The Best One Yet - ⚾ “Savannah Bananas, Inc.” — Minor League Baseball’s new owner. Apple Watch for Kids. Inflation’s 2 diseases.

Episode Date: July 12, 2024

Apple’s newest product is Apple Watch for kids… because they’re been on a 10-year trust campaign.1 Wall Street firm now owns 40 Minor League Baseball teams… but PE and baseball shouldn’t be teammates. Inflation was 3% in June, the lowest level in 3 years but we have a Wakeup Call… Prices never fall, they only rise more slowly.Plus, Team USA gymnastics just set an Olympic record… $5,000 leotards with 10,000 crystals.$AAPL $MLB $SPYSubscribe to our Saturday Newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletter  Watch us on YouTube Submit Facts & Shoutouts Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn (Nick) & LinkedIn (Jack)About Us: From the creators of Robinhood Snacks Daily, The Best One Yet (TBOY) is the daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. 20 minutes on the 3 business, economics, and finance stories you need, with fresh takes you can pretend you came up with — Pairs perfectly with your morning oatmeal ritual. Hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.00:00 - intro01:30 - Paris Olympics04:17 - Apple’s newest product is Apple Watch for kids08:58 - Inflation’s 2 diseases13:20 - Minor League’s Baseball’s new owner19:07 - Takeaways19:53 - OTHER NEWS!21:19 - Best Fact Yet23:20 - Shout Outs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday the real Friday, July 12th. And today's part, this is the best one yet this is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. A happy Friday to all of our Yetis listening worldwide, except in Greece. True. It's true. They're still working. It's not a happy Friday there, Jack. Remember the six-day work week in Greece? I know. Again, I'm impressed by that work ethic. I think Friday's there the new Thursday, which means Saturday is the real Friday. I'm confused again. Because Sunday's the new Saturday. Seriously, though, Greece is back, maybe. Greece?

It's back like Spanacopa. It's back like John Travolta. Jack, three stories for today's T-Boy. What do we got on the pot? For our first story, Apple's newest product is Apple Watch for kids. That's right, it's an eyewatch for toddlers. And Jack and I will tell you all about it. But it costs the same price as an eyewatch for adults.

Come on, Tim. For our second story, the inflation report just came out for the month of June. But news flash, prices will never. fall, they'll only rise slower. And our third and final story is minor league baseball. Take me out. It's a whole lot of fun, but one company is buying up all the teams. And that company is on Wall Street. One Wall Street firm now owns a quarter of all minor league baseball teams. Take us out to the ball game for $500. Boo. But yet he's before you had that wonderful mix of story. Fantastic mix of stories to go into a weekend. Love the

It's time to start practicing your national anthem recitation. Yes. Because we're just two weeks from the Paris Olympics. But Jack, the brightest part about these Olympics isn't the flame. It isn't the medals. It isn't the... Bob Costas beautiful hair, as he reports. That hair is shiny. It is golden. It is beautiful. The highlight is the leotards. Because yet he's literally, the leotards are a highlight, literally. Because Team USA Gymnastics has been hooked up with some fabulous outfits. What my co-host here is saying is that those leotards... Liatards have been bedazzled with 10,000 crystals each. And they're going to use those uniforms for the competitions.

Yeah, could you please sprinkle on some sparkly context for us? Last Olympics four years ago, Team USA gymnastics had 6,400 crystals emblazoned on their leotards. But in two weeks, they'll be wearing leotards that hit peak crystal. Team USA nearly doubled the number of crystals for these games, and they also added pearls for the first time. It's a nice touch. I like the pros. Did you know that pearls grow inside C-Sych? I kind of wish we had pearls on our microphones, Jack.

I wish we had these leotards because I put it on eBay. They're worth $5,000 each. Not too shabby. That's not a personal record. That's a world record. Besties, the way we see it, these Olympic uniforms are the only ones that need to be dry cleaned. By a jeweler. And they're the only outfit worth more than the medals.

Because they're 24 carrots. Now, Jack and I should point out that this isn't just a fashion statement. These leotards are also an athletic strategy. True. Because shinier crystals accentuate the gymnast movements as they're in the air. So, Jack, if you're getting judged on like your balance beam routine... Which gymnasts are. Then you'll want the judges distracted by your flair. 9.4. Yes, 9.8. Thanks to those pearls.

Which means this ain't just the Paris Olympics, is it, Jack. It's also Paris Fashion Week. So, besties, look out for these record-setting gymnastic uniforms two weeks from today. We promise you can't miss them. Because you're going to be blinded by him. Unless you're wearing sunglasses. Jack, let's go bedazzle this recording device. Like I said, yeah, I wish I owned those leotards.

I want some pearls. Yetis, let's enter three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is a norm. Jack Nick, that's it. I don't even think they need to practice.

50% that's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, because we. Red to go. We can't wait no more, so just start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. Our first story, Apple just launched. Get this, Apple Watch for your kids.

We'll explain why Apple is going somewhere. No other tech company will. No one's done this. They're explicitly targeting children. All right, Jack, I've been spending all week with you, seeing the Pod Sun Wilder. He looks fantastic. Hasn't it been fun? It's so fun dropping him off at daycare today.

Nick actually read a book in our tent. Wilder last night. I did a bedtime routine. I love putting him down. Razumaz Tazberry. Jamberries, blueberries, Razumaz blueberries. But yeah,

here is the funny thing. Jack and I have noticed that every parent struggles with the same thing, the tech paradox. To give your kid a phone or not? And then if you do give your kid a phone, when do you give him a phone?

Right. It's a lot. Now, the data shows, we all know this. Phones are addictive and they can distract kids from real life learning and development. So you delay when you give your kid a phone.

But at the same time, you want to know where your kid is all the time. You can't stick a tracker on them, so you'd like to know where they are somehow. The phone will tell you where the kid is all the time. Well, here's the news. Apple just announced a solution to that tech parent paradox. Apple Watch for your kids. Apple Watch for your kids.

Tim Cook thinks he's Mr. Ryers. Apple's like going full Nick Jr. on us over here. Here's what happened. On Wednesday, Apple.com opened up a new website, showing 15 reasons why parents should get their kids an Apple Watch. Now, Jack and I followed the blues clues on that new website, and we noticed why Apple is pitching to parents. The top reason a parent would love if their kid had an Apple Watch, they can be used for calls and messengers. The key reason you want your kid to have a phone is so you can call them know where they are. The Apple Watch is also trackable using the Find My app.

Yeah, mom and dad, they want to check in to see where that kid is physically. Not where they say they are. They're on the bus. But where is the bus at this exact moment? And that's not all. The Apple Watch is waterproof. Kids love stomping in puddles. And that's not all because the Apple Watch can pay for things with Apple Pay. Kids love slurping on popsicles.

Add it all up, and Apple is positioning the Apple Watch like it's the tickle me Elmo for little Johnny. It's the thing you got to get Johnny. But yet it is here's what Jack and I find fascinating about this story. There's one interesting thing that Apple left unsaid. They didn't mention that the Apple Watch has no social media. Ah, the lack of social media apps. Because every tech leader forbids their kid from using social media as long as possible. Well, boom, Jack, what is not on the Apple Watch?

TikTok? Yep, and Instagram. Neither of them have Apple Watch versions of the app. Oh, and the Apple Watch doesn't really have a web browser either. So your kid is going to stay locked in to the real world using their hands, building blocks. Now, Bessie, not Roblox. Jack and I have talked to you about, you know, the rise of the dumb phone trend. dumb phones. Well, Apple's basically saying our watch is like a dumb phone. Yeah, they're saying a dumb phone

has the same intelligence as an Apple watch. But an Apple watch, you can set as Mickey Mouse for the background. And Little Johnny is going to love it. Yeties, mark our words, this Christmas, the hot new kindergarten toy isn't going to be a Tomogachi. It's going to be an Apple watch. Yeah, it's an expensive gift, but you're right for little Jill and Little Johnny. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are Everyone in Club Apple. Apple is cashing in on their 10-year investment in trust. Yeties, Mr. Marky Mark Zuckerberg-Zuck would love to get kids while they're young

with an Instagram for Kids app. But he hasn't launched that app. No, he hasn't. Because even he knows he's not trusted by parents. On the other hand, Apple might actually be trusted by parents. Because 10 years ago, Apple launched a campaign to earn our trust. In 2014, Apple unveiled a privacy push. Automatic encryption of messages, new security features.

Basically, make it harder for Zuck to stock your online activity. Zuck, just keep away from the kids, please. People trust their iPhone so much these days. They upload their driver's license. They upload all their credit card information. They even let their phone scan the contours of their face and take their fingerprints. You're not letting your social security number anywhere near a TikTok. So this Apple Watch might be the culmination of a master plan.

Trust Apple with your children. No tech company explicitly goes after kids. Nope, but Apple just did. Because Apple is cashing in on its 10-year privacy push. Becoming the $500 wrist accessory for kids is the return on their investment in trust. For our second story, the inflation numbers just came in the slowest price increases in three years.

Not too shabby. We have a wake-up call for everybody. Prices are never going to fall. That's normal. And we'll tell you why in the takeaway. But first, Jack, we kind of got a good news, bad news situation, don't we, man? Let's do the good news first. Let's do the good news first.

Love the good news. Inflation came down last month. Ah, inflation. The celebrity economic report of our time is the Consumer Price Index. Basically says, what are prices in this economy? Everyone is talking about this consumer price. index, the index that tracks the prices of literally everything that you buy. From bagels to boxing class to jet blue tickets. To go do that boxing class and enjoy bagels. In June, the price of

stuff in America was 3.0% higher than it was one year ago. To sprinkle on some context, that's the lowest increase since January 2021. Celebrate the wins. And it's not far from the 2% price increase that's considered normal in a healthy economy. And that is the good news. The inflation disease that has wreaked havoc on your grocery bill. We're looking at you. It's subsiding. Oh, but pause the pod for a sec, Jack. We did promise like two minutes ago that we also had some bad news. We didn't promise. That's true. Reinformed, I guess. Yeah, that's a good point. Better verb. I like that, Jack. Because the rest of the economy is looking kind of exhausted. Yet he's the chairman of our central bank, the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, he spoke to Congress just this week. He said that while the

inflation situation is improving, the rest of the economy is not. What Jerry was saying was that basically inflation is no longer our number one risk. Because the unemployment rate has ticked up in the meantime to 4.1%. So what Jerry's thinking is prices aren't popping anymore, but now he's a bit worried about unemployment. Now, we actually knew this was going to happen. We did. We did expect that. Because taming inflation required high interest rates, which takes a toll on the economy. But we were a little surprised that the head of our central bank just warned that our economic body is close to.

to a breaking point. He implied it might finally be time to reduce interest rates, to make sure the economy grows, and make sure people stay employed. So add it all up, and this is a good news, bad news situation, but net net, it's like good news. I think good wins, like three to two maybe.

Like on a scale, the good news is outweighing the bad news. This isn't a mission accomplished moment. No, no, we're not freaking out. We're not cutting ribbons over here and kiss some babies. But the data suggests the inflation monster is on its way out. And we might finally get our very first interest rates. cut as early as September. Wall Street is predicting that.

And Wall Street would love that. So would anyone trying to buy a house? Preach. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for everyone in this economy? Prices will never fall. They'll only rise more slowly. Now, Yeties, we know what you're thinking over there. Even though there is now new news that inflation has slowed,

you're still a bit frustrated. We're frustrated too. Because compared to four years ago, the average price of something in this economy, is 20% higher than four years ago. Jack, have you seen the prices of the Rasmazas Tasberries over at the farmer's market? Raspberrys are quite expensive. But Jack and I wanted to share with you a wake-up call.

We will never go back to the pre-pendemic prices. No, we won't. We're never going back to four years ago. Because prices don't fall. Prices only rise. That's why a can of Coke costs a nickel in your grandpappy's day, but it doesn't today. Who's expecting Coke to cost a nickel again? In fact, nobody.

Jack and I jumped in deep. boy style. For every year since 1934, prices have gone up in America. Only time in U.S. history that prices fell was it was during the Great Depression. Nobody wants that. We don't want to go back to that. Throughout history, we've never gone back to the prices we had in the past. But we have always psychologically adjusted, and we have always normalized to new prices. Because wages rise, and we mentally re-anchor to what is a normal price. So yet is it's a tough reality, but it's the reality. In a healthy economy, prices never fall. They only rise more slowly. Now a quick word from our sponsor.

For our third and final story, this one's wild. The business of minor league baseball, it is living its best life right now. But here's the shocker. Yeah. Major League Wall Street is buying up minor league teams. Yet is, nothing screamed summer quite like spillin' ice cream on your pants at a minor league baseball game and then be like, oh, honey, you have the tidesstick pen. Yeah, I didn't have a tidesstick pen. You brought one with you. I always carry my own tidesick pen. Nick used my laundry machine this week. And my own tidesk. Jack and I were actually supposed to go to a minor league baseball game just last night. The Vermont Lake Monsters. Great team. Because we have a mythical monster in the lake next door. And they named the minor league baseball team after it,

but the game sadly got rained out. The lake monster was into it. But this summer, you may be going to a minor league game. You get to watch 24-year-old future pros while sitting on those cold metal bleach your seat's with your bare legs. Yeah, the seats are tough. But a hot dog only costs two bucks and the mascot race in the outfield?

Yeah. All the family fun in between innings is wonderful. If you're lucky, they'll dress you up like a hot dog in a costume and then you get to race a tricycle through center field. Kids get to run the bases after the game. That's a minor league baseball game. And the business of minor league baseball

is booming for all 120 teams. This year, they're experiencing record attendance and record tickets. They're experiencing such record numbers in minor league baseball that the owners are cashing out. They're cashing out. They're selling the teams at all-time high prices. They're selling those teams at all-time high prices. And they're selling them to one firm in particular. That was the fascinating thing. Diamond Baseball Holdings, a three-year-old private equity firm now owns one quarter of all minor league baseball teams. We repeat, one private equity firm owns one out of four minor league baseball team. Stand up, sit down, and you're a bench, stay sitting down.

I'm looking at the roster here. Yeah. The Scranton Rail Raiders. Jack, the Memphis Redbirds. The Charleston, you ready for this? Uh-huh. River Dogs. Every minor league team whose name sounds like an obscure craft beer is owned by this private equity company.

In fact, get this. In just the last month, this private equity firm has acquired three more minor league baseball teams. This firm is more aggressive than George Steinbrenner in the Roger Clemens A-Rod era. If you know, you know. And I wish you didn't know, because that was not a great era for the Yankees. Buneer! So, yeties, we know what you're thinking over there, and we are happy to tell you what happens when a Wall Street firm takes over the local Albuquerque isotopes team?

That Wall Street firm applies the private equity playbook. They apply the PE playbook. to the game of baseball. They cut costs, they boost revenue, and they squeeze out more profit. For example, this private equity firm has upgraded the seat quality. To improve fans' comfort so they can charge a higher ticker price. And this private equity firm has improved the field equipment. They digitized the old scoreboard in left field so they can charge higher ticket prices.

And this private equity firm sometimes rebrands those classic minor league logos. To make the team feel more cutting edge. Yes. So they can charge higher. apparel prices. But yet, Jack and I should point out, this private equity firm is not just making changes that, like, nobody asked for to justify higher prices. They're also making some genuinely, like, great changes.

Yeah, for example, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, that team, they only play 50 games at their home stadium. The new PE owner is going to use the stadium for events on off days. Nice. Like for concerts or for county fairs. It makes sense. That's a good way to drive revenue for the whole organization. Add it all up, this PE firm, claims.

They can squeeze 20% more revenue out of each team like the Toledo money. And this diamond baseball holdings PE firm says they can do it with all 39 other teams that they also own. Or as they put it, you can standardize virtually every aspect of the business across the entire league. That's how they put it. And we are going to have to check with the umpire. I don't want that at all.

As a baseball fan. We're going to need a seven-ending stretch on this thing. So, Jack, what's the takeaway? Oh, one sec. Jack, free corn dogs over in left field. I love that. Free corn dog night? Every night.

So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone who loves minor league baseball? Private equity and minor league baseball shouldn't be on the same team. Yeties, private equity, they've taken over a whole lot of industries, and frankly, sometimes it makes a lot of sense. Because they always standardize the business. Yeah. Consumers don't mind if a car wash is standardized. So you're cool if a private equity firm takes it off.

But minor league baseball is not about standardization. No. It's not about efficiency, consistency, or being the same as all the other teams. It's about the opposite. You go to a minor league baseball game for it being unique, for it feeling local, for it being an affordable experience for the whole family. But whenever PE takes over, the prices rise, the cost falls, and the product gets sanitized. You get a digital scoreboard when you go to a New York Yankee game. You don't need it when you go to a Staten Island. the Yankees game. What you do need at the minor league Staten Island Yankees game is a low-priced ticket for the whole family and maybe, just maybe, free corn dogs for the kids. The souvenir cups?

Uh-huh. I love the souvenir cups. So Jack and I, we hope the PE playbook result in a better fan experience without pricing out the fans. But we fear the opposite. We do. They might start charging those kids to run about on the bases at the end of the game. That's why the way we see it, private equity and minor league baseball probably should not be on the same team. Ten bucks for base, buddy. Nothing's free. Playball! Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? Apple just rebranded the Apple Watch as the ideal device for children. Apple is cashing in on their 10-year investment in trust and privacy. For our second story, the inflation report. It showed that prices rose by just 3% in the past year, which is a three-year low. But a wake-up call,

prices never fall. Prices only rise more slowly. And our third and final story, minor league is getting the PE playbook because one firm has acquired a quarter of the teams. Minor League Baseball and private equity probably should not be on the same team. Oh, wait, Nick, they're doing the way. Oh, Cali, here we go. Here we go. Whoa. It gets me every time.

It gets me every time. God, please. That's a good one. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Delta just announced weak earnings, which was really a surprise for like everybody. Okay, the strongest airline during the strongest airline during the first. strongest summer for travel in years.

Just disappointed investors big time. That goes to show what we were just talking about the other day, Jack. Airlines. It's just a tough industry to make a profit. It's why every decade or so, an airline gets a bailout. Or goes bankrupt, but usually the bailout. And second, Costco raised their membership fee on 134 million members for the first time since 2017. Depending on your Costco membership, your annual fee is going to rise,

but either $5 or $10 starting in September. But nobody's really upset because one single grocery visit to Costco easily saves you like $5, $10, and you get the $1.50 cent hot dog soda combo. That's all we got to say about that. And finally, Pepsi just reported a weak quarter of earnings because you're cutting back on snacks, apparently. But there was one other funny detail that Jack and I noticed in those earnings. Mislabeled soda.

So Pepsi accidentally shipped 3,000 cases of mug root beer with a label saying sugar-free. mug root beer zero was actually mug root beer 128 grams. So, Yeti's, at some point in the last three months, if you enjoyed a root beer, but then we're bouncing off the walls. It's because that mug root beer was 256% of your daily recommended amount.

Honey, you gotta try this root beer. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one sent in by Yeti Pepe Lepeot in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. That was good. You know I'm going to Paris next month. I forgot it. Yet is this Sunday is actually Bastille Day in the country of France.

The national holiday in France, which marks the fall of the Bastille. Now, the Bastille in Bastille Day was a medieval fortress in Paris that was once a French state prison. So the Bastille was a building, but it got stormed by revolutionaries and mobs of Parisians on July 14th, 1789. Which kicked off the beginning of the French Revolution, which is France's 4th of July. Not the Boston Tea Party? No, no, not exactly. Weewee party. Yes, it was.

This led to the end of the French monarchy, and it brought freedom, liberty, and egalite to the whole fraternity. And didn't it bring Les Més? It did bring Le Miz. I think it brought Jean Valjean. Without Bastille, we would not have you, Jackman. Who is a national treasure?

So, Yadis, if you are in France right now, the shops are probably closed. If you try to get a croissant, the answer is going to be, not possible. I'm kind of not excited about this French trip anymore. After all, you're not possible. warnings. No, no, I think it'll be okay. There'll be some possible things. I'll be some possible.

I think I'm going to be on my own. And you know I'm bringing my two boys, right? It's going to make it a little less possible. Yeah, it is, you look fantastic today. If you're going into a minor league game tonight, enjoy those free Cracker Jacks while you still got it. If they give you an opportunity to run the bases after the game, oh, you got to do it. You got to shoot your shot. Oh, Jack, by the way, tonight, our last night in Vermont, where are we getting some ice cream, baby? What are we getting? Sisters of Anarchy. Oh, that sounds good. It's run by the daughters of a farmer, and they're kind of crazy. Yeties, that is how you celebrate the wins.

So we hope you do that this weekend, too, enjoy an ice cream. Nick and I, we'll see you Monday. If you know, you know, can't wait. And before we go, a happy 40th birthday to Yeti Tillman Beck over in Seattle, who just got a camper van and is celebrating in the camper van. I hope so. That's where I'd celebrate. And Calon and Justina Ojanaka are in the Upper Malboro of Maryland,

and that mother's son duo is turning one and 32 double birthday for the fam. And happy birthday to Matt Clark of New York City. Yeah. Who's doing a half marathon in Muncie, Indiana. Not too shabby. Which I think is where someone from Parks and Rec has a vacation home. By the way, if you're trying to keep up with Matt Clark, he's going to outrun you. Just give up.

Just give up. And Jenna Marshall, happy 26th birthday down in Tampa, Florida. And Ryan Nance. In Georgia is celebrating a 26th birthday. Happy birthday Ryan. And Bracci Metta in Atlanta, Georgia. is celebrating a birthday with the sun in the fun down in Miami. Happy 40th birthday to Larius Cleveland in Phoenix, Arizona,

who's headed to Seattle for a big Northwestern celebration. Maybe with Tillman in that camper van, and Lean Alice Males turning 21 years old, not in Katie, Texas, but in Saudi Arabia and loving her cat, Pizzuki, who's hanging out with her. And happy birthday to Rob Dandorf in Ridgewood, New Jersey. And Jack, we got a first anniversary. Jake and Chloe Smithin are celebrating the big one,

in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville, Kentucky. And a shout out to Rachel Howard and all the mountain men and women facing off in the race off of Mountain Man, triathlon, and Flagstaff, Arizona. Also, Rachel's the author of the best newsletter yet. You ought to sign up right now. Oh, yeah, Yeties. You got to subscribe to our newsletter. Jack and I are thrown in some seriously great photos from this week.

It's a full T-boy team effort. Subscribe at T-boypod.com slash newsletter or click the link in the episode description. The best newsletter yet. Nick and I, we'll see you there. This is Jack. Nick and I both own stock of Apple and Nick on stock of Delta.