Oh, brother

MARKETS

• Economy: The housing market is absolutely bananas right now, with mortgage rates at their lowest level ever. Mortgage applications to buy a home were up 33% over last year.
• Gold: We don’t always talk about gold up here, but when we do...it’s because the metal crossed $1,800 to hit a nine-year high. Gold is considered to be a safe haven when other assets, like stocks, seem shaky.

APPAREL

Oh, Brother

Brooks Brothers, the retailer famous for clothing titans of American business, 40 U.S. presidents, and boys going to their first school dances, filed for bankruptcy yesterday. You’ll never guess why...

It was because of the global pandemic

Despite generating more than $991 million in sales last year, temporary store closures caused revenue to tank while the preppy retailer struggled to pay rent on its expansive store portfolio.

• It had roughly 250 stores in North America pre-pandemic, a product of CEO Claudio Del Vecchio’s aggressive growth efforts. Brooks Brothers added about one-third of its current U.S. store count under his leadership.

Del Vecchio doubled down on its U.S. presence because Brooks Brothers is American to its core. The 202-year old company that clothed Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt is also one of the last remaining retailers committed to manufacturing some of its products in the U.S.—it has three factories in Massachusetts, North Carolina, and New York.

Problems existed before the pandemic

Corporate America’s dress code shifted from pinstripes and button downs to athleisure and fast fashion. The U.S. men's suit market shrank 8% from 2015 to 2019 while the sports apparel market grew 17% over the same period, according to Euromonitor. Credit to Brooks Brothers, it recognized the change and released a line of casual clothes called Golden Fleece in 2016.

• It worked: Casual sportswear accounts for around 80% of Brooks Brothers total sales, while tailored clothes, like suits, make up the rest.
• But not well enough: Brooks Brothers still can’t compete with the online presence of newer, trendier brands—only about 20% of its 2019 revenue came online, compared to 54% for Lululemon.

Bottom line: Remember, bankrupt ≠ gone forever. Brooks Brothers secured $75 million in financing as it looks for a buyer that “aligns with our core values, culture, and ambitions,” said a company spokesperson. Translation: they'd better wear a suit.

AVIATION

United Confronts Reality

Just how earth-shattering is the collapse in air travel? Yesterday, United Airlines warned nearly half of its U.S. staff—36,000 people—they could be furloughed starting Oct. 1.

• Under the plan (which the company called a “last resort”), flight attendants would be the hardest hit, followed by customer service and gate agents, maintenance workers, then pilots.

While devastating, the move is in line with the historic crisis facing aviation, say industry leaders. “The United Airlines projected furlough numbers are a gut punch, but they are also the most honest assessment we’ve seen on the state of the industry,” acknowledged the president of the Association of Flight Attendants.

The state of the industry: Despite an influx of funds from the government, United is still burning through $40 million a day as travelers ditch TSA for the highway. As of July 1, United’s hub in Newark recorded near-term net bookings of just ~16% compared to last year, per the WSJ.

+ Final interesting fact: Due to the quirks of coronavirus-era air travel, the busiest airport in the world in May and June was...Dallas-Fort Worth International.

EDUCATION

If You’re Gonna Get Sued, You Want to Get Sued by Dummies

No such luck for the Trump administration. Yesterday, Harvard and MIT filed a lawsuit in federal court objecting to a new Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) policy announced Monday.

The policy: ICE said international students on F-1 and M-1 visas would not be allowed to stay enrolled at U.S. colleges that go online-only in the fall.

• The schools say the rule would lead to hundreds of thousands of international students being stuck in the U.S. They also say the administration is pressuring higher education to resume in-person classes before it's safe to do so.
• ICE’s “parent agency,” the Department of Homeland Security, said that by barring students who don’t need to be physically present, it’s trying to help contain the coronavirus.

This lawsuit must have an ungodly amount of extracurriculars: Cornell, Dartmouth, and Princeton have all said they’ll sign on.

Zoom out: The brawl began on Monday, when President Trump called Harvard’s decision to hold classes fully online “ridiculous.”

+ While we're here...the Ivy League has ruled out playing all sports this fall.

INTERNATIONAL

Bob’s Your Stimulus

Yesterday, UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak revealed a new series of initiatives totaling $38 billion to keep the country’s economy calm and consuming on.

The fish: a scheme aimed at helping employers keep workers on payrolls. The program will pay £1,000 per furloughed employee that firms re-hire. The government is ready to dish out up to $11.9 billion to stop unemployment from spiraling.

The chips: Sunak is slicing taxes on food, non-alcoholic drinks, accommodation, and admission to attractions to 5% from 20%—for about six months.

• 2.4 million people, or 8% of the UK workforce, rely on the hospitality, accommodation, and attraction sectors. About 80% of those businesses had to close in March until Prime Minister Boris Johnson relaxed restrictions on July 4.

The trifle: To further help revive those industries, the government will pick up half of Brits’ tabs (up to £10/person) at participating restaurants and pubs between Monday and Wednesday from Aug. 3 to 31.

SPORTS

NBA Tries Not to Blow Its Bubble

As NBA teams finally start to practice in Orlando today, the infamous “bubble” the league worked so hard to set up will be put to the test.

What exactly is a bubble?

We have no idea how soap bubbles work (surface tension??) but the NBA’s bubble will focus on creating a coronavirus-free zone within Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports campus. A few highlights:

• Every single player has to test negative on two separate coronavirus tests in the first 36–48 hours upon arrival before they're allowed to practice as teams.
• The players will be offered Oura rings to monitor their health.
• The teams are staying on Disney hotel properties, and were assigned hotels based on their position in the standings.
• Apparently, this is what the meals look like while the players are in quarantine .

Bottom line: While the NBA’s bubble plan has been widely praised (Dr. Fauci called it “quite creative”), there’s some concern that the short testing window might miss a positive case, “popping” the bubble before games can begin late this month.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• VP Mike Pence said the CDC will issue new guidelines for reopening schools next week after President Trump criticized the original plan as “very tough & expensive.”
• Twitter posted a job listing that revealed it was building a subscription platform under the codename “Gryphon.” Shares boomed 7.3%.
• Amazon is pulling Washington Redskins merch from its website.
• The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to broaden exemptions for employers who have religious or moral objections to covering birth control in their insurance plans. The court is expected to rule on Trump’s tax records today.
• A Sims reality show is coming to a TV near you.

PREP SCHOOL TRIVIA

We took the following photo in the wilderness of Martha's Vineyard. Can you identify the eight apparel brands shown?

PREP SCHOOL TRIVIA ANSWER

1. Moose = Abercrombie & Fitch
2. Eagle = American Eagle
3. Sailboat = Nautica
4. Whale = Vineyard Vines
5. Seagulls = Hollister
6. Polo player + horse = Ralph Lauren
7. Crocodile = Lacoste
8. Sheep = Brooks Brothers