That "Noooooooo!!" you heard yesterday afternoon was Morning Brew's writers reacting to the death of David Lynch, the visionary director who died at 78. Lynch was beloved for his surrealist, macabre depictions of American life. Many tried to evoke a similar vibe, but as the Brew's Lynch expert Jen Walsh reminds us, "no one has matched his freak since." For your Lynch starter pack, she recommends watching Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive, and Blue Velvet.
Lynch's family announced his death on Facebook, writing, "There's a big hole in the world now that he's no longer with us. But, as he would say, 'Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.'"
According to the MTA, congestion pricing is having the desired effect.
- There's been an average of 7.5% fewer vehicles in the central business district.
- Travel time between New York and New Jersey via the George Washington Bridge, Holland Tunnel, and Lincoln Tunnel has been reduced between 30% and 40%. During the morning rush hour, the speed through the Holland Tunnel has nearly doubled to 28 mph.
- Crosstown drives are taking 20% to 30% less time.
While less pollution and more space for people in run clubs to meet their soulmates are clear benefits for NYC, some inside the congestion zone aren't happy, including:
Parking garage owners: Gregg Reuben, the founder and CEO of a company that operates 35 parking garages in Manhattan, told the Wall Street Journal that business has declined by 20%.
Restaurant owners: The New York Times spoke to a restaurateur facing higher delivery surcharges from distributors (who also have to make adjustments), which is forcing her to consolidate three or four deliveries per week to one or two.
Restaurant workers: Employees living in the outer boroughs where mass transportation isn't easily accessible must either pay $9 per day—about $2,000 per year—to commute to work or drive and park somewhere outside the congestion zone.
To ease the burden on customers, some restaurants are offering $9 discounts to offset the congestion toll.
Legendary short seller Nate Anderson announced this week that he is shutting down his firm, Hindenburg Research, due to extreme job stress. With only 11 employees, Anderson took gargantuan swings at companies—and their billionaire leaders.
Hindenburg published deeply researched reports about companies it believed were overvalued and rife with corruption. It got its big break when it shorted electric truck-maker Nikola in 2020, calling the company an "intricate fraud." Regulators took note, and it led to three fraud convictions for Nikola founder Trevor Milton.
- Some other Hindenburg hits include billionaire investor Carl Icahn's Icahn Enterprises, Jack Dorsey's Block Inc., and India's powerful Adani family.
- Anderson claimed in his farewell note that "nearly 100 individuals have been charged civilly or criminally by regulators at least in part through our work."
The firm also had some misses. Stocks for Roblox and Carvana were unscathed by Hindenburg's reports.
Big picture: The heyday of vigilante short sellers might be behind us. If the growing legal challenges haven't scared them off, the hordes of GameStop traders sure did. But Anderson did promise to spend the next six months putting together materials on the firm's methods to ensure future short sellers could take on the mantle.
Happy almost retirement to the original Switch, which appears to have taken The Substance and birthed a sleeker version of itself. After years of rumor-filled hype, yesterday, Nintendo showed the first looks at its next console, the Switch 2, which is expected to be a power-up for the gaming industry when it launches later this year.
Top notes include: A larger screen and bigger controllers, which will connect to the console's ports magnetically instead of sliding in mechanically like the original model (Nintendo highlighted this change with a new sound logo—from the first generation's snap to Switch 2's echoey clack). Switch 2 will be backward-compatible with Switch games, Nintendo said.
We're getting a new Mario Kart on Switch 2, and it could be an exclusive like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for OG Switch, which was so hotly anticipated it sold one-to-one with console purchases.
Big shoes: The original 2017 Switch is the No. 2 best-selling console in the US. It propelled Nintendo to its most profitable era ever, but momentum slowed, and Nintendo's profits have been declining for more than a year.
**Looking ahead…**Nintendo will fully reveal Switch 2 on April 2. Analysts are hopeful that its release will lift video game hardware and digital sales, especially now that PC gaming is threatening the cashflows of traditional gaming companies.