🤷‍♂️ 1 big thing: Venture investors undeterred 

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📉 2. Coinbase crumbles

Top coins

🏄‍♂️ 3. Catch up quick 

⏳ 4. Culture hash: Can't stop, won't stop

Hello. Pete steering the ship again today, with Brady back at the wheel tomorrow.

🚨 Situational awareness: Yesterday we covered TerraUSD, the algorithmic stablecoin, breaking from its $1 peg and sinking as low as $0.69. Things got worse today, seeing it briefly below $0.24.

This newsletter was edited by Pete Gannon. It is 1,025 words, a 4-minute read.

Crypto

green

Follow how cryptocurrency and blockchain are upending markets and the regulatory shifts. With Brady Dale.

Axios Crypto

Standard

1 big thing: Companies face abortion test

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2. Bonus Chart: States with abortion bans

3. What's happening

4. Worker exodus continues

5. Love for teachers

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6. What they're saying

🙏🏻 Welcome back! It's National Teacher Appreciation Day, so each of us here at Closer wants to reflect on the educators who helped shape our lives. But first, we look at how the future of abortion rights may pressure all companies to respond. 

Today's newsletter, edited by Pete Gannon, is 693 words, a 2½-minute read.

🔔 The dashboard: The S&P 500 closed up 0.5%.

Biggest gainer? Western Digital (+14.5%), after an activist investor publicly pushed the company to split off its flash-memory business.

Biggest decliner? Rockwell Automation (-14.5%), after missing expectations in the second quarter and cutting its earnings outlook.

Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing today's (and every day's) newsletter.

Closer

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Catch up on the day's biggest business stories and look ahead to important trends. Led by Hope King and Nathan Bomey.

Axios Closer

😡 1 big thing: Multiplying risks

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💰 2. Charted: Driving the NFT market 

👋 3. He's back

🚴 4. Catch up quick

Top Coins

🧐 5. Culture hash

☕️ Good morning! It's Pete here. Brady is catching his breath until Thursday. But don't worry, we're all over this. Today we're talking fraud schemes, what's driving the NFT market, and the return of a name you know.

This newsletter was edited by Pete Gannon. It is 1,100 words, a 4-minute read.

🤭 1 big thing: Crypto's slide may get even uglier

An illustration of digital coins in an arrow pointing down.

📉 2. TerraUSD's hangover

🤝 3. Regulated crypto swaps

Illustration of a hundred dollar bill in the shape of a Rubik's cube

🏃‍♂️4. Catch up quick

🤣 5. Culture Hash: LOL 

🤭 Yesterday was not fun for investors. It's Pete again, and today we get into what is going on in markets, and, specifically, how crypto is getting caught in a broad flight from risk.

Brady will be back with you Thursday. But keep the emails coming: crypto@axios.com.

This newsletter was edited by Pete Gannon. It is 980 words, a 3.5-minute read.

National

The price of pasta is being served uncomfortably al dente, triggering official crisis meetings in Italy and hitting American consumers on already inflated grocery bills.  

Why it matters: The skyrocketing price of pasta is a perfect case study in what drives inflation — involving rising commodity costs, rocky supply chains and accusations of excessive corporate profit-taking.

It also shows how difficult it is to pinpoint which causes are actually to blame.

Driving the news: Earlier this month Italy's government convened a crisis meeting to diagnose why pasta prices had spiked more than 2x the country's rate of inflation.

A spokesperson for Unione Italiana Food told CNN earlier this month that rising input, packaging and logistics costs were to blame.

Critics of the price surges have pointed to the fact that the cost of durum wheat has decreased, a fact that producers have attributed to a lag in when those decreased input costs actually show up in finished products.

Zoom in: The issue is having an outsized impact on food costs in Italy, as the average Italian consumes about 51 pounds of pasta each year, more than double that of Americans.

"Unlike Italy which has a strong connection to pasta or Mexico, where corn tortillas are a key staple, the U.S. doesn't have one defining staple food," David Ortega, a food economist and associate professor at Michigan State University, told NPR.

Yes, but: The price spikes in pasta are still being felt in the U.S.

By the numbers: Prices of spaghetti and macaroni in the county hit a record high in February of $1.486 per pound, federal data shows.

The April 2023 price dropped to $1.461, the data showed.

The combined category of rice, pasta and cornmeal increased 10.3% in the last 12 months through April, according to the latest Consumer Price Index.

State of play: Following its investigation, the crisis commission in Italy said there were early signs of a softening in prices while predicting costs would drop "significantly" in the coming months.

Meanwhile, U.S. pasta prices may keep rising, Curt Covington, senior director of institutional business at AgAmerica, told Axios.

Rising production costs, natural disaster events and inflation across the supply chain are adding pressure on pasta supplies at the retail level, Covington said.

"I don’t expect us to see COVID-era shortages where shelves were empty, but it may be more difficult and more expensive to purchase,” Covington said.

Pasta prices are up in U.S. but not like Italy crisis

The price of pasta is being served uncomfortably al dente.

Photo: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Food

Retail

The price of pasta is being served uncomfortably al dente, triggering official crisis meetings in Italy and hitting <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="American consumers" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/22/inflation-shades-financial-well-being" data-vars-content-id="0b2991a7-ef86-41ce-8277-68edf89147cd" data-vars-headline="Pasta prices are up in U.S. but not like Italy crisis" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/22/inflation-shades-financial-well-being" target="_self">American consumers</a> on already inflated grocery bills. Why it matters: The skyrocketing price of pasta is a perfect case study in what drives inflation — involving rising commodity costs, rocky supply chains and accusations of excessive corporate profit-taking.

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

President Biden Wednesday said he was confident the U.S. government would avoid a debt default, expressing a dose of optimism for a deal with Republicans as the U.S. closes in on its self-imposed debt ceiling.

Why it matters: The down-to-the-wire negotiations are unsettling investors already struggling to grapple with higher interest rates and an economic slowdown. An actual default could hammer sentiment and raise the risks to the global economy. 

State of play: No agreement is expected before Sunday when Biden plans to return early from a previously scheduled trip abroad. That would be less than two weeks from the so-called "X-date," when the government could run out of money, currently forecast for June 1.

Zoom in: The president met Tuesday with leaders of both the House and the Senate, which Biden characterized as "productive, civil and respectful."

"This negotiation is about the outlines of what a budget will look like, not about whether or not we're going to, in fact, pay our debts," Biden said at a White House briefing Wednesday.

What others are saying: “I think at the end of the day, we do not have a debt default,” Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told CNBC Wednesday morning.

The latest: Biden and McCarthy have appointed senior staff to continue talks over the next several days.

"We narrowed the group to meet and hammer out our differences," Biden said.

Zoom out: Stocks traded up following the remarks, with the S&P 500 up over 1% in afternoon trading. 

Biden, McCarthy confident U.S. will avoid default

Leaders negotiate outlines of a budget deal as the June 1 debt ceiling looms.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris sit with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in the Oval Office of the White House.

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and  Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in the Oval Office on Tuesday. Photo: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Debt ceiling

President Biden Wednesday said he was confident the U.S. government would avoid a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="debt default" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/16/biden-backlash-left-debt-ceiling-talks" data-vars-content-id="30c6de54-db27-47ca-9079-08ebcbf916dd" data-vars-headline="Biden, McCarthy confident U.S. will avoid default" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/16/biden-backlash-left-debt-ceiling-talks" target="_self">debt default</a>, expressing a dose of optimism for a deal with Republicans as the U.S. closes in on its self-imposed debt ceiling.Why it matters: The down-to-the-wire negotiations are unsettling investors already struggling to grapple with higher interest rates and an economic slowdown. An actual default could hammer sentiment and raise the risks to the global economy.

Pride Month has arrived, but the feeling of celebration may not be extending inside America's corporations where it matters most.

Why it matters: Forty-five percent of employed LGBTQ+ Americans feel being “out” at work could hurt their careers, the number dropping only two percentage points over the past four years, according to a new survey commissioned by Glassdoor.

A separate report by SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, says a quarter of LGBTQ+ workers surveyed said they do not feel they are treated fairly at work.

Two in five LGBTQ+ workers told SHRM they have not disclosed their identity at work. Of that group, 20% say they believe doing so would prevent them from being promoted.

The big picture: The employee surveys coincide with an uptick of pressure on corporations for promoting LGBTQ+ causes, messages and products.

Target last month reported violent confrontations between staff and customers over its Pride product offerings.

Reality check: But headlines like these miss a more subtle climate of unease felt by many workers inside their own workplaces 12 months out of the year.

Zoom in: Among those LGBTQ+ employees surveyed by Glassdoor, 55% report having experienced or witnessed anti-LGBTQ+ comments by co-workers — up from the 53% that reported the same in Glassdoor's 2019 survey.

The findings are largely square with SHRM, which reported that half of those LGBTQ+ who have not disclosed their identities at work cited "fear that people would talk behind their back" as the reason.

Meanwhile, significantly fewer LGBTQ+ workers perceive their company as having equitable representation at all levels (71%) compared to non-LGBTQ+ workers (78%), SHRM found.

What they're saying: SHRM noted that 71% LGBTQ+ workers it surveyed feel included in their workgroups, and said its research shows that "organizations are making headway."

"However, we have plenty of room for improvement," said Alex Alonso, SHRM-SCP, chief knowledge officer for SHRM. "Just hiring LGBTQIA+ individuals to maintain diversity isn't sustainable without a culture of inclusion that truly welcomes all individuals for who they are."

Pride absent for many LGBTQ+ Americans inside workplaces

Forty-five percent of employed LGBTQ+ Americans feel being “out” at work could hurt their careers, Glassdoor found.

Illustration of the shape of a briefcase revealing a rainbow flag.

Pride Month

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Pride Month" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/01/pride-month-target-bud-light-backlash-commitment" data-vars-content-id="486bd517-0cfb-42a1-b1ff-7bf4f276aa5c" data-vars-headline="Pride absent for many LGBTQ+ Americans inside workplaces" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/06/01/pride-month-target-bud-light-backlash-commitment" target="_self">Pride Month</a> has arrived, but the feeling of celebration may not be extending inside America&#x27;s corporations where it matters most.Why it matters: Forty-five percent of employed LGBTQ+ Americans feel being “out” at work could hurt their careers, the number dropping only two percentage points over the past four years, according to a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new survey" data-vars-click-url="https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/progress-on-lgbtq-support-at-work/" data-vars-content-id="486bd517-0cfb-42a1-b1ff-7bf4f276aa5c" data-vars-headline="Pride absent for many LGBTQ+ Americans inside workplaces" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/progress-on-lgbtq-support-at-work/" target="_blank">new survey</a> commissioned by Glassdoor.

Grindr expects to be operating with significantly fewer employees in the near term.

Why it matters: What the company is billing as a repercussion of a strict return-to-office mandate, a union is calling an unlawful attempt to silence workers.

Driving the news: The Communications Workers of America Wednesday said roughly 80 of Grindr's 178 workers were forced to resign on Aug. 31, less than a month after the company said they'd have to return to offices two days a week.

According to the CWA, Grindr workers announced a unionization on July 20, which they say prompted the company's RTO mandate.

The union Wednesday filed an additional Unfair Labor Practice charge against Grindr management — it had previously filed one on August 6 — on behalf of the members of Grindr United-CWA.

State of play: Grindr CEO George Arison, meanwhile, said the company was prepared for the exodus.

"The team will be smaller than where we were before and where we want to be," he said at an industry conference this week, per Bloomberg.

He said it also shows the leverage a business like Grindr possesses, as "you don't need that big of a team to do the things that we need to do."

Of note: Grindr, an LGBTQ+ dating app, went public last year in a SPAC deal.

Go deeper: Companies get aggressive on return-to-office

Grindr's controversial RTO policy causes employee exodus

Union says return-to-office policy is an unlawful attempt to silence workers.

Photo Illustration: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Labor unions

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Grindr" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/20/grindr-ipo-stock-booms" data-vars-content-id="524b2207-f591-4c46-a493-f26bb29806d3" data-vars-headline="Grindr&#x27;s controversial RTO policy causes employee exodus" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/20/grindr-ipo-stock-booms" target="_self">Grindr</a> expects to be operating with significantly fewer employees in the near term.Why it matters: What the company is billing as a repercussion of a strict return-to-office mandate, a union is calling an unlawful attempt to silence workers.

Major League Soccer has been around for a quarter century, but the red-hot media race for U.S. professional sports rights is fueling its new future, today.

Why it matters: Apple is going all-in, deploying money and a content strategy in an innovative bet that the world’s most popular game can finally make a dent domestically.

Zoom in: Apple’s push goes far beyond the 10-year rights deal it signed last year to stream MLS games in a subscription package on Apple TV+, for which will pay the league no less than $2.5 billion.

The tech giant is also right in the middle of Wednesday's shocking news that Lionel Messi — one of the world’s most popular players — intends to leave Europe to play for MLS club Inter Miami.

Between the lines: Apple will reportedly pay Messi a cut of revenue from new subscriptions to its MLS Season Pass — compensation on top of his team salary and another profit-share arrangement from league partner Adidas.

Front Office Sports called the arrangement from a league-level media sponsor "unprecedented."

Meanwhile, Apple's content strategy for the league doesn't stop with its game streaming, as it also offers short features on players and teams, game previews and weekly analysis.

And on Tuesday it announced a new four-part Apple TV+ documentary series on Messi, produced by SMUGGLER Entertainment.

Be smart: The company will look to capture the same ratings magic that a similar docu-series’ from Netflix has done for F1, another global sport with a niche U.S. following.

"Formula 1: Drive to Survive," now in its fifth season, has been credited with boosting live F1 race viewership on ABC and ESPN networks, according to The Athletic.

The impact: Rumors of Messi's move to Miami already sent MLS ticket prices soaring in the secondary market.

The bottom line: Apple doesn’t share specific subscription numbers, but Eddy Cue, its senior vice president of services, told media last week that MLS Season Pass was already “doing much better than we had forecasted” in its first year, before possibly hinting at what was to come.

“I’m very proud and happy with what we’ve accomplished so far, but I am sure that the best is yet to come.”

Apple making huge push to fuel U.S. soccer bet

It's reported role in the Lionel Messi deal highlights an innovative strategy to boost the sport's following in the U.S.

Apple

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Major League Soccer" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/27/mls-franchise-expansion-san-diego" data-vars-content-id="c43ae305-6dcc-4f55-8cfa-61014cea586a" data-vars-headline="Apple making huge push to fuel U.S. soccer bet" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/27/mls-franchise-expansion-san-diego" target="_self">Major League Soccer</a> has been around for a quarter century, but the red-hot media race for U.S. professional sports rights is fueling its new future, today.Why it matters: Apple is going all-in, deploying money and a content strategy in an innovative bet that the world’s most popular game can finally make a dent domestically.

Shifts in technology and media are changing the way we play, watch and understand sports. Business models are adapting and social change is forcing those in charge of teams and leagues to reconsider decades-old practices.

Pete Gannon

Stories

Grindr's controversial RTO policy causes employee exodus

Apple making huge push to fuel U.S. soccer bet

Pride absent for many LGBTQ+ Americans inside workplaces

Pasta prices are up in U.S. but not like Italy crisis

Biden, McCarthy confident U.S. will avoid default

Newsletter editions

🤦‍♂️ Pain

🤭 Monday's bloodbath

😈 The dark side

⚖️ Supreme pressure