To the moon

MARKETS

• Commodities: Oil got smacked on Friday as the Saudi energy minister said OPEC and Russia could boost output to make up for a drop in Venezuelan production and U.S. sanctions on Iran.
• U.S. economy: All eyes are on the May jobs report due on Friday. Economists are expecting the economy to have added 190,000 jobs.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Starbucks Closes Stores for Ambitious Anti-Bias Training Program

If you're itching for a post-lunch dose of caffeine later today, here's a pro tip: you may be wasting your time heading to Starbucks. This afternoon, the chain is closing more than 8,000 company-owned stores to give 175,000 of its employees anti-discrimination training.

...why?

• In April, two black men were arrested at a Philadelphia cafe. The crime? Asking to use the bathroom without having bought anything (they were waiting on a third person to arrive).
• Protests alleging racial injustice spread, the company apologized for the incident, and it changed its bathroom policy to be more accommodating.

But those are baby steps compared to today's main event

Because closing 8,000 stores for an afternoon costs a lot of money...try $12 million in lost profit, according to a partner at IB firm William Blair.

Still, Starbucks thinks that's chump change compared to the much greater cost of unconscious bias, in which people perceive negative stereotypes about particular groups without being aware of it.

And heavy-hitters have helped lead the effort, like Bryan Stevenson, Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative and Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

So what should Starbucks employees expect this afternoon?

• Videos from Chairman Howard Schultz and Common (the artist) will help people "see each other fully, completely, respectfully."
• They'll explore the (long) history of racial discrimination in American public places.
• Each store will receive a "tool kit" for ongoing learning in self-guided groups.

Seems like Starbucks is saying all the right things. But will any of this...you know, work?

Bottom line: No one thinks four hours of racial bias training will move the needle by itself. BUT, this single afternoon could signal an important shift in how corporations confront issues of racial discrimination.

INTERNATIONAL

When in Rome...Try to Stabilize the Government

Turns out, you don't need Facebook to have a controversial election. Just ask Italy, which is hosting a bare knuckle brawl between anti-eurozone populists and pro-EU politicians.

The populists: They won Italy's election in March. And now? They hope to ignore strict EU rules with a $118 billion tax cut and spending plan—a plan, they believe, that could pull Italy out from the economic muck.

• But not everyone's on board. Credit rating agencies promised to cut the country's ratings, making it difficult to borrow money and pay back debt.
• Which, did we mention, it has a lot of? Like $2.3 trillion worth. As a percentage of GDP, that's the third highest level of debt in the world (behind Japan and Greece).

So what happens next? We'll have to wait it out

The populist party was slow to form a government and current President Sergio Mattarella took his chance—he blocked a populist coalition Sunday night. Now, it looks like Italy could be heading towards another election to decide its fate.

SPACE EXPLORATION

Bezos Aims for the Moon at the International Space Development Conference

Elon Musk isn't the only billionaire with final frontier fantasies.

No matter what it takes, Jeff Bezos has every intention of putting humankind on the moon and keeping it there. And he'll do it using his space exploration company, Blue Origin.

Why, you ask?

• "The alternative is stasis...[we] will have to stop growing...That's not the future that I want for my grandchildren, or my grandchildren's grandchildren." Simply put, our world can't handle the rising demand for energy...but with 24/7 access to solar power, space colonies can.
• The plan: Work with NASA and other space organizations to build a permanent settlement in space. Did you know the moon holds pockets of ice? Or that people might eventually live/work in hollowed out asteroids? Yeah, neither did we.
• But Bezos seems confident it's possible. "One of two things will happen...Either other people will take over the vision, or I'll run out of money."

Okay, but this surely can't be more important than Amazon...right?

Wrong. Blue Origin is "the most important work I am doing."

+ Dive deeper: Because Bezos isn't messing around.

CALENDAR

The (Short) Week Ahead

Tuesday (May 29): Earnings (Salesforce, HP); Call Nana

Wednesday (May 30): The EU's top trade official meets U.S. trade reps in Paris; Earnings (Box, Dick's)

Thursday (May 31): Earnings (Ulta Beauty, Lululemon, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Costco)

Friday (June 1): May jobs report; Toshiba should finalize the sale of its chip business to a Bain consortium; ASCO Annual Meeting kicks off; Earnings (GameStop, Abercrombie & Fitch)

APPAREL

Nike Scores a GOOALLLLLLLLLL with Nigerian Jerseys

Today, Nike's jerseys for the Nigerian World Cup squad (come on Super Eagles!) go on sale...but you might have a tough time getting your hands on one of these beauties. Nike received three million pre-orders, which set a record for an African team.

+ Perspective: In 2016, Manchester United sold the most replica jerseys in the world—2.85 million.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Solo: A Star Wars Story was a major box office disappointment in its first weekend.
• The EU proposed banning some single-use plastic products like straws, cutlery, and plates in an effort to become more sustainable and clean up the planet's oceans.
• Verint Systems, a data analytics firm, is in talks to acquire Israeli mobile software company NSO Group for $1 billion, per WSJ.
• Average attendance at MLB games is on pace for a 15-year low. Blame bad weather and tons of strikeouts.
• JAB Holdings, the massive food conglomerate, has agreed to buy Pret a Manger for $2 billion, per the FT. Now, can someone finally tell us how to pronounce it?
• The U.S. and EU duked it out at a WTO meeting over Airbus subsidies.

BREAKROOM

CAREER TIP
Become a mentor—For their book The CEO Next Door, Elena Botelho and Kim Powell interviewed 2,600 leaders. What did they find? Weaker CEO candidates talked about their mentors, while stronger candidates talked about the mentorship they offered. Here's why: "Mentoring others is a powerful laboratory for perspective getting...it's hard to help someone without understanding his needs."

BRAIN TEASER
I need to get a new watch. The one I have loses exactly 20 minutes every hour. It now shows 4:00 am and I know that it was correct at midnight, when I last set it. I happen to know that the watch stopped 4 hours ago, so what is the correct time now?

(Answer located at bottom of newsletter)

Breakroom Answers