Year-end lists are out, and topping the NYT's best comedy roundup is Ronny Chieng, whose "Love to Hate It" on Netflix was named the best special of 2024.
Zoom in: The bit I found most impressive from his show — as someone who communicates business and economics to the public — was a two-minute joke that began with an observation of polarization in the U.S. and ended with a stream-of-consciousness rant about the effects of lower capital gains taxes, the value of the U.S. dollar and the decline of domestic manufacturing on working-class families.
Zoom out: Watching Chieng's special left me even more convinced of a thought bubble I had earlier this year about why Netflix and other streamers are investing in stand-up content:
Elon Musk, one of President-elect Trump's closest allies, railed against the bill to avert a looming government shutdown Wednesday, calling on lawmakers to strike down the stopgap measure in a series of tweets.
Why it matters: Musk's discontent is another pressure point on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as the Tesla CEO's influence has grown among MAGA-minded lawmakers.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates sky-high tariffs promised by President-elect Trump might improve the nation's fiscal outlook — but at the cost of higher inflation and slower economic growth than would otherwise be the case.
Why it matters: The nonpartisan agency's findings are the highest-profile estimates yet of how such trade policy could slam consumers, businesses and the broader economy.
Google Trends released Christmas cookie data on the most searched cookies Wednesday based on searches from Dec. 10-17. Illustration: Courtesy of Google
The most popular Christmas cookies of 2024 are a mix of classic and festive varieties, according to Google Trends data.
Why it matters: Baking or buying Christmas cookies is a longstanding holiday tradition for many families with some also leaving a plate for Santa.
Grammarly, a writing assistant valued by VCs at $13 billion, agreed to buy productivity startup Coda, with Coda's CEO Shishir Mehrotra to take that position at Grammarly.
Why it matters: Grammarly is kinda/sorta one of the earliest AI agents, founded in 2009, but faces extinction-level competition from the GenAI class. Merging with Coda helps it expand from a one-trick pony into a productivity stable.
"We got a bargain" is notusually what you hear from a venture capitalist who just committed to a $10 billion round at a $62 billion valuation.
But it's what one told me yesterday as news broke of the big Databricks round. And I heard similar sentiments throughout the day, leading up to my Axios AI+ Summit interview with company co-founder and CEO Ali Ghodsi.
Grubhub will pay a $25 million settlement after an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul alleged deceptive and unlawful business practices.
Why it matters: The settlement will require the company to make major changes and is a part of the FTC's ongoing targeting of junk fees.
Advanced nuclear group Oklo announced that it's signed an agreement to sell 12 GW of power from planned nuclear projects to data center company Switch.
Why it matters: It's one of the largest deals for clean energy to date and highlights the insatiable need for renewable electricity to power AI data centers.
Why it matters:The survey includes the views of more than 300 global public company CEOs, plus 380 institutional investors representing approximately $10 trillion of company and portfolio value.
Dallas-area rentersspent $132 more a month in 2023 if their apartment landlords used software developed by Richardson-based RealPage, according to a new analysis from the White House Council of Economic Advisers first shared with Axios.
Why it matters: U.S. renters spent an extra $3.8 billion last year because of pricing algorithms used by landlords, the analysis found.
One reason CEOs are so keen on becoming Donald Trump's new besties: The incoming president could make their profits go poof.
Why it matters: The president-elect's proposed tariffs are so high they could entirely wipe out the annual profits of some large companies, per an analysis from consulting firm PWC.
Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan are reportedly in talks about a merger in a deal that would combine two household names.
Why it matters: Nissan is urgently cutting costs, while both companies are struggling to compete on electric vehicles and in the bruising Chinese automotive market.
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