Aug 01, 2024

I'm Bringing Wrånge-bäck

The oldest registered cheese brand in Sweden, Wrångebäck is made on Almnäs Bruk, an 8,800-acre farm in Sweden founded by monks in 1225. It was one of only two Swedish cheeses allowed to be made without skimming the cream from the milk during World War II. Its flavors are deep and rich with notes of dark toffee and cream, just like this newsletter. Brace yourself for tomorrow when it's Cheese Pun Friday and as always, feel free to send me your very best before then.

Speaking of skimming the cream, markets boomed yesterday with the S&P up 1.5% and Nasdaq up 2.5% after the Fed cleared the path to a September interest rate cut. Chair Jerome Powell spent much of his press conference defending a decision not to cut rates earlier, but all investors are now convinced the rate cut is coming in the fall, and based on his comments, it's essentially priced in now.

Today's cheddlines:

Timberdoodles!

—Matt Davis, N2K Chedditor

P.S. We've also got video on Insta showing that the Olympic flame in Paris is not all it seems.

**1. Tattoos, Green Hair, and 'the Good Sh*t': How &Pizza Is Taking on Domino's**

My boss, who deftly edits this newsletter after I've hacked it together every day, started his working life as a Domino's delivery boy. He got to drive around all day, listening to NPR and delivering stacks of pizza, and you know what? That's a fun job, because "nobody is ever in a bad mood when the pizza guy shows up," he said. Nowadays, everybody is still in a great mood whenever he shows up. It's a case of character, I guess. And guess what? He turns 50 today, as you're reading this. Happy birthday, Bossman!

Meanwhile, some would say that Mike Burns, CEO of &Pizza, also has a memorable last name in a field where the roof of your mouth matters. The firm is, however, aiming to be a different kind of pizza concept, with dough shaped like a skateboard and pizza names like the Moonstruck, the Suns'Out, Buns Out, and "munchies bundles" like "the good sh*t." The goal is to give customers something fresh, unique, and memorable. And now the Washington, D.C.–based firm is looking to franchise.

Mr. Burns (like the guy in The Simpsons, but not old or, as far as we know, evil) took the job nine months ago—and now has a tattoo of the brand's ampersand on his forearm. His goal has been "removing a corporate feel" from the chain and going back to its roots. When he goes into stores to meet with staff, he says he says: "If Chick-Fil-A would hire you, we don't want you. If you want a neck tattoo or green hair, but you show up for work on time, we want you." [Please don't show up like this, Matt. —ed.]

That's kind of a tricky Venn diagram to fill, I would wager. But Mr. Burns is insistent. "We think customers see that and they keep coming back," he said. Read More

2. Amazon Is Responsible for the Things It Distributes, Says Government Watchdog

Amazon is responsible for defective carbon monoxide detectors, hairdryers lacking electrocution protection, and children's sleepwear not meeting flammability standards, among a host of other dangerous third-party products on its platform, says a government watchdog, which had also previously warned people against using toy magnets sold on Amazon, which were linked to seven ingestion-related deaths. Yikes.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has now ordered the company to tell consumers about, and encourage them to return or destroy, over 400,000 unsafe products. The agency also criticized Amazon for failing to adequately notify the public earlier, thereby exposing consumers to significant risks of injury.

Here's hoping you don't get an email from Amazon warning you about a dangerous product you bought through a third-party seller, any time soon.

This move follows the CPSC's lawsuit against Amazon in July 2021. While Amazon has removed many such items and refunded customers, it maintains that it merely provides logistics for third-party sellers and does not qualify as a distributor. Amazon also intends to appeal the new ruling in court, because they can afford expensive lawyers with all the money they made from distributing all this stuff. Read More

From @cheddar

The iconic Olympic cauldron in Paris is turning heads, but it's not actually on fire, with organizers employing an eco-friendly approach.

Instead of carbon fuels, this balloon uses a 22-foot-high ring of electric "flames" powered by LED spotlights.

The balloon-shaped cauldron rises nearly 200 feet into the air for all of Paris to see, all without burning up too much fuel.

In America, of course, we would burn plutonium to get this thing lit up. But...these people are French.

Follow @cheddar on Instagram!

3. Meta to Pay $1.4 Billion in Facebook-Photo-Scraping Lawsuit

Meta finds itself on the hook for a staggering $1.4 billion settlement after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the social media behemoth of sidestepping state privacy laws to harvest users' biometric data without their consent. The lawsuit alleged that Meta's facial recognition tech was collecting intricate maps of faces from countless photos and videos uploaded to Facebook, under the radar, without users' informed consent, in a breach of the state's biometric privacy regulations.

Meta is not admitting any guilt with the settlement. Beyond Texas, the firm has also been under the microscope for various concerns ranging from child safety on their platforms to the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal, when personal data was collected from Facebook without consent, predominantly to be used for political advertising.

The good news, though, is that Mark Zuckerberg has evidently invested in a stylist, of late, and he's dressing a lot better. The tax-deductible corporate settlement is less than 1% of Zuck's personal net worth and I doubt he'll be losing sleep over it. That's called accountability, where I come from. As in, "call your accountant, and check you're still rich." Read More

You Need 2 Know About This Box!

Meet the Sunset Box, a quarterly subscription service sending home, wellness, and travel goodies straight to your doorstep, curated by editors at mag Sunset, the Western-lifestyle magazine that just so happens to be a sister company of ours.

Since you clearly have good taste (you're an N2K subscriber, after all), we think you'll love this box. Use code CHEDDAR15 for 15% off your subscription.

Gimme the Box!

Note: Sadly does not contain any cheese.

4. Boeing Revenue Is Down, But Its Stock Is Up, Because!

Boeing, the aerospace giant, gave a sobering Q2 financial report yesterday, revealing a deeper loss and larger revenue shortfall than analysts had anticipated, alongside a warning of increased cash flow burn for the remainder of the year—partly attributable to the company's $2.5 billion settlement with the Department of Justice over safety claims related to 737 Max crashes.

As typically happens on announcing such bad news, the firm's stock was up 4% by the closing bell yesterday. Perhaps that's because at the same time, the firm appointed Kelly Ortberg, the former CEO of aerospace manufacturer Rockwell Collins, as its new president and CEO. She'll step in for the outgoing Dave Calhoun on August 8, and will also join the Boeing board.

I call this "sharing all the bad news before the new CEO joins," and it seems markets also responded accordingly. Calhoun expressed optimism, highlighting progress in strengthening Boeing's quality management system and positioning the company for a hopeful future. Read More

5. Spirit to Offer Business-Class-Style Seating Just Like Every Other Airline

Budget airline Spirit is expanding its "Go Big" (or, you know…go home?) class of tickets. Key features include wide seats at the front of the plane, complimentary snacks and drinks, included carry-on and checked bags, streaming access, priority check-in and boarding.

The move reflects a broader shift within the airline industry, which has struggled to maintain profitability on low-fare tickets alone—Spirit hasn't turned a profit since before Covid. In contrast, legacy airlines have all boosted profitability by offering premium seating options to those willing to pay for them. It also follows a federal judge nixing a planned merger of Spirit with JetBlue due to competition concerns, and Southwest introducing similar options last week. Let's hope the spirit of originality returns to this airline at some point! Or not. At least they haven't invested in any Boeing 737 Max planes—they're all Airbus. Next on their list: hiring pilots with green hair and neck tattoos? Read More