopes a fresh UFC deal will win back US market share as Bud sales slump Seen Budder days… Budweiser parent [AB InBev]( is still struggling with shrinking US sales after a conservative-led Bud Light boycott earlier this year. Yesterday, AB InBev reported that US revenue had dropped more than 13% in the third quarter — the continuation of a decline that started after a Bud Light promo with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Still, the stock popped after AB reported 5% total revenue growth (though volumes fell), helped by international sales and its other brands, like Stella and Beck’s. The beer biz also announced a $1B stock buyback. - Brew blues: This summer, Bud Light lost its long-standing title of America’s best-selling beer to Modelo (sold by booze giant [Constellation Brands]( in the US). From light beer to lightweight champs… As it fights to regain US market share, last week AB struck a six-year marketing partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. FYI: Bud Light replaced Modelo Especial as the UFC’s official beer (Bud last sponsored the UFC in 2017). The nine-figure deal is said to be the largest marketing promotion in mixed martial arts history. Starting January 1, Bud Light’s brand will get exclusive placement at UFC fights. The beer maker will also collab on original UFC content. - Target market: With its UFC partnership, AB InBev is re-creating ties with a sports org that’s often associated with more conservative political leanings than other US leagues. - UFC Pres Dana White donated $1M to support the 2020 Trump campaign and was a speaker at the Republican National Convention. - FYI: AB InBev also said it’ll focus Bud marketing on outlets like the NFL, college football, and country-music fest Stagecoach. THE TAKEAWAY Marketing = alignment… Partnerships can help a brand connect with its target consumers. Marketing campaigns — even smaller ones, like the Dylan Mulvaney promo — can affect a company’s sales for several quarters. A recent marketing win: Kim K’s Skims became the official underwear brand of the NBA and WNBA this week, which could boost its new men’s line. Sponsored by Nasdaq Ready to Light up Times Square? Is your Fintech empowering the investors of tomorrow? We’re eager to discover your story. Tell us how your fintech is redefining the investment and wealth sector for a chance to win the [Nasdaq Fintech Trailblazer Contest](. The winner will receive a VIP marketing feature in Times Square, complete with an exclusive #TradeTalks interview, attendance at a live bell ceremony, face time with Nasdaq executives, and most importantly, a prime feature on the iconic Nasdaq tower. Seize this moment: [Enter to win]( before the contest closes on November 19th. McDollar McDonald’s and Chipotle plan to pass CA’s $20/hr minimum-wage hike on to customers Guac is now more extra… [Chipotle]( and [McDonald’s]( plans to [hike prices]( in California to keep up with the Golden State’s rising minimum wage. In September, Gov. Newsom signed a bill that’ll hike fast-food workers’ minimum hourly wage to $20 starting in April. That’ll make the state’s fast-food workers the highest paid in their industry nationwide. - Burrito bowl: Chipotle currently pays its California employees $17/hour, but its CFO said the chain would “definitely” pass the $3 increase on to customers as “a mid- to high-single-digit price increase.” - Golden Arches: McDonald’s embraced the new minimum because it replaced legislation that would’ve formed gov’t-appointed councils to oversee the fast-food industry. Raisin’ the fryer floor… Even before this planned supersized increase, CA’s minimum wage was one of the highest in the US at $15.50/hour. But McD’s [birthplace]( is far from alone in raising its minimum wage: 30 states + DC have higher hourly minimums than the federal standard, which has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009 (despite inflation). In states where the federal minimum isn’t already overwritten by local law, some business owners say they’ve raised wages anyway, to attract workers in a hot labor market. THE TAKEAWAY Wages and prices form a flywheel… When wages go up, prices tend to rise, and when prices go up, wage increases may follow, so that people can afford those higher prices. Case in point: 19 states + DC tie their minimum-wage increases to inflation, but two of those states plan to stall hikes if unemployment gets too high. Critics of CA’s pay increase say it could lead to layoffs and automation, which… Chipotle did just make a robot that builds bowls and salads (👀). DEFI(NE) Heard on the Block: “seed phrase” 🗺️ Like a treasure map to your life savings… Crypto wallets guard the private keys that let people safely store and spend their coins, but those wallets can be lost or stolen. Someone who’s written down their “seed phrase” — typically 12 or 24 randomly generated words — can replace the missing wallet and use their seed phrase to regain access to their coins. Blockchain analysts say hackers [stole]( $4.4M worth of crypto from users who likely stored their seed phrases on the cloud-based LastPass (the password manager got hacked last year). What else we're Snackin' - [Grounded]( JetBlue shares hit a 12-year low after the biz forecast bigger-than-expected losses. Rivals like Southwest, Spirit, and Frontier have chopped profit estimates as they prep for cooling domestic demand. - [Drill]( [BP]( shares sagged after the oil-and-gas biggie missed Q3 profit expectations. Fellow gas giants Exxon and Chevron also saw earnings drop for the third quarter, as oil and nat gas prices slumped. - [Fusion]( Toyota will double its investment in a US battery plant to $14B to meet demand for hybrids. Industry-wide, sales of the electric-gas-combo vehicles (an on-ramp to EVs) have spiked 48% YoY. - [DJ]( Indie musicians will be able to promo their tracks on TikTok Music (a new Spotify rival) thanks to an agreement between TikTok and DistroKid, which distributes up to 40% of the world’s music. - [OffRoad]( Jeep maker Stellantis said the six-week UAW strike against Detroit automakers cost it $3.2B through October. The stoppages, which appear to have ended this week, cost Ford $1.3B and GM $800M. 🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up [here](. Snack Fact Of the Day 41% of parents said they’ve purchased toys for themselves in the past year (#kidults) [Read more]( Wednesday - First day of Native American Heritage Month - The Fed’s rate decision - September job openings - Earnings expected from Airbnb, Allstate, Avis, Cheesecake Factory, Coca-Cola, CVS, DoorDash, EA, E.l.f., Estée Lauder, Eventbrite, Garmin, Kraft, MetLife, Mondelez, PayPal, Qualcomm, Roku, Toyota, Wayfair, Wingstop, Yum Brands, and Zillow Authors of this Snacks own shares of: CVS, Exxon, GM, Kraft, Roku, and Yum! Brands Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... 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