|  | Nasdaq | 19,521.09 | |
| | S&P | 5,982.72 | |
| | Dow | 42,215.80 | |
| | 10-Year | 4.393% | |
| | Bitcoin | $104,549.20 | |
|  | Verve | $11.38 | |
| | 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 sank as tensions rose in the Middle East, giving investors little hope that the conflict between Israel and Iran would end soon. But that could not stop the gene-editing startup Verve Therapeutics from soaring after Eli Lilly bought it for $1.3 billion, primarily for its cardiovascular disease treatment.
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WORK LIFE Workdays once had a defined beginning and end. But, much like a bad first date or a card game at a party, workdays are increasingly stretching on forever, per the latest data from Microsoft's Work Trend Index Special Report. The "infinite workday," as Microsoft calls it, began as an anomaly with the rise of remote work during the pandemic but has since become the norm for many who are unable to disconnect completely. Microsoft made the observation after parsing "trillions" of data points across its Microsoft 365 products. Brace for the soul-crushing numbers: - Early mornings: Microsoft used telemetry to determine that 40% of people online at 6am are checking work email instead of hitting the snooze. Meanwhile, Teams becomes the primary communication platform within the Microsoft environment by 8am, with workers receiving an average of 153 messages per weekday.
- Midday: Half of meetings take place between 9am and 11am and 1pm and 3pm, right when people are at their most productive (due to circadian rhythms). And 57% of meetings occur without a calendar invite, while 1 in 10 are booked last minute.
- Evenings/weekends: Meetings after 8pm are up 16% over last year, and the average employee sends or receives more than 50 emails outside of regular business hours. On weekends, ~20% of employees check work email before noon.
Got a minute? This might be the most staggering detail from the report: Employees using Microsoft 365 are interrupted by a meeting, email, or notification every two minutes during "core business hours," and that doesn't even include your coworker swinging by your desk to tell you about their fantasy football team. AI could help (and also hurt). The report concludes that using AI for menial tasks will free humans to focus on more important aspects of their jobs. But as Forbes notes, if AI is only freeing people for more assignments, a healthy work-life balance will remain out of reach.—DL | | |
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WORLD 🧃 Kraft Heinz will remove artificial dyes from all products by 2027. The Jell-O, Kool-Aid, and Lunchables proprietor made the announcement yesterday, about two months after the FDA under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed a plan to phase out petroleum-based artificial colors from food and medication. Kraft Heinz said 90% of its products don't use synthetic dyes, but the ones that do (primarily in the beverage and dessert categories) will soon switch to natural colors. And, no, this does not mean your ketchup is going to turn beige: Kraft says it's never used artificial colors in its signature condiment.  President Trump threatened Iran's supreme leader. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that the US knows where Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is "hiding," calling him an "easy target" but saying he will not be killed, "at least not for now." He also demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender" as it traded airstrikes with Israel for the fifth day. Trump's escalating rhetoric came as the US moved more warships into the Middle East in what officials said was a defensive position. The president also posted, "We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran," but it was unclear if that meant the US was directly involved in the conflict. Trump is reportedly weighing using US military assets to strike Iran.
 OpenAI and Microsoft are reportedly beefing. The biggest partnership in AI might be on the rocks, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. OpenAI is reportedly considering the "nuclear option" of accusing Microsoft of anticompetitive behavior as it seeks to convince the tech giant to approve its conversion into a for-profit company. Per the WSJ, the two companies don't agree on how much of OpenAI Microsoft would own if the former were to launch a public-benefit corporation. Microsoft has invested billions into OpenAI in exchange for access to its technology, but they have recently become rivals amid the artificial intelligence arms race.—AE
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HEALTH Don't tell your cousin who's been holding GameStop since 2021 about this traditional Chinese medicine company: Shares of Hong Kong-based Regencell—which has no revenue and lost over $10 million in the last two fiscal years—are up almost 60,000% this year, putting its market value at $39 billion, exceeding those of Kraft Heinz and eBay. The purveyor of herbal treatments for childhood ADHD and autism started the year as a Nasdaq-listed penny stock. But its shares skyrocketed in May for no apparent business reason. (It's unclear if Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s support for alternative medicine contributed to Regencell's sudden rise.) The frenzy escalated this month, when Regencell announced a 1-38 stock split. - Regencell said the move, which typically has no bearing on corporate performance, was meant to make trading its stock more accessible post-rally.
- The shares popped over 280% on Monday after the stock split went into effect.
A likely reason that Regencell is making you wish there was a pill enabling time travel is that only 6% of its shares are available to the public, which makes it more prone to volatility. Who's getting rich? Regencell's CEO Yat-Gai Au, whose father, Sik-Kee Au, developed the herbal remedies that the company markets, owns an 86% stake worth $34 billion.—SK | | |
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GAMING Don't be alarmed by the glow coming from underneath your preteen's bedroom door. It's probably just a blocky nectarine tree. The Roblox game Grow a Garden, a gardening simulator, set a new record for video-game players this weekend, with its 16 million concurrent users beating Fortnite's previous record of 14.3 million. Pretty impressive for a game that was created in about three days by an anonymous 16-year-old—at least according to Janzen "Jandel" Madsen, whose studio acquired the game and its then-2,000-some players in April. It's like Farmville, Animal Crossing, or any other game that involves tilling the land without getting dirt under your fingernails: - You start with a barren plot of land and enough Grow a Garden currency, known as Sheckles, to buy seeds.
- The game is pretty straightforward: Plant the seeds, grow your crops, and sell or trade them for more exotic seeds or animals.
But…developers from Madsen's Splitting Point Studios have also introduced a ton of in-game drops that users have to be present to snag, which keeps players coming back. You can also pay real money for digital items via Robux or join the unaffiliated black market, which includes millions of dollars' worth of digital fruit and animals for sale on sites like eBay and Discord. Apparently, kids like these vegetables. About 35% of Grow a Garden's players are under 13.—MM | | |
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STAT All those Hot Ones interviews you watch while muted and off-camera during companywide calls are adding up. For the first time ever, more Americans watch streaming services on TV than broadcast and cable combined, per the latest Nielsen data: - As of May, streaming accounted for 45% of all TV viewing, while broadcast + cable represented 44%.
- When Nielsen started measuring in 2021, streaming made up only 26% of TV time, while traditional TV dominated at nearly two-thirds.
The popularity of streaming among the youths is well documented, but this latest surge away from regular TV and toward free, ad-supported apps like YouTube and Tubi is driven by the elders. The fastest-growing cohort watching YouTube on a TV set is viewers over the age of 65, the New York Times reported.—AE |
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Together With Bowlero Roll into summer. Bowlero's 2025 Summer Pass is the ultimate way for families, friends, and bowling-lovers to enjoy an action-packed summer without breaking the bank. With over 200 locations nationwide, next-level bowling is right around the corner. Even better? You can upgrade to premium and get 15% off food + drinks.* |
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NEWS - Brad Lander, the NYC comptroller and a candidate for mayor, was arrested by ICE agents outside of an immigration courthouse after attempting to escort a defendant out of the hearing.
- US retail sales fell for the second straight month, with spending at bars and restaurants falling the most since 2023 as Americans are increasingly anxious about tariffs.
- Duracell is suing Energizer, accusing the rival battery-maker of falsely claiming its batteries outlast Duracell's by 10%.
- MyPillow founder Mike Lindell was found guilty of defaming a former employee of Dominion Voting Systems and forced to pay $2.3 million in damages over his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
- Tinder added a new feature that lets US users coordinate double dates. Sure, why not.
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RECS  Wear: A vest with bottle storage to keep you hydrated on hikes and trail runs.**
Stay: The 2025 Hotel Price Index shows where it's getting cheaper to travel. Defend: How to protect yourself against ticks as the weather warms up. Eat: The full list of 2025 James Beard Award winners. AI, deskside: Whatever your AI-powered project may be, the Dell Pro Max GB10—built with Nvidia's latest Grace Blackwell Superchip—is up to the task. Pre-order yours ahead of the summer release.* *A message from our sponsor. **This is a product recommendation from our writers. When you buy through this link, Morning Brew may earn a commission. |
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PLAY Word Search: Today's Word Search is all business in the front, party in the back. Play it here. Icy trivia Here's a question we were asked (and got wrong) at a recent bar trivia night, and now, it's your turn to venture a guess. The question: How many human births have been recorded in Antarctica? Send this around your office, and the person with the answer closest to the real number gets a prize. |
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ANSWER 11 H/t Nathaniel for the excellent question, and check out his trivia night at the Brindle Room in Manhattan! Word of the Day Today's Word of the Day is: proprietor, meaning "the owner of a business." Thanks to Jessica from Fort Worth, TX, for the suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here. |
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✢ A Note From Boxabl This is a paid advertisement for Boxabl's Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at https://www.boxabl.com/invest#circular ✳︎ A Note From Bowlero *non alcoholic beverages only |
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