Is the World Ready for Trump Tariffs? & MrBeast Raises Funds After ‘Beast Games’

0:26Race the rudders! Good morning, Brew Daily Show. I'm Toby Howell. And I'm Anne Berry. Today, tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China, oh my, will start on March 4th. And Jeopardy, the 50-year-old TV show, Does It Still Have the Heat? It's Friday, February 28th. Let's ride.

0:53Good morning. It's Friday. You made it. and I encourage you all to start getting those neck muscles loose this morning because tonight you should be looking skyward. A rare celestial event is on display as all seven planets in our solar system, apart from Earth, will be visible. So Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, all visible tonight in what is called a planetary parade. Toby, if someone wanted to see all the members of our solar system strutting their stuff, how should they go about doing that? All right, here is the game plan, Skywatchers. Look for Mercury and Saturn soon after the sun goes down right near where the sun went down.

1:30Binoculars are encouraged. Then once night starts to fall, look to the western sky for a very bright dot. That is Venus. High overhead is Jupiter, which will also look like a bright star. Rotate back towards the east, but keep looking up and you'll get a view of the reddish Mars. Uranus and Neptune are up there as well, I promise, but will be so faint you do need a telescope. However, for those hoping to see a reunion with Pluto, don't get your hopes up. The dwarf planet that was demoted to that status all the way back in 2006 will be below the horizon during the parade. Poor Pluto never getting to participate.

2:07But get out there tonight, everyone, and take it all in. This really is a once-in-a-generation event. Now a word from our sponsor, LinkedIn Ads. And LinkedIn is known for its precise B2B targeting, helping you reach decision makers based on industry, role and company. It's like Apple's Find My Friends, if your friends were B2B customers. I was just going to say B2B advertising is kind of like trying to find your friend in a crowd of a music festival. Sure, you can just yell their name into the void, hoping they hear you, or you could text them and actually track them down. And meanwhile, some random guy named Todd, who has nothing to do with you or your friend, is hearing you yell.

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4:10Ask your doctor about ebgless and visit ebgless.lily.com or call 1-800-LILY-RX or 1-800-545-5979. Well, kind of like me at high school prom, it took a while, but we finally have a date for when Trump's tariffs against Canada and Mexico will take effect. Circle March 4th on your calendars, everyone. That is when the broad-based 25 % duties will hit, with Trump citing drug trafficking into the U.S. as part of the motivation behind the import fee. Trump also announced he was slapping another 10 % tariff on goods coming from China, which will be in addition to the previous 10 % one imposed on February 4th.

4:45Of course, these tariffs, especially those against some of the U.S.'s biggest trading partners, are expected to add to the economic strain that has emerged early in the Trump presidency. The market has been shaky over the last week, with three of the four past trading days ending in the red. And the consumer confidence reading from Wednesday showed sentiment fell the most since summer 2021. The threat of tariffs are also rattling business execs. If a deal to prevent them isn't reached, which is still certainly a possibility, more than$1 trillion worth of imports would see higher tariffs. Nervy times for the economy, Anne, especially under this looming threat of tariffs.

5:22And also at a moment when we're getting a ton of economic data, you sort of touched on it, Toby. And we think about the domino effect here. You've got tariffs that impacts inflation, inflation that impacts interest rates, interest rates that impacts consumer confidence. Consumer confidence also impacted by the labor market. All of that impacting the housing market. And guess what? Data on all of those coming out over the next week. Let's hit some of those datas because you're right. We did get a flood of kind of economic data that paints a picture of where the economy is currently at. Pending home sales came in this week and they were not good.

5:55Sales dropped 4.6 percent from December to the lowest level seen by the National Association of Realtors who measures this. Since they began tracking the metric all the way back in 2001, it's the same story we've been hearing. high mortgage rates, elevated home prices are just kind of crushing home sales right now. So that was one piece of economic data we got. We also got jobless claims. First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose a lot more than expected in the last week. That is a potential hint that maybe there's some cracks forming in what has otherwise been a very solid labor market so far.

6:28There were 242 ,000 jobless claims filed last week. That was above economists' expectations of 220 ,000 claims by a fair amount there as well. We get PCE data today. That's the Fed's preferred inflation metric. We'll see how that comes in too. So whether you're looking at a carton of eggs or a housing price, you do start to see these cracks all under this umbrella of, and tariffs are looming as well. March 4th, we actually have a date to what has been otherwise a pretty nebulous concept. We've heard a lot about tariffs, but now we actually have a date you can circle on your calendars for when those tariffs will go into effect.

7:04And to your point, the clarity, Toby, you said, you know, nebulous, which really captures a specific piece of this tariff conversation as well. It turns out China is going to have an additional 10 % tariff. We had tariffs on Chinese imports kick in already. Now another 10 % coming also on that March 4th date. And it was interesting. You sort of saw in the markets yesterday people going, hey, wait, there's more. So that sentiment piece really important. The inflation expectations coming out, Let's just touch on that a little bit more. It got a little bit hotter, the key inflation metrics, the beginning of this year than people thought.

7:36And do you remember, Toby, the news breaking that expectations were changing, that interest rates maybe weren't going to come down as quickly this year as expected, making it harder for people to buy new homes? Of course, the asterisk here, too, is that in the past, we've come to the brink of imposing tariffs on our neighbors in the north as well as Mexico. But we have seen Trump back away as long as he got concessions from Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico and in Canada as well. So who knows if these will actually come into effect or they are another bargaining chip in the fight against fentanyl coming across the borders.

8:14That being said, though, there's been this weird side effect of Trump going after Canada that we've seen recently a lot. It's basically resurrected kind of the liberal party in Canada that had been left for dead. With Trudeau stepping down, the conservatives were going to kind of take over in Canada. But all of a sudden, due to this antagonization, if you look at polling, it's becoming a lot closer than you would expect. So there are all these kind of secondary effects that you haven't really considered with this, you know, brinksmanship tariff war that Trump is kind of doing it right now. So it is fascinating to see how the trickle down effects are affecting, you know, politics in Canada, as well as, you know, just the economic state of America right now.

8:54There's one area that does not yet have clarity on tariffs exactly, and that is Europe. President Trump has come out saying he's planning to hit goods made in the European Union with tariffs of 25 percent. Unclear whether we're going to hear that as soon, maybe, as in the next couple of days. But it feels like something's coming. It's just a matter of how much and when. Now, just to zoom out one more time, I know we've zoomed out a lot in this segment so far. We did get GDP readings in yesterday, and the U.S. economy did grow at a 2.3 percent annualized pace in the fourth quarter. That matched estimates.

9:28Again, that is not encapsulating some of the policies that Trump has enacted so far or will enact. But still, it is a snapshot that as a whole, broad based, the economy is doing well or at least is meeting expectations at this point. So that's just one final data point to put into this pie that we've just constructed of the entire state of the U.S. economy right now. We'll keep watching, seeing how it all comes together. For our next story, Toby, what is streaming? Two of the most popular shows on TV, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, are shopping around their rights for their next big streaming deal, and they are including major media companies and tech businesses.

10:05So why would Netflix or Hulu possibly be a suitable home for both? Well, it could be a way to access a younger audience. We have seen other traditionally broadcast television programs make their way to streamers, for example, WWE Raw on Netflix and Thursday Night Football on Amazon. Now, streaming rights for Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune would begin in September, and it could be up to three years as part of that deal, according to Sony, which owns both of these shows. The company that takes home the rights could air the episodes the day after they originally air on syndicated television. And then from September of 2028, they could have the same day rights to new shows.

10:41Toby, first of all, do you watch these shows? Absolutely. And what was fascinating is I am not alone in that. In this war of traditional cable versus streaming, the crown jewel has been sports. Everyone's been fighting over sports because it's really the only thing people still watch live on TV. But that is not necessarily true. Jeopardy and Will and Fortune continue to bring in massive audiences. The two game shows draw about 7 million viewers a night each, which is a lot more than I expected. I mean, you look at some of these streaming stats from these pop-up golf leagues that are coming in.

11:18Those are well under a million. These are doing$7 million every single night with these very loyal audiences. They're also moneymakers. Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune together generated$175 million in advertising revenue last year. So these are absolute forces of nature and one of the last real valuable properties, valuable IPs out there that streamers are fighting over because they've already come from sports. They've already come from wrestling. Now they're coming from those late night or those evening TV shows that a lot of us have fond memories of watching. It also begs the question, how much will, whether it's the streamers or someone else, pay for this?

11:54So I went back and took a look. Netflix paid$5 billion for the rights for WWE Raw. And that debuted on Netflix at just under 5 million viewers. So to your point, just under 5 million viewers compared to 7 million for the game shows, $5 billion for Raw. We don't know yet how much this is going to end up getting paid for, but big numbers. Big numbers indeed. I do think that these are just enduring cultural institutions at this point, which is why Sony is being very careful and handling them with kid gloves because they don't want to. Yes, it is an aging audience. And by going to streaming, they're after a younger audience.

12:28But they do not want to alienate that older audience who is their bread and butter at this point. So I think that's why we've seen them be a little later to the streaming game than some other properties as well. You also mentioned, too, that initial winning bid for whoever will get them on their streaming platforms, they'll only be able to stream them the day after they air on live television. So to me, there's an arbitrage opportunity there to impress your friends, watch Jeopardy on traditional cable the night before, and then just casually suggest, oh, let's toss it on streaming. Let's see what's on Jeopardy and then nail all the answers, impress your friends right there.

13:05So that's a little bit of, you know, personal social arbitrage that you can do if these come to streaming, but are come to streaming a day after they actually air on cable. All right. I've just learned how you play quiz games right there. There's just so much insight into how Toby plays games. These are such national treasures as you as you've talked about it, really part of the American culture. I'm from Britain originally and I love watching Jeopardy. Love it. And Wheel of Fortune, too. You know, it's something I've really embraced. I do wonder, Jeopardy had a really long serving host, Alex Trabeck, from 1984 to 2020.

13:37So lots of people will have grown up with him having hosted. And since then, there have been the sort of two co-hosts. I wonder for the streamers if they have to do something differently. I mean, yeah, Ken Jennings has stepped in and people have liked him a lot. Same with, you know, Pat Sajak and Werrell Fortune. Now you have Ryan Seacrest who stepped in. So they have tried to, you know, bring in these modern faces. A lot of people know Ryan Seacrest. to set them up for the next 40-year run, which is a good point to kind of end this segment on. There is a staggering amount of volume that comes with these shows as well.

14:08425 episodes a year are produced. That is very appealing to streamers because it creates a sticky audience. Hopefully people are coming in night in, night out. Maybe it can help reduce with churn if Netflix becomes the platform that you watch Jeopardy on every day. So again, I expect there to be a fairly large bidding war. I mentioned Netflix there, but it's not guaranteed that they'll get it. There will be a bidding war over this very valuable franchises. Up next, it is time for Stock of the Week, Dog of the Week. Tuesday on NBC, Jimmy Fallon and Bozema St. John host the highly anticipated new competition show.

14:44I hired 10 creatives from all walks of life. They will be battling it out to see who can impress the world's biggest brands. This is a huge opportunity. This is the battle for the next big idea. This is not play play. We're spending millions of dollars. I'm so excited to embark on this adventure with all of you. May the best idea win! On Brand with Jimmy Fallon. Series premiere Tuesday on NBC.

15:10When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp. The secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans. Send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets Mom's 60th. And never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end-to-end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp. Message privately with everyone. Learn more at whatsapp.com. It's Stock of the Week, Dog of the Week time, where Anne and I pick one stock from the week's news that is having a better time than Neil sipping Mai Tais on a beach, and one stock that is facing the inevitable sunburn that will follow.

15:50I won the pre-show game of who can do the best British accent. Huge upset there. So I am up first, and my stock of the week is not a stock at all, but a man, and a man by the name of Mr. Beast. Yes, Jimmy Donaldson, a.k.a. Mr. Beast, a.k.a. the YouTuber that your 13-year-old nephew idolizes, is raising money at a$5 billion valuation. He wants to use the cash to expand his burgeoning business empire, which includes the chocolate brand Feasables and the snack company Lunchly, and, of course, the largest individual YouTube channel in the world. He says the business is profitable and brought in more than$400 million in sales last year.

16:29The upside of investing in Mr. Beast may lie in his ability to bring TV-level production to YouTube. His Squid Games in Real Life video has amassed over 750 million views on YouTube. But he has also made the jump to actual TV, creating the Beast Games game show for Amazon Prime this year with the biggest prize in TV history. All of it adds up to create an empire that is apparently worth$5 billion to investors, Anne. You know, not the first person in the celebrity world to do this. Do you remember Jessica Alba with Honest? We had George Clooney with Casamigos, Ryan Reynolds, Aviation Gin, and then, of course, the OG of influencers, the Kardashians, right, with their empire skims, Kylie Cosmetics, Good Americans.

17:12So this has been done before, but not, I don't think, it numbers this big right out of the gate. Right. He does, I think part of the reason why this number is so big is that it is wide ranging. He has a very successful CPG brand. Lunchly and Feasables are these money-making CPG brands. But then his YouTube empire alone is worth a hefty chunk of change, especially as he's trying to, you know, wiggle his way deeper into traditional entertainment. We have to talk about the Beast Games game show. He actually just went on a podcast and started talking through the economics of that. and the economics were not good for Mr.

17:46Beast. He said, quote, I lost tens of millions of dollars on Beast Games, but it's about making season one as good as possible. The reason why, or part of the reason why he lost money on it is that he was giving out$5 million for this game show, which was the biggest prize in TV history. But then during the series, they did a coin flip, which if it landed on heads or tails would determine if the prize would double or not. It did double. So then he gave out$10 million. And he's like, it was decisions like that that weren't the best financially. But he said, hopefully, it was the best entertainment wise.

18:19If you're going to play the odds, Toby, you've got to live with the consequences. One thing that also broke, Bloomberg News reporting last week that Mr. Beast might be moving from creating content to actually trying to buy a content distribution channel. He was rumored to be participating in a bid to buy TikTok. I know. Yeah, that was the rumor for a while. Of course, he would throw his hat into the ring there. That has cooled off a little bit, but it was interesting to see just how he could even throw his hat into the ring in the first place. Because, you know, TikTok is this multi hundred billion dollar company.

18:51So the fact that he was kind of marshalling enough resources to potentially make a bid does just go to show how big of a force he is in this creative landscape. Wouldn't be the first business titan to go buy a media platform. Speaking of which, let's move on to our dog of the week, which is Tesla. It has been a tough one for the EV carmaker. Over the past week, Tesla has faced several challenges that's impacted its stock performance and public perception, which has sort of become related. The stocks declined about 28 % year to date and near a three month low of just over$280. Now, there is concern from investors over CEO Elon Musk's political involvement, particularly his leadership role in the Department of Government Efficiency or Doge under the Trump administration.

19:36So investors have been concerned not only about the time he is spending not running Tesla, but also that this association has led to increased scrutiny. And it has polarized consumer opinions with a morning consult survey indicating that 49 percent of Americans now hold negative views of Musk. Additionally, Tesla is facing intensified competition in the Chinese electric vehicle market and has introduced a refresh Model Y SUV, despite which Tesla stock has declined because there have been concerns about falling sales in Europe and other markets. All these factors have contributed to that decline in Tesla stock price down nearly 40 percent from its December peak.

20:14By the way, wiping almost one hundred and thirty seven billion dollars from Elon Musk's own wealth. So, Toby, when you listen to all of this and there is a lot going on, where next for Tesla? I mean, I do think that it deserved a spot in our dog of the week column this week because of just the variety of pressures that it's facing right now. Now, it's not just that its sales are declining, which they did slump 1.1 % annually. It was its first drop in over 10 years. So that alone can land you in the dog that we call him. But there's also the sentiment shift against Elon Musk, a lot of those figures that you cited, because he obviously is spending a lot of time in Washington, D.C., not as much time running the company itself.

20:51So that has led to some polarization, some protests when it comes to his fan base. And then also the European market just turned hardcore on it, which is normally a very EV friendly market. Just 9 ,945 Tesla cars were registered in January. That was a 45 % drop registered in Europe a year prior. So it was just this confluence of a lot of factors that are sending Tesla down. Now, of course, zoom out again. They're down beneath a trillion dollar market cap. So a lot of people are saying like, it's still almost a trillion dollar company. So put it all in perspective. But you are right. There is a lot of pressure that this company is facing right now, especially as its CEO looks to be concerned with other things rather than turning this company in the right direction.

21:36Not clear yet, actually, what's going to happen with EV and public policy, because we've had these subsidies for folks to be able to go and buy electric vehicles. Europe actually cut those, which was one of the drivers for why sales fell over there. Don't know if the same thing would happen here. You'd think there'd be some sort of reflection of that. Finally, let's sprint to the finish with some final headlines you may have missed. Blue Origin is set to launch a historic flight into orbit this spring. The crew will carry TV journalist Gail King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, researcher Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kiryanne Flynn, Lauren Sanchez, the fiance of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, and the pop star Katy Perry.

22:15The six women will take a 10-minute joyride aboard the New Shepard rocket, completing its 11th crewed mission come this spring, and will be the first all-female mission into space since a Soviet astronaut took a solo flight all the way back in 1963. And an eclectic group, but a historic one for sure. I'm so excited for this. I saw this. I was so excited, first of all, to see all those ladies in space, women in STEM love it. But also, when you look at this lineup, Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, I am dying to know what their astronaut suits look like. I want to know who's designing the space costumes for this all-star lineup.

22:53It is an all-star lineup. It's very funny. You know what is the most funny to me, though, is that Gayle King is not even going to be the first morning show host into space. Because remember, Michael Strahan went back in 2021. He was on the third crewed fight. Could you imagine you're you think you're going to be the first one up there? But no, Michael Strahan made it. And then I do I will say a driving force behind this fight has been Lauren Sanchez, which is Jeff Bezos, his fiance. She is a former journalist, author and a pilot. And she has been, according to all reports, very instrumental in putting this flight together.

23:26So I think it's going to be very cool. I wonder what they're going to be chatting about because it is I called it an eclectic group. And I mean, Katy Perry is just there. I don't even know how she made it in. But I'm excited to see, you know, there this launch come together come this spring. They're going to be listening to Morning Brew Daily as they get launched on up there. Moving on now, let's talk about Target and Warby Parker. Toby, teaming up to bring some trendy new shades to the retailer. The partnership will feature five shopping shops in stores located in Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio.

23:58By integrating Warby Parker's expertise, Target aims to enhance its eyewear offerings and attract new customers seeking quality and convenience. Warby Parker, otherwise the e-commerce play, stock was up 6 % at one point yesterday. Toby, do you need some new glasses? Because I know a spot, or I can lend you my will be pocket. I'm more of a blue light glasses because I still got that 2020. But this to me is definitely a bid by Target to try to, you know, reverse the flagging store traffic that they've been seeing in recent years. Target has been kind of caught in the middle in recent times. They can't compete with Walmart or Costco on groceries.