McDonald’s does breakfast. Mcdonald’s does lunch. McDonald’s does dinner. But what about all the time in between? Don’t worry, my man CosMc has got your back.

The lowdown

• 🔇 Spotify’s CFO announces his departure days after mass layoffs.

• 📉 Japan’s economy contracted more sharply than first thought in Q3.

• 📈 The US payrolls report is expected to show a reacceleration in job growth.

Featured story

McDonald’s to open first CosMc’s spinoff restaurant

McDonald’s is opening its first spin-off restaurant this week, as it trials a new concept to take on Starbucks. CosMc’s, named after an alien character that appeared in McDonald’s commercials in the 1980s and 90s, will sell cold beverages including flavored ice teas and slushes. It’ll also offer some McDonald’s menu items, such as the McMuffin.

The first CosMc’s will open in Bolingbrook, Illinois, this week. McDonald’s aims to follow that up with another 10 pilot stores in Texas by the end of next year.

The spin-off is part of efforts to solve the “3pm slump”, when McDonald’s gets fewer customers between lunch and dinner. It comes alongside big McDonald’s expansion plans. This week the chain outlined plans to open about 10,000 new stores worldwide by 2027, and speed up the digitizing of its business.

The content we're consuming today

• WSJ: What your friends can teach you about money ($)

• Bloomberg: How the biggest boutique fitness company turned suburban moms into bankrupt franchisees ($)

• CNN: ‘Yellowstone’ creator and actor battle over coffee company’s logo

Off-balance sheet items

• Incredibly, it’s someone’s job to learn how to understand whale language. Even more incredibly, they’ve made a bit of a breakthrough.

The bottom line