More than 98% of Costco shareholders voted down an anti-DEI proposal Thursday at the company's annual shareholders meeting, according to the preliminary vote results.
Why it matters: Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts are falling out of favor and coming under legal scrutiny with President Trump's return to the White House, Axios' Emily Peck reports.
JPMorgan Chase, responding to a flood of demand from clients, has hired a longtime national security official to launch a geopolitical advisory unit to advise clients and government leaders around the world, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Inquiries have surged with the start of the second Trump administration. But industry officials tell us this isn't just a Trump thing: Over the past few years, business leaders have been caught up in global uncertainty driven by foreign ownership, TikTok, tariffs and more.
Walmart is increasing pay, bonus and stock awards for market managers that can bring their total annual compensation to more than $600,000, the retailer told Axios Thursday.
Why it matters: It's the latest move by the nation's largest private employer and retailer to retain and reward employees.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday establishing a crypto working group to be led by David Sacks, the administration's AI and crypto czar, but he did not create a bitcoin stockpile — yet.
Why it matters: The order charges the team, which will include the Treasury secretary, attorney general and head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, with coming up with an overal federal strategy for regulating crypto assets and stablecoins.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned Elon Musk for making a series of Nazi-related jokes on X, calling it "inappropriate and offensive to make light" of the "singularly evil" Holocaust.
Why it matters: Just days earlier, the ADL had defended Musk over an awkward hand gesture he made during an inauguration event that drew comparisons to a Nazi salute — saying "all sides should give one another a bit of grace."
CEOs across industries— from pharma to tech to banking — are committed to working with President Trump's new administration and are seeing very little internal pushback.
Why it matters: This is a dramatic shift from the employee activism seen during the tail end of the first Trump administration.
The new Senate subcommittee focused on the blockchain world will be led by two solidly pro-crypto legislators: Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R.-Wyo.) will chair while Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) will serve as its ranking member.
Why it matters: Gallego had the backing of Fairshake and its affiliated pro-crypto PACs. His appointment is a win for the industry and puts an ally in a key gatekeeping position.
CNN CEO Mark Thompson on Thursday announced sweeping cuts impacting around 6% of the company's workforce.
The news came alongside several new developments, including a cross-device streaming strategy, a digital transformation roadmap, and new business goals.
Why it matters: Like most cable networks, CNN faces challenges in growing its business in the digital era. Corporate mergers and a hyper-partisan political environment have also complicated its efforts.
Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, agrees with the business optimism running rampant in Davos this week, with the prospect of reduced regulation energizing attendees.
What he's saying: Inflation and interest rate decreases were getting "overwhelmed" by new rules from the Biden administration, Moynihan told Axios' Courtenay Brown and Mike Allen.
President Trump said in a virtual address at the World Economic Forum on Thursday that he will mandate the Federal Reserve lower interest rates imminently, a threat that undermines the Federal Reserve's political independence.
Why it matters: In his first major speech since the inauguration, Trump re-upped pressure on the central bank — a frequent feature of his first term, though it had previously been rare for presidents to comment on Fed policy.
Two new data points suggest that President Trump's meme coin attracted lots of new people to cryptocurrency — and while plenty made money, it's not clear how much profit is left to be had.
Data: Redfin; Note: Data assumes homebuyer spends no more than 30% of income on monthly mortgage payment; Chart: Axios Visuals
You need to earn roughly $103,000 a year to afford a median-priced home in Houston without spending more than 30% of your income, according to a recent Redfin report.
Why it matters: Houston saw a slight improvement from 2023 to 2024 in affordability among the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas, per the report, but it's still expensive to live here.
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, standing behind a podium bearing the Seal of the President of the United States, on Monday twice gave what scholars, journalists and rights groups said was a Hitlergruß, or Nazi salute.
It doesn't seem to have done him (or his company Tesla) any visible harm.
Why it matters: Musk shrugged off accusations of Nazi symbolism as "dirty tricks," laughingly thanking the Anti Defamation League after they said it was merely "an awkward gesture."
President Trump's sweeping executive order revoking decades of federal diversity and affirmative action practices — and potentially making private sector DEI programs illegal — augurs a fundamental change in the way American government and companies do business.
Why it matters: It builds on the anti-DEI activist pressure of recent years, and could pave the way for a world where the government prosecutes, not protects, corporate diversity efforts.
President Trump's order to revoke what he calls the "EV mandate" gives automakers a welcome reprieve from regulatory hurdles — but could make it harder for them to compete on a global scale with Chinese rivals.
Why it matters: The rise of lower-cost Chinese manufacturers is an existential threat to U.S. car companies that are already in the midst of a once-in-a-century transformation.
You need to earn roughly $104,000 a year to afford a median-priced home in the Tampa metro area, according to a recent Redfin report.
The big picture: The national figure, $117,000 a year, marks a new high going back to 2012 and is $33,000 more than the median household income in the U.S., which is around $84,000, per Redfin's analysis.
A docu-soap about Miami socialites, a new star-studded "Star Trek" film and the final season of "Harlem" are among the top new offerings this week on Netflix, Paramount+, Prime Video and Apple TV+.
State of play: The women connected to some of the most high-profile celebrities in Miami (including Chad Johnson, Rick Ross, Kodak Black and Tyreek Hill) are at the center of this new reality series.
OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and the UAE's MGX on unveiled a company on Tuesday that plans to invest $500 billion in AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the U.S.
Why it matters: SoftBank is doubling down on its OpenAI bet, and it reduces OpenAI's reliance on the infrastructure of Microsoft, its largest investor.
