It's going Dow... and Wall Street yelled "timber" (thanks, Ke$ha). The industrials-heavy Dow index fell 1.4% yesterday, after closing last week at a record high. On Monday, the techy Nasdaq plunged 2.5%, dragging the whole market down. What's going on:

• A widespread surge in prices is spooking investors, inspiring the "i word" (inflation). Inflation = a general rise in the price level of an economy. Inflation concerns have lingered for months, but hit the market yesterday.
• Why investors worry: Spiking prices can decrease the purchasing power of a dollar (aka: your $1 gets you less). Investors are worried the Fed will raise interest rates sooner than expected to fend off inflation.

The entire drive-thru just got pricier... including the car. Supply chain and labor shortages are driving up prices of raw materials and consumer goods. Meanwhile, the Fed has added trillions to the money supply through stimulus packages and bond-buying sprees, adding to concerns. Some areas seeing notable spikes:

• Raw materials and commodities like copper, steel, lumber, and corn, are hitting record prices as production quickly revs up.
• Consumer packaged goods giants like General Mills, Kimberly Clark, and Smucker's hiked prices (on everything from diapers to peanut butter) for the first time since 2018, citing higher materials and production costs.
• Car prices hit records thanks to the Great Chip Shortage, which is shutting down factories.
• Poultry prices are at all-time highs, as demand for fried chicken sandwiches soars. Chicken nugget icon Tyson just warned that "substantial" inflation pressures would hurt its profit margins.

"Give my regards to Broadway... remember me to Herald Square!" (Macy's mood right now). Macy's flagship Herald Square location is one of the largest department stores in the world (think: 50 departments across 10 floors). Now, the mall OG wants to go even bigger — despite a rough, losing year that spurred it to close dozens of stores. The ambitious proposal:

• Step 1: Transform Herald Square. Macy's is commiting $235M to improve the Herald Square subway stations, and “transform Herald Square and Broadway Plaza into a modern, car-free pedestrian-friendly urban space for New Yorkers and visitors.” Bold.
• Step 2: Put an office on it. Macy's wants to build a big commercial office tower on top of its Herald Square store (which can only happen after the area is rezoned — Step 1). Macy's says the proposal would support ~16K jobs.

Not your typical "future of work"... For all the talk about permanent WFH, hybrid workspaces, and hologram colleagues, companies are still investing in office space. NYC expects a boom in new office jobs, forecasting a return to pre-pandemic office employment by the end of the year. NYC would get $250M in new tax revenue from the proposal. Macy's would get prime corporate real estate (that it can charge sky-high rent for).

• Fine: The UK unveiled a new law to fine social media companies that fail to remove online abuse. The fine: up to 10% of sales or $25M.
• Free: Uber and Lyft will provide free rides to and from vaccination sites until July 4 under a new White House partnership.
• Gas: The Colonial Pipeline hack/outage is leading to panic-buying — gas stations from FL to VA started running dry as prices jumped.
• Rising: Marriott posted another weak quarter. But in North America, room occupancy jumped from 33% in January to 49% in March.
• Highlight: A spotlight on the future of connectivity and transportation (plus, how hospitals are prepping for the next pandemic).

• Earnings expected from Bumble, Wendy's, Lemonade, Coupang, Wix, Wish, Vroom, and Toyota
• Eid begins

Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Uber

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