See you at Crypto.com Arena [peepio/E+ via Getty Images]
Hey Snackers,
Ear, ear: Gen Z celebs are bringing back “retro” corded headphones, aka EarPods. More cord = less separation anxiety.
Stocks closed higher thanks to solid earnings results from chipmaker NVIDIA, while a sell-off in Cisco shares weighed on the Dow.
Extreme pump anxiety... US gas prices are up more than 60% from a year ago, hitting seven-year highs. California just hit a state record of $4.68/gallon. President Biden wants to understand why: Yesterday he sent a letter to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, calling on the FTC to look into "whether illegal conduct is costing families at the pump."
Oh, PEC... Oil prices plunged last year when travel and manufacturing halted. So OPEC, the powerhouse org of oil-exporting countries, slashed production. This year, oil demand rebounded quickly as the economy revved up. That's led to an oil shortage, which is aggravating supply issues and soaring prices. BTW: Higher gas prices will hurt low-income families the most this winter.
Despite the green wave, oil is still king... Renewable energy gets the royal treatment, but the world still runs on oil and gas — from transporting food to heating and electrifying homes. Sixty percent of US electricity is generated from fossil fuels, versus 20% from renewables. And EVs account for just 2% of the US’s new-car market. That's why even Biden, who’s put clean energy at the forefront of his spending plans, has asked to boost oil production.
Home-court advantage… Crypto.com just bought it. The world’s fastest-growing crypto exchange struck a 20-year deal reportedly worth $700M — one of the largest of its kind — to rename LA’s famous Staples Center. The Staples Center is home to the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers, the WNBA’s Sparks, and the NHL’s Kings, and has been named after the office-supplies retailer for 22 years. Its new name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue: Crypto.com Arena.
Crypto’s courtship with sports… is bigger than stadiums. Crypto.com has spent hundreds of millions sponsoring NBA, NHL, European soccer, UFC, Formula One, and esports teams. Other big players in the crypto industry have also embraced pro sports branding deals:
Know your audience… if you want them to know you. Sports fans have been found to be twice as likely as non-sports fans to be familiar with crypto. Pro sports are embedded in mainstream culture, from video games to athletes’ social feeds. That’s why crypto giants are looking to sports to accelerate crypto mainstreamification. After raising awareness among sports fans, Crypto.com and other companies might leverage their visibility to claim an even bigger place in the zeitgeist.
Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Amazon, Apple, Pfizer, and Google
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