No more Mr. Nice Zuck
MARKETS
- Government shutdown: We're back on...for now. More in just a sec.
- U.S. markets: The Dow put the finishing touches on its fifth straight week of gains. Equities are off to a solid start in 2019.
- Crypto: It's quiet. Too quiet. Bitcoin volatility is at its lowest level in two months.
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SHUTDOWN
Who Wants to Make a Deal?
Seems like everyone at this point, including President Trump. He agreed yesterday afternoon to reopen the federal government for three weeks without funding for a border wall. That brings to a close (at least temporarily) the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
Xs and Os
Mark your calendars. The deal allows for Congress and the White House to spend the days between now and Feb. 15 negotiating U.S.-Mexico border security.
- But if a bipartisan House-Senate conference committee tasked with negotiating a border security plan can't bury the hatchet, some government agencies could close again.
And about those jobs—the deal also means the roughly 800,000 federal workers who've been furloughed or forced to work without pay since Dec. 22 will begin getting paychecks "very quickly or as soon as possible," Trump said.
How did we get here?
It took some wheeling and dealing in D.C., plus weeks of hurt for some in the American business community, from brewers to belt-buckle manufacturers.
- The White House's top economist said it was possible the U.S. could see "zero" economic growth in Q1 if the shutdown were to continue through March.
- JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon called for an "immediate" end to the shutdown just yesterday.
- And airlines conceded it was costing them millions.
You might not be a federal worker or Jamie Dimon, but if you're traveling this season, the deal's a relief for you, too. Yesterday, airports across the Northeast reported major delays due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. Let's just say the wait at LaGuardia's express spa was longer than usual for tension release massages.
The deals aren't only happening in D.C.
After more than a month of effectively being closed, the SEC will reopen its doors (and again offer feedback to companies looking to IPO). Now that the government is back in business, some of the previously halted IPOs may resume. Uber and Lyft, that's your cue...
But the most important bottom line? This is all only temporary. Unless private firms are prepared to hit the public markets in under three weeks, there could be more stalling on deck.
TECH
No More Mr. Nice Zuck
The Facebook (+2.18%) CEO is making some changes, starting with an attempt to bring his company's "sprawling divisions" closer together, per a NYT report.
Step 1: Integrate Facebook's messaging services—Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
- If you, too, were wondering if that means Aunt Josie will start sliding into your Insta DMs, know that all three services will remain standalone apps. But their frameworks (aka what makes them tick on the back end) will be unified.
Step 2: Incorporate end-to-end encryption for all of those newly integrated apps.
- After the changes take hold, a Facebook user will be able to send encrypted messages to someone who only has a WhatsApp account, for example. Right now, WhatsApp is the only one of those apps that (by default) uses end-to-end encryption.
What's driving the change?
Keeping 1 billion Instagram users, 1.5 billion WhatsApp users, and 1.3 billion Messenger users within the same Facebook ecosystem. Plus, Zuckerberg's recent "I'm the boss" outlook follows nearly two years of scrutiny over FB's primary social network.
A two-part zoom out
Part one...while Facebook's core platform user growth has "hit a wall," growth at WhatsApp and Instagram has been tremendous. Bringing the "family of apps" closer together could mean an opportunity to extract more revenue from those high-growth properties
- But remember the promise Facebook made when it bought WhatsApp in 2014 and Instagram in 2012: autonomy. This move could stir (further) agitation against King Zuck the Acquirer.
Part two...don't sleep on FB's continued data privacy struggles. It's one thing to keep your data secure on one platform, but three? All of which have differing degrees of information about you? Won't be easy.
+ While we're here: Read Zuck's Thursday night WSJ op-ed on keeping your data secure...and using it for advertising.
MARKETING
When 30 Seconds Costs Over $5 Million
We're just over one week away from the most watched TV event of the year in the U.S.—when eager viewers across the country settle into their couches, buffalo chicken dip in hand, to marvel at four hours of...ads.
Come on, we know many of you are not tuning into the Super Bowl just to watch the ageless wonder go for his sixth title, and so do the companies looking to get your attention.
Here's the big news: CBS, which is broadcasting the game Feb. 3, is selling 30-second ads for $5.1 million to $5.3 million this year...in line with the $5.24 million NBC charged last year.
- What's with ad pricing #DeflateGate? The Super Bowl drew 103.4 million viewers last year—the fewest in nine years.
- But that hasn't stopped marketing teams from snatching spots. Amazon's drafting celebrities for beta testing, Doritos is pairing Chance the Rapper with the Backstreet Boys, and...is the Big Lebowski going to make a return? We could abide.
Notably missing: Coca-Cola, which will not run an in-game Super Bowl ad for the first time in more than a decade.
FOOD MANUFACTURING
So That’s How They Make It
*Clinks glass* We'd like to propose a toast to the person who made this machine...
COMMUNITY
From the Crew: Director's Cut
When we asked you about your weekend plans yesterday, we expected to scroll through the answers and put two or three at the bottom of the email.
But then we looked, and laughed, and teared up, and said things like "That's a great idea" and "Are you sure that's legal?" So we gave it its own section. Here's what Brew readers are doing this weekend...
- Work, work, work, work, work, sung in Rihanna's voice
- I am getting my eyebrows waxed and getting a facial in preparation for my wedding next week!
- Nipping our own Rappahannock oysters from the riverbank, for a sunset oyster roast with friends
- Watching my alma mater University of Maryland play Illinois at MSG on Saturday (Editor's note: We'll see you there...go Terps!)
- It's cold out, so I'll be inside playing Dungeons and Dragons
- I'll be waking up at 2:30am Saturday to go snow goose hunting
- Taking an impromptu road trip with my wife to celebrate our anniversary
- Trekking to the El Plomo base camp, one of Santiago's iconic summits. And don't look so surprised, of course we read the Brew in Chile!
- Heading to Scranton on a DIY "Office" tour with our two teenage kids who are obsessed with the show
Bottom line: People are amazing.
WHAT ELSE IS BREWING
- A mining dam owned by Vale SA (-8.08%) burst in southeastern Brazil. At least seven people were killed, and 200 remain missing (as of this writing).
- Vodafone (-3.18%), one of the largest mobile operators in the world, is pausing the deployment of Huawei equipment in its core networks until security concerns are resolved. Honk if you've heard that one before.
- YouTube said it'll make an effort to recommend fewer controversial (*cough conspiracy theory cough*) videos on its platform.
- Airbnb has acquired Gaest, a Denmark-based startup that...fine, we'll make it easy: it's the Airbnb of renting spaces for events and meetings.
BREAKROOM
Saturday Headlines
It's our favorite weekend activity: Rounding up all the week's strangest news stories, lumping them in with one piece of satire (i.e. not something that actually happened), and sharing them with you all. Can you spot today's fake headline?
- "CNN has begun sending way-too-casual push notifications announcing they're tired and can't wait for the weekend"
- "This KFC gravy candle will give your home the rich, meaty aromatherapy it deserves"
- "A mysterious company claims to sell sneeze-filled tissues for $80. Is it real?"
- "10-year-old boy wins science fair by questioning if Tom Brady is a cheater"
(Answer located at bottom of newsletter)
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Breakroom Answers
Saturday Headlines Answer
CNN’s push notifications are the same level of casual they’ve always been
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