Politics

One Clear Loser From Tuesdays Debate

America, America is the loser…

However according to the polls, Vice President Kamala Harris seems to be the big winner.

538 has collected three national polls and one swing-state poll that were conducted following the debate, and in each of them - more people said Harris won the debate than former president Donald Trump. In total, 57% of people in these polls said Harris won, compared to only 34% for Trump. 

But how impactful will this be? Well, for one, more people will continue to consume content from the debate, whether it’s on social media, catching up on the actual debate on DVR, or reading the many fact checking articles that come out afterwards (for both candidates). So those numbers could continue to change.

Additionally, a CNN poll found that only 4% of debate watchers said this event changed their mind on who they are voting for. 82% said the debate had no impact on who they plan to vote for. Have you ever tried to have a political conversation with an uncle at Thanksgiving? Good luck. Because we know how this works: Republicans are Republicans, Democrats are Democrats, and they’re not changing their minds. Regardless of what was said Tuesday night. 

Furthermore, don’t take too much from the debates and the polls that come out afterwards. If you recall, the polls said that Hillary Clinton won each debate over Trump, and she rose in the national polls after each of the first two debates, as well - but we all remember how that ended… This stuff is hard to predict or to know for sure. 

So, as anticlimactic as it sounds… Tuesday might not have been as big of a deal as we would like to think. This was the only debate scheduled between these two candidates, but the Vice Presidential debate will be on October 1st. 

At least 57.5 million people tuned in for this debate, after 51.3 million people watched the last debate between Trump and President Biden. About 14.8 million of Tuesday’s viewers were between the ages 18-49. 

Around the Hill:

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Tech

A Trip to Space is the New Monaco

Billionaires may soon start trading in their yacht trips to walk amongst the stars.

If Michael Jackson is known for the first moonwalk, Jared Isaacman might soon be known for the first spacewalk.

41-year-old tech billionaire Jared Isaacman will become the first private citizen to walk in space, when he does so later today. Isaacman is part of a SpaceX capsule that took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday as part of what is called the “Polaris Dawn” mission. Isaacman is the “commander” of the mission, which features three other crew members aboard the Hawthorne company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. 

This spacecraft will reach the highest orbit above Earth since the Apollo program during their five-day mission in 1969.

Following the two day “flight”, Isaacman, along with SpaceX crew member Sarah Gillis, will pop out of the capsule today to walk around, 450 miles above Earth (their orbit was twice as high, but reduced for the spacewalk). Spacewalking is considered the most dangerous part of any flight after launch and reentry and does demand extensive training. 

“Spacewalks are a whole different entire ballgame than just strapping into a rocket and riding it, getting some zero-g time and coming back,” said retired NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy. Cassidy is aware of the dangers, after his partner, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano, nearly drowned during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station in 2013 (the near-drowning was from his cooling garment, which filled his helmet with water… not some sort of body of water on another planet…).

Isaacman partnered with Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, to buy a series of rocket rides and to help develop brand new spacesuits. This mission is to help test those spacesuits, which SpaceX has said will be necessary to colonize the moon and Mars.

“We’re going out just long enough to do what we need to do to get the data,” Isaacman explained about his spacewalk. Isaacman is expected to spend 15-20 minutes outside of the spacecraft. 

This flight was originally scheduled for an August 26th launch, but had to be delayed until September 10th, due to a leak in a launch-pad hose that would pump helium into the rocket, helping to launch it into space. The Polaris Dawn is the first flight of the Polaris Program, a private space program funded by Isaacman.

Ironically enough, this is the first space flight for all crew members EXCEPT Isaacman - who funded and was the commander of Inspiration4, the first all-civilian space mission in September, 2021. Would that make you feel comfortable about the mission?

The pilot is Scott Poteet, a 50-year-old retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. They have been training for this mission for two years, though, working mostly on the spacewalk. 

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Business

What’s in a name?

After 155 years, Campbell Soup is dropping “soup” from its title. 

Campbell Soup Company is changing its name… Similar to when the bank formerly known as TD Banknorth, dropped the North from their name. They wanted you to know that they don’t only serve the north, they’re available throughout the country.

Well, Campbell wants you to know they don’t only serve soup. The (now) Campbell Company has broadened their horizons in an attempt to compete with (new) competitors like Pepperidge Farm, Swanson, Pace Foods and others. And it seems to be working - Campbell said their soup sales increased 3% last year, while their snack sales increased by 13%! Though these numbers might be a little slanted, as smaller numbers lead to larger percentage increases (a la 100 to 200 being a larger % increase than 1,000 to 1,200).

Along with this news, Campbell also acquired Sovos Brands for $2.7 billion - the makers of grocery store Italian food items such as Rao’s sauces, Michael Angelo’s frozen entrees, Noosa’a Yoghurt and Birch Benders products. So they’re all in on the snack game! Now they just need Donovan McNabb, and his mother, to help spread the word.

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Economy

Inflation is Down, Way Down

Lowest in over 3 years.

According to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that was released on Wednesday, inflation is at its lowest point since February 2021.

The Consumer Price Index, a measurement of price changes for a commonly purchased basket of goods and services, decreased from a 2.9% annual increase in July to 2.5% in August. This matched the average seen in 2018 and was the lowest annual increase since February 2021

On a monthly basis, prices were unchanged from July’s increase of 0.2%. Food prices rose just 0.1%, while energy costs decreased 0.8%.

These numbers were better than economists had projected.

Because of all of this, a quarter-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve is very much expected to come from its monetary policy meeting next week, as traders have priced it at an 85% probability. 

From the Street:

🎤 Investors react to Tuesdays Debate.

📉 Stock futures going lower and lower.

Entertainment

Fyre Fest is Back!

If at first you don’t succeed, Fyre, Fyre again.

After the disaster that was the Fyre Festival in 2017, Billy McFarland has announced a sequel for 2025. McFarland, speaking with NBC News’s TODAY, said he plans to hold Fyre Festival II, a three day festival, in April of 2025 on a private island in the Caribbean off the coast of Mexico.

McFarland says he has learned from his mistakes of the first go-round and will do things differently this time… we certainly hope so, after wire fraud landed him in jail for nearly four years (he was released in 2022). McFarland still owes $26 million in restitution to employees and investors from the original Fyre Festival, which doesn’t include the $800k he had allegedly taken from attendees to pay off loans, according to one lawsuit. 

However, consumers are undeterred, as McFarland revealed that within 10 hours of the announcement, he had already received over 5,000 applications for tickets to the event. What’s that expression? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice….?

If you’re unfamiliar with the original Fyre Festival, just google it (or check out the documentary) to read about the complete disaster that it was. 

Fyre Fest II plans to accommodate 3,000 people, with ticket packages ranging from $1,400 to $1.1 million per ticket.

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Sports

Streaming, The Future of the NFL

The NFL is cutting the cord.

Hans Schroeder, the NFL's executive vice president of media distribution, said at CNBC x Boardroom's Game Plan sports business event on Tuesday that the league's recent slew of exclusive streaming deals with media companies showcases its push to grow its audience.

Schroeder pointed to the playoff game that the NFL made exclusive to Peacock last season, which was streamed by 27 million people - a streaming record. 

"I think for us that was maybe the most transformative moment in the last few years that we could put a Wild Card game, one of the truly highest valuable, highest viewed games of the year [on Peacock]," Schroeder said.

Roger Goodell continues to push this narrative, too, of “having to go where the people are” (to paraphrase) - which are streaming services. 

And while the league pimps that 27 million number, they neglect to mention the fact that it was the least watched game of the entire playoffs (by four million. Chiefs-Bills was watched by more than 50 million people on CBS. But congrats on getting 27 million to pay to watch one game). Because streaming is not where the fans necessarily are. They’re elsewhere, like cable, where they can (and do) watch 90% of your games. But this is just another move, like the international games, to ignore the true fans of the NFL, and to try and bring in new ones (along with more money, of course), at the inconvenience of you. 

The league also bragged about the 14 million people that watched the Friday night Packers-Eagles game exclusively on Peacock, ignoring that that figure is much lower than the week one average of 21 million. 

"I think these latest steps are the latest in a journey that goes back probably 15 years ago, where we had a meeting with Steve Jobs and a small group of us," Schroeder said, referring to when the former Apple CEO showed the group an early iteration of the iPhone and described how it would affect consumers. "That led us, in part, to retain the rights for live games on mobile phones."

This is nothing new for the NFL, and it’s only the beginning too, as more and more games will move to streaming services over the years. 

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