☕️ Pricey bunnies

Why landfills are worse than we thought... [Advertisement] March 30, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( SPONSORED BY [Apple Card]( Good morning. The unfinished Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona finally has a completion date: 2026, only 144 years after the first brick was laid, an official said last week. Construction on the Catholic church, world-renowned for its stunning design, began in 1882, but progress has been stymied through the decades by wars and funding shortfalls. Not that that bothered the building’s architect, Antoni Gaudí: He’s reported to have said, “My client is not in a hurry.” (The client is God, folks.) —Sam Klebanov, Cassandra Cassidy, Molly Liebergall, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE Nasdaq 16,379.46 +10.93% S&P 5,254.35 +10.79% Dow 39,807.37 +5.55% 10-Year 4.206% +26.0 bps Bitcoin $70,218.20 +66.14% Nvidia $903.56 +87.59% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 3:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: The last time stocks started a year off this strong, Captain Marvel was dominating the box office: The S&P 500 just finished its best [first quarter]( since 2019. Gains were largely steady across the board, but tech companies were the ones to watch, especially the biggest beneficiary of AI hype, Nvidia. If you’re more into the prepper scene, gold and bitcoin also hit record highs.  ECONOMY [Hedonism economy going strong]( [Office meme splurging ]( The Office/NBC via Giphy Americans aren’t snapping out of splurge mode: They’re [going all-in]( on the pleasures that make for a jealousy-inducing Insta feed life worth living. Despite a job market that’s finally showing signs of slowing, consumer spending jumped 0.8% last month, more than it has in over a year, according to a government inflation report released yesterday. Much of the spending surge was driven by the consumption of services that the Washington Post called “YOLOing.” That includes shelling out for Eras Tour tickets or hopping on a plane to finally shred some Alpine powder. - Foreign travel spending increased 28% last year, and live events expenditures went up by 27%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. - The trend appears to be holding strong in 2024: There were 9% more travelers on March 25 than a year ago, per the Transportation Security Administration. Economists attribute the decadent money habits Americans developed in the post-pandemic economy to higher wages courtesy of a tight labor market and beefed-up savings accounts in 2021 and 2022. Some also point to a widespread wanderlust and urge to make up for lost time after the pandemic, when bingeing Tiger King was the main source of entertainment. Meanwhile…people are saving the smallest slice of what they earn since late 2022, and those pandemic piggy banks are getting depleted. At the same time, Americans have been borrowing more via credit cards and buy now, pay later services [since 2021]( sky-high interest rates providing an incentive to do the opposite. But consumers are starting to scrimp on some sources of joy: Restaurant dining [was down]( 5% last week, compared to the previous year, per OpenTable data analyzed by the Wall Street Journal. And retail sales grew more slowly than experts expected last month. Looking ahead…consumers’ unrelenting willingness to reach for their wallets has made some analysts more optimistic about economic growth this quarter.—SK   SPONSORED BY APPLE CARD [Can your cash back rewards card do this?]( [Apple Card]( If you’re curious what your cash back can really do, Apple Card is raising the bar. Think [real cash]( that never loses value or expires. Every purchase you make with Apple Card earns you up to 3% unlimited Daily Cash. And when you open a high-yield Savings account through Apple Card, you can grow your Daily Cash at [4.50% APY](. But that’s not all. Apple Card doesn’t have a [single fee]( annual, late, or foreign transaction fees. Apply now for Apple Card and see if you’re approved [without impacting your credit score](. Terms apply. Savings provided by Goldman Sachs Bank USA. Member FDIC. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Heavy duty electric trucks charging]Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images Biden wants trucks to go electric. The Environmental Protection Agency [finalized]( rules yesterday to cut down greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, including trucks and buses, which create a quarter of US transportation-related emissions. Similar to the rules the administration recently established for [cars]( the new regulations don’t explicitly require EVs, but they limit the allowable emissions in a way that will probably push manufacturers to go in that direction or embrace hybrid or fuel cell options when they start taking effect in 2027. Tesla had a rough quarter. The company’s stock was the [worst performing]( in the S&P 500 in Q1, dropping 29%, amid fierce competition from Chinese electric carmakers, slowdowns from Red Sea shipping routes, arson at its German factory, Nordic labor battles, and controversies surrounding CEO Elon Musk. Now, investors are warily watching to see what delivery numbers Tesla reports. But one group did make lots of money off the company as it lost over $230 billion in value last quarter: short sellers. OpenAI’s new tool can sound like you. Like Ursula the sea witch, the ChatGPT-maker is gearing up to speak in someone else’s voice—but it promises to develop its [voice cloning]( tech responsibly. Yesterday, OpenAI began previewing its new program, Voice Engine, which can copy a human voice from a 15-second recording, to select companies. But it hasn’t set a date for a public rollout yet and told TechCrunch that’s to give the company time to work through how it can be used and misused. CLIMATE [Landfills are worse than we thought]( [Aerial view of trucks unloading trash into a landfill]( Allen J. Schaben/Getty Images When it comes to methane emissions, stop blaming cows—blame trash. Landfills emit the greenhouse gas at almost three times the rate previously reported to federal regulators, according to a new study published in Science. Using a new technology called imaging spectrometers, scientists collected data from 20% of the largest landfills in the US by [flying]( over them and measuring the concentration of methane in the air. Previous estimates of methane emissions were based mostly on computer models, not real data, because of the dangers of manually measuring emissions, which required workers to walk around active dump sites with handheld sensors. - The new study found that over half the landfills tested were emissions hotspots known as methane plumes. - The scientist who led the study, Dan Cusworth, said that plumes can form when decades’ worth of decomposing trash, which scientists call “garbage lasagna,” sits in the landfills. Big picture: Methane has 80 times the warming capacity of carbon dioxide in the short term. Most climate change [policies]( that target methane emissions focus primarily on the oil and gas industry, but the scientists behind the study argue that their data proves landfills should also be considered. “Even if we transition to cleaner fuels, we’re still going to be dealing with waste management,” Cusworth said.—CC   TOGETHER WITH INFINITY FUEL [Infinity Fuel]( An “infinite” supply of hydrogen fuel and oxygen. Experts say we need renewable fuel for Mars travel. [Infinity Fuel Cell & Hydrogen]( is making it happen, with $50m+ in contracts from the US Navy, the Air Force, and more. They’ve tripled revenue in three years and launched their hydrogen fuel cell tech aboard Blue Origin rockets successfully—twice. [Invest now and join the future of renewable power](. FOOD [What soaring cocoa prices mean for Easter]( [Cocoa price chart]( Amid the worst cocoa bean shortage in more than 60 years, chocolate bunnies and eggs are getting so expensive that your cousin might Venmo request you for the ones you eat on Sunday. For the first time ever, cocoa prices briefly surpassed $10,000 per metric ton this week, making the confectionary commodity more valuable than copper. Due to [bad weather and agricultural disease]( in West Africa—which produces most of the world’s cocoa—it’s been more expensive for chocolatiers to get their beans, and many are passing those added costs [on to you](. - Average chocolate prices in major US stores have [jumped]( nearly 15% since the beginning of 2023, compared to 4% inflation for non-choc candy, per NPR. - Chocolate eggs in the US are 12% [more expensive]( on average now than last March, according to Bloomberg. - Some confectioners like Mars have coped by making their chocolate products smaller while keeping prices the same or higher, aka [shrinkflation](. It’s only going to get worse. The price of cocoa has more than doubled since the beginning of the year (even more than bitcoin’s big revival) and tripled since May 2023. But since most chocolate is manufactured long before it hits store shelves and holiday prices are often locked in a year in advance, analysts think you may not feel the full effects until 2025.—ML   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Harvard Yard]Scott Eisen/Getty Images Stat: When your brand is 387 years old, they can’t all be your best year ever. Harvard, the oldest and richest university in the US, drew 5% [fewer applicants]( than last year, after its president had to step down amid concerns about antisemitism on campus. The dip came as other Ivy League schools saw applications rise (Brown excepted). Yale’s applicant pool grew by 10% from last year, giving it the most candidates for admission in its history. But your odds of getting into Harvard still aren’t great: The school accepted only 3.6% of hopeful students. Quote: “First and foremost, I want the film to spread the recognition that nuclear weapons are inhumane.” The film in question is Oppenheimer, which [opened]( in Japan yesterday, eight months after it premiered elsewhere and weeks after it won seven Academy Awards. And the speaker makes it clear why it took so long, as that comment came from Takashi Hiraoka, a former mayor of Hiroshima whose cousin was killed when the US dropped the nuclear bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer developed. He said he thought it was a good film but that it should have included more about the bomb’s consequences and its victims. The movie garnered both praise and criticism in Japan, and some theaters reportedly posted warnings about its content. Read: The cautionary tale of Wirecutter and the internet’s favorite wok. ([Businessweek]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [The Fed’s favorite inflation tracker]( the personal consumption expenditures price index, rose 0.3% from last month, putting it about where it was expected. - [Chinese telecommunications company Huawei]( said its profits doubled last quarter despite the US restricting its access to American-made, high-tech parts. - [The International Court of Justice]( the UN’s top court, ordered Israel to allow aid to enter Gaza unimpeded to stave off famine. The court is considering South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide, in which Ireland recently said it plans to intervene. - [Louis Gossett Jr.]( the first Black man to win a best supporting actor Oscar (for his role in An Officer and a Gentleman), died yesterday at age 87. - [Alamo Drafthouse]( the cinema chain known for serving you a meal with your movie, is looking for someone to buy it after filing for bankruptcy in 2021. RECS [Saturday To-Do List graphic] Explore: The world’s weirdest [cave systems](. Live like you’re in a rom-com: Real couples who found love via [missed connections]( ads. Play with your food: The winners of an annual [Peeps diorama]( contest. Forget the chocolate bunnies: Use [this recipe]( to bake a carrot cake for Easter instead. Save $50k on travel: With lifetime access to [Dollar Flight Club]( for just $129 (was $1,690), enjoy up to 90% off every flight for life (think round-trip to Hawaii from $161). [Offer ends at midnight]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew crossword: Today’s puzzle wades into the contentious return-to-work debate. [See where we landed here](. Open House Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that is cool with walking. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price. [Historic home on Mackinac Island, Michigan]Zillow Today’s [home]( is on Michigan’s Mackinac Island, a tiny little blip at the tip of the mitten in Lake Huron. The island has banned cars since 1898, so the lack of a two-car garage isn’t really a big deal. Amenities include: - 9 beds, 10 baths - Borderline ostentatious arches - Plenty of sitting areas to sigh and fan oneself How much for this historic home? SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=4904f90a]( ANSWER $4.8 million Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: ostentatious, meaning “seeking to attract attention or envy, often by gaudiness.” Thanks to Keith from Utah for the tasteful suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✳︎ A Note From Infinity Fuel This is a paid advertisement for Infinity Fuel Cell & Hydrogen, Inc.’s Reg CF offering. Please read the offering circular at [(. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( Sam Klebanov, [Cassandra Cassidy]( and [Molly Liebergall]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Get smarter in just 5 minutes - Money & Career: [Money With Katie](  [Bossy]( Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2024 Morning Brew. All rights reserved. 22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011