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The decline of an American tech giant... August 05, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [Apple TV+]( Good morning. You never know what your new hobby may ultimately lead to. In 2016, Kristen Faulkner was a venture capitalist living in New York City who clipped into a bike for the first time at a clinic in Central Park. On Sunday, Faulkner, who didn’t even technically qualify for the Olympics, pulled off the “upset of a lifetime” and shocked the world by winning the [gold medal]( in the road cycling race. It’s one of the most successful VC exits in years. —Dave Lozo, Neal Freyman MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE Nasdaq $16,776.16 +13.61% S&P $5,346.56 +12.73% Dow $39,737.26 +5.36% 10-Year 3.792% -15.4 bps Bitcoin $59,283.85 +40.27% Data is provided by *Stock data as of market close. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: After a bright start to the year, [dark and stormy clouds]( have gathered above Wall Street. Friday’s weaker-than-expected jobs report raised concerns that cracks have formed in the US economy and the Fed is waiting too long to cut interest rates. Meanwhile, a slew of disappointing Big Tech earnings last week showed how their ginormous AI investments are not yet paying off as investors had hoped. Global stocks are getting routed this morning—Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plunged 12.4% for its worst day since “Black Monday” of 1987.  TECH [The fall of an American tech giant]( [Intel HQ]( Sullivan/Getty Images In the span of a few decades, Intel has gone from a global leader in semiconductors to a company frantically conserving cash. Last week’s earnings report revealed the shocking extent of its challenges: The chipmaker said it would [cut 15% of its workforce]( (~15,000 employees) and suspend the dividend it had paid out since 1992 as part of a plan to save $10 billion in costs next year. Shares tanked 26% on Friday to their lowest level in 15 years. In a memo to employees, CEO Pat Gelsinger didn’t bother to use a compliment sandwich. He said starkly, “Our costs are too high, our margins are too low,” and that the belt-tightening moves represent “some of the most consequential changes in our company’s history.” What went so wrong for Intel? In the 1990s and early 2000s, Intel lapped the competition like Katie Ledecky in the pool by providing the computing brains for Microsoft PCs (vaunted as the “Wintel” partnership). But the world changed, and Intel was [not prepared]( as detailed by the Economist: - Because Intel was so focused on making chips for computers, it missed out on the shift to smartphones. - It also got out-classed in transistor production by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., and South Korea’s Samsung. But perhaps the most consequential mistake was getting caught flat-footed for the AI gold rush. Big Tech companies are spending more than $100 billion this year to build out AI infrastructure, but they’re writing checks to Nvidia—not Intel. Nvidia sells $20 billion worth of AI chips each quarter; Intel will sell $500 million over the entire year. Intel’s stumbles are also a geopolitical embarrassment for the White House, which has held it up as an American champion and made it the [biggest beneficiary]( of the CHIPS Act meant to spur production in the US. Intel will receive up to $8.5 billion—more than any other company—to help it build factories across the country. But those projects will take time to ramp up, underscoring how Intel’s turnaround is years away...if it arrives at all.—NF TOGETHER WITH APPLE TV+ [When your heist goes haywire]( [Apple TV+]( Naturally, the first thing you do is rope in your therapist as you go on the run. At least that’s the sitch we find Rory (played by Matt Damon) and Cobby (played by Casey Affleck) in in [The Instigators]( an upcoming movie from Apple Original Films. Join these unlikely partners, a desperate father and an ex-con, for a chaotic and hilarious adventure on Aug. 9. Rory’s therapist (played by Hong Chau) pitches in to help evade capture as the motley crew is pursued by police, bureaucrats, and even a crime boss. [Come for the heist; stay for the getaway—only on Apple TV+](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [An anti-migration protester holds a flare during a riot outside of the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers,]An anti-immigration protester holds a flare during a riot outside of the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, UK. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Far-right violence spreads across the UK. Anti-immigrant rioters tried to break into a Holiday Inn Express housing asylum-seekers in the English town of Rotherham as violence from far-right agitators expanded to multiple cities over the weekend. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “[far-right thuggery]( that has broken out following the stabbing deaths of three girls last month, spurred by false rumors that the 17-year-old suspect was a Muslim and an immigrant. A main figure rallying the activists is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, who was banned by Twitter in 2018 but reinstated by Elon Musk after he acquired the company. More countries tell their citizens to leave Lebanon. The US, UK, Australia, France, and other nations urged their citizens to [leave Lebanon]( over concerns that a wider regional war would break out in the Middle East following two assassinations, one in Tehran and one in Beirut, last week. Airlines including Emirates, Air France-KLM Group, and Lufthansa Group have suspended, rescheduled, or canceled flights to and from Beirut, home to Lebanon’s only commercial airport. Israel has confirmed it was behind the strike that killed a Hezbollah commander in Beirut, but it did not comment on the killing of Hamas’s political chief in Tehran. Iran has vowed “severe” retaliation. Warren Buffett sold heaps of Apple stock. The Oracle of Omaha revealed on Saturday that Berkshire Hathaway sold [nearly half of its stake in Apple]( in Q2, though the iPhone-maker remains its biggest holding by a long shot. The move to dump Apple is part of a larger trend by Buffett to sell harder than a wrestler who’s just been body slammed: Berkshire sold $75 billion in stocks during the second quarter and recently parted with $3.8 billion worth of Bank of America shares. No one knows if the 93-year-old investor has something major planned or if he sees a rainy day coming and is simply stockpiling gobs of cash. He should have plenty: Those share sales boosted Berkshire’s cash holdings to a record $277 billion. That’s more than the market cap of all but 32 companies. AUTO [The US is having a small car renaissance]( [Meme from Zoolander]( When Americans go car shopping this summer, they’re asking automakers to do one thing: skimp my ride. Sales of smaller vehicles that are cheaper than their beefier counterparts are [on the rise]( this year, according to Cox Automotive data. Fed up with skyrocketing car prices, people are choosing more affordable options and shunning SUVs and pickup trucks that have long dominated the market. Overall vehicle sales growth is at 2% for the year. And yet: - Compact car sales are up 18%. - Compact SUV sales are up 12%. One of the rising stars is the Chevy Trax (starting price: $21,495), whose sales have jumped 230% compared to the first six months of last year. Meanwhile, sales of those giant pickup trucks that appear during every commercial break on NFL Sundays have declined by 4%. The price is right: While the cost of automobiles ballooned by ~20% from January 2021 to January 2024, most compact SUVs are under $30,000, and smaller vehicles tend to come with smaller interest rates. The average cost of a pickup truck is above $60,000. Pickups aren’t going anywhere yet: The three best-selling vehicles in the US last year were pickups with flatbeds—the Ford F-Series, the Chevy Silverado, and the Ram pickup. What about EVs? The cost currently puts them out of reach for most, but Ford (in 2027) and Tesla (next year) plan to introduce EVs under $30,000.—DL FROM THE CREW [The Crew]( No joke, time’s ticking. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to secure your spot at the [Marketing Brew Summit]( on September 12. Prices are set to increase soon, so now is the perfect time to register. Join industry leaders and innovators for a day packed with valuable insights, networking opportunities, and actionable business strategies. [Take advantage of these savings today]( STAT [Prime number: 0.005 seconds](#) [Noah Lyles of Team United States crosses the finish line during the Men's 100m Final]Rodolfo Buhrer/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images American Noah Lyles is the [fastest man in the world]( five one-thousandths of a second. The sprinter and Yu-Gi-Oh! fan won gold in the 100m dash in a wild photo finish, becoming the first American to win the event in 20 years. It was the closest men’s 100m final since 1980—Lyles beat Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson with a time of 9.784 seconds to Thompson’s 9.789 seconds. Next up: Lyles will try to become the first man since Usain Bolt to win gold in both the 100m and the 200m. CALENDAR [The week ahead](#) [Kamala Harris at a rally]Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images Kamala Harris will choose her running mate by Tuesday. Six candidates, one job opening. If only the odds were ever this good when applying for a position through LinkedIn. The current VP spent the weekend [interviewing]( a half-dozen potential replacements: four governors—Andy Beshear of Kentucky, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, and Tim Walz of Minnesota—and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Harris will reportedly make her choice by Tuesday, when she begins a tour of seven battleground states that starts with a stop in Philadelphia. Tom Cruise—who else?—will close out the Olympics: The final week of the Paris Games, which will see [gold handed out]( in sports including track and field, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and wrestling, will have a very [Hollywood ending](. The closing ceremony on Sunday will feature Cruise rappelling down the Stade de France, landing on the field, and carrying the Olympic flag. In a part that’s been prerecorded, the Vanilla Sky star will fly back to California, skydive from above Los Angeles, and land near the Hollywood sign in a passing of the flag to the host city of the 2028 Olympics. We found the one thing Snoop Dogg isn’t willing to do for the Olympics. Everything else… - Ohio will put the high in Ohio as recreational marijuana sales begin on Tuesday. It is the 25th state (plus the District of Columbia) to make recreational weed legal. - Companies reporting earnings this week include Uber (Tuesday), Novo Nordisk and Disney (Wednesday), and Eli Lilly (Thursday). - It Ends With Us, a movie starring Blake Lively and based on Colleen Hoover’s NYT bestseller, hits theaters on Friday. - HBO’s Industry is back for a third season on Sunday after a two-year hiatus. ESG investing will be in the spotlight and Kit Harington is joining the cast. NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Tropical Storm Debby]( is expected to make landfall as a hurricane today on Florida’s Big Bend, then bring “potentially historic” amounts of rain later in the week to southeast Georgia and the eastern Carolinas. - [The latest]( on a potential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump: Trump says he wants to have it on Fox News on Sept. 4; Harris’s spokesperson says Trump is “scared” and Harris still plans on attending the debate that was scheduled between Trump and Biden on ABC on Sept. 10. - [At least 76 people]( were killed in ongoing anti-government protests in Bangladesh. - [Google]( is pulling its AI-focused “Dear Sydney” ad from the Olympics after receiving backlash. - [Aerosmith]( has retired from touring due to permanent vocal cord damage lead singer Steven Tyler sustained last year. Here’s a bonus What Else is Brewing section for Olympics news, because…there was a lot. - [Novak Djokovic]( beat Carlos Alcaraz to win his first gold in men’s tennis—the final accolade that had been missing from his tremendous career. - [Americans Katie Ledecky]( (women’s 800m freestyle) and [Vincent Hancock]( (men’s skeet) joined the exclusive club of athletes to win four gold medals in the same individual event. - [Trinity Rodman]( scored a dramatic extra-time goal to give the US women’s soccer team a 1–0 win over Japan. Next up: Germany in the semifinals on Tuesday. - [The Caribbean nations]( of St. Lucia and Dominica won their first Olympic medals in their history: both golds. RECS [Monday to-do list image] Steamy days, steamy dishes: Why do people around the world [eat hot foods when it’s hot out]( Long read: A visit to the [Great Florida Bigfoot Conference](. Learn: [How a JPEG works](. Captive audience: [The case]( for watching old TV shows instead of movies on planes. That’s fire: Finance ops in need of a li’l heat? Take a demo with [BILL Spend & Expense]( to streamline your money game and receive a complimentary 28″ Blackstone Omnivore Griddle. [Get cookin’]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Turntable: Our word game has gotten a glow up. Now, you’ll see icons that mark your progress, and have the opportunity to ask for a hint (via the red disk on the lower left) when you’re stuck. [Play Turntable 2.0 here](. Decathlon trivia One of the most unique—and grueling—competitions at the Olympics is the men’s decathlon, which consists of 10 events over a two-day span. We’ll give you five of the events in a decathlon. Can you name the other five? 1. 110m hurdles 2. 1500m 3. Long jump 4. Discus throw 5. 100m race 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 The other five are 1) shot put 2) high jump 3) 400m race 4) pole vault 5) javelin throw Congrats to Norway’s [Markus Rooth]( for winning the gold medal on Saturday. Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: glow up, meaning “a positive personal transformation, typically one involving significant changes in appearance and style and often also growth in confidence and maturity.” Thanks to Lynn in Indiana for contributing to our vocab glow up. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( and Dave Lozo Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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