Good morning and welcome to the first edition of Pulse of Progress. It’s Monday…ah, the day when our coffee needs a coffee, and our beds have that extra magnetic pull. But fear not! Today’s edition will give your week the kickstart it didn’t know it needed. Let’s jump into today’s story lines.

In today’s digest:

• Is Tupperware staging a comeback?

• Zoom-ing Back to Office

• Pulse Points: Trending Tidbits

• The Week Ahead: What to Expect

Pfft GameStop? Here, hold my lid

From sealing in freshness to sealing the deal on Wall Street, Tupperware is not just popping lids but also popping charts. The once humble kitchen staple is now cooking up a storm in the stock market, proving that what's good for the pantry can be great for the portfolio? Some might argue yes, as the stock’s price has skyrocketed by 850% since July 18^th .

What’s the sitch?

Just four short months ago, Tupperware was teetering on the edge, staring into the abyss of bankruptcy, quaking in its recyclable boots. But in a plot twist worthy of a daytime soap opera, the company announced last Thursday that it had reached a deal to reduce its interest payment obligations by a cool $150 million. It also found $21 million in the sofa cushions for new financing and even haggled its debt down by about $55 million. Talk about a bargain hunter's dream.

In corporate-speak that would make a banker swoon, Tupperware Brands CFO Mariela Matute declared, “I am confident that this agreement provides us with the financial flexibility to continue executing on our near-term jazz hands and long-term strategy to create a global omni-channel consumer brand.” Ah, music to the shareholders' ears.

Investors reacted like fans at a rock concert, sending the stock skyward. Sure, Tupperware is still troubled – like a sitcom character with a catchphrase that's worn thin – but it's trading above the comical 61 cents it was going for just a fortnight ago.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves – Tupperware's future still looks shakier than a Jell-O mold. Younger folks are scratching their heads, saying "Tupper-what?" The 77-year-old brand, once as popular as mullets, now faces stiff competition and considers layoffs and property sales like a garage-clearing spring cleaning. What’s interesting? They only started selling their products at Target last year. And in early June, like a B-list celebrity, it received a warning from the New York Stock Exchange for not being famous enough, as it’s stock price was trading for less than $1 over a 30 day trading period (below the exchange’s threshold).

So, is Tupperware back for good, or is this just another rerun of a classic? Stay tuned, dear readers, for the next exciting episode of "As the Tupperware Turns."

Zooming Back to Reality: How the Virtual Giant is Calling Its Team Home

Remember when Zoom was the digital darling of the pandemic? The knight in shining video-pixels that helped us work in pajamas? Well, brace yourself: Zoom’s calling its flock back home, at least part-time. Staff living within 50 miles (80km) of a Zoom office have been told to start frequenting the joint twice a week, according to a report from Business Insider. No official press release, but it’s like Zoom's saying, “Remember those virtual backgrounds of offices? Let's make them real again.”

This switch is far from Zoom’s previous vibe. Just a year ago, they boasted about a potential 98% remote workforce. But as COVID reshaped work culture, the lines between remote and onsite began to blur like a bad connection. Videoconferencing went from ‘Oh, cool!’ to ‘Oh, another one?’ so fast. “Zoom” didn’t just remain a company but became the synonym for “Let’s catch up.” (Side note: We wonder if Zoom employees actually “zoom” each other. Imagine the irony.)

Yet, not all that glitters is remote gold. MIT and UCLA teamed up and dropped a knowledge bomb: some homebound workers were 18% less productive than their office-going peers. Add to that the real estate sob story: major cities staring down a potential $800 billion hole by 2030, thanks to our love for home offices.

In a nutshell, Zoom's done playing virtual footsie, and companies everywhere are echoing, "Back to the grind, but make it hybrid." Buckle up, because it seems the virtual honeymoon phase is over. Whether that's good or bad news might just depend on how much you've missed those water cooler conversations.

Pulse Points

Google's newest perk? A "Stay 'n Work" hotel deal. Looking to convince its troops to return to the battlefield – uh, I mean, office – Google's offering its own version of a summer vacation: a $99/night staycation at its on-site hotel in Mountain View.

The latest at X – Elon Musk committed to covering the legal expenses of individuals who faced "unjust treatment" by their employers for engaging with content on X.

PayPal launches stablecoin? PayPal has introduced the first dollar-backed stablecoin by a leading U.S. financial institution, named PayPal USD (PYUSD).

The Week Ahead

Earnings, earnings, earnings. Disney reports their earnings on Wednesday and their plans for ESPN moving forward. AMC, Lucid, Lyft, Roblox and UPS all report this week as well.

Is inflation really cooling? Thursday we’ll hear all about jobless claims and CPI numbers. Stay tuned for more.