|  | Nasdaq | 20,650.13 | |
| | S&P | 6,238.01 | |
| | Dow | 43,588.58 | |
|  | 10-Year | 4.220% | |
| | Bitcoin | $114,479.23 | |
| | Microsoft | $524.11 | |
| | Data is provided by |  |
*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 3:00am ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: For the first time in months, markets seem rattled. President Trump's tariff announcements and a potentially disturbing jobs report sent the S&P 500 to its worst week since May, while the Dow logged its worst week since April. One of the few bright spots in the economy is Big Tech: Alphabet, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft delighted investors with their earnings reports, and Microsoft has now gained for 10 straight weeks, its longest winning streak since 2023.
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ENTERTAINMENT To paraphrase a line from the original Naked Gun movie, it's 4th and 15 for big-screen comedies, and they're looking at a full-court press. In 2024, Hollywood studios released exactly zero live-action comedies to theaters. This year, there have only been two: One of Them Days, which was released in January, and Liam Neeson's The Naked Gun reboot, which hit theaters this past weekend. That's a big drop-off from 2015, when studios were averaging a comedy every few weeks. So, what happened? There are a few theories: - Studios got scared away from the genre after a string of comedies disappointed at the box office between 2016 and 2019.
- There are fewer bankable names in comedy, and the ones who remain are making content for streamers, like Adam Sandler.
- Marvel movies sucked up all the theatrical oxygen.
Trying to flip the script The new Naked Gun movie cost about $42 million to make, plus millions more to market. That's pretty modest compared to a superhero movie. If the comedy succeeds, it might encourage studios to pursue a good return on the relatively cheaper genre. But recouping costs is complicated by the fact that comedies typically struggle to make money overseas. It turns out, puns and pop culture references don't land the same in every language (note to self). Naked and unafraid: There are some early positive signs. The Naked Gun made an estimated $17 million in its opening weekend and has solid reviews. Studio execs expect to easily make their money back, according to the New York Times. Disney's Freakier Friday sequel will test the comedy waters again this upcoming weekend. Like Naked Gun, it has nostalgia working in its favor. There's money in funny. Despite comedy's slow fade off the big screen, humor is still serious business for the small screen: - Nearly 47 million people watched Happy Gilmore 2 over the course of a few days last week to make it the biggest US opening weekend ever for a Netflix film.
- Last month, the creators of South Park reportedly signed a five-year, $1.5 billion streaming deal with Paramount+.
- South Park's recent season premiere was also its biggest since 1999.
Big picture: Comedy movies also have to contend with YouTube and social media, where creators are pumping out funny content for much cheaper.—BC | | |
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WORLD  Reactions to Trump's firing of labor statistics chief rolled in all weekend. The president dismissed Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of labor statistics, on Friday, following the release of a weak jobs report for July and major downward revisions to the numbers of jobs created in May and June. Republican Sen. Rand Paul told NBC News, "When the people providing the statistics are fired, it makes it much harder to make judgments that, you know, the statistics won't be politicized." On Sunday, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett defended Trump's move on Meet the Press, saying of data coming out of the agency, "There have been a bunch of patterns that could make people wonder." Popular data guy Nate Silver explained the extensive history of Bureau of Labor Statistics revisions in his newsletter, Silver Bulletin, and concluded that the revised figures were likely not political. He noted, "The revisions usually don't get as much media attention as the headline figures."
🪧 Over 3,200 Boeing fighter jet workers went on strike. For the first time since 1996, members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers working in St. Louis and Illinois stopped work after rejecting a second contract offer from Boeing on Sunday. They are responsible for assembling the F-15 and the F/A-18 defense aircraft, as well as building missiles. Boeing VP Dan Gillian said the company is "prepared for a strike and have fully implemented our contingency plan to ensure our non-striking workforce can continue supporting our customers." Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said on the company's Q2 earnings call last week that he was not overly concerned about the impending strike, given that it was much smaller than the one that occurred last fall, when about 30,000 machinists in Washington state went on strike, impacting the production of 737 and 777 commercial jets.  Texas Democrats left their state to break a GOP quorum on redistricting. The TX House Democratic Caucus Chair, Gene Wu, said that he believed 57 of 62 members of the caucus left the state to defy a special session at the statehouse called by Gov. Greg Abbott, effectively blocking a vote on a plan to redraw the state's US House map to attempt to flip five Democratic seats in the 2026 midterm elections. Most of the 57 went to Illinois at the invitation of Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, but some went to Boston and Albany, NY. They risk incurring a $500-a-day fine while being absent from work, and Abbott has threatened their removal from office. While their absence can't stop the passage of the bill, the Democrats are hoping to "run out the clock" on the special 30-day session, according to ABC News. On Steve Bannon's War Room podcast, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said of the lawmakers, "As long as the governor is willing to keep calling sessions, ultimately they have to come home."—HVL
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MEDIA There is so much red and green getting slung between ESPN and the NFL that you'd think they got into a food fight with Christmas-style enchiladas. That's according to the Athletic, which reported on Friday that the Disney-owned sports media conglomerate is getting control of NFL RedZone, as well as the NFL Network and more, in exchange for up to 10% of ESPN equity, worth billions of dollars. What gives? The NFL hasn't been able to convert on its media properties. Last May, several key NFL Network on-air personalities were laid off, and it canceled its flagship show, NFL Total Access, after over 20 years. ESPN wants to bolster the must-have status of its forthcoming streaming service, to be called…ESPN. It would get broadcast rights to seven more regular-season games in the deal, as well as the NFL's fantasy football business and the potential for more platform integrations, like betting. Zoom out: An unnamed source told Front Office Sports that the "massive" deal would require "government oversight and approval. And we all know how Trump likes to poke the NFL from time to time." ESPN and the NFL declined the Athletic's and FOS's requests for comment. Disney's earnings call on Wednesday may feature an official announcement.—HVL | | |
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CALENDAR Back to class: Get your lunch packed up and your boots tied tight. It's time to go back to school, or start shopping for supplies at least, depending on where you live. According to the National Retail Federation, parents expect to spend an average of $144 on supplies this school year. That doesn't even count new sneakers or electronics. Several states are conducting tax-free holidays to help defray costs. But remember: The most important supply you'll need is patience, as you sign up for 100 different school-related apps. Earnings season marches forward: This week doesn't have the same Magnificent heft of the past two, but there are still plenty of companies to watch. Palantir reports earnings today, and Caterpillar, DuPont, and Pfizer report on Tuesday. McDonald's and Disney will release their reports on Wednesday. Eli Lilly, Warner Bros. Discovery, and ConocoPhillips post earnings on Thursday, followed by Wendy's on Friday. Some big shows are back: Grab an Alamo beer and kick back: All 10 episodes of the new King of the Hill reboot hit Hulu today. Then, Addams Family spin-off Wednesday dances back onto Netflix this Wednesday (of course), and the Freaky Friday sequel lands in theaters on Friday (also of course). Want things to get even freakier? Horror film Weapons debuts the same day. Everything else: - This week marks 80 years since the US dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
- Consumer credit data will be released on Thursday.
- Friday is President Trump's deadline for Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
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STAT Mark Zuckerberg recently offered 24-year-old Matt Deitke $250 million over four years to come work at Meta's superintelligence lab, and he accepted. Ars Technica compared that to J. Robert Oppenheimer's $10,000 annual salary in 1943 for leading the Manhattan Project, which, adjusted for inflation, would be $190,865 today. Even in contemporary terms, AI recruits for the biggest tech companies have few peers when it comes to paychecks. The closest may be sports stars. In 2021, NBA legend Steph Curry finalized a four-year, $215 million contract extension. How did we get here? The likes of Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet have huge market caps—and, as the New York Times observed, no salary caps. But there are some things Oppenheimer got that a compensation package just can't promise, like infamy, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, and a Christopher Nolan biopic. Or so we assume.—HVL |
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Together With Miso Robotics |
NEWS - The manhunt for the Montana bar shooting suspect entered its fourth day today.
- Hamas released footage of emaciated Israeli hostage Evyatar David on Saturday, which drew widespread international criticism. Hamas said on Sunday it would work with the Red Cross to deliver aid to Israeli hostages in Gaza if its conditions were met. Also on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was seeking a "military solution" to free the remaining hostages.
- OPEC+ agreed to raise oil output in September by 547,000 barrels per day.
- Delta Air Lines told US senators it would not use AI to personalize ticket prices.
- Loni Anderson, who played receptionist Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati, died at 79.
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PLAY Turntable: This week's puzzle asks you to find 33 words. Whether you get an extra shot of espresso in your iced latte today and find them all at once, or set the goal of finding ~4.7 words per day for the next seven days, is entirely up to you. Play Turntable here. Military trivia A branch of the US Armed Forces celebrates its 235th birthday today. We'll give you some clues and you have to determine which branch it is: - It is the only one inside the Department of Homeland Security.
- It is the second smallest US military service branch in terms of membership.
- Celebrities who have served in the branch include Arnold Palmer, Jeff Bridges, and Popeye.
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ANSWER The US Coast Guard Word of the Day Today's Word of the Day is: quorum, meaning "the minimum number of members of a body required to be present at a meeting." Thanks to Jessica G. from Fort Worth, TX, and a select group of others for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here. |
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