🚗 DoorDash & Uber's worst nightmare

Feels like deja vu... It's not. The FDA granted full approval for Pfizer and partner BioNTech's Covid vaccine. Thanks to emergency use authorization, 201M people in the US have gotten at least one vax shot. Pfizer's is the first vax to gain FDA-approval — it was also the first to get authorized for emergency use in December. Pfizer shares spiked 4% on the news. Moderna, whose application for full approval is under review, also closed the day up 7%.

The shot is hot… While 73% of US adults are vaxxed, vaccine demand remains strong globally. Less than 2% of people in Africa are vaxxed, and many countries are still clamoring for vaccines. Meanwhile, vaccine demand is surging in states hardest hit by the Delta variant. Now, FDA-approval could boost vaccine demand even more:

• Less vax hesitation: Many health officials believe full approval could encourage vax-hesitant people to get the shot. In a recent poll, 30% of unvaxed people said they’d be more likely to get a shot if it were fully approved.
• More vax mandates: The full stamp of FDA approval will make it easier for businesses and other orgs to require shots. United Airlines, the Defense Department, and New York City schools are already mandating it for employees.

Just when you thought it was over... Think again. The CA gig-worker law saga has more sequels than Fast & Furious. On Friday, a California judge ruled that Prop 22 is unconstitutional and unenforceable. In November, CA voters overwhelmingly passed the ballot measure, which has classified gig drivers as independent contractors.

• The most expensive ballot measure in CA history: Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and others spent more than $200M to support Prop 22. Uber and others say their drivers largely back the prop, but labor unions say it's a bad deal for workers.
• Next steps: Gig companies are appealing the ruling, and won't have to immediately reclassify workers. But it's a major wrinkle in their effort to preserve the gig model.

9 to 5 at Uber Eats... Means no moonlighting for Grubhub. With Prop 22, gigs drivers gained new benefits like: health insurance if you work at least 15 hours per week, at least 120% of minimum wage, and 30 cents reimbursed per mile driven. If Prop 22 is overturned...

• For drivers: Drivers would get full-time benefits (think: sick leave and PTO). But because they'd be employees, they would have to work a set schedule of hours, and could lose the flexibility to work multiple apps.
• For consumers: Expect even higher prices and longer waits. To fund a more expensive workforce, companies would pass costs to consumers and may cut drivers. Ride-hail prices have already soared 53% in the first half of this year due to driver shortages and the new Prop 22 benefits.

• Chipper: Intel secured a Defense Department deal to produce chips in the US, as the global chip shortage highlights the need for more domestic chip-making.
• Vax: NYC, the US' largest school district, will require all teachers and staff to get at least one Covid vaccine dose before September 27.
• Spacial: Richard Branson's satellite-launching company Virgin Orbit is going public in a $3.2B SPAC merger, joining Virgin Galactic on the public market.
• Green: Furniture legend IKEA will sell wind and solar energy to consumers, in a push to be "climate positive" by 2030.
• SFW: OnlyFans, which is famous for NSFW adult content, will ban "sexually-explicit conduct" on its platform after receiving pressure from financial partners.
• Cards: OpenTable teamed up with digital ID company Clear to make it easier for diners to prove their vax status — handy for brunching in NYC.

• New home sales
• Earnings expected from Intuit, Pinduoduo, Best Buy, Nordstrom, and Urban Outfitters

Authors of this Snacks own: shares of Uber, Moderna, Clear, and Bitcoin

ID: 1799693