40-Year Inflation Highs, Covid Testing Reversal, Billionaire Tiger

Your Daily Debrief

June 11th, 2022

Good morning, and welcome to your weekend! Today is National Rosé Day, and before you raise your glass, here’s what we have for you:

Today’s Highlights

Inflation rises by its fastest pace in over 40 years
U.S. drops Covid testing requirements for incoming international travelers
Tiger Woods joins the billionaire athlete club

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Inflation rises by its fastest pace in over 40 years

The Consumer Price Index rose year-over-year by 8.6% in May–marking the fastest inflation increase in over 40 years–according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released yesterday.

Per the report, the biggest drivers of May’s CPI increase were the costs of food, shelter, and gas. The food index rose 1.2% from April to May, and 10.1% compared to 2021. May also saw a year-over-year increase in energy prices of 34.6%, the biggest jump since September 2005. Gas prices had just reached a record national average of $5 per gallon two days, according to GasBuddy, which analyzes real-time fuel prices at over 140,000 gas stations in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

April’s year-over-year increase in the CPI was 8.3%, according to the Labor Bureau. Overall, the CPI rose by 1% in May, compared to a 0.3% increase the month prior. Core inflation–which doesn’t account for costs such as food and gas–rose 0.6%, the same pace as it did in April.

The Labor Bureau’s report comes ahead of an expected second rate hike of 50 basis from the Federal Reserve when it meets this coming Wednesday, along with another anticipated half-a-percentage point increase from the U.S. central bank in July. Since March, the Fed has raised basis points by 75 basis points, or 0.75%.

U.S. drops Covid testing requirements for incoming international travelers

The Biden administration announced that it will halt Covid-19 testing for incoming air travelers from other countries starting on Sunday.

In early 2021, the Trump administration enacted a measure requiring international travelers to show proof of a negative test one day before boarding a plane to the United States. This law not only applied to foreign individuals traveling to the United States, but also to U.S. citizens. If an airline passenger tested negative, they would be prohibited from entering the country.

Since President Biden took office, the airline industry has lobbied for his administration to drop the rule, arguing it was impeding demand for international trips. After yesterday’s announcement, U.S. Travel Association President Roger Dow said, “The Biden administration is to be commended for this action, which will welcome back visitors from around the world and accelerate the recovery of the U.S. travel industry.”

The change will take effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 12th. According to a senior Biden administration official, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will reevaluate the decision in 90 days’ time.

Tiger Woods joins the billionaire athlete club

Tiger Woods is now the third known athlete to achieve billionaire status, per Forbes, through winnings from golfing and endorsement deals.

According to Forbes, golf winnings comprise less than 10% of Woods’ net worth. Instead, the majority of his wealth was generated from endorsement deals with over a dozen brands, including Rolex, Monster Energy, Gatorade, TaylorMade, Nike; the golfer signed with the latter in 1996, and the brand remains Woods’ biggest backer.

In addition to his playing career and endorsement deals, Woods is also an active entrepreneur. TGR Design (a golf course design business), TGR Live (a live event production company) and TGR Ventures–which acts as a vehicle for Woods to invest in businesses–are all part of the golfer’s portfolio.

Based on Woods’ lifetime earnings, Forbes estimates the golfer to now be one of three billionaire athletes in the world. The other two are Michael Jordan–who reached the milestone ten years after he retired from professional basketball–and four-time NBA champion LeBron James, who Forbes estimated reached billionaire status last week from his playing salary and investment interests in a variety of other businesses.

Around the Globe

Russia and China opened a cross-border bridge spanning the Amur river that leaders hope will further increase trade between the two countries
France began its trial of Dino Scala, a former caretaker charged with raping dozens of women over a 30-year period between France and Belgium
Mairpoul’s mayor warned that Cholera and other diseases could kill thousands in the Ukrainian city from the combination of uncollected corpses and warmer summer weather

On the Homefront

A new California law being implemented his summer will require public high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 am, and middle schools no earlier than 8 am
A report from the Pew Research Center shows that roughly 5% of individuals under 30 in the U.S. identify as a different sex from their one assigned at birth
2 people were rescued after falling into a chocolate tank at a Mars candy company factory

Glitz and Games

Justin Bieber shares that he is taking a break from performing due to Ramsay Hunt syndrome causing paralysis on one side of his face
Rocket Mortgage ends its sponsorship agreement with Bryson DeChambeau after the golfer joined the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf Series
Steph Curry scored 43 points as the Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 107-97 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals (series tied at 2-2)

Money Moves

Major indexes in the stock market extended yesterday’s losses as investors reacted to news on inflation data (Dow -2.73%, Nasdaq -3.52%, S&P 500 -2.91%)
The 2-year Treasury yield jumped to over 2.9% on the Labor Bureau’s report on inflation data
Tesla files for a 3-for-1 stock split less than two years after the stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) split 5-for-1 in August 2020

Tip & Tricks

Bump This: SZA dropped 7 unreleased tracks on the deluxe version of her 2017 album CTRL to celebrate its 5 year anniversary; check it out on Spotify and Apple Music
Cash Grab: Washington Commanders fined defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio $100,000 for his comments on the January 6th incident at the Capitol building
Nerd Out: Check out the Xaver 1000, a next-generation radar device developed by Israel-based Camero-Tech that can “see” through walls
Say What: “I don’t know if we can keep our bathrooms open,” Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said, citing safety concerns from the company’s current open-bathroom policy
Hot Goss: Britney Spears’ ex-husband Jason Alexander crashed the singer’s wedding and was arrested at her residence, after which she proceeded to marry Sam Asghari
Life Hack: Grinding about a dozen ice cubes in your garbage disposal once a month sharpens the blades and gets rid of any excess grease trapped in the drain

Question of the day

What is a skill you would hope to master if you found yourself with one year of free time? Let us know here:

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Looking Back…

On June 11th, 1982, Steven Spielberg's movie ‘E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial’ was released in theaters; it grossed over $790 million, won 4 Academy Awards, and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time.