02/11/2026
A Need to Know MAT
02-09-2026 Edition
1. PAY TO PLAY - The highest cost of a 30-second Super Bowl LX ad this year was $10 million, a new all-time record. The average price of a 30-second ad is $8 million—about the same as last year. Nearly 40% of advertisers for this year’s game did not advertise last year. Among the newbies is Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, as well as Grubhub. In this era of media fragmentation, the Super Bowl remains one of a dwindling number of live TV events with a reliably huge, captive audience. [source: bloomberg.com]
2. PARKING LOT - There is currently $7.7 Trillion on the sidelines in money markets and cash that could be moved into stocks. $7.7 Trillion is one-tenth of the size of the entire U.S. stock market. This extended run of money market popularity has been fueled in part by their relatively higher yields over the past few years. Investors could see this cash hoard expand even more in the coming months as new tax incentives, such as a higher standard deduction and higher state and local taxes (SALT) deduction caps, could add even more money to consumers’ wallets. [source: horizoninvestments.com]
3. GILDED GETAWAYS - Demand for luxury cruise experiences is surging as ultra-wealthy travelers pay for unprecedented opulence at sea. Four Seasons Yachts and Regent Seven Seas Cruises operate the world’s most luxurious fleets of large capacity luxury cruise ships with many new ships in development. Four Seasons Yachts penthouse suites sell for $50,000 a night, featuring amenities like private gyms and hot tubs, panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows, gilded spiral staircases, plus bespoke services that blur the line between hotel and yacht. Regent Seven Seas Cruises forthcoming ship, due to launch in December, will feature the largest all-inclusive, ultraluxe cruise ship suite to ever exist—9,000 square feet—which includes a private massage room, an ocean-facing bar, and a butler, and has already been fully booked for six of its first 13 voyages. The boom reflects a broader expansion of high-end cruising as operators add new ships and amenities to cater to a growing affluent market. [source: wsj.com]
4. THE CHEAP SEATS - New Hampshire state legislators are paid a mere $100 per year since voters etched it into the state constitution in 1889. Granite State lawmakers are the lowest paid in the U.S., with their counterparts in most states having salaries of around $50,000. Many past bids to boost pay for NH lawmakers by amending the constitution have failed. Now, there is a new bipartisan push to delete the pay language from the state’s foundational document. [source: wsj.com]
5. BUYING BOYCOTT - Fueled by popularity on social media, many more consumers joined the new trend of pledging to eliminate purchasing anything that is nonessential for the whole month of January. Thrifty challenges have gained in popularity in general with Google searches for “No Buy January” hitting a five-year high in December, driven largely by Gen Z and millennials. [source: wsj.com]
6. PASS THE SUNBLOCK - The residents of Utqiagvik, Alaska—the northernmost town in North America, located about 300 miles above the Arctic Circle—just saw the sun for the first time after more than two months of darkness due to the “polar night,” a seasonal phenomenon created by the tilt of the Earth’s axis where the sun does not appear above the horizon for 65 days each year. For Utqiagvik’s roughly 5,000 residents, the return of daylight following weeks of sub-zero temperatures and total darkness inspires celebrations, with locals marking the sun’s return through traditional dances, songs, and rituals—including blaring the Beatles song “Here Comes the Sun.” [source: npr.com]
7. CLEAN SWEEP - The annual Best Places to Work winners for 2026 has been released by Glassdoor, which ranks U.S. and U.K. workplaces based on feedback straight from the source—anonymous employee reviews submitted to the platform. The No. 1 spot in the U.S. went to Crew Carwash, a family-owned car wash with locations throughout Indiana and Minnesota, which earned standout reviews for its supportive leadership, career growth opportunities, and team culture. The chain dethroned Bain & Company, a consulting firm that claimed the top spot for the seventh time in 2025 (this year, it ranked No. 8). To determine the rankings, Glassdoor looks at key factors like culture and values, career opportunities, compensation, leadership, work-life balance, and diversity. Rounding out the top five are fast food chain In-N-Out Burger, chip maker Nvidia, tax services provider Ryan, and realtor Keller Williams. [source: glassdoor.com]
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Written and Copyrighted © 2026 Mark A. Timmick. All rights reserved. Email [email protected] for subscription information. Although content is developed or drawn from sources believed to be reliable, the information has not been verified as accurate and could contain errors. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
