Meta told staff Thursday it plans to lay off roughly 8,000 people, or around 10% of the company, two sources confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: The cuts underscore how soaring AI costs are pressuring even the biggest tech companies to cut jobs to protect margins and reassure investors.
Opposition to President Trump's potential Spirit Airlines bailout is mounting in Congress, including among his fellow Republicans.
Why it matters: Lawmakers from both parties are questioning whether taxpayers should rescue a repeat-bankrupt airline with an uncertain path to profitability.
President Trump on Thursday announced a drug pricing deal with Regeneron — the last of 17 manufacturers the administration pressured last year to commit to his "most favored nation" policy.
Why it matters: The deals with the other companies to lower certain drug prices are being touted as one of the administration's signature health accomplishments, though Democrats question whether the confidential arrangements are really helping consumers.
AI is no longer just a research tool in Washington, D.C. — it's starting to shape how policymakers form opinions, according to Penta Group data shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: Policymakers are the latest to lean on AI for guidance, signaling its growing role in shaping decisions across markets,consumer behavior and now public policy.
The first editionof this newsletter was titled, "Why every CEO needs to be a communicator," and if you're still not convinced four years later, chew on this…
Fortune 500 companies with CEOs who communicate consistently and effectively average two to three times the returns of their peers, according to a recent analysis from Golin.
A separate study by Cardinal40 found that high-quality CEO thought leadership can drive an average of $367 million in shareholder value in a single week.
Why it matters: Communications is delivering measurable financial impact at a time when it feels like most CEOs have gone radio silent.
Some Seattle-area home sellers are turning into what Zillow calls "accidental landlords," pulling their homes off the market and renting them out instead.
Why it matters: As more homeowners nationally rent out homes that don't sell, Seattle stands out for having a higher share of these listings.
Nationally, 2.3% of rental listings on Zillow in October were previously for sale, according to the real estate site. That's the highest level since late 2022, when mortgage rates topped 7%.
In the Seattle metro, the rental listing rate was higher, at 3.1%.
The fine print: These homes were listed for sale on Zillow for at least two weeks, then delisted and relisted as rentals within three months of being off the market.
Futures Music Group has raised $6 million to sign more artists to its independent label, invest in infrastructure and expand into catalog deals, executives exclusively tell Axios.
Why it matters: The traditional label model is being challenged as online platforms empower artists and more capital floods into music rights deals.
Get on the AI train or get left behind. That messaging from frontier labs about the world-changing nature of AI suggests they're not focused on addressing consumer backlash to the technology.
Why it matters: They may regret that approach when they go public and have to work overtime to turn AI haters into customers.
At the start of the war, stocks fell and oil prices rose on fears of the economic fallout from a historic energy shock — now that connection is fraying.
Why it matters: It highlights a key distinction between the stock market, which frequently seems to trade on vibes and memes, and commodities markets which ultimately are tethered to real physical goods.
