Life

Snapchat Makes Its Biggest Change Yet, Plus Verizon Is Raising Prices On Their Cell Phone Service

#Morning Brew
by Last Updated

“We’ve concluded pretty definitively that these are not safe products the way they were designed.” — Elliot Kaye, Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, expressing concern over hoverboards. Yesterday, half a million hoverboards were recalled due to fire hazards. It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Big Picture

  • After opening negative, U.S. markets clawed their way back into positive territory when the Fed announced it would wait to see the impact of Brexit before increasing rates

Alternatives to Watch

  • The bull market in gold and silver continued yesterday with gold jumping to two-year highs and silver rising for its sixth session in a row, as many bet on a further delay for a U.S. rate hike

Market Movers

  • Shares of Netflix fell over 3% after receiving a downgrade from investment bank Jefferies, days after the company announced a partnership with Comcast

CORPORATE PRIMER

Hate to Break the News

…But your phone bill might go up. Verizon will be raising the price of it services between $5 and $10 per month. For perspective, that’s like a whole burrito every month that will now go towards your phone bill. Thanks, Verizon. If there’s a bright side, it’s that the higher prices do come with larger data allowances. The wireless carrier is banking on customers sticking with it despite the price hike. Even after the increase, Verizon’s monthly fees are about on par with arch-nemesis AT&T, although that doesn’t make the news any better.

Add This to Your Story

…Snapchat just made its biggest change yet. Yesterday, the popular social media app unveiled its newest feature: Memories. With the update, users will be able tohold onto photos and videos that can be added to a Snapchat story later. Snappers will soon be able to search through their memories by using keywords like “#Gameday” or “Drake concert.” The move is quite the change for Snapchat, which largely gained 150 million daily active users by placing emphasis on immediacy. Keeping old snaps in your back pocket is going to make those embarrassing birthday Facebook posts a lot more interesting.

Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day

…And the Golden Arches know it. McDonald’s graced the nation yesterday by announcing an expanded all-day breakfast menu. Not only will more sandwiches be added this fall, but McGriddles and McMuffins will also be included in the all-day breakfast. Thanks in part to the all-day breakfast, McDonald’s posted its best quarterly sales in nearly four years last January. Yet, some analysts fear that the demand for breakfast items may decline. For now, enjoy the fact that you can get eggs, bacon and cheese sandwiched between pancakes at any time of day.

U.S. MACRO

Interest Rates are Staying Put

…For now. Yesterday, minutes from a Federal Reserve June 14-15 policy meeting were made public, and they confirmed that the Fed is going to hold back on an interest rate hike for the time being. The meeting took place before the Brexit vote, and many Fed policymakers were uneasy about raising rates with the possibility of Britain leaving the EU. Well, we all know how that turned out. The historic referendum sets the stage for an interesting Fed meeting happening in late July. In the meantime, don’t expect an interest rate hike until the effects of Brexit are more clear.

OTHER STORIES

ECONOMIC CALENDAR

YOUNG, WILD AND PRUDENT?

Millennial entrepreneurs just want to get rich quick, right? How else could Zuckerberg be worth over $35 billion at only 32-years-old? Hold the phone. According to a new survey by Wells Fargo, young small business owners—ages 19 to 35—are more farsighted than many think. Perhaps less surprisingly, the study also found that young entrepreneurs are more willing to take risks. Get a load of these numbers:

  • 80% of young entrepreneurs plan to eventually pass down their businesses to their children, despite the fact that 59% don’t even have kids yet. Now that’s planning ahead.
  • 82% of these business owners said the ability to control their own future was the main motive for starting their own company.
  • Two-thirds of millennial entrepreneurs think it’s important to take on some debt for future growth. Ah, so there’s the risk.
  • The best news: three-quarters of those surveyed said they are optimistic about business growth in the next year. Brexit, smexit.

INTERVIEW QUESTION OF THE DAY

A man has two children. He says one of them is a son. What is the probability that the other one is also a son? (Answer)

BUSINESS TERM OF THE DAY

Okun’s Law — The relationship between the U.S. economy’s unemployment rate and its gross national product. Okun’s Law states that GNP rises by 3% for every 1% drop in unemployment; however, it only holds true when unemployment hovers between 3% and 7.5%.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Buffalo Wild Wings is going to become very popular around the office. Starting today, the restaurant chain guarantees customers will receive their food within 15 minutes if they order between 11 am and 2 pm or the entire order is free. Who’s down for some wings?

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