🍻 Cerveza sweeps the US

…and Meta's paid subscription gets EU side-eye

(Mario Tama/Getty Images) Not everyone can be Especial Sponsored by Wednesday's market moves Dow Jones 39,308 (-0.06%) S&P 500 5,537 (+0.51%) Nasdaq 18,188 (+0.88%) Bitcoin $60,325 (-2.76%) Dow Jones 39,308 (-0.06%) S&P 500 5,537 (+0.51%) Nasdaq 18,188 (+0.88%) Bitcoin $60,325 (-2.76%) Hey Snackers, Move over, Michelangelo. This cruel summer, Taylor Swift's going on display. Her clothes, instruments, and awards will fill up the blank space at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.  The S&P and Nasdaq closed at a record high on Wednesday's shortened trading day ahead of the July Fourth holiday. Today, traders hoping for rate cuts have their eyes on the June jobs report (bad news = good news?). FOAMY Modelo maker Constellation Brands pops off as Americans pick foreign brews over domestic staples Raise a glass… and your annual guidance if you're Constellation Brands. The big beer co was cheers-ing this week after growing its quarterly profit by more than 6x from last year. The booze giant, which sells Mexican brews like Modelo and Corona in the US, said profits foamed up after beer sales surged 8% and costs fell. But overall sales grew at a slower pace as wine and spirits continued to leave a stain. Wine-no: Constellation's non-beer sales (it owns brands like Meiomi wine and Mi Campo tequila) fell 7%, continuing declines. Especially good: Modelo Especial sales rose 11% last quarter, and Pacifico, which Constellation says has become a fave in US "beach towns," spiked 21%. Modelo behavior… Mexican beers have taken over Americans' BBQ coolers. Modelo Especial overtook AB InBev-owned Bud Light as the US's top-selling beer last year after conservative consumers boycotted Bud over an influencer partnership. More than a year after the Budcott, AB InBev's US sales dropped 9% annually in the first quarter of this year (it blamed Bud Light). Worldwide: While the US was a weak spot for AB InBev, international consumers paying higher prices boosted its total revenue to a record last year (and sales bubbled up again last quarter). FYI: AB InBev is the world's largest beer co and owns the rights to sell Modelo Group beers like Corona and Modelo Especial outside the US. THE TAKEAWAY Brand recognition is double-edged… Constellation's struggling to stand out in the wine-and-spirits aisle while its Mexican brews are becoming household names. Meanwhile, Bud Light's brand now leaves a bad taste for some consumers. One analyst said Bud's lost a generation of drinkers that could take a decade (and a lot of Clydesdales) to win back. Read this online Sponsored by Elf Labs Want to Add Iconic Intellectual Property to Your Portfolio? Imagine the revenue potential in owning the intellectual property (IP) behind some of history's highest grossing characters. Elf Labs is now offering the opportunity to enter the $400B entertainment and licensed merchandise space. Character IP: After 100+ landmark trademark victories and over 200 copyright acquisitions, Elf Labs owns rights to some of the most iconic characters in history, like Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Peter Pan, and more. They're bringing these characters to life with their patented technologies, including AI and compression algorithms, for immersive content, online worlds, and interactive toys. Merch: Elf Labs is capitalizing on the $350B licensed merchandise market by partnering with global consumer product companies to manufacture licensed merchandise.  Discover how you can get 5% bonus shares when you invest in Elf Labs by 7/9.* Sponsored by Elf Labs Want to Add Iconic Intellectual Property to Your Portfolio? Imagine the revenue potential in owning the intellectual property (IP) behind some of history's highest grossing characters. Elf Labs is now offering the opportunity to enter the $400B entertainment and licensed merchandise space. Character IP: After 100+ landmark trademark victories and over 200 copyright acquisitions, Elf Labs owns rights to some of the most iconic characters in history, like Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Peter Pan, and more. They're bringing these characters to life with their patented technologies, including AI and compression algorithms, for immersive content, online worlds, and interactive toys. Merch: Elf Labs is capitalizing on the $350B licensed merchandise market by partnering with global consumer product companies to manufacture licensed merchandise.  Discover how you can get 5% bonus shares when you invest in Elf Labs by 7/9.* PAY-TO-SCROLL EU regulators charge Meta over its "pay or consent" Instagram subscription model Paying for an ad-free Instagram… It's an option in Europe, but regulators there aren't double-tapping it. They've charged Meta with failing to comply with competition rules under the bloc's Digital Markets Act. At issue: Meta's ad-free Insta and FB subscription in Europe, which makes users pay to use the apps ad-free or consent to ads. Meta introduced the "pay or consent" model in November to try to comply with the act (awkward). Bloc'd: EU regulators said the binary choice breaches the DMA because it fails to give users a free third option that doesn't rely as heavily on their data for ad targeting. Meta said the ad-free sub "follows the direction of the highest court in Europe and complies with the DMA." Gulp: If Meta's found to be in violation when the investigation wraps up next year, it could be fined up to 10% of its global annual revenue. Billions on the line… The landmark DMA law, which was passed in 2022 and went into effect this May, aims to boost tech competition. It gives the EU significant power to rein in Big Tech, and brings major consequences for those who fail to comply. Tech titans found to be in violation could be fined up to 10% of their yearly revenue. Several companies have already made big changes to meet the EU's new standards (think: Apple allowing different app stores on iPhones in Europe for the first time). But it hasn't been enough: Apple last month became the first to be charged with breaking the DMA. In March, the EU hit it with a $2B fine, saying it suppressed music-streaming competition. THE TAKEAWAY Workarounds may not work… this time around. Meta launched the ad-free subscription to align with the EU's new privacy regulations. Turns out, EU regulators don't think it aligns. In just a few months, the bloc's regulators have already charged both Meta and Apple with violating the DMA, and other techies could be next. The EU is showing it means business, and that's threatening tech's business. Read this online TAXMAN The Crypto Catch-Up…  💰 Spendy… Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market, reportedly saw a record 30K monthly active users last month — and $110M in trading volume. Driving the #s: speculation surrounding the US presidential election, with $200M bet on who'll be the Dem nominee. 📜 Policy… The Treasury Department finalized a rule that would require crypto exchanges to report user transaction info like gross proceeds to the IRS. (The idea: deter tax dodgers.) The rule applies to centralized exchanges like Coinbase and Binance. ⚖️ Judgy… The SEC sued Consensys, an ethereum-software biz known for its MetaMask crypto wallet. The suit says Consensys acted as an unregistered broker, generating $250M+ in fees. The biz called the suit "regulatory overreach." What else we're Snackin' Snoozed: The FTC voted to block a $4B merger between Tempur Sealy and Mattress Firm. While the sleep stars say the space is "highly competitive," regulators say the deal could drive rivals like Serta and Purple out of business. Teslip: Tesla stock rose 9% after it said Q2 deliveries fell nearly 5% on the year, a smaller drop than expected. GM, which had its best quarterly sales in 3+ years, said EV deliveries were up 40%. Plus: Paramount, which reportedly agreed to merge with Skydance, is also said to be in talks to join its unprofitable Paramount+ with another streamer. Streamers like Disney have been bundling up to fight #subscripturation. Jetset: Airbus landed a $24B jet order from Philippines airline Cebu Air. The world's biggest plane maker has seen record orders as beleaguered Boeing faces investigations and delivery delays. Shot: The US gov't said it'd pay Moderna $176M to speed up development of a bird-flu vax. Moderna's Q1 revenue was down 91% on the year as sales of its Covid shot, its only product on the market, plunged. Snack Fact of the Day A record 71M Americans were expected to travel during the July Fourth holiday week Friday US jobs report for June 30th anniversary of Jeff Bezos founding Amazon F1 British Grand Prix weekend revs up Authors of this Snacks own ethereum and shares of: Amazon, Apple, Disney, GM, Moderna, and Tesla Advertiser's disclosures: * This is a paid advertisement for Elf Labs' Regulation CF Offering. Please read the offering circular and related risks at elflabs.com.  Start-up investments are speculative and involve a high degree of risk. Those investors who cannot afford to lose their entire investment should not invest in start-ups. Companies seeking startup investment tend to be in earlier stages of development and their business model, products and services may not yet be fully developed, operational or tested in the public marketplace. There is no guarantee that the stated valuation and other terms are accurate or in agreement with the market or industry valuations. Further, investors may receive illiquid and/or restricted stock that may be subject to holding period requirements and/or liquidity concerns. Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more Sherwood Terms and Conditions Our Editorial Standards Contact Us Advertise With Us Unsubscribe Privacy Policy