🌏 Disney has an announcement announcement

Good morning, Quartz readers!

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

McDonald’s thinks the Donald Trump McDonald’s campaign stunt was a little weird. The fast food giant clarified that it had nothing to do with arranging Trump’s pretending to work the drive-through.

Meanwhile, Trump’s Social Security plan is getting poor marks. His tax cuts and spending plans, says The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, would empty the agency’s coffers years ahead of schedule.

Disney (DIS+0.15%) is announcing that a CEO announcement will eventually be soon forthcoming. Presented like a new Marvel movie phase, Bob Iger’s replacement will debut in early 2026.

Goldman Sachs (GS+5.87%) is yelling last call at the stock market punch bowl. The bank says double-digit S&P 500 growth is coming to an end.

Tim Cook uses a nifty phrase to defend Apple’s (AAPL+1.95%) late AI start. It consists of an n-word, an f-word, and two b-words.

It might all come down to this for Boeing

After nearly a month hemorrhaging cash and the goodwill of its workforce, Boeing (BA-0.35%) might finally have a chance to end its machinists’ strike. But it will depend on whether the machinists say so.

The workers are voting on a new contract offer, one sweeter than both the initial agreement they rejected and what Boeing said was its “best and final offer.” If they vote it down, the planemarker’s future will get very weird very quickly.

Is a five-percentage-point difference in wage increase positions enough to bring Boeing back from the brink? Quartz’s Melvin Backman lays out the stakes of a ratification vote coming this week.

You can soon bet on others’ bets about Bitcoin

In June, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved ETFs based on Bitcoin. Now, the agency will allow investors to trade in options on those ETFs.

The meta-assets will open a new frontier in the world of cryptocurrency trading. That said, it also gives the “big fish” of finance another means of pushing around prices in the sector.

How should ordinary investors think about this latest Bitcoin development? Quartz’s Vinamrata Chaturvedi breaks down the SEC’s move.

MORE FROM QUARTZ

🐇 Hugh Hefner’s son wants to buy Playboy back from its SPAC 

📲 Chick-fil-A is building an app that will pair chicken with games, shows, and podcasts 

✈️ Spirit Airlines got more time to not go bankrupt

🧠 Analysts are skeptical that Apple Intelligence with drive Apple sales

🥊 The Southwest Airlines-Elliott Investment Management proxy fight could end in detente

✌️ The CTO of Sam’s Club decided to quit instead of moving to Arkansas for RTO

SURPRISING DISCOVERIES

Finance people get confused by Industry, too. They think the HBO (WBD+1.03%) banking drama’s jargon makes more sense than some of its spreadsheets and stock moves. (paywall)

Giving people money to vote might not be legal. An Elon Musk scheme to give $1 million to signees of an election pledge is raising attorney eyebrows.

Ellie the Elephant does bat mitzvahs. Even before the WNBA’s New York Liberty won this year’s championship, their twerking mascot was very popular (and lucrative).

The future of fashion retail has TikTok brain. A new store concept aimed at Gen Z swaps out brands quickly and puts big flashing screens everywhere.

The U.S. military has an AI that uses real-life combat moves as training prompts. The technology, called CamoGPT, “improves productivity and operational readiness at all echelons.”

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Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. Send any news, comments, Disney CEO teaser trailers, and CamoGPT prompts to talk@qz.com. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Melvin Backman and Audrey McNamara.