Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) turned down a chance to be the top Democrat on a new subcommittee on cryptocurrency under the Senate Banking Committee, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The next Congress will likely play a key role in shaping U.S. policy on cryptocurrency, and Senate Democrats need to find a member to be on the frontline of those battles.
Bleacher Report, the 20-year-old digital sports brand, has signed a multi-year deal with the NFL that provides it with official game footage to use across social channels and owned-and-operated platforms, executives told Axios.
Why it matters: The deal speaks to parent Warner Bros. Discovery's commitment to live sports — and the appeal of Bleacher Report, one of the largest sports media brands on social media, to the NFL.
Character.AI, a personalized AI chatbot developer, has hired media veteran David Brinker to build partnerships that will bring its chatbot characters to life.
Why it matters: Character.AI says what differentiates it from other chatbot startups is its focus on helping users create personalized characters and build stories and engagement around them. Media partnerships will be critical to expanding its user base and advancing its business.
Down Detector, an online database that logs tech outages, reported that over 2,000 people had reported issues with Capital One banking by 8 a.m. Thursday morning.
What's they're saying: A "technical issue experienced by a third-party vendor" was responsible for the outage, a Capital One spokesperson told Axios.
"Some account services, deposits, and payment processing for portions of our consumer, small business, and commercial bank have been temporarily impacted," the spokesperson said. "We are actively working with the vendor to resolve the issue and apologize to our customers for this inconvenience."
As senior vice president of corporate affairs at Danone North America, Gemma Hart is responsible for "being a translator and the connector," she told Axios.
Why it matters: Hart's team is focused on proving how its reputational work feeds into the business strategy and generates value.
Why it matters: The surprising strength of the consumer kept the U.S. economy chugging along in 2024. The question is whether consumers become increasingly hesitant to ramp up spending, a risk for economic growth.
The CEO of the company whose insurance leader was killed in New York pledged to help fix the health care industry while also defending his business and blaming pharmaceutical companies for driving up healthcare costs with drug prices.
The big picture: UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty spoke at length Thursday about the brazen public shooting of Brian Thompson — who led the UnitedHealthcare division — and the company's role in the industry.
Dotdash Meredith, one of the largest media publishers in the U.S., is laying off 143 people, CEO Neil Vogel said in an employee memo obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: It comes on the heels of a smaller staff reduction last year. The cuts are meant to position the company to invest in growth areas, Vogel said.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday proposed a 100% tax on foreign-bought homes to help address the country's housing crisis.
Why it matters: The tax would apply to all homes that non-EU residents purchase, a figure that's grown substantially over the past few years, Sanchez said.
The owner of UnitedHealthcare reported record full-year revenue but lower profits for 2024, just weeks after the brazen killing of a top executive inflamed the national ire against insurance companies.
Why it matters: It's the first earnings report for UnitedHealth Group since Brian Thompson's killing in early December sparked a national conversation about the U.S. health care industry's profits and coverage denials.
America's top business lobby has a three-part wishlist for the incoming Trump administration: Roll back many Biden-era regulations, extend pro-growth tax provisions, and stay away from sweeping tariffs.
The big picture: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is rolling out its annual "State of American Business" program on Thursday, focused on what its leaders call "make or break" policies to supercharge economic growth.
CEOs are enjoying a hot speech winter, one where speaking out in outrageous ways carries no cost.
Why it matters: While CEOs of old would generally wield their power and authority with judiciousness and restraint, a new breed appears to be reveling in the fact that Donald Trump has ripped off those fetters.
Big corporate donors to President-elect Trump's inaugural committee could soon find themselves in the crosshairs of his trade policy.
Why it matters: Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Stanley Black & Decker and Apple's Tim Cook all have written seven-figure checks for Trump's inauguration, which is on track to outraise his first ceremony in 2017 and President Biden's in 2021.
President-elect Trump will move to "preserve" TikTok, said his pick for national security adviser, Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), on Wednesday — as a potential nationwide ban looms.
The big picture: It's not immediately clear what action Trump could take if the U.S. Supreme Court were to uphold a bipartisan law that would, unless sold to a U.S. firm, ban the popular video app that's owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
Tim Berry, global head of corporate responsibility at JPMorganChase, dives into the firm's community impact model — why it's important, how it took shape and what's ahead.
For more than 225 years, JPMorganChase has served as an engine of the economy and champion of opportunity in local communities around the globe.
In 2013, JPMorganChase made a historic investment in Detroit's comeback, which reached $200 million in 2022.
Why it's important: This investment — which includes philanthropic capital, skilled volunteerism, low-cost loans and equity investments — has become a model for how the firm uses the breadth of its capabilities and depth of experience to help communities around the world spark long-term, self-sustaining economic growth.
Hundreds of staffers at the Washington Post sent a letter to the newspaper's owner, Jeff Bezos, on Wednesday urging him to meet with newsroom leaders amid a confidence crisis with the leadership.
Why it matters: It's the most drastic step staffers have taken to address the myriad challenges facing the Post over the past year.
President Biden in his farewell address to the nation on Wednesday took aim at Big Tech and warned of "dangerous consequences" if a "concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people" goes unchecked.
Southwest Airlines is being sued and Frontier Airlines fined over chronic flight delays by the Department of Transportation, the DOT announced Wednesday.
Why it matters: Wednesday's announcement by the outgoing Biden administration's Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, comes days after the DOT fined JetBlue $2 million for chronic flight delays — the first time such a penalty had been imposed on an airline.
