The latest French delicacy is... Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Nathan writes.
Some 500 Parisians were waiting in line Wednesday for the grand opening of France's first Krispy Kreme location, the New York Times reported.
The intrigue: French snobbery toward American fast-food chains is, apparently, a thing of the past.
Like Krispy Kreme, chains such as Popeye's, Wendy's, KFC, Starbucks and Burger King are expanding in the land of wine and cheese, where eating habits have been "influenced by a more casual younger generation and social media," the Times says.
🍩 Nathan's thought bubble: The next step toward Americanization is having Krispy Kreme donuts at weddings. That's what my cousin recently did.
A McDonald's spinoff with a focus on beverages over burgers is opening its first location this week.
Driving the news: The fast-food giant announced that the first CosMc's small-format concept restaurant will open near Chicago in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
Viewership for the fourth GOP presidential primary debate continued to fall Wednesday, with just 4.1 million Americans watching live on TV.
Yes, but: While viewership was low compared to other debates, it marked a record for the fledgling cable news network NewsNation, which only launched in 2021.
Why it matters: Despite falling consumer sentiment, Americans plan to spend an average of $975 on gifts — a $52 increase from what consumers thought in October, the survey found.
A University of Pennsylvania donor is withdrawing a gift worth around $100 million to protest the school's response to antisemitism on campus.
The big picture: The final straw for Ross Stevens, founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management, was Tuesday's widely criticized congressional testimony by Penn president Liz Magill.
Enterprise blockchain projects from the world of traditional finance usually go nowhere, but one European bank's stablecoin could flourish outside the confines of its walled garden.
Why it matters: Bank-issued stables are a big no-go in the U.S. and how to regulate it remains a point of contention for the industry and policymakers.
X owner Elon Musk called for Disney CEO Bob Iger to be fired Thursday.
The big picture: The outburst comes as a growing number of X's biggest advertisers, including Disney, paused ads on the platform after Musk backed an antisemitic conspiracy theory, leaving the company's ad business in limbo.
Elon Musk's SpaceX is reportedly approaching investors about a new tender offer that would value the private space exploration company at $175 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Why it matters: Just this past summer, it completed a tender at a $150 billion valuation.
Axios spoke to several members of the UPS communications team to better understand their strategy.
Here's what we learned:
✅ Do start laying the groundwork early, and create a narrative that seeks to cut tension, not create more.
❌ Don't be adversarial in your messaging or try to paint unionized employees as rivals.
✅ Do publicly acknowledge areas for improvement and communicate shared goals.
"Because we offer the best pay and benefits in our industry — and the fact that our industry changed since the last time that we negotiated the contract — we knew that there were areas that we needed to solve for, and we were willing to say that publicly. I think that's part of the reason we were so successful in our communication strategy," says Bowman.
Communicators are bracing for another volatile year, according to a new report from Axios HQ and Mixing Board.
Here's what communication and marketing leaders from Mixing Board, a curated communication organization with over 300 members, are saying:
Elections. Everything will feel political. Comms teams should have a playbook guiding how and when to speak about social or geopolitical matters.
The rise of AI. Communicators must help implement, set guardrails and be able to explain how AI impacts corporate strategy.
Employee needs. Labor battles will continue in 2024, and communicators can serve as the connective tissue across an organization by evaluating communication channels, incorporating a strong feedback loop and empowering middle managers.
From overseeing big brand and celebrity partnerships to managing the environmental impact of the world's largest beverage distributor, Beatriz Perez plays a key role in crafting the story of Coca-Cola.
Why it matters: As chief communications, sustainability and strategic partnerships officer, Perez is a prime example of how the role of communications and marketing has become more elevated.
Autoworkers at the only Volkswagen plant in the U.S. have launched a voluntary organizing committee in coordination with the UAW — the first step toward officially joining the union, workers exclusively tell Axios.
Why it matters: The UAW recently launched a bid to organize 13 non-unionized automakers in the U.S., aiming to build on its momentum after winning record contracts following a strike at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.
Wall Street may be home to the most sophisticated and high-tech financial machinery in the world — but if you want to buy some bonds, you often have to call up an actual human on the phone.
Why it matters: That's finally starting to change. Electronic trading has surged over the last four years in the corporate bond market, accelerated by the work-from-home disruption of the COVID era.
About 750 Washington Post staffers walked off the job Thursday in a historic 24-hour strike.
Why it matters: It is one of the biggest labor strikes in D.C. in recent memory, and Posties are asking readers to not cross the picket line; in other words, to not read or engage with any Post content.
Facebook is rolling out default end-to-end encryption for personal messages and calls across the platform and on Messenger, the company announced Wednesday night.
Why it matters: The full encryption service that will extend to Instagram at a date to be determined is a win for privacy advocates who've urged tech companies to adopt the practice to protect consumers, but Meta has previously faced pushback from law enforcement and other agencies over the move.
Days after a data breach allowed hackers to steal 6.9 million 23andMe users' personal details, the genetic testing company changed its terms of service to prevent customers from formally suing the firm or pursuing class-action lawsuits against it.
Why it matters: It's unclear if 23andMe is attempting to retroactively shield itself from lawsuits alleging it acted negligently.
Twitter's former global head of information security accused X in a lawsuit Wednesday of wrongly firing him for raising concerns about Musk's budget cuts following the Elon Musk-led takeover.
The big picture: Lawyers for Alan Rosa allege that Musk hired an adviser who "began cutting Twitter's products and services that supported and complied with" an FTC consent decree and that both Musk and the advisor were "dismissive" of it and the company's obligations to it.
