Another Forbes '30 Under 30' Heads to Trial & DOGE Wants Access to the IRS

Summary

Morning Brew Daily: Episode Summary Title: Another Forbes '30 Under 30' Heads to Trial & DOGE Wants Access to the IRS
Release Date: February 18, 2025
Hosts: Neal Freyman and Toby Howell

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1. Declining Shark Attack Incidents in 2024

The episode opens with Neal discussing a reassuring report from the Florida Museum of Natural History, highlighting that 2024 was "an exceptionally calm year for shark bites," with only 47 unprovoked attacks worldwide—22% fewer than the previous year and significantly below the ten-year average of 70 attacks. Neal quips, "I think it's time. I'm ready to watch Jaws again" ([00:55]), reflecting on the good news. Toby adds context by breaking down the statistics, emphasizing that while overall attacks decreased, Florida remained a hotspot with 14 bites, including eight in Volusia County ([01:28]). The hosts conclude that the reduction in shark attacks is a positive development globally.

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2. LinkedIn Ads Sponsorship

A brief interlude promotes LinkedIn Ads, where Neal and Toby draw a parallel between ineffective marketing and unsuccessful relationships. Toby humorously states, "If you aren't right for each other, going on a Valentine's date is just a waste of time and money. It's a lot like marketing to the wrong customers" ([02:17]). They encourage listeners to utilize LinkedIn's targeting features to avoid "wasting time and money on the wrong people," with a promotional offer of a $100 credit on the next campaign ([02:44]).

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3. Forbes '30 Under 30' Alum Charlie Javice Faces Fraud Trial

The primary segment delves into the legal troubles of Charlie Javice, a celebrated member of Forbes' '30 Under 30' list. Javice stands trial in Manhattan for allegedly deceiving JP Morgan into acquiring her fintech company, Frank Jarvis. Prosecutors claim that 90% of Frank's 4.25 million users were fabricated by a data scientist under Javice and Olivier Amar, Frank's former Chief Growth Officer ([03:14]).

Neal highlights the repercussions for JP Morgan, noting the $175 million acquisition cost and the low engagement rates post-acquisition, with only 1.1% email opens out of 400,000 sent ([04:16]). The discussion contrasts Javice's situation with infamous fraud cases like Elizabeth Holmes and Sam Bankman-Fried, questioning whether Javice's actions constitute mere buyer's remorse or criminal fraud ([06:00]). Toby points out internal conflicts within Javice's team, suggesting potential testimony against her, which could strengthen the prosecution's case ([06:31]).

Neal mentions Javice's formidable defense team, including Harvard law professor Ron Sullivan, known for high-profile cases like Aaron Hernandez's murder acquittal and his stint on Harvey Weinstein's defense ([07:04]). The trial is expected to span four weeks, with significant attention on whether Javice joins the ranks of disgraced '30 Under 30' members convicted of fraud.

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4. DOGE Agency's Push to Access IRS Data

Transitioning to governmental concerns, Neal and Toby discuss the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)'s initiative to grant a young software engineer access to the IRS's highly sensitive Integrated Data Retrieval System. This system contains private information on millions of Americans, including tax returns and Social Security numbers ([07:40]).

Neal emphasizes the security risks, mentioning that even the IRS Commissioner is barred from accessing this database ([08:49]). Toby connects this move to a broader pattern, citing DOGE's recent attempts to access the Treasury Department's payments, which a judge has already blocked ([08:49]). The hosts express concern over privacy violations and the potential for data misuse if DOGE's initiatives proceed ([09:33]).

Neal broadens the discussion to the IRS's ongoing modernization efforts, the significant federal investment of $80 billion, and the political tug-of-war over funding these initiatives ([10:23]). Toby underscores the delicate balance between enhancing the IRS's capabilities and safeguarding taxpayer data, especially with the impending tax filing deadline looming ([10:44]).

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5. Argentine President Javier Milei's Meme Coin Scandal

Neal and Toby shift focus to international news, covering Argentine President Javier Milei's involvement in promoting a meme coin named Libra, which disastrously plummeted by 95% shortly after its launch ([11:00]). Milei's attempt to bolster Argentina's economy through cryptocurrency backfired, leading to massive financial losses and potential impeachment proceedings due to the scandalous "rug pull" nature of the coin ([12:12]).

Toby analyzes the flawed tokenomics of Libra, where 82% of the supply was immediately sellable, allowing insiders to capitalize on the coin's initial surge and leaving regular investors at a loss ([12:58]). The episode highlights the broader economic impact in Argentina, including significant drops in the local stock market and increased volatility ([14:23]). Neal quotes critics from the crypto community urging Milei to cease such irresponsible promotions to preserve both his credibility and that of the cryptocurrency industry ([14:11]).

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6. Weekend Highlights: Winners of the Weekend

In their "Winners of the Weekend" segment, Neal and Toby present their picks:

• Neal's Winner: European defense stocks, such as Saab Systems and Rheinmetall, surged to record highs amid shifting geopolitical dynamics. He notes that the Trump administration's signals have left European leaders reconsidering their defense dependencies, leading to increased defense spending across Europe ([16:06]).

• Toby's Winner: The sport of hockey, specifically the Four Nations Face Off tournament, which has surpassed expectations with high viewership numbers. The intense and passionate gameplay contrasted sharply with other sports events, leading to a significant boost in hockey's popularity ([19:33]). Neal anticipates even higher viewership for the upcoming final in Boston, praising the tournament's departure from the less engaging formats of other leagues like the NBA ([20:21]).

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7. Upcoming Week Highlights

Neal provides a preview of major events for the week:

• Walmart Earnings: A critical indicator of US consumer health, especially as consumer sentiment and retail sales have recently declined. Performance will influence investor confidence and market stability ([22:31]).

• Apple's New Product Launch: Expected on Wednesday, Apple is poised to unveil a "newest member of the family," speculated to be an updated iPhone SE, MacBook Air, iPad, or HomePod. The tech community eagerly anticipates the announcement ([23:07]).

• Baseball Spring Training: With teams like the Dodgers and Mets investing heavily in their rosters, spring training kicks off in Arizona and Florida. Neal humorously reflects on the anticipation as winter turns to spring ([24:00]).

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8. Conclusion and Credits

The episode wraps up with Neal and Toby encouraging listeners to share the podcast, especially with aspiring hockey fans. They acknowledge their production team and sign off with enthusiasm for the next episode ([25:55]).

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Notable Quotes:

• Neal Freyman: "It was a huge scandal in Argentina, plastered its front pages over the weekend" ([12:12]).
• Toby Howell: "The Venn diagram of world leaders who have also messed around with crypto now contains another name" ([14:23]).
• Neal Freyman: "Your messaging could be fantastic, but if your ad shows up in front of the wrong person, then it's not effective" ([02:29]).

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This episode of Morning Brew Daily offers a comprehensive look at significant current events, blending insightful analysis with engaging discussions. From high-profile legal battles and governmental data security concerns to international economic scandals and booming sports events, Neal and Toby deliver a well-rounded narrative to keep listeners informed and entertained.

Transcript

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[Neal Freyman]

Good Morning Brew Daily Show I'm Neal Freyman.

[Toby Howell]

And I'm Toby Howell.

[Neal Freyman]

Today, Argentina's president is caught in a scandal after promoting a meme coin that collapsed.

[Toby Howell]

Then another 30 under 30 alum is set to stand trial today. Turns out fake it till you make it isn't always the best Advice. It's Tuesday, February 18th. Let's ride.

[Neal Freyman]

Welcome back to the short week. Hope you had a relaxing weekend. Look, there are a lot of things to worry about in this world, but maybe getting attacked by a shark is not one of them. According to a new report from the Florida Museum of Natural History, 2024 was a, quote, exceptionally calm year for shark bites. There were only 47 unprovoked attacks around the world last year, down 22 from the previous year and far below the 10 year average of 70. Toby, I think it's time. I'm ready to watch Jaws again.

[Toby Howell]

My question here though is where are these attacks taking place? Because they' still were attacks worldwide. Last year there were 28 confirmed bites in the United States. That accounted for 60% of the worldwide total. And half of those attacks took place in my home state of Florida. Florida had a total of 14 bites. And of those, eight occurred in the Volusia county, which is on the east coast. Is that Daytona beach area? It's known as the shark attack capital of the world. So even though bites were down, there still were a few off the coast of Florida. All this being said, less instances of people being shark bait. Hooaha worldwide. And that's a good thing. Now a word from our sponsor, LinkedIn Ads. Hope you all listening. Had a wonderful Valentine's Day, Neil. I was out to dinner on Friday and saw this couple eating and you could just tell it wasn't going anywhere.

[Neal Freyman]

That's painful. Get all dressed up, go out to eat. But if the spark isn't there, what's the point?

[Toby Howell]

If you aren't right for each other, going on a Valentine's date is just a waste of time and money. It's a lot like marketing to the wrong customers.

[Neal Freyman]

Your messaging could be fantastic, but if your ad shows up and front of the wrong person, then it's not effective. LinkedIn ads can't save your relationship, but it can help you target and filter your audience by industry, company and role.

[Toby Howell]

No more wasting time and money on the wrong people.

[Neal Freyman]

It's 2025. Know your worth, Kings and queens.

[Toby Howell]

You tell them Neil. LinkedIn will give you a $100 credit on your next campaign so you can try it yourself. Just go to LinkedIn.com/MBD. That's LinkedIn.com MBD terms and conditions apply only on LinkedIn ads. Death, taxes and 30 under 30 members running into trouble with the law. Charlie Javice, an alum from Forbes distinguished list, is standing trial in a Manhattan federal court today for allegedly fraudulently inducing JP Morgan into buying her fintech company. Frank Jarvis was once celebrated as a rising star in the fintech world and snagged a spot on Forbes 30 under 30 list after starting Frank in 2017, just four years after graduating from Penn. The company helped students applying for financial aid and eventually attracted the intention of JP Morgan, who spent $175 million to acquire it in the hopes of folding in some of Frank's 4.25 million young users into its banking ecosystem. The only issue, According to prosecutors, 90% of those users were fake, manufactured by a data scientist working under Javis and Olivier Amar, Frank's former chief growth officer. Neil is an egg on the face moment for JP Morgan. Not necessarily financially. The price tag was relatively small for a bank of its size. But reputationally plus, it's another instance where a young, charismatic founder, a la Elizabeth Holmes, a la Sam Bankman Fried, is standing trial for fraud, which has so far led to jail time.

[Neal Freyman]

Yeah. So how did JP Morgan find out that these email lists that they acquired was not as big as they thought? Just months after the deal closed, they sent out marketing emails to a batch 400,000 supposed Frank customers. They found out that only 28% of the emails were even delivered and just 1.1% were open. That's according to the lawsuit that JP Morgan filed against Jarvis, which is separate from this government case. So if I saw something like 1.1% were open, that'd be bad for Morning Brew newsletter. It's even bad for a company you paid $175 million for us. They started digging in and found. And they contend that most of this list was made up.

[Toby Howell]

It was just a very tough look for JP Morgan because let's go back to September 2021. JP Morgan's CEO Jamie Dimon said the bank wants to be a lot more aggressive in its approach to acquisitions. They see this young and up and coming company in Frank so they go all out, they add it to their fold. But then JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon has come out and said that deal was a huge mistake. But that's the question here that prosecutors are trying to uncover here. Is that is buyer's remorse necessarily the same as criminal fraud? Jarvis says that she has all you have to do is Google what she's talked about her company and she says there's plenty of instances of me referring to our user base in the hundreds of thousands, not in the millions. Meanwhile JP Morgan is like no, we were told that this had this Big Robust Email List 1 Once we got it we learned that a lot of the names on it were synthetic, were made up. So is it buyer's remorse or is it criminal fraud? That's what this trial is trying to get at.

[Neal Freyman]

And you can't help but point out the similarities between Charlie Jarvis and some of the other Forbes 30 under 30 who are now in their quote hall of shame. And it seems like the people on Javas team are fully aware of these comparisons that are going on. A spokesperson said the only similarities with Holmes is that they are young, good looking and savvy. That's the only comparison. This is a case of due diligence. JP Morgan knew what they were getting into and buyers remorse once they got it.

[Toby Howell]

One thing that is moving against Jarvis though in this case though is that Amar, you know the chief growth officer that worked alongside Jarvis, is they are trying to do an antagonistic defense which means that Amar will likely turn on Jarvis which has Javice was like can we please be tried separately because this person's about to turn on me. However, that is not going to happen here. So that's something that should benefit the prosecutors in this case that these two are not providing a united front. It does look like we're going to see like a he said she said sort of trial.

[Neal Freyman]

So we got a four week trial coming up. Jarvis has kind of a powerhouse defense team. Ron Sullivan, Harvard law professor is her co counsel. He has a reputation for taking on seemingly impossible cases. He secured an acquittal in the double murder case of Aaron Hernandez and he also was on Harvey Weinstein's defense team for a bit. So we'll see how this plays out whether she joins other Forbes under 30 and being convicted for fraud. How's everyone doing on their taxes? You making progress? The folks at the Department of Government Efficiency do want to know. A young software Engineer working under DoGE is expected to be granted access to the IRS's taxpayer system, a highly sensitive database containing private information on millions of Americans. Tax returns, Social Security numbers, and banking details. The Internal Revenue Service is the latest agency to be infiltrated by DOGE and its blitz to cut costs across the federal government. But the IRS is an outlier in the type of information it holds on American citizens. And some IRS employees have raised alarms that a political appointee would be granted access to the database, known as the Integrated Data Retrieval System, because of the highly private nature of its contents. This thing is kept under more lock and key than a Gringotts vault, with only a select number of IRS workers allowed in to accomplish a specific inofficial task before getting out. As soon as that's done. White House Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields defended the move, saying, waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long. It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it. But a similar DOGE initiative to review Treasury Department payments has been blocked by a judge. And it's likely this IRS project could also find its way to court.

[Toby Howell]

Yeah, we are seeing this pattern play out across multiple agencies. I mean, just over the weekend, the top Social Security Administration officials stepped down after DOGE members were trying to, you know, access sensitive personal data about millions of Americans. What are we seeing right now in the irs? A DOGE official stepping in, trying to access sensitive data about millions of Americans. The judge already pushed back against doing the same thing in the treasury payment. So clearly this is a pattern that Elon Musk's DOGE Agency is trying to carry out. And we are going to see constant pushback, because you are right, these are extremely sensitive data. It is. If it falls in the wrong hands, it violates Americans privacy, but also can be, you know, dangerous if that data is weaponized against the American people.

[Neal Freyman]

Yeah. In fact, taxpayers who have had their information wrongfully disclosed or even expected in this database are entitled by law to monetary damages. The IRS commissioner themselves is not allowed into this database. It is very highly secure. Zooming out, though, the IRS has been this lightning rod for discussions and debate about how to modernize its system. It was built on code that was from the 1960s. The Biden administration plugged in with $80 billion to modernize and go after tax cheats who are making over $400,000. Republicans tried to claw that back. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant, who leads the IRS said that he has three goals. It's collections, privacy and customer service. He said. I don't think there's anyone who thinks that the IRS has achieved its potential in either of those three.

[Toby Howell]

Right. That is something that I think a lot of Americans can get on board with, which is modernizing the, you know, the irs. Everyone has dealt with the IRS in some way, shape or form, and it has not been a pleasant experience. That being said, though, you don't necessarily want someone meddling with these systems as 150 million taxpayers are, you know, preparing to file their returns.

[Neal Freyman]

Oh, I'm done.

[Toby Howell]

I know you, you over the weekend, you were very, you were bragging to everyone. But the April 15 deadline isn't yet here. And so the fear is not only are they potentially getting access to this data that's very sensitive, but that they could, you know, break these systems as people are trying to file their return. So it is a double whammy of nervousness around does infiltrating the IRS right now. The Venn diagram of world leaders who have also messed around with Meme coins now contains another name. After Argentinian President Javier Milei's dalliance with crypto landed him in hot water, Milei promoted a coin called Libra in a post on X on Friday, writing, this is a private project dedicated to encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy. The coin immediately rocket upwards to eclipse a $4.4 billion market cap before making a rapid unscheduled disassembly and dropping 95% mere hours later. Melee tried to save face by deleting the post, explaining that he was not actually familiar with the details of the project, but the damage was done. Rug pulling a meme coin as a sitting president is tough to ignore, and lawmakers have raised the possibility of an impeachment hearing. Milei also said he was looking into whether any laws were broken, which feels very Tim Robinson wearing a hot dog suit costume. Meme Neal A tough blow to Melaye's credibility just as he was gaining steam for his unconventional approach to remaking Argentina's struggling economy.

[Neal Freyman]

This was a this is a huge scandal in Argentina, plastered its front pages over the weekend. For a president to be involved in a rug pull meme coin, you expect it for maybe some Internet celebrities, Hayley Welch or something, but you don't necessarily expect it from a sitting president of a sovereign nation. This was also a massive wipeout. They're calling it the fastest construction and destruction of wealth in history. $4.5 billion worth of capital was erased in seven hours. That means a lot of people who saw Milei's tweet believe in him and said, oh, this would be good for the Argentinian economy put in money and they lost. Many people lost all of it a mere hours later. Yeah.

[Toby Howell]

One of the issues was Libra. This coin had very flawed, what they call tokenomics in the crypto space. 82% of the supply was unlocked in sellable from the start. Whenever you launch a coin like this, you do want to check what is the lockup period for when insiders can actually sell their stakes. This coin had far too much supply available that people could immediately cash in and make a quick profit on it. Which is why insiders, as soon as he tweeted out, sold their stake when it rocketed upwards and left, just, you know, the normal people holding the bag. So it also kind of filtered through to the rest of the Argentinian stock market. Investors in Buenos Aires started dumping a lot of shares in big local companies. Their benchmark index actually saw its biggest intraday drop in roughly three weeks. As you know, this kind of filtered through the economy. And then I also just mentioned that there's a Venn diagram of world leaders who have also, you know, messed around with crypto. Trump is squarely in the middle of that as well. And, you know, Trump and Melaye have kind of been had this buddy, buddy relationship. So to see them both messing around in the crypto world, not necessarily in the most responsible way, is something that's a little bit alarming when you just zoom out on a, on a global political scale.

[Neal Freyman]

I think people who are in the crypto space are saying, please stop doing this. You're ruin not, not not only your credit credibility, but the cryptocurrency industry's credibility by promoting these sham coins.

[Toby Howell]

Up next, it is our winners of the weekend, this message. It's a paid partnership with Apple Card. Did you know you can earn up to 3% daily cash back on every purchase when you have an Apple Card? I said what I said, up to 3% on every purchase. You can even take that daily cash back and save it automatically when you open a high yield savings account through Apple Card. Whether you're embarking on overseas trip or just grabbing a bite around the corner, Apple Card is built to be your smart spending sidekick wherever you are. It also helps that there are absolutely zero fees. To get started, head to the wallet app on your iPhone where you can apply in minutes and start using your Apple Card right away to watch that daily cash roll in. Let's ride subject to credit approval. Savings is available to Apple Card owners subject to eligibility. Apple Card and Savings by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City Branch Variable APRs for Apple Card range from 18.24% to 28.49% based on creditworthiness rates as of January 1, 2025. Member FDIC terms and more@apple card.com Neil, you've had the chance to work with plenty of strong leaders in your career. What traits do you think are the most important?

[Neal Freyman]

In my experience, a few things do stand out, like leading by example, taking risks and being passionate.

[Toby Howell]

And for all those influential leaders out there, there's the Range Rover Sport.

[Neal Freyman]

That's definitely a match made in he.

[Toby Howell]

Each model strikes an ideal balance between on road performance and world renowned off road capability of sophisticated refinement and visceral power. And you can build a Range Rover Sport that matches your leadership style at Range Rover [e-mail] that's Land Rover USA.com.

[Neal Freyman]

Welcome to winners of the Long Weekend, the segment where Toby and I picked two things that are feeling as refreshed as your coworker who took a quick trip to the D R. I won the pre show plank contest so I get to go first. And my winner is European defense stocks like Saab Systems, Rheinmetall, which all spiked to record highs yesterday. Defense stocks hitting records not typically a good sign for your region security and that is certainly true for Europe these days. In the past week alone, the Trump administration has left Euro leaders shell shocked by signaling America was not so interested anymore in defending Ukraine or preserving their decades long transatlantic alliance, leaving the Europeans to fend for themselves. What were those signals? The US And Russia will be holding talks in Saudi Arabia this week about ending the war in Ukraine. Note that Ukraine and European leaders were conspicuously left off the invite list. Then on Friday, Vice President J.D. vance lambasted European establishment politicians to their faces at a security conference in Munich, leaving no doubts that even if Europe needs America, America will no longer be bothered with Europe. And that means a new era of rearmament is dawning on the continent, upgrading defense and protecting Ukraine could cost Europe's major powers an additional $3.1 trillion over a decade. But as Poland's prime minister said yesterday, if Europe fails to spend on defense now, they'll be forced to spend 10 times more if they don't prevent a wider war. Toby, the security architecture that had existed in Europe for decades just got blown up in one week.

[Toby Howell]

Yeah, a lot more spending is going to be needed and that is not me saying it. That is NATO's Secretary General Mark Rut saying that he' said that Naito's spending will have to be considerably more than 3% of GDP. Where it's been, you know, for its current target is 2% agreed upon all the way back in 2014. But it's not just that NATO spending needs to go up, is that they think that a lot of that spending is not going to come from America. They are trying to resist, you know, the sirens call of just relying on America for all their weapons. And so that is why you are seeing this big, you know, boost of Europe's defense industry. Because if spending is going up and those arms need to come from somewhere and if they're not coming from America, that means they're probably coming from European weapons manufacturers, Right?

[Neal Freyman]

So they had this target of 2.2% of GDP from all NATO countries going to defense spending in 2020, in 2014, it is currently inching up. But across NATO countries, European defense spending is now at an average of 2.2% of GDP last year. Poland is the only country that is anywhere near 5%, which is what has urged Europeans to get to. The rest are around 2%. So you're going to see France, Germany, the UK, all these countries spend way more on defense, that is boosting shares. And you also saw treasury, not treasury yields, that's the United States bond yields across Europe spike yesterday because investors also expect there to be a borrowing boom to finance these defense plans.

[Toby Howell]

My winner of the weekend is the sport of hockey because Neil, I, along with many other people who can't explain the icing rule, actually watched it this weekend. The reason for our hockey curiosity is a tournament called the Four Nations Face off which features NHL from usa, Canada, Sweden and Finland. It's an international competition that the NHL cooked up as a replacement for its mid season All Star game. And boy has it blown expectations out of the water. Saturday's game between the U.S. and Canada averaged 4.4 million viewers on ABC, making it the most watched hockey broadcast in the U.S. outside of Stanley Cup Final since 2019. A big reason for its success is just how much the players care. Saturday's game in Montreal started with the home crowd booing the US national anthem followed by three consecutive fights within the first minute. Contrast that to say the NBA All Star Game which was also hosted over the weekend. And the massive gulf in effort between the two was clear. Neil. Canada and the US won yesterday to set up a rematch in the final which will be held in Boston. Guess all you need for a successful mid season exhibition is some tense geopolitics and a willingness to drop the gloves.

[Neal Freyman]

I can't wait for Thursday night. You know that game got 4.4 million viewers on Saturday. I expect this game on Thursday is going to blow it out of the water. Hockey got a lot of deserved praise for changing up their All Star game format to this Four nations idea. J.J. watt called it the best idea hockey has had in a long time. And you're right, you can't, can't help but contrast it with the NBA All Star game which happened on the same weekend. They also were not happy with the way the All Star game was going. You know, last year some team put up 200 points. So it seems like the, the athletes did not care. But in contrast to what, what hockey did, the NBA got terrible reviews for. They mixed up the tour. They, they mixed up their weekend a little bit that included a ton of pauses. There was a, a Mr. Beast promotion where he gave a fan $100,000. That may have been the best part of the weekend. But it was very interesting to compare the two sports leagues and how they tried to rejigger their All Star weekends that had been floundering. 1, 2 Great success and the other looks like they're going to have to go back to the drawing board.

[Toby Howell]

Yeah, it was just a massive boost in viewership as well. Part of it was it was kind of just a dull sports weekend. So when we were deciding what to watch on tv, like the NHL was there for a lot of fans, but it was just so entertaining. I mean, you have the geopolitics obviously of, you know, these tariffs that we're trying to apply on Canada. And Canada started booing the American national anthem. And so just to see all the players just immediately drop gloves. These are teammates too. That's what's funny about this, is that a lot of these players play on the same teams, but when it comes to representing their countries, it just goes into another gear. And it's just so apparent when you're watching the product on there and it got great viewership. I mean, ABC said the game was up 369% versus the current average viewership for NHL games. On ABC, postseason games last year averaged 1.5 million viewers. This was four times that level. And you said the, the final on Boston is going to be, I would assume, orders of magnitude larger than that as well. So just a big win for hockey. And I'm fully hockey pilled at this point.

[Neal Freyman]

Now for a special Tuesday edition of the Week ahead. On account of it being a holiday yesterday, here are the major events to look out for this week. Besides that big game on Thursday, Wal Mart earnings later will be a closely watched gut check on the US Consumer. Things don't appear to be trending in the right direction. Consumer sentiment has fallen to its lowest level in seven months. Retail sales posted their biggest drop in almost two years in January. And inflation is picking back up, surging the most in nearly a year and a half last month. As the nation's biggest retailer, Walmart will either put some of those fears to rest or send investors into something resembling panic mode.

[Toby Howell]

Those retail sales from January do to have some explanation attached to them though. One, we had this huge cold spell across the country which, you know, usually keeps consumers inside their houses. And then also the number from December was revised higher. So it's just a rejiggering of some of those numbers. That being said though, you do want to see if you are looking at the wider retail industry, Walmart's a great bellwether for that. So you want to see those, you know, coming in stronger than expected.

[Neal Freyman]

What, what is Tim cooking up at Apple? On Wednesday, Apple is expected to drop a new product after Cook teased last week get ready to meet the newest member of the family. If he's not getting a dog, it could be that he's going to unveil the next generation iPhone, iPhone SE4. But other reports speculate the new family member could be a MacBook Air, an updated iPad or a new HomePod, the smart home command center. Maybe it's all for we'll find out tomorrow.

[Toby Howell]

I know people were, you know, poring over every single word. This announcement, the language newest member of the family makes people think that it won't just be a continuation of the iPhone SE, it probably will be a similar product to the iPhone SE, but it might have a different name and it might be folded in closer to their broader iPhone offering. So could be just semantics, could be something completely different. But it was interesting to to see, you know, Apple analysts going newest member of the family. What does that mean? It has to mean something different.

[Neal Freyman]

All right. I've waited so long to say this. Spring training is back. Baseball returns to sunny Arizona and Florida this week as teams kick off a month of preseason games. This offseason was marked by massive spending by the wealthiest teams to bolster their rosters. The defending champs Dodgers spent more than $450 million in free agency while the Mets wrote a 765 million dollar check to Juan Soto, the richest contract in sports history.

[Toby Howell]

Until spring training becomes a four nations face off. I'm not watching, Neil. Give me the US versus Dominican Republic versus Cuba versus Japan that exists.

[Neal Freyman]

It's the world baseball.

[Toby Howell]

I know, but I want four nations specifically and I want it now.

[Neal Freyman]

Okay, you don't, you don't understand being a Northeasterner and having it being so cold out and then you flipping on the TV to see Grapefruit League in February and then playing baseball in short sleeve shirts and you're like, spring is finally coming.

[Toby Howell]

Listen, I understand what it's like to be a Floridian and see those Northeastern, see those pale people have been cooped up for months, come down to Florida to watch. So I absolutely know what you're talking about.

[Neal Freyman]

Okay, let's wrap it up there. Thanks so much for starting your morning with us and have a wonderful Tuesday. For any questions, comments or feedback, send an email to Morning Brew daily at Morning Broadcom. And if you're enjoying the show, share it with a friend, family member or co worker, Toby, who should everyone listening share it with today.

[Toby Howell]

I want you to share the podcast with someone who you are trying to insist stepped into becoming a hockey fan. As someone who has recently been incepted who is on that inception journey, you are doing them a service.

[Neal Freyman]

Okay, when this Four nations cup is over, let's see how much. Okay, let's roll the credits. Emily Milian is our executive producer. Raymond Liu is our producer. Olivia Graham is our associate producer. Euchenova Ogu is our technical director. Scoopstar Daris is on audio. Hey now, hair and makeup. You're an all star. Devin Emery is our chief content officer and our show is a production of Morning Brew.

[Toby Howell]

Great show today, Neil. Let's run it back tomorrow.