Why it matters: After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
A Peloton treadmill for sale at the company's showroom in Dedham, Massachusetts. Photo: Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Saturday urged people with kids and pets to "immediately" stop using a treadmill made by Peloton after a child died and dozens of others were injured.
Driving the news: CPSC said in its "urgent warning" that it was aware of 39 incidents, including one death. The agency warned that the Peloton Tread+ machine "poses serious risks to children for abrasions, fractures, and death." Peloton called the warning "inaccurate and misleading."
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
While exchanges like Coinbase and FTX are amassing huge success, another crypto industry phenomenon that’s flourishing is “DeFi,” short for “decentralized finance.”
What's happening: A crop of protocols that let participants execute various transactions directly with each other through the networks instead of using intermediaries has been exploding in popularity.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
The Federal Reserve's "overwhelmingly white, overwhelmingly male" problem goes beyond its top ranks to the boards that run its 12 regional banks, according to a new report by the Brookings Institution.
Why it matters: There's long been a lack of diversity among those that help pick the policymakers that make crucial decisions about economic policy that's only recently started to improve.
Illustration: Rae Cook/Axios
Coinbase got the headlines this week for going public, but another crypto category is also booming: derivatives exchanges.
Why it matters: These exchanges are taking crypto investor appetite for speculation to the next level, enabling bets on a range of events and assets — even Coinbase’s own IPO, months before the actual float.