Bear Market Arrives, Brittney Griner's Detention, Elon Talks to Twitter

Your Daily Debrief

June 14th, 2022

Good morning, and here's to ringing in your Tuesday! Today is National Flag Day, and here’s what we have for you:

Today’s Highlights

S&P 500 index falls into bear market territory
State Department officials meet with Phoenix Mercury about Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia
Elon Musk will participate in an all-hands meeting with Twitter employees on Thursday

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S&P 500 index falls into bear market territory

As of yesterday at 4 pm ET, the S&P 500 index has officially hit bear market territory.

An index is considered to be in a bear market when it falls 20% from its high. When trading activity ceased on Monday, the S&P 500 closed down by over 151 points to sit at 3,749.63–a figure roughly 21% lower than its high of 4,796.56 on January 3rd, 2022.

Historically, different events precipitated bear markets at different times. The most recent bear market in early 2020 was due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic contraction. Before that, the bear market between 2007-2009 was caused when the housing market imploded, leading to the Global Financial Crisis.

Investors have sent the S&P 500 into its most recent bear market due to concerns around inflation–which currently sits at the highest levels seen in over 40 years–and the measures the Federal Reserve is expected to take to bring those levels down.

State Department officials meet with Phoenix Mercury about Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia

Members of the State Department met with WNBA team the Phoenix Mercury regarding Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia and the Biden administration’s efforts to secure her release.

117 days ago, Brittney Griner–a player for the Phoenix Mercury–was detained at a Russian airport after authorities found vape cartridges containing a cannabis derivative while searching her bags. Last month, the State Department reclassified Griner as wrongfully detained, and her case was transferred to the State Department Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (or “SPEHA,” for short).

The State Department confirmed yesterday’s meeting with the Mercury, which involved officials from SPEHA, the specialized office that advocates for hostages and wrongfully detained American citizens.

After the meeting, Phoenix Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard said, "It was great to hear from the State Department that we should continue to amplify that message and that we should continue to press all those who have any influence or power to help bring [Griner] home. She's our teammate, she's an American and we want her back home.''

Elon Musk will participate in an all-hands meeting with Twitter employees on Thursday

Elon Musk will participate in an all-hands meeting with Twitter employees on Thursday, according to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal.

The meeting will mark the first time the Tesla and SpaceX CEO will have spoken directly with Twitter’s workforce since he first announced his plan to purchase the company outright in April. Per an email that Agrawal sent to staffers yesterday announcing the meeting, the event will be moderated by Twitter’s marketing chief Leslie Berland, and employees can submit questions for Musk in advance.

Not long after Musk proposed to take Twitter private in April, the board agreed to his terms, entering into a deal for the billionaire to purchase all the company’s outstanding shares for $54.20 each. Later, Musk said the deal was on hold over concerns about the accuracy of the number of spam accounts that it estimated on its platform.

At the end of trading activity yesterday, Twitter share prices closed at $37.03, a figure $17.17–or 31.6%–lower than Musk's offer price of $54.20.

Around the Globe

Cuba has sanctioned 381 individuals who participated in protests against food, medicine, and power shortages among a spike in coronavirus cases on the island in July of last year
Russian forces have expanded their control over the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, destroying all bridges to the city and making evacuation “impossible,” per regional governor Sergei Gaidai
A man who killed eight women and two men in Toronto with a van in 2018 received a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years

On the Homefront

Yellowstone National Park officials have closed all entrances to the park after heavy rains and flooding have swept away a bridge, washed away roads, and set off mudslides
Amazon announces that it will start delivering packages by drone to customers in Lockeford, California later this year
The Federal Aviation Administration said it will require SpaceX to make over 75 changes to its Texas launch facility in order to receive a license to launch its Starship rocket from the site

Glitz and Games

Middle Eastern countries Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates banned Pixar’s movie Lightyear due to its inclusion of a scene containing a same-gender kiss
Over 200 television directors, producers, and writers including JJ Abrams, Shonda Rhimes, and Judd Apatow signed an open letter in which they pledged to revisit the use of guns in their storytelling and to include best practices for gun safety in their scripts
The Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 104-94 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals (Warriors lead the series 3-2)

Money Moves

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed down over 876 and 151 points respectively, taking other market indexes down with them (Dow -2.79%, Nasdaq -4.68%, S&P 500 -3.88%)
Banks like Barclays and Jefferies are forecasting that the Federal Reserve will raise rates by 75 basis points during its Wednesday meeting to curb inflation sitting at 40-year highs
Bitcoin hits its lowest level since December 2020, falling below $23,000; it is now 67% below its all-time high of $68,991 that it hit in November 2021

Tip & Tricks

Bump This: Keep your Tuesday relaxing with this “Your Favorite Coffeehouse” playlist on Spotify
Go Deep: Watch Thanos (whoops, we mean Josh Brolin) interview himself for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series
Team Up: Jack Daniels and Coca-Cola will release a combined “Jack & Coke” cocktail in co-branded cans; the canned beverages will debut in Mexico towards the end of this year
Nerd Out: Check out this reconfigurable electronic AI chip built by MIT that can reduce electronic waste by allowing us to use our devices for far longer
Say What: “I don’t blame them, I actually understand. He’s a beloved character and people feel they know him. He’s a fantastic actor,” Amber Heard said in a preview of her upcoming interview on NBC News, referencing the jury in her defamation trial against ex-husband Johnny Depp
Hot Goss: Nancy Crampton Brophy, the self-published author of How to Murder Your Husband was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted for–drum roll–murdering her husband
Life Hack: Adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to boiling water before you add the rice makes the rice fluffier

Question of the day

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Looking Back…

On June 14th, 1940, the first transport of Polish political prisoners arrived at Auschwitz; it became Nazi Germany's largest concentration, extermination, and slave labor camp, where over one million people died.