Corporate America is poised to get more reclusive following the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, shielding their executives from the spotlight based on concerns over physical and digital threats.
The big picture: Thompson's murder illustrates the serious dangers facing business leaders who find themselves regularly enveloped in public scorn over their company's actions.
Retired Army Gen. Paul Nakasone, the former head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, is joining the board of WitnessAI.
Why it matters: This is now the second AI company board that Nakasone has joined since leaving his government role in February. In June, he also joined OpenAI's board.
Target is discounting one of the most popular holiday gifts — gift cards — this weekend.
Why it matters:Gift cards are expected to be a top gift with total spending projected to reach $28.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey.
If you want to outperform the average billionaire, you might try just sticking all your money into an S&P 500 index fund.
Why it matters: While it's true that the ultra-rich have been been getting richer in recent years, even they haven't been able to keep up with the torrid pace set by the U.S. stock market.
President-elect Trump has assembled an administration of unprecedented, mind-boggling wealth — smashing his own first-term record by billions of dollars.
That's even without counting the ballooning fortunes of his prized outside adviser and the world's richest man: Elon Musk.
Why it matters: It's not hyperbole to call this a government of billionaires. Whether it acts as a government for billionaires — as Democrats argue is inevitable — could test and potentially tarnish Trump's populist legacy.
Elon Musk bank-rolled a PAC that sought to link the now-President elect Trump's views on abortion with those of the late liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, according to new campaign filings.
The big picture: Musk, who will co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the incoming adminstration, spent more than $250 million in total in donations to Trump's presidential campaign, per the New York Times.
Nearly 36 hours since Thompson was killed on a New York City sidewalk, investigators are still working to find the shooter.
The latest: The NYPD released new photos of a person of interest in the case.
They've lifted a fingerprint from a discarded water bottle and have a burner phone believed to have been dropped by the shooter, CNN reported.
And investigators carried out a warrant on a hostel on Manhattan's Upper West Side in connection with the investigation, according to multiple reports.
What they've found: Police say shell casings found at the scene of the murder were inscribed with words including "delay" and "deny" — "possible references to ways that health insurance companies seek to avoid paying patients' claims," NYT reported.
A major health insurance company is backing off of a controversial plan to limit coverage of anesthesia, according to public officials.
Why it matters: Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield recently decided to "no longer pay for anesthesia care if the surgery or procedure goes beyond an arbitrary time limit, regardless of how long the surgical procedure takes," according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists, which opposed the decision.
Elon Musk overwhelmingly tops a list of the most read-about businesspeople of the year, according to data from Taboola shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: It's little surprise given the way Musk has come to dominate industry, the media and politics — but the magnitude of the gap between him and anyone else is still eye-popping.
Project Liberty, founded by billionaire Frank McCourt, has pulled together participants for a consortium of investors interested in pursuing a "peoples bid" for TikTok, McCourt told Axios.
Why it matters: A U.S. court has until January 19 to decide whether TikTok should be banned if it does not find a U.S. buyer.
A collective of public relations agencies best known for supporting tech clients like OpenAI, Coinbase, Google and Amazon is looking to revolutionize industry standards by ditching empty impression metrics for hard readership numbers instead.
Why it matters: PR professionals have long relied on metrics that do little to show the true impact, reach and value of earned media.
This giving season, companies are working to reclaim popular impact campaigns hoping that their affiliation will create a halo effect in the minds of consumers.
Why it matters: Communicators face the challenge of ensuring consumers know which brands are behind campaigns, without seeming too self-congratulatory.
Two private equity firms aided and abetted "egregious breaches" of fiduciary duty, a Delaware Chancery Court judge ruled earlier this week. And it could take a big bite out of their fund returns.
Why it matters: The judge's remedy is novel, and could become a blueprint for other courts.
Palantir, a 21-year-old technology company that's been public for four years, is suddenly being valued as though it's a fast-growing startup.
Why it matters: Palantir's most recent earnings report came out the day before Donald Trump won the presidency. The two events have helped to propel the stock to record highs.
The big picture: Spotify has been making investments in AI as it anticipates its first full profitable year yet, a testament to its cost-cutting efforts, which has included layoffs, and its push to grow paid memberships.
Axios HQ — the internal communications software company that spun off from Axios Media in 2022 — has purchased the communications membership organization Mixing Board, its first acquisition since its founding in 2021.
Why it matters: Membership groups are trending as the communications field has evolved and practitioners look for ways to hone their craft and find community.
