Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has hinted he could mount a primary challenge to President Trump in 2020, is eyeing a jump to a cable news network like CNN or MSNBC in the coming days, CNBC reports.
Why it matters: Kasich stepped down as governor on Monday, and he's wasting no time kicking off his next act. Also on Monday, signed with United Talent Agency, which said in a release that it plans to help him "navigate the next phase of his career in civic engagement, by continuing to inspire audiences to lead purpose-driven lives of service," the AP reports.
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo Monday that although the Department of Agriculture is working to get staffers back to work on a temporary basis to help farmers amidst the shutdown, he thinks "the shutdown needs to end" to curtail their hardship.
Driving the news: The Farm Service Agency has run out of funding, which has forced Perdue to work with the Office of Management and Budget to try getting farmers loans. Subsidies set aside for farmers hit by President Trump's tariffs have been suspended during the shutdown.
Dan and Axios' Erica Pandey discuss the future of physical retail, and how trends are pointing toward a new geographic divide between the haves and have-nots.
A hedge fund-owned newspaper holding group is making a play to buy Gannett, one of the largest local news companies in America and home to titles like USA Today, The Arizona Republic and The Indianapolis Star.
Why it matters: Digital First Media doesn't have a stellar reputation for maintaining the cultures and values of struggling local news companies it buys up. Instead, it's known for cutting staff and outsourcing local news-gathering to digital operations in major cities.
Last year's tax reform spurred stronger-than-expected car sales by giving consumers more disposable income, but the payback will come this spring when many Americans could discover they're not getting the tax refund they had expected.
Why it matters: Car sales are a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the industry sees a big uptick every spring as consumers turn their tax refund into a deposit on a new or used car. Without that seasonal bounce, 2019 auto sales may be lower, making a recession more likely.
Powerful Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who as Finance Committee chairman will oversee Trump's trade agenda, sat down with Axios on Friday to discuss this fraught moment in international trade.
Behind the scenes: Trump's principal trade negotiator Robert Lighthizer had just left Grassley's office as we entered, a Grassley aide told us, and we began the trade discussion by asking Grassley what he learned from that conversation with Lighthizer. Grassley said they discussed the ongoing China negotiations, the early moves toward a U.S.-Japan bilateral trade deal, and the USMCA (Trump's re-negotiated NAFTA, which Congress has yet to approve).
The more urgent brinkmanship in Washington is surrounding the government shutdown, which is now officially the longest ever, with no end in sight.
The big picture: If furloughed workers are not on the government payroll, then there's an extremely high chance that the record 99-month streak of positive payrolls growth will come to an end this month.
In a sign of the times, the Lord & Taylor department store has closed its flagship New York City location; the building will become a WeWork.
The big picture: Other department stores are struggling too, not least Sears, which is in bankruptcy and is also this close to liquidation. (Sears includes Kmart, which declared bankruptcy in 2002.)
This week brought news from WeWork, the co-working unicorn, that it has decided to downgrade its main business to a mere subsidiary. WeWork has a famously complex corporate structure, but lift your eyes above the newly demoted WeWork to the very apex and behold — The We. (I am not making this up.)
The big picture: WeWork is not the only company to demote its flagship brand and name the holding company something silly, or worse.
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