💪 Why WWE stock is soaring

Plus: A “heavy-hitting” stock chart, our best work from the week, a relatable tweet, a surprising cake, and more. [View Online]( [The Hustle] The Cleveland home featured in A Christmas Story (1983) is for sale, but the buyer must agree to preserve the owner’s immersive experience. In today’s email: - Tech layoffs: How they impact H-1B workers. - Chart: Wrestling vs. the S&P 500. - Weekend reads to pair with a Dirty Snowman. - Around the web: A spooky game, a surprising cake, Champagne tips, and more cool internet finds. 🎧 On the go? [Listen to today’s 10-minute podcast]( to hear Zack and Juliet discuss the devastating impact of tech winter on US visa holders, bee news, tough rent, and more. The big idea [passport]( Tech winter is dire for immigrant visa holders As tech layoffs continue, workers are struggling to find new jobs during the holiday season — arguably the worst time to do so. For H-1B immigrants, it’s even worse. What’s an H-1B? A renewable three-year work visa that US companies — especially tech — use to hire skilled workers. In 2021, 68.8% of the [~407k]( H-1B beneficiaries worked in computer-related fields. But because H-1Bs are tied to employment, workers who lose their jobs have 60 days to find another or leave the US, [per]( NPR. What about citizenship? That’d be great, but there’s a huge backlog. Congress caps how many employer-sponsored green cards the US issues annually, and how many can be issued per birth country — including dependents. - There are [1.4m]( people waiting for an employment-based green card. - About 74% of H-1B beneficiaries are from India, meaning for many, it’s a ~90-year wait. So, what can be done? Well, Congress’ efforts to reduce the green card backlog have mostly stalled, [per]( Forbes. For now, an immigration attorney [told]( BuzzFeed that workers could try to secure another kind of visa (not always easy) or become a partner’s dependent (which might not allow them to work). Others are suggesting [Canada]( as an option, where immigration is easier. Impacted workers can also get on [this database](, which is shared with hiring managers across the US. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Tech+winter+is+dire+for+immigrant+visa+holders%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F12092022-H-1B-visa%3Futm_campaign%3DFriday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D12092022-H-1B-visa%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Trending [eyeball wearing a hat] Thirteen strangers [went viral]( for driving 10+ hours in a rented van from Orlando, Florida, to Knoxville, Tennessee, after their flight was canceled. SNIPPETS The Federal Trade Commission is moving [to block]( Microsoft’s $69B acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Amazon is TikTokifying its app with [Inspire](, a new tab that displays a vertical reel of shoppable photos and videos. Cameo is expanding with personalized [animated videos]( of kids’ favorite characters from “CoComelon,” “Thomas & Friends,” and more. Manhattan’s median [November rent]( was $4,033. The average rent, skewed by luxury sales, hit $5,249 — up 19% YoY. BeeHero, a startup that uses AI to help beekeepers boost their yields, raised [$42m](. Plus, in what may be the best news of 2022, “murder hornets” [haven’t been seen]( in Washington state this year. Sunny Balwani, Theranos’ ex-COO and founder Elizabeth Holmes’ ex, was sentenced to [13 years]( for defrauding investors. Disney+ finally launched its ad-supported tier for [$7.99/mo]( in the US. That’s $1 more than Netflix’s, but allows users to stream on up to four devices at a time. Layoffs: Low code platform Airtable laid off [20%]( of its staff, and meal delivery service Blue Apron laid off [10%](. Twitter Blue will reportedly cost Apple users [$11/mo.](, up from $8, to offset App Store fees. Royal matchmaker? Prince Harry [admitted]( he asked to be introduced to his now-wife, Meghan Markle, after seeing her on Instagram… with a puppy filter. Self-storage’s hotter cousin: Now more than ever, handymen, contractors, and ecommerce outfits need small bay warehouses. [Access the Trends report]( on the lucrative real estate trend. SPREAD THE WORD [paper airplane] Our boss Brad has decided to try positive reinforcement: For every person you share The Hustle with, we get to see a picture of a cute kitten. [Share The Hustle 🤠→]( Chart [YTD WWE vs SPY stock performance]( Olivia Heller [Tweet this Image]( The market’s getting absolutely bodied by pro wrestling While 2022’s been a year of crimson red for much of the market, World Wrestling Entertainment has been flexing its muscles. What’s happening? Because the company’s [revenue]( primarily comes from long-term media rights deals and live events, it isn’t particularly impacted by the advertising slump [now hurting]( many other media companies. - With its devoted global fanbase, investors are eyeing WWE as a hot acquisition target at a time when niche sports are on the rise, per Axios. (Think [Formula One](, for instance.) With TV rights deals with Fox and Comcast set to expire in 2024, and an exclusive streaming deal with Peacock ending in 2026, expect there to be a media wrestling match for the next home of WWE content. Fun fact: WWE has more followers on TikTok (19.9m) than the NFL (9.5m), NBA (17.2m), and MLB (5.7m). [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=The+market%E2%80%99s+getting+absolutely+bodied+by+pro+wrestling%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F12092022-WWE%3Futm_campaign%3DFriday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D12092022-WWE%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Free Resource How American consumers are moving in 2022 Talking big picture for a moment: The times are a-changin’. Expeditiously. As are the ways we connect, peruse, and purchase. So, we surveyed 1k+ people to learn how consumers are wired these days. Check the [2022 US Consumer Trends Report]( by Brandwatch and HubSpot for insights broken down by generation for eight key categories: - Purchasing habits - Social media - Online communities - Data privacy - Corporate responsibility - Workplace trends - Crypto and NFTs - The Metaverse The data says 29% of respondents kinda want to leave their jobs, 28% called crypto “the future of currency,” and every generation thinks “Buy Now, Pay Later” sucks. There’s more. [Consumer trends, explained →]( Recs [Weekend Reads] Welcome to Weekend Reads Now’s a good time to whip up that chocolatey [Dirty Snowman](. In case you missed ’em, here was our week’s best… - Tweet: An experience that anyone who uses Zoom in corporate America [can relate to](. - Story: Michael [reported on]( the quiet disappearance of the safe deposit box. - Chart: A look at [Duolingo’s growth](, and some surprising competition. - Video: This [“Hustlenomics” clip]( on the economics of the $2B Christmas tree industry. - Conversation: The Marketing Against the Grain pod [discussed]( differentiating a commoditized product like Coke. From our blog [from the blog] Did you know we have a blog that highlights startups doing cool shit? Check out our [latest breakdown]( of Dream Studio Course, a company transforming creators’ home video setups into Hollywood-ready studios. AROUND THE WEB 🐭 On this day: In 1968, Douglas Engelbart [demoed]( the computer mouse to ~1k tech pros. 🥂 How to: Correctly and quietly [open]( Champagne. 🍰 That’s interesting: The “[Don’t Ask Cake](” has a surprising secret ingredient. 👻 Cure boredom: By playing [Lethophobia](, an interactive horror-mystery novel game with a sense of humor. 🦊 Aww: And now, a [fluffy fox](. Shower Thoughts - Weekends are only one day long, and there are two of them a week. [SOURCE SOURCE]( - Nature pre-slices citrus. You just have to unwrap it. [SOURCE SOURCE]( - Alcohol and coffee are considered adult drinks. In a lot of ways, the real adult drink is water. [SOURCE SOURCE]( - The most successful actor to come out of the HBO show ‘Girls’ was a man named Adam. [SOURCE SOURCE]( - Cows are remarkably calm, considering that for them the whole floor is food. [SOURCE SOURCE](  [via Reddit]( How did you like today’s email? [Love It]( [Meh]( [Hate It]( Today's email was brought to you by [Jacob Cohen](, [Juliet Bennett Rylah](, and [Rob Litterst](. Editing by: Mark “The flying elbow” Dent. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. [PODCAST]( [JOBS]( [CONTACT US](mailto:news@thehustle.co) [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( 25 FIRST ST. 2ND FLOOR, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02141, UNITED STATES  +1 888 482 7768 Never want to hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](list=thehustle). [The Hustle](