There was no Top 10 list, but David Letterman on Monday still made his long-awaited return to the Ed Sullivan Theater, Nathan writes.
Catch up quick: The comedian made his first appearance on his successor Stephen Colbert's version of "The Late Show" since departing in 2015, generating thunderous applause and chants of his name.
At one point, Colbert switched seats with Letterman, who then sat behind the host's desk, just like old times.
"What do you think of my supplies?" Colbert asked, pointing to his stash below the desk. "Is that anything like what you had over there?"
Scott Shleifer is stepping down as head of private equity at Tiger Global, one of the driving forces behind the tech "unicorn" boom, Axios has learned.
Details: Shleifer will remain a senior advisor to Tiger, which was founded to manage hedge funds, while firm founder Chase Coleman will assume the chairman role on a new private equity investment committee.
Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, founder and CEO crypto exchange Binance, agreed to step down and plead guilty as part of a $4.3 billion settlement agreement involving U.S. criminal and civil charges against him and his company.
Why it matters: Binance is the world's largest crypto exchange, and CZ the most powerful player in the industry — even before SBF.
Most Federal Reserve officials continue to see upside risks to the U.S.'s battle against inflation but suggested a more cautious stance on raising borrowing costs further, according to newly released minutes from the central bank's most recent policy meeting.
Why it matters: The minutes from the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 meeting, where officials decided to hold interest rates steady, said Fed officials agreed to "proceed carefully" with future interest rate decisions as they look to wind down their rate-hiking campaign.
The OpenAI saga appears to be in a holding pattern, although the smart money remains on Sam Altman and Greg Brockman returning to the company instead of becoming official parts of the Bellevue borg.
Why it matters: This episode is highlighting how corporate governance matters. A lot. And how too many venture capitalists have either ignored it or downplayed it in favor of FOMO.
For a glimpse of how the Fed's rate hikes are roiling the finances of some American companies, look to the private credit markets.
The big picture: A growing share of U.S. companies borrow money in the trillion-dollar private credit market, where the debt is floating-rate, meaning interest payments go up as benchmark rates rise.
Austin Russell, the 28-year-old CEO of electric vehicle company Luminar Technologies, is no longer buying Forbes, the company’s CEO told staff in a statement Tuesday.
Why it matters: Russell’s bid has been on shaky ground ever since he announced a deal to buy the company in May. His failure to close the deal means Forbes will now need to go through another process to find a buyer, which could prolong its sale ever further.
Two partners of RedBird Capital Partners have left to launch their own private equity firms, one focused on pro sports team rights and the other on energy, Axios has learned.
Behind the scenes: The moves come after the nine-year-old firm decided to stop focusing on both areas.
Alex Rodriguez and Marc Loreare working toward a deal whereby private equity giant Carlyle Group would invest in their purchase of the Minnesota Timberwolves NBA franchise and Minnesota Lynx WNBA franchise, Axios has learned from several sources.
Why it matters: This would settle down widespread speculation that the pair's financing might not come together, and reflects the ever-climbing values of pro sports clubs.
Corporate America roared back into growth mode last quarter.
Why it matters: Better-than-expected numbers from third-quarter earnings season — which unofficially ended with Walmart's results last Thursday — helped lift stocks sharply this month.
The chaos at OpenAI in the wake of CEO Sam Altman's abrupt firing is no mere boardroom drama — it's a fight for the future of AI.
Why it matters: OpenAI and its ChatGPT product ignited the boom in AI, the most important new technology since the advent of the internet — and now the company is essentially up for grabs.
Austin Russell, the 28-year-old CEO of electric vehicle company Luminar Technologies, is trying to replace hundreds of millions of dollars for his bid to buy Forbes, sources close to the deal told Axios.
What's happening: Russell was blindsided by Indian investment firm Sun Group and others who didn't wire the money they were contractually obligated to send on the day the deal was supposed to close, per the sources.
Mariah Carey might not be the queen of the holiday charts after all.
The big picture: Carey's ubiquitous "All I Want for Christmas is You" is only the second most-played Christmas hit, according to Spotify, trailing Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."
Elon Musk's X Corp. sued Media Matters for America for defamation on Monday after the left-leaning nonprofit released a report on ads on X running next to pro-Nazi content and helped trigger an advertiser exodus.
Driving the news: The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Fort Worth Division, alleged the organization's tactics were manipulative and deceptive.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday filed charges against crypto company Kraken for operating what it says is an unregistered securities exchange, clearing agency and broker.
Why it matters: This is the latest high-profile move by the regulatory agency in its quest to reign in what it sees as crypto companies running amok with securities law.
