Facebook's on the market

MARKETS

• The FOMC minutes: In its riveting mind-numbingly dry report, the Fed said it would be fine with inflation hovering over the 2% target temporarily. We should also expect an interest rate hike at the June meeting.
• Turkey's troubles: The country's currency (the lira) went into free fall yesterday, causing the central bank to call an emergency meeting and raise interest rates.
• Earnings today: TD Bank, RBC, Gap, Best Buy.

TRADE

What a Single Ship Can Teach Us About U.S.-China Trade

Quick, grab your passport and deodorant...we're going on a trip.

No, not a vacation exactly, more like a voyage of discovery. We'll discover how trade talks can change the course of the economy.

And the cool part? We can do it all aboard one cargo ship, the RB Eden:

• Built: 2016
• Length: 751 ft. Well over two football fields
• Cargo: 77,000 tons of sorghum

Sorghum, for the uninitiated: A crop that's commonly used as animal feed. It's also used to make baijiu, a popular Chinese liquor (we've tried it...definitely an acquired taste).

In fact, China imported $1.2 billion worth of American sorghum in 2016, which makes it the largest foreign buyer of the product.

So back to the RB Eden

Here's the ship right now, just off the coast of West Africa.

But how it got here is a lot more interesting. The timeline:

February 5: China said it's investigating whether the U.S. was unfairly subsidizing American sorghum so that it could undercut Chinese farmers on price.

March 18: The RB Eden sets off from Corpus Christi, TX weighed down with sorghum. Destination? Shanghai.

April 17: Trouble on the high seas. China announced it was placing a 179% tariff on sorghum imports and the ship pulled a U-ey in the middle of the Indian Ocean, heading toward Spain. Coincidence? We think not.

May 17: Another U-turn. As the two sides got closer to a deal, China dropped its probe into sorghum. Now? The RB Eden is full steam ahead to Asia.

So what's it all mean? There are thousands of ships like the RB Eden out there, bringing goods like sorghum from one continent to the other. A tariff on even a single product could disrupt the economy.

RIDE-HAILING

Let's Take a Look at Uber's Financials

Uber's financials? Don't mind if we do (thanks, Axios).

But before we dive in, let's stop and remember: (1) Uber's gearing up for a big IPO in 2019, and (2) it lost $2.8 billion in 2016, followed by $4.5 billion in 2017. So these Q1 numbers could be a big confidence booster for future investors...

Drumroll, please

• Net revenue jumped to $2.5 billion (up 67% YoY).
• And how about profits? $2.5 billion—although most of that's non-recurring, coming from the sales of its Russia and Southeast Asia businesses.

Translation: It's not fully profitable yet. EBITDA came in at a loss of $304 million, but that's still a 49% improvement from Q1 2017.

Better yet, for a company that's spent over $10 billion, it's looking pretty healthy. Uber has only $3.1 billion in debt with $4.7 billion in cash on hand.

+ One controversial stat: Revenue grew 67%, but the total amount in fares drivers made only rose 55%.

GAMBLING

UK Sports Betting Firm Scoops Up FanDuel

Only a week ago, the Supreme Court paved the way for legalized sports betting. Now?

We're already seeing the effects: UK sports gambling company Paddy Power Betfair will merge its U.S. business with FanDuel, taking 61% of the joint operation.

And you bet this deal's a win-win

• FanDuel racked up $76 million in debt from hefty legal fees and cutthroat competition with DraftKings. It'll pay that off with the $158 million it receives from Paddy.
• Paddy Power Betfair is grabbing a slice of the U.S. sports betting market.

And oh how far we've come. It feels like just yesterday FanDuel pleaded with the FTC to merge with DraftKings—debt had them both facing 4th & long. But the FTC turned it down.

Now, the Supreme Court has given it a second chance at life.

Combined, FanDuel and Paddy will rake in about $265 million in revenue. Let's see how DraftKings responds...

TECH

Facebook Beefs Up Marketplace

Zuckerberg might be over in Europe saving face, but back home, Facebook (+1.69%) is still making moves. Working with data providers like Handy, HomeAdvisor, and Porch, it introduced new features for Marketplace that allows users to hire home service contractors right from its platform.

• Steve the plumber: He'll let you check his reviews and send him and (hundreds of other competing plumbers) requests for work.
• Ashley the renovator: She's at your service to undercut Facebook competitors like Angie's List and Craigslist.

Tl;dr: Millions of users make recommendation requests on Facebook for competent home service contractors. Translation? Facebook should be the perfect hub for this type of service.

Connecting the dots: Alexa isn't the only one battling for in-home real estate. The question is, now that Amazon Home Services and Facebook Marketplace are off to the races, is there still room for companies like Craigslist? It does get 50 billion page views a month...

TECH

Macron Needles Tech Leaders in Paris

Let's get one thing straight: French President Emmanuel Macron doesn't care if you're a millionaire tech CEO...you're still going to have to be a positive contributor to society.

+ Macron took more than just a hard stance on lunch. Here's all the highlights from the country's tech conference. Our picks? IBM saying it'll hire 1,400 more workers in France and Uber's expanding health benefits to European drivers.

MEDIA

Comcast Will Make a Bid for Fox Assets

Fox is caught in the middle of a media love triangle: Comcast (-1.94%) is officially fine-tuning an offer for Fox's entertainment assets.

Remember: Fox (+1.60%) already promised its heart to Disney (-1.13%), after agreeing to a $52 billion offer (for those same assets) back in December. Comcast's bid is expected to be higher, though.

So which company will Fox choose?

• We're betting on Disney: Comcast will offer all-cash, while Disney offered all-stock. Shares of a Disney company prepping to enter digital streaming = potentially more valuable for Fox shareholders than a one-and-done, cash deal.

Not to mention, Fox already turned down Comcast last November, afraid of facing the same regulatory hurdles troubling AT&T and Time Warner.

Dive deeper: Check out our longer piece on the love triangle from two weeks back.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• The NFL unveiled a policy requiring players and staff to stand and "show respect" during the national anthem.
• Apple (+0.64%) is ready for GDPR. It's releasing a new tool to let European customers download all of the data it has on them.
• Uber is shutting down its autonomous vehicle testing in Arizona (not everywhere).
• GE stock (-7.32%) had its worst day in nine years after CEO John Flannery gave a presentation about the company's future.
• Target (-5.65%) is on a spending spree to compete with Amazon, and it's beginning to pay off: online sales jumped 28%.

BREAKROOM

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BRAIN TEASER
What four digit number has digit 1 three less than digit 4 which is one more than digit 2 which is twice digit 3 which is not a prime number and is one more than 1/3 of digit 4?

(Answer located at bottom of newsletter)

Breakroom Answers