Daily Brew // Morning Brew // Update

June 30, 2026

You made it halfway. It’s the final trading day of the first half of 2026. With half a year down, we thought it might be a good time to reflect on your New Year’s resolutions to see how you’re measuring up.

Here’s our progress report for inspiration:

Clean keyboard for real ()
Learn what “overnight oats” are ( )
Memorize the actual words to Auld Lang Syne ( )
Get the cat at the bodega to let us pet him ( )
Upload consciousness to AI to live on after death ( )

—Dave Lozo, Sam Klebanov, Molly Liebergall, Matty Merritt, Neal Freyman, Abby Rubenstein

In today’s newsletter, we’ll get into SCOTUS saying Lisa Cook can keep her job, Comcast splitting up, and the personality trait that bosses who oppose WFH have in common.

MARKETS

Nasdaq

25,820.15

+2.07%

S&P

7,440.43

+1.18%

Dow

52,182.74

+0.59%

10-Year

4.374%

+0.0 bps

Bitcoin

$60,368.00

+1.72%

Alphabet

$351.28

+4.96%

Data is provided by

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

Markets: The Dow closed above 52,000 for the first time ever, powered in part by a company that joined the index yesterday that you’ve probably heard of: Google’s parent company, Alphabet. And it wasn’t the only tech stock having a good day, which pushed the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 up after losses last week.

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DECISIONS OF INTEREST

SCOTUS rules Trump can’t dismiss the Fed’s Cook

Luke Johnson/Getty Images

President Trump learned yesterday that his unilateral ability to fire people on The Celebrity Apprentice doesn’t apply to his job as leader of the free world—but it’s getting close. The court issued a pair of decisions on the issue: One said he can’t jettison Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook (for now) to preserve the central bank’s independence, while the other expanded his power to fire officials at other regulatory agencies.

The court ruled 5–4 that President Trump denied Cook due process when he attempted to fire her over allegations of mortgage fraud—a charge she denies and that critics say is a pretext to appoint someone who will vote for his desired interest rate cuts. The decision means Cook can keep her job while she challenges the firing, but it also left the door open for Trump to ultimately oust her if he can show it’s “for cause” as the law requires.

The court also highlighted the importance of the Fed being free from Oval Office pressure:

The majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts stated: “Not only the fact of independence but also the appearance of independence is key to the Federal Reserve’s design.”
Therefore, giving a president the ability to fire a Fed governor at will as if they were Stephen Baldwin in 2008 would inhibit the central bank’s ability to set policy without influence, Roberts wrote (except for the Baldwin brother part).

That independence is crucial to investors’ faith in the bond market and the strength of the US dollar.

But otherwise, Trump gained more executive power

A separate 6–3 ruling, also written by Roberts, upheld Trump’s firing of FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter. That decision granted Trump the power to give anyone a pink slip at the other independent agencies.

The court will finish the term today with major rulings on: Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship, states attempting to block transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports, and whether spending restrictions on political parties coordinating with candidates violate the First Amendment.—DL

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WORLD

Tour de headlines

Ronaldo Bolaños/Getty Images

States can count late mail-in ballots, SCOTUS rules. If you leave things until the last minute, the Supreme Court is on your side: The court ruled 5–4 yesterday that states can count ballots received after Election Day, as long as they’re postmarked by then. Federal laws set Election Day as the final day for citizens to cast votes, but they “do not set a deadline for ballot receipt,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for a majority that also included Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s liberal wing. That’s a setback for President Trump, who used the loss to push for the passage of the SAVE Act, which would tighten voting restrictions. The specific case addressed the Republican National Committee’s challenge to a Mississippi law that gives a five-day grace period, but, according to the AP, more than half the states count at least some late-arriving ballots.

Rocket Lab buys Iridium for $8 billion to challenge SpaceX. The space industry is consolidating with the cash-and-stock deal Rocket Lab struck to acquire the satellite communications provider. The company is seeking vertical integration so it can better compete, since it can use its rockets to launch Iridium’s satellites. It’s hoping that leads to growth: “[W]e have the capability to unlock entirely new markets,” Rocket Lab’s CEO said. The deal, expected to close next year, comes as investors have their attention trained on the space sector following SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO.

Ford rehires human engineers after AI falls short. The company that revolutionized manufacturing with the assembly line just found out that the latest business innovation might not actually maximize efficiency. After AI quality control systems didn’t cut it, Ford hired 350 of what it calls “gray beard” engineers, aka experienced human workers, to train both younger staff and AI tools, Bloomberg reports. Ford’s CEO said the new and improved human system is cutting down on costs like warranty coverage and recalls, helping it save hundreds of millions of dollars.—AR

TO XFINITY AND BEYOND

Comcast and NBCUniversal are separating

Adobe Stock

Comcast realized what Liz Lemon from 30 Rock always knew: Content companies and their corporate overlords are better off separate. The telecommunications giant announced yesterday that it plans to spin off its entertainment and news division, NBCUniversal.

The split undoes Comcast’s 2011 takeover of the media company—which owns iconic IP like Shrek, SNL, and The Office—from General Electric. Coming months after Comcast spun out its ailing cable channels, it mimics moves from rivals Verizon and AT&T, which also shed media assets in recent years.

NBCUniversal will become a separate publicly traded company:

It will include the streaming service Peacock, Universal film studios and theme parks, NBC News, broadcast networks NBC and Telemundo, as well as the European broadcaster Sky.
Comcast will keep its cable, broadband, and growing mobile wireless business.

Investors welcomed Comcast’s re-focus on its core enterprise, and the company’s beleaguered stock rose 4.5% yesterday.

Parts greater than the sum

Many analysts think Comcast is cutting NBCUniversal loose to set it up for acquisition by an entertainment giant like Netflix or Apple, while positioning itself to buy another internet provider like Charter. But Comcast co-CEO Brian Roberts denied this, saying the move is merely designed to make the two companies more agile and entrepreneurial.

Big picture: Comcast is dealing with increased competition from internet providers, including SpaceX’s Starlink. Meanwhile, Paramount’s pending purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery would create an entertainment behemoth far bigger than NBCUniversal.—SK

Before and after, USA edition

Today’s trivia is the infamous “before and after” category, in which the last word of one answer becomes the first word in the second, creating a hilarious mashup. Theme: US history.

Example: Give me your tired, your poor, and your emu spokesanimal → Statue of Liberty Mutual

A revolutionary war protest against people being a drag at social events
The United States is divinely ordained to expand its territory to an American girl group from Houston.
The first lines of the constitution should read, “Dang, I can’t believe Paul Rudd won this.”
This one has three elements: This Knicks legend took the stage at Hamilton but was not informed of his right to remain silent.

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ANSWER

Boston Tea Party pooper
Manifest Destiny’s Child
We the People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive
Jeremy Lin-Manuel Miranda rights

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: narcissism, meaning “egocentrism.” Thanks to Stewart Graham from Urbana, IL, for selflessly sending in a suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.

✢ A Note From EnergyX

Energy Exploration Technologies, Inc. (“EnergyX”) has engaged Morning Brew to publish this communication in connection with EnergyX’s ongoing Regulation A offering. Morning Brew has been paid in cash and may receive additional compensation. Morning Brew and/or its affiliates do not currently hold securities of EnergyX.

This compensation and any current or future ownership interest could create a conflict of interest. Please consider this disclosure alongside EnergyX’s offering materials. EnergyX’s Regulation A offering has been qualified by the SEC. Offers and sales may be made only by means of the qualified offering circular. Before investing, carefully review the offering circular, including the risk factors. The offering circular is available at invest.energyx.com/.

Comparisons to other companies are for informational purposes only and should not imply similar results. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Market shortfall are forward‑looking estimates and are subject to substantial uncertainty.

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