☕️ Senate showdown

Bernie vs. Novo Nordisk... September 25, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( Presented By [EnergyX]( Good morning. Here’s a fun fact about camels: They have three sets of eyelids and two pairs of eyelashes to keep sand out of their eyes. Seems like overkill. Happy hump day! —Cassandra Cassidy, Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, Adam Epstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 18,074.52 +0.56% S&P 5,732.93 +0.25% Dow 42,208.22 +0.20% 10-Year 3.736% +0.0 bps Bitcoin $64,580.06 +2.12% Alibaba $97.19 +7.88% Data is provided by *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 7:00pm ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks went Edmund Hillary mode and kept [climbing]( yesterday, with the S&P 500 and Dow notching record highs. Meanwhile, several Chinese stocks, like Alibaba, spiked after China announced measures to stimulate its ailing economy.  Markets Sponsored by EnergyX Tap into the lithium boom: 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](. HEALTH [Novo Nordisk CEO’s Senate showdown]( [Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen]( Loeb/Getty Images What’s it like to get ratioed in real time? Just ask Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen. The Danish executive testified in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions yesterday on why prices of the pharma giant’s ultra-popular weight loss and diabetes drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic, are higher in the US than in other countries. Senator Bernie Sanders wanted to know. As chair of the committee, Sanders told the CEO of the company worth $425 billion to “stop ripping us off” and remarked that surging demand combined with high prices could [bankrupt]( Medicare and increase health insurance premiums. On the defense: Jørgensen blamed the “complex US healthcare system” for making it difficult for patients to access necessary drugs, claiming that Novo Nordisk saves taxpayers money by alleviating a disease that costs Americans over $400 billion annually. By the numbers: - In the US, the list price of Ozempic is $969 a month, while Wegovy’s is $1,350. In Germany, however, Ozempic costs just $59 a month. And in the UK, Wegovy costs $92. - Novo Nordisk has made ~$50 billion on the two drugs since 2018. Roughly 72% of that revenue comes from US sales. PBMs took the spotlight Conversation around pharmacy benefit managers, the drug pricing “middlemen” like CVS Health’s Caremark and UnitedHealth’s OptumRx, dominated the hearing: - Jørgensen said he was hesitant to lower list prices on Wegovy and Ozempic because, when Novo Nordisk lowered the cost of insulin drug Levemir, PBMs stopped offering the drug. (Lower prices mean that PBMs receive less in rebates from the drug manufacturer.) - Sanders showed [commitments]( from PBMs to offer the drugs even if Novo Nordisk lowered prices, but Jørgensen made no promises. Moving forward…Ozempic will likely appear on the list of drugs up for Medicare price negotiations next year. Jørgensen warned if that exercise ends up being price setting rather than a “real negotiation,” it could have an adverse effect on drug innovation.—CC Presented By EnergyX [This stock is up 1,072%]( [EnergyX]( Thanks to their breakthrough lithium extraction technology, EnergyX’s share price has increased by 1,072%. Major companies like GM and POSCO are already investing, and although it’s not publicly listed, [you can join them as an early investor for a limited time](. Here’s why it’s such an intriguing opportunity. Lithium demand is projected to soar 20x higher by 2040, and [EnergyX’s patented technology can extract lithium 300% more efficiently than current methods](. Plus, EnergyX is scaling quickly. That earned a $5m DOE grant toward a recently announced US lithium plant and the rights to 100k+ acres of lithium-rich Chilean land. You don’t have time to wait to invest, though. This investment opportunity ends on Oct. 3. [Join 28k+ investors by becoming an EnergyX shareholder here](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Caroline Ellison]Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Caroline Ellison sentenced to two years for FTX fraud. The ex-girlfriend and accomplice of convicted FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to [24 months]( at a minimum security prison by Judge Lewis Kaplan for her role in the collapse of the crypto exchange. Ellison and her lawyers sought no prison time, while prosecutors acknowledged that a lenient sentence was justified after she cooperated with the investigation against SBF and showed remorse for the part she played in defrauding investors. Kaplan praised Ellison’s cooperation but said “there cannot be a get out of jail free card” for a crime of that magnitude. SBF was sentenced to 25 years in March for orchestrating the crypto scam. Biden addressed the UN for the last time. In his final speech before the United Nations General Assembly yesterday, US President Joe Biden said the world is at an “[inflection point]( reaffirmed his support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, implored global leaders to confront the climate crisis, and warned against a wider war in the Middle East as Israel continues to launch strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Biden also cited his decision to step away from this year’s presidential race as an example for leaders to follow. “Some things are more important than staying in power,” he said. Visa was sued by the Justice Department for antitrust violations. The DOJ alleged in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court yesterday that the payments giant is [illegally monopolizing]( the debit card market by penalizing merchants who try to use alternatives, Bloomberg reported. Per the complaint, Visa allegedly uses anti-competitive pricing to force merchants to route transactions through its network or incur harsh penalties. The DOJ says Visa handles 60% of US debit transactions and collects $7 billion in yearly fees. The suit is the result of a yearslong investigation by the Justice Department into Visa’s business practices.—AE ECONOMY [Port strike looms, portending economic gloom]( [Port]( Sullivan/Getty Images US ports are bracing for a tempest, but the ominous choppiness is in the negotiating room. Dock workers on the East and Gulf Coasts are preparing to walk off the job if their union can’t negotiate a new contract with shipping companies by October 1, [threatening a throwback]( to pandemic-era supply chain bottlenecks. The International Longshoremen’s Association union and the United States Maritime Alliance, the trade organization representing port operators, remain oceans apart in their talks. The main sticking points are worker pay and plans to automate certain container operations. The union warns that up to 45,000 port workers could strike. The labor stoppages would disrupt major ports that handle 60% of US shipping traffic, per Oxford Economics. - Five of North America’s 10 busiest ports would be impacted by a strike, straining [time-sensitive]( supply chains for medicine, car parts, and perishable foods. - JPMorgan analysts say a work stoppage could cause $5 billion in economic damage per day. While some businesses have been [diverting shipments]( to the West Coast, analysts say that weeks of shipping delays would be inevitable. Zoom out: Dock delays might lead to a manufacturing slowdown, shortages, and accelerated inflation—all with political ramifications for the November election. The US Department of Labor could intervene to help speed up negotiations to avert a strike.—SK Together With Puck [Puck]( Talk of the town. [Puck]( is the media platform where insiders from Wall Street, Washington, Silicon Valley, media, sports, fashion, and the art market—whew—go for the story that lives behind the headlines. Puck just turned three, and to celebrate their bday, they’re offering [20% off a subscription for a limited time](. TECH [The reviewer got reviewed]( [Marques Brownlee, YouTuber & Podcaster, on Centre Stage during day one of Collision 2023 at Enercare Centre in Toronto, Canada.]( Cardy/Getty Images Fans are ripping apart Marques Brownlee’s new app, and he can’t even wear the “they don’t make statues of critics” shirt. Brownlee, the popular tech reviewer best known as MKBHD on YouTube, [released]( a digital wallpaper app this week called Panels following years of comments on his videos complimenting the high-quality backgrounds on his devices. Then things went south. Fans were upset at the app’s Panels Plus subscription cost ($12/month or $50/year) for high-quality, downloadable images from digital artists—which is much higher than similar apps. Users can also watch two ads to download one standard-quality wallpaper, a significant downgrade from the 4K paid versions. Other complaints included: - The app asks for permission on iOS to track your activity on other websites. Brownlee, posting his way through the pushback, [said]( he’s working on a fix. - Brownlee said artists can use AI to generate wallpapers for the app. - An X user named AppleLeaker also pointed out that the app appears to be a repackaged wallpaper app from 2021, which Brownlee denied. Bottom line: With his 19.5 million YouTube subscribers, Brownlee’s influence has been credited with jumpstarting the comeuppance of tech flops like the Humane AI pin. Now, fans are wondering why the tech reviewer is peddling a product that wouldn’t even pass his own standards.—MM STAT [Prime number: Thousands of days](#) [Sam Altman]Andrew Cabellero-Reynolds/Getty Images [In a blog post]( that will one day be quoted on screen at the beginning of a documentary debuting at the Kepler-45b Film Festival about the end of human civilization on Earth, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicted that we could have superintelligence “in a few thousand days (!).” Superintelligence, aka AI that’s far smarter than even the smartest people, has long been the subject of science fiction. But now, AI’s thinker-in-chief says it’s achievable within a decade or two. Altman acknowledged that there are “downsides” to what he calls the “Intelligence Age,” but argued the potential benefits to society far outstrip the harms. In related news, Altman recently appeared on a podcast [to discuss]( how much he likes psychedelics.—AE NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Tropical Storm Helene]( is forecast to become a hurricane and then move into the Gulf of Mexico this week, putting Florida and southern Georgia at risk of heavy rains and dangerous winds. - [Coca-Cola]( pulled its new flavor, Spiced, from shelves after just six months because apparently neither you nor anyone you know was interested in it. - [US News & World Report]( released its annual college rankings, with Princeton at No. 1. - [Warner Bros. Discovery]( is partnering with Google to use AI to automatically generate captions on the Max streaming service. - [A top Chinese economist]( disappeared after criticizing Xi Jinping’s handling of the country’s economy in a private group chat, the WSJ reported. RECS [Wednesday to-do list] Defend the paint: [Satellite imagery]( of every outdoor basketball court in the US. Eat: The New York Times’s [50 favorite restaurants]( right now. Get to work: These cities have the [fastest car commutes]( (hint: not NYC). Listen: Justice for Garden State on Rolling Stone’s list of the [greatest movie soundtracks](. 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]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Word Search: All the clues in today’s puzzle lead to words with accent marks on them. Don’t be naïve and [dive in](. Superhero chronology On National Comic Book Day, we’ll give you a list of legendary American superheroes, and you place them in the order they first appeared in a comic book (from earliest to latest). Fantastic Four Batman Spider-Man Wonder Woman Wolverine Superman Iron Man 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 Superman (1938) Batman (1939) Wonder Woman (1941) Fantastic Four (1961) Spider-Man (1962) Iron Man (1963) Wolverine (1974) [Source]( Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: comeuppance, meaning “a punishment or fate that someone deserves.” Thanks to Moira from Denver, CO, for the suggestion. 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 [Adam Epstein]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( Sam Klebanov, [Matty Merritt]( and [Neal Freyman]( 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