Play this on repeat

MARKETS

• U.S. markets: After another wild session, stocks regained some momentum following Monday's losses. All eyes remain on tech and U.S. tension with China.
• Crypto: Bitcoin popped back above $7,000. Ethereum is hovering around $400.

MEDIA

Fox, Sky, and Disney...A Love Triangle

Fox (+0.03%) said it would sell Sky News to Disney (+0.83%) to appease British regulators concerned about the Murdoch's control over U.K. news outlets at the same time Comcast---

OK settle down...that was a mouthful. Let's talk this one out:

The background: In 2016, Fox made a $15.5 billion bid to gain full control of Sky News' parent Sky (it currently owns 39%). But regulators snubbed the deal because it could give too much power to the Murdochs, whose outlets already reach a third of U.K. consumers.

The newest development: In order to win over regulators, Fox put two options on the table:

1. Separate Sky News from Sky and keep editorial from Murdoch influence. It's called "ring-fencing." Add that to your list of vocab words.
2. Allow Disney to buy Sky News, a deal that would be more digestible for U.K. regulators.

The strategy: Disney is hoping to acquire $52 billion of Fox's assets including Sky. But instead of waiting around for the deal to finalize, Disney is making a direct play for Sky News.

The acquisition target: Sky reaches 23 million households and holds rights to the Premier League (football or soccer, you choose). And Disney isn't the only U.S. company eyeing Sky. Comcast slipped in a casual $31 billion offer in February.

Good on the details. What's the bigger picture?

It's mating season for media companies.

Disney is looking to bulk up as it develops a streaming service to compete with Netflix (coming 2019). The opposite is true for Fox, which is trying to go lean with a focus on news and sports. And Comcast? Sky could be its one-way ticket to the European market.

The elephant in the courtroom: Keep an eye on the outcome of the AT&T-Time Warner vs. DOJ trial. It'll cast a shadow over all media deals for years.

TECH

Now Playing: Spotify’s IPO Playlist

Backstreet Boys—I Want It That Way: Spotify wanted a direct listing IPO—meaning no predetermined price point—and it got one. Shares came in $165.90, and finished the day slightly lower, valuing Spotify at $26.5 billion. It's one of the top ten biggest U.S. tech IPOs ever (after the first day of trading).

Cardi B—Bodak Yellow: Tech unicorns like Airbnb and Uber will be watching Spotify's money moves. If the price stabilizes and it keeps its valuation, we could see more companies direct-list and skip those expensive underwriting fees (things look promising so far).

MC Hammer—U Can't Touch This: Spotify didn't opt for the typical IPO road show, but it did take some time to gloat. It's the global leader in music streaming, with 157 million active users and 71 million paying subscribers (sorry Apple).

Kendrick Lamar—HUMBLE: Some analysts said, 'sit down, be humble.' Spotify has never turned a profit and lost $1.5 billion in 2017 (although some of that was due to non-recurring expenses).

Britney Spears—Oops!...I Did It Again: Honorary song for the NYSE, which raised the Swiss flag in celebration. Spotify is a Swedish company...

TECH

Tesla Whiffs on Model 3 Production Once Again

If you need Elon Musk, you can find him curled up in a sleeping bag at Tesla's (+5.96%) Fremont factory telling ghost stories and talking mani-pedis. He's now spending all his time there after Tesla once again missed Model 3 production estimates.

Refresher: Musk originally promised 5,000 cars per week, before lowering that estimate to 2,500. By the end of last week, production hit 2,020 cars.

On the bright side: Tesla has revved up overall production. Total output for Q1 reached 34,494 which is a 40% uptick from Q4.

But that won't calm investors. The issue has gotten so delicate, Musk is now personally managing Model 3 production (and yes, he's actually sleeping at the facility).

What to watch: Tesla's stock leading up to earnings (May 2). The company helped lead the tech rout Monday, liquidity is still an issue, and Tesla needs to meet production goals before tackling bigger projects—like the Semi.

ECONOMY

The U.S. Fires Back at China, Proposing Tariffs on Tech and Machinery

That didn't take long. Only one day after China placed tariffs on 128 American exports like pork and wine, the U.S.—in classic one-upper fashion—released a list of $50 billion in Chinese goods it would slap with its own 25% tariffs. Hey, at least they're taking turns.

What products are on the list? Well, let's see...there's "Brewery machinery," "Photosensitive transistors," "Electrical theodolites and tachymeters," and around 1,300 more.

The logic behind the list, according to President Trump's trade guru Peter Navarro, is to attack China where it wants to get ahead: in tech and advanced manufacturing. Remember, the White House is using these tariffs to send China a message after years of shady IP practices.

So now what? This list is far from finalized. To get feedback, the U.S. Trade Rep is leaving a suggestion box for the public to fill over the next 60 days. Sharpen your pencils.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• There was a shooting at YouTube HQ in California.
• Snap (-2.63%) released a new video chat feature for up to 16 people to use at a time.
• Pfizer (+1.80%) is in early talks with P&G (+1.32%) about selling its consumer business (CNBC).
• Panera's website leaked customer data for nearly eight months. One reporter believes it could have affected more than 37 million customers.
• Tencent signed a deal with the MLB to stream 125 games this season.
• The New York Fed announced a new president: John Williams. Exotic name...
• CBS (+4.24%) has made a below-market bid for Viacom (-3.70%).

WATER COOLER

FROM THE CREW

From our office, to your inbox. We’ll keep you in-the-know about all the latest happenings from our perspective.

We've got great news: robots aren't taking your jobs...let us finish...yet.

At least, a fancy new report from the OECD said as much. Researchers found that only 10% of U.S. jobs are at risk of being automated from AI and robotics over the next 20 years. A previous study from Oxford pegged at-risk jobs at 47%.

Seems like a pretty big number to get wrong, no? Well, the original study grouped jobs within industries more broadly than the most recent one (i.e. if one type of factory worker was being replaced, they all were).

But us humans are complex beings, capable of complicated interpersonal dynamics like small-talk and kissing up to our bosses. Translation: there are still plenty of day-to-day skills a robot can't manage to wrap its electrical wiring around.

So what's most at risk? No surprises here—jobs that require the least amount of training (meal prep, mining, manufacturing).

Which leads us to the report's best career advice: The people most willing to learn new skill-sets will be in the best position to pivot when WALL-E comes for their jobs.

THE BREAKROOM

VENTURE THIS REPONSES

Yesterday we asked if you'd get streaming with Spotify. 58% of readers said "Yes," while 42% of readers said "No."

Here were two of our favorite arguments: "With enough cash to buy a small country Apple can outlast Spotify, although their reach to Android users is nonexistent. I would expect Apple users to go with Apple Music which would lower expectations of future growth, and thus cause Spotify shares to be overvalued"..."Despite Apple Music's nostalgic advantage of allowing me to combine new music with my old purchases—I always end up using Spotify due to its superior algorithms and clean interface, both of which clearly set it apart from its competitors."

GET A PIECE OF BREW HISTORY

What do you call a Morning Brew mug that was supposed to be Brew blue, but turned out to be an off-shade of purple? We call it a limited edition collectors item.

As part of our referral program, we ship readers a free Brew mug at 50 referrals. But, for this week only we're giving away our limited edition mugs to anyone who earns 10 referrals this week. Get a piece of Brew history.

BRAIN TEASER

When Carl Friedrich Gauss was six years old (back in 1783), his teacher asked the students to add up all the numbers from 1 to 100. Unfortunately for the teacher, who was hoping to keep the class occupied, it took young Gauss only a few seconds to work out the answer. Can you figure out what Gauss did to come up with the answer?

(Answer located at bottom of newsletter)

Breakroom Answers

Brain Teaser
Gauss realized that the series 1+2+3+4...+97+98+99+100 could be written as 1+100+2+99+3+98+4+97... or 101 times 50 to get the total 5,050.