Hi! Struggling for mealtime inspiration? A cultivated food company in Australia has developed a lab-grown meatball made from a mix of elephant and the extinct wooly mammoth, though it’s not ready to eat just yet. Today we’re exploring:
Charged up
Electricity generated from renewable sources — wind, hydro, solar, geothermal and biomass — surpassed coal for the first time ever in the US last year, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced on Monday.
Clearly, things are moving in the right direction environmentally, though critics argue the shift isn’t steep enough. Just yesterday, the International Renewable Energy Agency warned that global investment in renewables must increase from 2022’s record $1.3 trillion spend to $5 trillion each year in order to stay below the 1.5°C warming threshold.
Power shift
Renewables are at the center of the growing climate conversation, as policymakers continue to cut down on fossil fuels which account for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. While natural gas, America's primary source of electricity production, has helped relieve reliance on coal-fired power plants, renewables are held as a more impactful way to curb emissions.
It's been a big few years for renewables after they surged above nuclear in 2021, as the continued growth of wind and solar power helped propel the eco-friendlier electric sources to second place in domestic production. Renewable resources made up 21% of the ~4 billion megawatthours of electricity produced in the US last year, compared to coal’s 20% and nuclear’s 19% — they're still, however, some way off natural gas’s 39% share.
Looking fresh
Lululemon shares were up 15% in after-hours trading yesterday on the back of a strong earnings report that saw Q4 revenue hit $2.8 billion and yearly sales rise 30% compared to 2021.
With yoga pants and comfortable athleisure wear at its core, Lululemon certainly benefitted from the home workout and general fitness boom brought about by the pandemic — since 2019 the apparel company’s seen sales more than double, helping to bolster its direct-to-consumer division as customers moved increasingly online.
Stretching
In that time, Lululemon’s expanded its exercise empire further, slipping into the shoe business, acquiring the at-home fitness product Mirror in 2020, and even introducing a new subscription model offering exclusive access to items, fitness classes, and an app later in the year. Stretching out in general seems to come pretty naturally to the company.
Revenues at the fitness-focused firm have increased 37% on average each year since 2004, though the last few years have seen the company’s sales figures seriously bulk up. In 2019, Lululemon made just shy of $4 billion in sales, which had risen to $6.3 billion only two years later and now sits at a very healthy-looking $8.1 billion for 2022.
The company’s financials elsewhere are in good shape as well — thanks to slick marketing and an almost cult-like customer base, Lululemon squeezes out some pretty juicy operating profit margins compared to huge competitors like Nike and Adidas.
“Unprecedented demand”
It seems that American wanderlust may be at an all-time high, with the State Department currently receiving over 500,000 passport applications every week in a period of “unprecedented demand”, as Secretary of State Antony Blinkin put it.
As a result, any planned summer breaks may require more administrative effort than usual if your current passport’s expired — the State Department said the process of getting a new one is set to take 10-13 weeks as the volume of applications, at times, even outstrips last year’s record-breaking rate by over 30%.
Revenge Travel
The concept of “revenge travel” really took off in 2022, as people booked getaways and vacations to make up for lost time caused by Covid, though globetrotters and holidaymakers don’t appear to be done yet. Indeed, thanks in part to a strong dollar, even inflation won’t quell the collective desire to explore, with nearly 50% of Americans reportedly planning to travel more than they did last year.
Passport issuing figures are beginning to reflect this new-found enthusiasm, after a steep drop-off during the pandemic. In 2020, the Department of State issued just 11.7 million passports, a 15-year low point, though that rose to 15.5 million in 2021 as the world gradually began to open back up. Last year things were more than back to normal, however, with a record ~22 million passports issued to help satisfy the increased appetite for travel in America.
• Actions speak louder: despite its nearly 3-hour runtime, Keanu Reeves only says 380 words as the eponymous hero in the latest John Wick movie.
• South Korea will give new parents $770-a-month for having a child, as the government looks to reverse its waning birth rate issue.
• AMC shares jumped as much as 21% yesterday, but this time it's not meme stock mania — Amazon is reportedly interested in buying the theater chain.
• Scientists at MIT have been tackling the really important challenges that face us in the modern world… testing 1000 Oreos to find out the best way to consume the cookies.
• Retirements are getting longer and longer in rich countries around the world.
• Interesting data in US tax filings (a line we thought we would never write) uncovered a $7bn tax payment mystery.
Off the charts: The co-founders of which company are both stepping away from their roles as CEO and president? Hint: we were charting the company’s struggle to drive profit back in May 2022. [Answer below].
Answer here.
