Stocks open week with gains. Pairing food, music.

Stocks open week with gains. Pairing food, music.

by Jeremy Ryan, Wells Fargo Asset Management

Today’s Daily Advantage comes from guest writer Jim Durning.

Equity markets around the world opened the week with gains. In the U.S., the Dow was up 80 points, with 27 of its 30 components advancing; the S&P 500 Index closed at a new record high, gaining more than 7 points; and the Nasdaq added almost 32 points. Advancers led decliners by about nine to four on the NYSE and by two to one on the Nasdaq. The prices of Treasuries weakened. Gold futures fell $1.80 to close at $1,356.60 an ounce. The price of crude oil fell $0.65, settling at $44.76 a barrel.

Major equity markets around the world also marked positive opens for the week. Japan’s Nikkei added almost 4%, and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.2%. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 1.6%, and London’s FTSE 250 Index added almost 3.3%. The value of the British pound compared with the U.S. dollar increased about 0.3%. The euro’s value was essentially unchanged compared with the U.S. dollar. The dollar gained more than 2% compared with Japan’s yen.

In other news:

• In Britain, Home Secretary Theresa May is set to succeed David Cameron as U.K. prime minister on Wednesday after her only challenger dropped out of consideration. It will fall to May to steer the country out of the European Union.
• Americans were more upbeat on their earnings growth last month, mirroring a sharp rise in U.S. jobs growth, while inflation expectations remained subdued, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey published on Monday.
• Starbucks Corp. will raise the wages of all workers in its U.S. company-operated stores this autumn. The company will increase base pay for workers and store managers and double the annual stock reward to hourly employees who have worked at company-operated stores for at least two years. Starbucks’ shares (SBUX) fell about 0.3% on the day.
• Christopher Bailey will resign as chief executive of Burberry, the company said, ending an experiment in which the British luxury house allowed one person to hold the roles of chief executive and creative director simultaneously. He will now be president and chief creative officer. Shares of Burberry Group plc stock (BRBY) gained 4.2% today.
• Boeing and Airbus offered upbeat forecasts for the aircraft market over the next 20 years. There has been concern that lower oil prices and weakening economies in key markets could reduce the demand for new planes. Boeing and Airbus both have backlogs, as profitable airlines have placed orders in recent years. Boeing Co.’s shares (BA) were up 1.5% in trading, while Airbus Group SE’s shares moved 2.4% higher today.

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Made-to-order food and music:

Music’s ability to complement a customer experience can play a critical role in an establishment’s image and success. The technology to deliver music to restaurants has evolved rapidly in recent years. Today restaurateurs can customize their business’s musical ambiance. But imagine a world in which diners seize even greater control of their music and dining experience.

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal explored how music influences guests and staff. “The right playlist can ward off a stuffy customer and attract a stylish one. It may also prevent the staff mutinies that come with hearing the same song 10,000 times.”

Programming music for his restaurant, a current sommelier and former disc jockey favors songs with between 80 and 110 beats per minute. “Nothing too slow that takes air out of the room, nothing too fast where you’re trying to have a nice meal.” The right choices can help diners leave excited for the rest of their night while energizing the staff for the next crush of diners.

The power to manage the interaction of music and food evolved with music streaming services that offer a vast selection and simplified playlist creation. Spotify, Tidal, and Pandora for Business are some of the tools of the trade today.

Once upon a time, music programming in commercial environments was controlled and disseminated by the same utility that distributed electricity. Dating from 1922, the North American Utility Company acquired several of the patents of inventor Major General George Owen Squier and delivered music to businesses and subscribers over electrical wires, charging them for the service on their monthly bills.

The omnipresence of radios in American homes in the 1930s demanded a business model shift. Squier, who had remained involved with the project, decided to focus on delivering music to commercial clients. With that change, he renamed the company Muzak. Although Muzak first appeared in 1934, it had its largest impact in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2013, Muzak’s owner, Mood Media, ceased use of the Muzak brand name but continues providing products and services today.

Thinking about the progression over the past 95 years from central-office music delivery to local and even individual customization, one can imagine that the evolution of the symbiotic relationship of music and food is not complete yet.

Is it too farfetched to imagine that one day we might program our own at-table, three-dimensional musical entertainment through live-streaming mobile apps and virtual reality goggles? Facebook Live, YouNow, Twitter’s Periscope, Musical.ly, Flipagram, Snapchat, Vine, and other applications offer real-time access to and interaction with talented musical artists playing their own compositions and covering others.

One day, we may be able to design and prearrange a set list to accompany our meals performed by our favorite live-streaming musical artists. Our tables will become a stage for the chef’s creations and our favorite entertainment. Bon appetit and bravo!