Have you ever used a buy now, pay later plan? Well, it turns out those loans can come with more risks than the companies disclose upfront.
Why it matters:BNPL loans from providers like Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna and PayPal are nearly ubiquitous at checkout — but regulators warn they could saddle shoppers with hidden fees, steep interest or long-term credit damage if payments are missed.
Attorney General Kris Mayes is suing Chinese retailer Temu, claiming the company violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act by harvesting shoppers' data and counterfeiting local brands.
Why it matters: Temu, a shopping app that sells low-priced clothes and trendy merchandise mass-produced in China, is one of the most popular online retailers in the U.S. — but politicians across the political spectrum are raising concerns about its business practices.
CNN has struck a partnership with Kalshi, the world's largest global prediction market company, bringing Kalshi's data to its journalism across its television, digital and social channels, executives tell Axios.
Why it matters: The collaboration marks the first major news partnership for Kalshi, as it looks to establish itself as the most authoritative source of information about the real-time probabilities of major cultural and political future events, CEO and co-founder Tarek Mansour tells Axios.
NBC News is launching its first-ever, direct-to-consumer digital subscription product in the coming days, NBCUniversal News Group chief digital officer Chris Berend tells Axios.
Why it matters: The subscription will offer NBC News' most loyal consumers access to all of the digital journalism it currently offers for free, such as podcasts, video shows and web articles, in one place without ads.
President Trump launched an hours-long Truth Social posting spree late Monday night as he lashed out at political rivals and boosted supporters' messages about his accomplishments.
By the numbers: Trump made 158 posts from 9pm Monday to 12am Tuesday, per an Axios analysis, a rate of nearly one post per minute.
Nvidia's CFO on Tuesday rejected the argument that competitors are catching up to the world's most valuable company and insisted that the AI economy is not in a bubble.
Why it matters: Nvidia briefly passed the $5 trillion market cap threshold in October, becoming the first company to do so, but the stock is down more than 11% over the last month amid concern about competition.
The U.S. government has agreed to invest $150 million into xLight, a Silicon Valley-based developer of new technologies for semiconductor manufacturing.
Why it matters: This would be the Trump administration's first new award under the CHIPS Act, a Biden-era law designed to boost domestic chip production and research.
Private equity firm Torque Capital Group has acquired Joe Gibbs Manufacturing Solutions, a maker of composites and assemblies for aerospace and defense applications, from Joe Gibbs Racing.
Why it matters: It's not often that you see a manufacturer pivot from race cars to rockets.
Omnicom will lay off about 4,000 employees, and an additional 10,000 people will be impacted by sell-offs, following the completion of its acquisition of rival Interpublic Group (IPG), executives tell Axios.
Why it matters: The cuts mark one of the biggest restructurings in the ad industry in years and comes as agencies adapt to new technologies and changing client demands.
Netflix, Paramount and Comcast all submitted second-round bids to Warner Bros. Discovery's board Monday, as the race to acquire Hollywood's hottest available asset closes in.
Why it matters: WBD's board now must weigh any potential regulatory hurdles presented by each bid against its business value.
Bitcoin was under pressure again on Monday, proving its tepid recovery last week would be difficult to sustain amid over $1 billion in forced liquidations within 24 hours.
Why it matters: Crypto is proving to be the ultimate risk-on asset, falling first and hardest at seemingly any sign of trouble across markets.
A potential increase in interest rates from the Bank of Japan is weighing on one of the most popular trades on Wall Street: the yen carry trade.
Why it matters: A rise in Japanese rates while the Federal Reserve cuts rates would thwart a borrowing strategy long used to buy risky assets like bitcoin and tech stocks.
Growth will slow and inflation will rise in the U.S. next year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecast Tuesday, as the labor market weakens and tariff price pressures remain.
The big picture: The pessimistic forecast has an even gloomier caveat: Things could get worse if the AI-driven stock market bubble were to burst.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday endorsed the idea of cellphone bans in high schools, becoming the latest world leader to back restrictions on teen tech and social media use.
Why it matters: Data continues to suggest a correlation between children's smartphone use and poor mental and physical health.
Though President Trump was named Time Magazine's "2024 Person of the Year," something — rather than someone — may be in the running for the title this year: Artificial Intelligence.
The big picture: Time's Person of the Year issue has been published for nearly a century, but Polymarket predicts this could be only the second time a non-human wins the designation — edging out contenders like Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Pope Leo XIV and Trump.
Disney Destiny just set sail as the seventh ship in the company's fast-growing cruise business, themed around heroes and villains with experiences like the Cruella De Vil piano bar, Dr. Facilier's parlor and a Hercules musical.
Why it matters: The name Destiny is particularly apt as Josh D'Amaro, the executive leading Disney's cruise expansion, is a potential successor to CEO Bob Iger.
The publisher of the "Franklin the Turtle" children's books series said Monday it condemns the unauthorized use of the beloved character, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared an image of him apparently firing at drug boats.
The big picture: Hegseth posted the image to his personal X account amid reports questioning the legality of adeadly strike on a suspected drug boat near Venezuela that prompted some congressional lawmakers to warn that, if substantiated, the deaths could violate the laws of war.
Starbucks will pay more than $38 million in a settlement announced Monday by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, after the coffee giant was accused of violating NYC's Fair Workweek Law over half a million times since 2021.
The big picture: The agreement following an NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection investigation marks the largest worker protection settlement in the city's history, Adams said on X.
