And you thought your Uber ETA was a problem: Massachusetts had to call in the National Guard to drive school buses amid the national drive shortage.

Stocks inches down for the week, as investors worried about Delta's effect on the pace of recovery. What also came down: Space's all-civilian crew successfully returned to Each after its historic three-day flight.

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The Big Buyback: Microsoft is splurging $60B on its own shares, and it's not only one

Self-absorbed shopping spree... Last week, Microsoft's board approved a plan to buy back as much as $60B of the company's own stock — the software giant's largest share repurchase program ever. Stock buybacks are (kind of) like gifts to shareholders: by reabsorbing their own shares, companies can potentially improve their stock prices by reducing the number of available shares.

• When shares outstanding decrease, investors' ownership in the company pie can increase. Think: owning 1 share out of 10 total, vs. owning 1 out of 5.

• Slightly awk: Microsoft shares are already sitting near records, and have soared 38% this year. But it's also sitting on a $130B cash pile, so it has money to spend.

Takeout or delivery? Corporations have different options when it comes to spending extra $$. They can invest it back into the business (think: hiring, R&D, building factrories) — or, they can return value to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks. Microsoft has used its ginormous cash pile to fund acquisitions, boost dividends, and do buybacks. Many companies flush with excess cash are doubling down on buybacks, too.

• Spending on buybacks increased much faster than capital expenditures (think: buildings, equipment) in the first half of 2021.

• S&P 500 companies spent more on buybacks than on capital expenditures in the first half 2021. Share repurchases hit $370B, up ~30% from the first half of 2020.

• For example: Lowes, which thrived on DIY House Hype , spent $6B on share repurchases — compared with barely $850M on capital expenditures. Target, another corona-conomy thriver, recently announced $15B in buybacks.

The Big BuyBack relates to the Big Shortage... Many US businesses are cash-rich, thanks to low intrest rates on debt and strong earnings fueled by economic recovery. The problem: supply and labor shortages are limiting how much companies can invest back into their businesses. But the Big Buyback, which could be contributing to soaring stock prices, could hit speed bumps ahead: Democraric senators just proposed a 2% tax corporate buybacks to help fund the $3.5T US budget bill.

Stories we're watching...

To boost or not to boost... With 65% of US adults fully vaxxed and Delta cases surging, President Biden hoped to start distribuiting Pfizer booster shots this week. But on Friday, scientists overwhelmingly advised the FDA not to recommend boosters for the general public - only for people 65 and older, and those at high risk. Third shots are already controversial since many countires still sin't have first shots. The FDA's final decision on boosters is expected this week, and it usually follows scientists' counsel.

Nemo's loving the WiFi... Google just completed a 3.9K mile-long undersea internet cable between the US and Europe. Since 98% of global web traffic flows through undersea cables, e-giants like Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and Huawei pay big bucks for bandwidth on shared cables. But Google's cable is Google-exclusive, and can handle more traffic than all existing cables combined. As the cloud computing boom countries, internet giants will either compete to buy more bandwidth — or to build it.

Coming up this week...

The Chipotle of homebuilding... Instead of BYOB, Lennar and KB Home help you build-your-own-home. The housing market has been #thriving since millions of Americans ditched city-living for pandmeic- friendly suburbia. Demand is still sky high, with housing inventory sitting 40-year lows. But last month, home sales dropped for the first time in over a year. We'll see if homes are still booming when Lennar and KB Home, two of American's largest homebuilders, drop earnings this week

Limited breadstick... As eager foodies return to indoor dining, restauraunts are having a hard time keeping up with demand. Supply chain and labor shortages have forced some eateries to trim menu items and shorten hours. And many small restaurant owners have seen a surge in operating costs due to rising prices (#din-flation). Last quarter, Cracker Barrel and Olive Gardern-owner Darden Restaurants said sales were almost back to pre-pandemic levels. We'll see if the rebound continued when they serve up quarterly earnings

Last week's highlights...

• Flyer: Design startup Canva notched a $40B valuation, making it the world's most valuable female-founded and female-led startup.

• Hike: House Dems proposed a $2.9T tax hike for high earners and big businesses to pay for Presidnet Biden's $3.5T social agenda.

• Juicy: Rivian became the first to bring a fully electric pickup truck to the consumer market, beating Tesla , Ford GM - Who merely unveiled prototypes.

What else we're Snackin'

• Energize: How to beat your mid-day slump, without chugging espresso.

• Mapped: The biggest companies by market cap in 60 countries.

• Elevate: Nine skills that could help you get promoted faster work.

• Step: How a simple, unstimulating walk can lead you to metaphysical truths

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The Snacks Daily Podcast

Coffee chain Dutch Bros just IPO'd to challenge Starbucks and Dunkin' on the public java market

But the Dutch secret isn't baristas — it's "Broistas." Tune in to our snackable 15-minute pod for more.

Snack Fact Of the Day

On September 22, 2021 — the first day of Fall in the Northern Hemisphere — the length of dau and night will be approximately equal at ~12 hours each. Then, days will keep getting shorter until December 21 (womp)