☕️ Deep cut

The Fed went bold on interest rates... September 19, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [EnergyX]( Good morning. The battle for toy supremacy has reached levels Pixar could never dream of. Yesterday, the National Toy Hall of Fame released the [12 finalists]( under consideration for entry into the sacred hall, including Hess Toy Trucks, Sequence, The Pokemon Trading Card Game, Apples to Apples, Phase 10, the trampoline, and…balloons, which could very well become the second unanimous Hall of Famer after Mariano Rivera. The biggest question mark: Will this be My Little Pony’s year? This will be its seventh time as a finalist, but it has yet to be inducted—and Fluttershy isn’t getting any younger. —Matty Merritt, Molly Liebergall, Cassandra Cassidy, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 17,573.30 -0.31% S&P 5,618.26 -0.29% Dow 41,503.10 -0.25% 10-Year 3.685% +4.0 bps Bitcoin $60,307.93 -0.05% Intuitive machines $7.47 +38.33% Data is provided by *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: The Fed gave investors what they wanted with JPow and Co. making like a DJ on the 4am shift and opting for a deep cut (more on that below). Stocks initially leaped up after the central bank slashed interest rates for the first time since 2020, but ended the day [down]( as traders fretted that it meant bad news for the economy. - Stock spotlight: Intuitive Machines went to the moon (not literally) following reports that the space exploration company secured a ~$5 billion contract from NASA.  ECONOMY [The Fed goes big on rate cuts]( [Jerome Powell at podium.]( Ngan/Getty Images For the first time in over four years, Jerome Powell stepped up to his little podium and [announced]( an interest rate cut. And not just any ol’ traditional, quarter-percentage-point (25-basis-point) cut—Powell announced a whopping half-percentage-point (50-basis-point) reduction in borrowing costs. Economists started pushing the Fed to cut rates in July, but the central bank resisted, wanting more proof that inflation had tempered. While everyone expected a cut yesterday, no one knew what size it would be. But the central bank started [bold]( setting its benchmark rate between 4.75% and 5% in a sign that it’s now more concerned with the job market than inflation. The Fed seemed to find the proof Fed officials said they felt more confident that inflation was cooling, announcing that they expect the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) annual inflation rate to hit their 2% goal in 2026. For reference, it hovered around 2.9% at the end of 2023. Inflation wasn’t the Fed’s only factor. Powell said the rise in the unemployment rate this year was concerning and that he expects the rate to inch up to about 4.4% before the end of the year, from 4.2% currently. - He emphasized that the job market and the economy were still in “good shape.” - But the Fed hasn’t managed to tamp down inflation while simultaneously keeping unemployment rates low since the mid-1990s. So, it would be a huge feat if it can now. Powell also made it clear that he’s not promising to keep the big cuts going. For now, the only thing every industry/economist/Wall Street trader can agree on in response to yesterday’s rate cut is: “It’s about time.” Looking ahead…most economists seem to be done worrying about a recession and expect more cuts in the future that could potentially push interest rates closer to 3% by the end of 2026.—MM PRESENTED BY ENERGYX [Last call to ride the lithium wave]( [EnergyX]( An ocean of white gold is out there for the taking—and we’re not talking about surfing. One of the most critical and short-supplied commodities in our economy is lithium, the key component in batteries for phones and EVs. Thankfully, one company’s been honing their extraction technique for nearly a decade, and [they’re accepting investors for a limited time](. Meet EnergyX. Their patented tech extracts lithium 300% more efficiently than conventional methods. Plus, [where modern methods take 12+ months, they need just two days](. That earned a $5m DOE grant toward a recently announced US lithium plant and the rights to 100,000+ acres of lithium-rich Chilean land. Now they’re riding the lithium wave to the top of the $546b energy storage market. [Join EnergyX as an early investor before their raise closes on Oct. 3](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [An ambulance taking people to the hospital after Hezbollah walkie-talkies exploded in Lebanon]Anwar Amro/Getty Images Hezbollah walkie-talkies explode on second day of deadly attacks. In a second wave of attacks widely believed to be carried out by Israel that ratcheted up regional tension, walkie-talkies used by the paramilitary group in Lebanon [detonated]( just one day after pagers used by the group exploded. Though the attacks appeared to target Hezbollah, bystanders were also harmed. According to Lebanon’s health ministry, at least 20 people were killed and 450 were injured yesterday, and 12 were killed Tuesday, including two children, while thousands were injured. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel. Israel has not commented directly but said a “new era” of war was beginning. Boeing furloughs white-collar employees as factory workers strike. To cut costs while 30,000 unionized workers who make its planes are on strike, Boeing will [temporarily furlough]( tens of thousands of executives, managers, and other staff, its CEO informed employees yesterday. Boeing was cash-strapped even before the strike began and has warned that the work stoppage could eat into its recovery. The company and the union have already returned to the bargaining table with a federal mediator in hopes of reaching a deal to end the strike. 23andMe’s whole board resigned over the CEO’s plan to take it private. All seven of the struggling DNA testing company’s independent directors [stepped down]( from its board Tuesday night, leaving only founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki. A committee formed by the board had previously rejected Wojcicki’s plan to take the company private, concluding that it didn’t offer a high enough premium to shareholders. Wojcicki persisted with her efforts, but in their resignation, the directors said they still hadn’t seen a “fully financed, fully diligenced, actionable proposal,” so they couldn’t agree on the strategic direction forward. The CEO said in a memo to employees that she was “surprised and disappointed” by their decision. BUSINESS [Tupperware failed because of how it succeeded]( [Tupperware containers]( Olson/Getty Images The original leftovers-enabler has reached its shelf life: Tupperware Brands filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week after struggling to stay relevant in an e-commerce-heavy world where most women no longer throw celebrations to hawk plasticware. Here’s [what’s going on]( with the 78-year-old brand: - Tupperware reported a $1.2 billion debt problem and only ~$680 million in assets in a court filing on Tuesday. - Declaring Chapter 11 will let the container queen stay open while it restructures and attempts to turn into a “digital-first, technology-led company,” CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said. Times have changed. Tupperware didn’t. It shot to kitchen fame among 1950s women who hosted “Tupperware parties,” where they’d sell colorful airtight containers to friends and family, and sometimes recruit them to do the same (making it one of the first MLMs). Tupperware largely didn’t expand beyond its direct sales model—even as online shopping exploded and rivals like Rubbermaid gained ground. It only started selling permanently through major retailers in 2022, partnering with Target and Amazon. Looking ahead…Tupperware hopes to find a buyer, which could be difficult since plastic has fallen [out of favor]( with health-conscious consumers. “Revitalizing the brand will be an uphill struggle,” analyst Susannah Streeter said.—ML TOGETHER WITH FINANCEBUZZ [FinanceBuzz]( This rare travel credit card offer is turning heads. This could be one of the [best travel offers of 2024](. Earn a whopping 60,000 points toward travel when you spend just $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening. That’s worth an insane [$750 toward travel]( which is hard to pass up. ENTERTAINMENT [Harassment lawsuit is the latest problem for MrBeast]( [MrBeast]( Briggs/Getty Images If MrBeast and his production company were ever in beast mode, it’s officially been deactivated. Contestants from the yet-to-be-released game show Beast Games have filed a lawsuit against the show’s creators, YouTube sensation Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson and Amazon, alleging they enabled a culture of mistreatment and abuse while filming. In the class-action [lawsuit]( five anonymous contestants claim they were not adequately paid and were forced into dangerous conditions while filming in Las Vegas. The lawsuit alleges that: - Several contestants were hospitalized as a result of the games. - Participants lacked access to medical care, were denied breaks during filming, and were fed “sporadically and sparsely.” - Female contestants were subject to sexual harassment throughout production. The lawsuit comes a month after a New York Times [report]( detailing similar conditions. Beast Games was set to be the largest game show in history, with a $100 million budget, over 1,000 contestants, and a $5 million prize. MrBeast and Amazon did not provide comments on the suit to news outlets. The hits keep coming. Earlier this week, the YouTube tycoon was met with widespread backlash for launching a “healthier” Lunchables [competitor]( that doesn’t seem to be healthy at all. In July, he fired an employee who was accused of grooming minors. And last month, old videos resurfaced of MrBeast using homophobic and racist slurs.—CC STAT [Prime number: The WNBA is coming to Portland](#) [The WNBA logo on a mat in a gym]Alika Jenner/Getty Images Soon, in addition to enviable independent bookstores and organic everything, Portland, Oregon, will also be able to boast about its own women’s basketball team. The WNBA has [awarded]( the city an expansion team that will start playing in the 2026 season, bringing the league’s total number of franchises up to 15. The owners of the NWSL’s Portland Thorns paid $125 million for the not-yet-named franchise, according to the Associated Press. It’ll be the league’s third expansion franchise rolling out over the next two years, with the other two in the San Francisco Bay Area and Toronto. This is Portland’s second try at a WNBA team as its last, the Fire, folded in 2002 after two years of play. But right now, women’s basketball is crushing it: The WNBA recently wrapped its most-watched regular season on ESPN, averaging 1.2 million viewers a game—a 170% increase from 2023, per Sports Illustrated. NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [The owner of the ship]( that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March just got hit with a $100 million lawsuit in which the government claims it cut corners on repairs before the accident. - [The Teamsters]( union won’t be endorsing a presidential candidate for the first time in decades after its internal polling showed most of its members support Donald Trump. - [Nippon Steel]( will get an extra three months to convince the US to allow its controversial acquisition of US Steel, a delay that will push the politically tinged decision until after the presidential election. - [Sean Combs]( will have to stay in jail after a second judge denied the music mogul’s bid to be released on bail pending his sex trafficking trial. - [Harvey Weinstein]( pleaded not guilty to additional sex crime charges in New York, where he’ll be retried after an appeals court tossed his earlier conviction. - [Adrian Wojnarowski]( a fan favorite ESPN basketball reporter, is retiring from the network to become the general manager of the men’s basketball program at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure. RECS [To do list Thursday] Fly satisfied: A [ranking]( of North American airports by traveler satisfaction. Consider the energy: Find out just [how much water]( it takes for ChatGPT to help you write a seemingly personal email. Get organized: This site will turn text or images into [calendar events](. Good things come to scientists who wait: A look at the [time gap]( between discoveries and Nobel Prizes honoring them. Invest: Lithium demand will grow 20x by 2040. [EnergyX]( extracts 300% more than current methods, earning them $100m in investments from GM and others. [Invest in EnergyX by Oct. 3]( Passing the mic: Got [a question]( for Affirm COO/CFO Michael Linford? [Submit it here]( and tune in to see if your q gets answered on the After Earnings podcast.* *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: Your quads will get a workout in today’s Mini. [Play it here](. Three Headlines and a Lie Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than a building-wide agreement to take the laundry out of the dryer immediately. Can you spot the odd one out? - 8-year-old girl [drove]( mom’s SUV on Target run - Airline will [offer]( free upgrades if you don’t get up during flight - First ‘Golden Bachelorette’ wants a man who [grocery shops]( - Noah Verrier’s oil painting of an Uncrustables sandwich [sold]( for $4,999 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 We made up the one about the airline offering free upgrades. Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: unanimous, meaning “everyone being in agreement.” Thanks to Jill from Weehawken, NJ, for a suggestion we all loved. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✢ A Note From EnergyX This is a paid advertisement for EnergyX’s Regulation A+ offering. Please read the offering circular at [invest.energyx.com/](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Matty Merritt]( [Molly Liebergall]( and [Cassandra Cassidy]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. 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