Daily Brew // Morning Brew // Update

June 27, 2026

Congratulations. You made it through the full work week sandwiched in between two short ones. And at the end of the upcoming short one, you’ll even get fireworks to celebrate.

—Molly Liebergall, Brendan Cosgrove, Dave Lozo, Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, Holly Van Leuven, Abby Rubenstein

In today’s newsletter, we’ll look at:

The battle over California’s proposed billionaire tax
New tensions over the Strait of Hormuz
Hacky sack’s comeback

MARKETS

Nasdaq

25,297.62

-0.24%

S&P

7,354.02

-0.05%

Dow

51,876.11

-0.09%

10-Year

4.372%

-2.0 bps

Bitcoin

$59,903.49

-0.35%

Oracle

$148.53

-2.58%

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

Markets: Investors were as wary of chips as your friend who can’t stand having greasy fingers, with AI skepticism continuing to drag stocks down yesterday. That left the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq down for the week. Oracle had its worst week since the dot-com bust of 2001, falling 19%, as investors worried about its AI investments, per CNBC.

Markets Sponsored by MFS Investment Management

Beating the market means nothing if taxes eat your profits. Modern tools like direct indexing and UMAs might offer precision but demand coordination. Seasoned pros can help weave them into tax-smart strategies. Learn more.

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’

A fight brews over CA’s proposed billionaire tax

Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images

To tax or not to tax? That is the question that California voters will soon answer. A healthcare union’s controversial measure to impose a one-time tax on billionaires was officially added to the state’s November ballot this week, to the dismay of Gov. Gavin Newsom and several groups that you may not expect to oppose a wealth tax.

The initiative, known as the California Billionaire Tax Act, would slap a one-time 5% tax on people worth $1.1+ billion who have been California residents since at least Jan. 1.

Supporters say this would rake in $100 billion over five years from the state’s 200+ billionaires.
There are plans for the new revenue: Ninety percent would go toward healthcare to offset federal spending cuts, and the remainder would go to education and food assistance programs.

Backers include Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna, billionaire activist Tom Steyer, and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

There’s plenty of opposition

Newsom has argued that a statewide billionaire tax would harm innovation and cause wealthy people to flee California. After he tried and failed to block the measure from the ballot, the governor/podcaster/2028 presidential hopeful instead proposed a national billionaire tax (unlikely to pass under the Trump administration) in a Substack post yesterday.

Plenty of billionaires are against the measure, too.

Also:

Several unions and Democrat-aligned organizations have voiced concerns that the proposed levy could threaten income tax revenue and make other tax hikes on high earners harder to pass.
Planned Parenthood’s California chapter said the measure is “shortsighted” and “does not offer a sustainable solution to funding cuts,” The Guardian reported.

If you live in California…expect a costly struggle for your attention. Billionaires have already given $100+ million to support rival ballot measures through a political committee called Building a Better California. Most of that funding came from Google co-founder (and the world’s third-richest person) Sergey Brin, who recently moved from California to Nevada.

Pulse check: The proposed tax has 54% support among likely voters, according to a May poll from Public Policy Institute for California.—ML

READER POLL

Should states tax billionaires?

Yes, everyone should pay their fair share.
No, they earned that money, and they should get to keep it.
Maybe, but I think there are better ways to structure a wealth tax.
It should happen on the federal level instead.
I don’t believe in any taxes.

Sponsored By Cytonics

This “super-protein” could cure 500 million people

Over an eighth of the world’s population suffers from osteoarthritis. Yet, somehow, no cure exists in this $560 billion market.

Soon, a “super-protein” could come to their rescue. And 7,000+ people already invested in the company behind it, Cytonics.

Cytonics’ research revealed that harnessing this protein may be the key to developing OA’s first and only cure. That work has led to partnerships with esteemed researchers from Stanford and Scripps.

Their first-generation therapy has already been used to treat 10,000+ patients. Now, Cytonics is developing a 2x more active version to eradicate OA, once and for all.

Phase 1 clinical trials are successfully complete. Become an early-stage Cytonics investor before the next phase begins.

WORLD

Tour de headlines

Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

US strikes Iran after Trump accuses it of violating ceasefire. The US “struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites,” Central Command said yesterday. The attacks came after President Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran had violated the deal by attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz with drones, one of which hit a commercial cargo ship. “Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement,” Trump’s post said. The status of the strait is one of the many issues at play in negotiations for a final peace deal between the US and Iran. Meanwhile, Israel and Lebanon have reached a framework for their own peace deal, officials said yesterday, although Iran-backed Hezbollah was not party to the deal.

OpenAI may delay its IPO until 2027. The ChatGPT maker hired bankers in anticipation of going public this year, but now, watching SpaceX’s share price slide and the market’s uncertainty about AI, the company is mulling waiting longer, the New York Times reports. Plus, CEO Sam Altman wants the company to be valued at $1 trillion in its debut, but its last valuation came in at $730 billion, sources told the NYT. That likely means rival Anthropic will IPO first. In other OpenAI news, the company said yesterday that it will restrict initial access to its latest AI models to a “small group of trusted partners” to assuage the US government’s safety concerns.

Volkswagen may cut 100,000 jobs. The carmaker is looking to cut costs amid competition from Chinese brands and is reportedly planning to get rid of 15% of its staff and stop manufacturing at four German facilities. The new plan builds on an existing effort to slash 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030. The company declined to comment to news outlets on the proposed layoffs, but last week its CEO told shareholders, “Never has the risk situation been so high.” Hopefully, it works out for a company known for making lemonade from lemons.—AR

SACK TO THE FUTURE

Hacky sacks have officially come full circle

Getty Images

You there, in the JNCO jeans, listening to CDs you bought at Sam Goody, have we got news for you: Hacky sacks are back. The small, round, and kickable bean bags are increasingly popping up around the country, making high schools look like the outside of a Pacsun in the 1990s.

Hitting the sack: It’s unclear what initially sparked the revival, but teens in the Northeast have popularized the trend by posting rankings and videos on social media. NPR reported last month that searches for hacky sack:

Jumped 7,000% on TikTok, year to date.
Spiked more than 5,000% on Google in one month.

New foothold: The sudden interest has caused a shortage of footbags (which is technically what they’re called, since “Hacky Sack” is a brand name). “Business has exploded,” Bomb Footbags owner Mike Heher told Bloomberg, noting that he tripled the price of one of his bags—from $13 to $34—and it still sold out. Some stores are limiting how many a customer can buy.

Hard habit to kick: Many parents and teachers are grateful for the sack-surgence, since it gets kids off of devices and out socializing with friends.—BC

This week’s question

Taylor Swift is rumored to be planning her wedding at Madison Square Garden. Where would you host a once-in-a-lifetime bash and what would the celebrations entail if you, like TSwift, had over $1 billion?

Sam’s answer to get the juices flowing: “I’d rent out a Staten Island Ferry boat and have it cruise around New York Harbor filled with my friends and family jamming to a live performance by the Ukrainian folk punk band Gogol Bordello. Catering would include fresh lobster and the finest champagne flown in from France.”

Submit your response here.

RECS

Debate: What is this year’s song of the summer?

Watch: Learn to make the perfect fried egg.

Travel: A ranking of the best (and worst) US states for a summer road trip.

Read: A captivating chronicle of how one banking dynasty stood at the center of the Panic of 1873, aka the first global financial crisis.**

What’s possible: AT&T’s leadership spotted an opportunity to pilot a tool everyone’s talking about: AI. They turned chatter into action with the right data. See how.*

^{*A message from our sponsor. **This is a product recommendation from our writers. When you buy through this link, Morning Brew may earn a commission.}

PLAY

Brew Crossword: Look lively. Our big puzzle of the week is called “Copy that” for…reasons. Play the Crossword here.

Open House

Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section heading north, but not too north. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price.

Zillow

Today’s home was built in 1917 and sits on 2 acres of land in Canton, SD. If you’re not familiar with your Great Plains geography, that’s about a half hour south of Sioux Falls, SD. And if you have no idea where that is…just know it’s somewhere in the middle. Amenities include:

6 beds, 4 baths
Haunted old tree swing
Fancy billiards room

How much for the old Midwestern mansion?

SHARE THE BREW

Share the Brew, watch your referral count climb, and unlock brag-worthy swag.

Your friends get smarter. You get rewarded. Win-win.

Your referral count: 0

Click to Share

Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
morningbrew.com/r/?kid=71df84e8

ANSWER

$1.09 million

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: vexation, meaning “a state of being irritated.” Thanks to Debbie from Flushing, MI, for a suggestion that didn’t annoy us at all. Submit another Word of the Day here.

✷ A Note From MFS Investment Management

This paid content was created with our sponsor and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or point of view of Morning Brew.

✢ A Note From Cytonics

This is a paid advertisement for Cytonics Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at https://cytonics.com.

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee of performance. Past performance does not predict future results. All investments involve risk, including loss of principal.

Written by Abigail Rubenstein, Molly Liebergall, Brendan Cosgrove, Dave Lozo, Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, and Holly Van Leuven

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Get smarter in just 5 minutes

Tech & AI News: Tech Brew
Markets News: Brew Markets
Real Estate News: The Playbook
Money & Career: Bossy

Take The Brew to work

Interested in podcasts?

Check out ours here

ADVERTISE // CAREERS // SHOP // FAQ

Update your email preferences or unsubscribe .
View our privacy policy .

Copyright © 2026 Morning Brew Inc. All rights reserved.
22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011

☕️ Billionaire battle