|  | Nasdaq | 22,748.99 | |
| | S&P | 6,830.71 | |
| | Dow | 47,954.74 | |
|  | 10-Year | 4.146% | |
| | Bitcoin | $71,327.70 | |
| | Brent crude oil | $84.44 | |
| | Data is provided by |  |
*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Stocks couldn't maintain their momentum from Wednesday and fell again yesterday, as the Middle East conflict entered its sixth day. The Dow led the decline, plunging nearly 800 points after Iran said it hit an oil tanker with a missile. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil eclipsed $84 a barrel.
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LOGISTICS The nearly week-old Iran war raged on yesterday, expanding to more countries and further imperiling the seas and skies in the Middle East. The US and Israel continued bombing targets in Iran yesterday, while Iran retaliated with strikes across the region. An Iranian drone injured four at an airport in neighboring Azerbaijan. It's unclear when the fighting will end: Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the country isn't asking for a ceasefire and sees no reason to negotiate. In the US, a legislative effort to restrict President Trump's ability to conduct military action in Iran failed yesterday after Republicans in the House followed the Senate in voting it down. Meanwhile, Trump told Axios that he wants to be involved in choosing Iran's new supreme leader to replace Ayatollah Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike over the weekend. Cargo ripple effects Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz—which carries 20% of the world's oil—has slowed traffic to a trickle through the vital trade route. That's affecting industries well beyond just the transit of fuel, as the waterway is also vital to the global food supply chain: - Farmers have been hit by soaring nitrogen fertilizer costs. Much of the supply comes from the Middle East.
- Experts say this could undermine global agricultural production and potentially push up grocery prices.
Aside from the food biz, Victoria's Secret said the conflict has caused shipping delays, while Abercrombie expects "sales headwinds" due to sourcing hitches in the region. Meanwhile…treacherous skies above the Middle Eastern air hubs are threatening to strain supply chains for products commonly transported by plane, like pharmaceuticals and electronics. Rising air freight prices due to the conflict could eventually be passed on to shoppers. See the latest updates here.—SK | | |
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WORLD  President Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The president announced yesterday that Noem was out (effective March 31) and Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma would take her place. Trump was reportedly frustrated with Noem following her testimony at a congressional hearing this week, in which she said that the president had signed off on a $200 million ad campaign for her department (Trump denies doing so). Before that, Noem had received bipartisan criticism for several controversies, including her messaging following the killings of two US citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, by immigration officers in Minneapolis. Trump said that Noem will move into the position of "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas." Mullin, a former MMA fighter and congressman, has been a senator since 2023.
 More than 20 states sued Trump to block his latest tariffs. Two dozen states, including New York and California, filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump's planned 15% global tariffs, which he announced after the Supreme Court ruled last month that many of his previous tariffs were illegal. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the new tariffs will take effect this week and could return to their previous rates by August, using a different legal authority that circumvents the court's decision. The states' lawsuit comes a day after a federal judge ruled that companies that paid tariffs are owed refunds.
 Netflix bought Ben Affleck's AI startup. The streaming giant acquired InterPositive, a company founded by Affleck that makes AI tools for filmmakers, per Variety. The Good Will Hunting and Gone Girl star will serve as a senior advisor to Netflix, which is reportedly retaining the startup's entire 16-person team. Affleck's company does not produce AI-generated content; rather, it uses AI to assist in the production process, such as fixing lighting and visual effects. "We also need to preserve what makes storytelling human, which is judgment," Affleck said in a statement. The news marks a rare acquisition by Netflix, which deserted its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery last week.—AE
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LINGERYAY It's comeback season for the retailer that makes parents cover their kids' eyes at the mall. Victoria's Secret announced yesterday that it's about to have its best year in more than half a decade, following a slump in revenue and reputation. Victoria's projection: at least $6.85 billion in full-year sales, which would beat Wall Street's expectations and mark a seven-year high. The retailer posted its third straight quarter of same-store sales growth, its longest stretch of gains in at least four years, per FactSet. Much of the turnaround is credited to newish CEO Hillary Super, who previously led Anthropologie and Savage x Fenty. Since she took over Victoria's Secret in 2024: - Super has refocused the company around its Pink line, its $1 billion beauty business, and its bread and butter: bras.
- The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which previously took a backlash-fueled hiatus, has featured a more inclusive group of models.
Now…Victoria's Secret may be regaining some relevance for the first time since its 2021 split from former parent company L Brands, whose founder and CEO, Les Wexner, was linked to Jeffrey Epstein in 2019. Zoom out: Shares of Victoria's Secret tanked 12% yesterday due to multimillion-dollar expenses related to a past acquisition, but its stock is up more than 200% since an April 2025 low point.—ML | | |
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Together With Tracksuit x Ekimetrics |
DO NOT DISTURB Warn your mothers. United Airlines is laying down the law…quietly and without much fanfare. The airline updated its contract of carriage (the rules you agree to when you buy a flight) last Friday, adding a rule that passengers who listen to audio or video without headphones can be kicked off the flight and potentially banned from the airline. The change goes into effect as the carrier rolls out expanded Starlink internet service on its flights. Your ticket might get you access to a 46-part K-drama at cruising altitude, but not permission to play it for the rest of Economy Plus. Other airlines, including Frontier, Delta, and Southwest, suggest using headphones, but United appears to be the first carrier to implement consequences for going speaker mode. Now take your tiny pretzels and hush: The policy is an easy win for United, which—like the rest of the airline industry—is desperately trying to be the good guy after the post-Covid fee-a-palooza that eradicated perks like free bags and early boarding. But travelers are still mad. Last month, the decade-old argument over family seating was revitalized when social media posts went viral for calling out airlines that split toddlers up from their parents.—MM | | |
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STAT What do you get when you combine a generation hooked on Shark Tank with a shaky US labor market and worries over job security? Errbody be foundin'. According to the Wall Street Journal: - In January, there were more than 532,000 new business applications in the US—up by ~37% from last year and nearly matching the pandemic peak in July 2020.
- The number of people who list themselves as founders on LinkedIn is up by 69% from a year ago.
While fears of AI-induced layoffs drive many Americans toward self-reliance, the tech also helps them once they strike out on their own. AI is lowering the barrier to entry for entrepreneurship by performing tasks like website creation and data analysis.—AE |
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Together With Stitch Fix Your new outfit, delivered. Skip the mall and the endless scrolling. Just tell Stitch Fix your size, style, and budget, and a real human stylist will select pieces just for you. They'll ship it to you so you can try on your items at home, keep what you love, and return the rest. |
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QUIZ The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew's Weekly News Quiz has been compared to realizing we are a mere two days away from getting an extra hour of daylight. It's that satisfying. Ace the quiz. |
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NEWS - India received a 30-day waiver from the US to buy Russian oil amid energy supply woes stemming from the Iran war.
- Anthropic said it had been designated a national security risk by the Pentagon, and that it would challenge the move in court.
- Oracle is planning to cut "thousands" of jobs as it spends billions on AI data centers, Bloomberg reported.
- David Ellison, CEO of Paramount, pledged that CNN will remain editorially independent once Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery is complete.
- BYD unveiled a faster-charging battery yesterday, as the EV-maker's sales continue to slump in China.
- Pokémon said it did not grant the White House permission to use its IP for political memes.
- Six Flags is selling seven of its amusement parks to a real estate investment company for $331 million.
- Britney Spears was arrested in California on suspicion of DUI, according to ABC News.
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PLAY Jigsaw: This week, we take one last (very cool) look at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Play the Jigsaw here. Friday puzzle Here's a brain twister from the excellent site Puzzle a Day. You are given a standard six-sided die (numbered 1 through 6) and a blank six-sided die. You must assign a number to each face of the blank die (numbers can be repeated, and the number zero can be used). Your goal is to label the blank die so that when both dice are rolled together, every possible total from 1 to 12 can occur, and each total from 1 to 12 has the same probability of being rolled. What numbers should you put on the blank die? |
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SHARE THE BREW  Share the Brew, watch your referral count climb, and unlock brag-worthy swag. Your friends get smarter. You get rewarded. Win-win. Your referral count: 0 Click to Share Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
morningbrew.com/r/?kid=eaab23a8 |
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ANSWER 0, 0, 0, 6, 6, 6. Read why here. Word of the Day Today's Word of the Day is: circumvents, meaning "finds a way around, evades." Thanks to Jose Roman from Florida for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here. |
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