WeWork co-founder and CEO Adam Neumann is under scrutiny based on a Wall Street Journal report that he's "cashed out more than $700 million from the company ahead of its IPO through a mix of stock sales and debt."
Behind the scenes: A source tells Axios that around $300 million was in the form of stock sales, most recently via an October 2017 tender offer from WeWork investor SoftBank. The remainder was loans.
"Thomas 'the Chin' Friedman, a weak and pathetic sort of guy, writes columns for The New York Times in between rounds of his favorite game, golf. Two weeks ago, while speaking to a friend on his cell phone, I unfortunately ended up speaking to Friedman. ... Really Nasty to me in his average I.Q. Columns, kissed my a.. on the call. Phony!"
The big picture: Friedman's piece, published on Tuesday, calls Trump a "racist, divisive, climate-change-denying, woman-abusing jerk" and argues that the Democratic Party should promote its "pro-growth," business-friendly sensibilities in order to defeat him in 2020.
The Fed's regional manufacturing indexes are bouncing back in July after an awful June swoon, none more so than the Philadelphia region, which rose to 21.8 from a 0.3 reading in June.
Why it matters: It was the highest result in a year for the survey.
Rarely has the U.S. and global economy been under such self-inflicted pressure, weighed down by a frenzy of deficit spending, attacks on trading partners, and a broadside to the fundamental system of business.
Why it matters: So far at least,global stock markets have seemed to shrug off the relentless jostling of the financial system, mostly by President Trump, with all three major U.S. exchanges rising again on Thursday. But experts tell Axios that investors ultimately will price in a costlier assessment of his "America First" policies.
When it comes to political ads on Facebook, President Trump is still outspending all of his Democratic rivals by millions of dollars. But he's avoiding many of the issues that they're focused on to instead spend heavily on immigration messaging.
Why it matters: Trump knows that in order to win again in 2020, he needs to target two populations: older, white voters and Hispanic voters and the way he targets Facebook advertising by topic reflects that approach.
CNN has determined the schedule for the second round of 2020 Democratic debates, which will take place July 30-31 in Detroit.
Details: A live, random drawing during a "special edition" of Anderson Cooper 360 kicked off the debate lineup on Thursday. CNN said that both nights will have at least 2 top-tier candidates. Each candidate's podium position on debate night will be based on public polling, per CNN.
In a long-sought victory for the left, the House on Thursday approved a measure to raise the hourly federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025.
By the numbers: The bill would increase the federal minimum wage, which currently rests at $7.25 an hour, nearly $15,000 a year for those working a 40-hour work week. Just 3 Republicans voted in favor, while 6 Democrats opposed the measure. The federal minimum wage has not been raised since 2009.
San Francisco's IPO tax is dead! Long live San Francisco's IPO tax!
The backdrop: Voters were to be asked this November to approve a corporate tax increase on stock-based compensation from 0.38% to 1.5%. It would have been retroactive to May 7, just days before Uber went public.
Dust Identity, a Framingham, Mass-based supply chain security and tracking startup that utilizes diamond dust, raised $10 million in Series A funding.
Why it matters: Do you know any other company whose business model is based on diamond dust? Specifically, inexpensive industrial diamond waste that's used to lightly coat an object, thus creating unique tagging properties and an ability to ensure that the object hasn't been messed with.
The stock market has been unusually calm this year, prompting traders to place increasingly large bets on low market volatility — but they could be setting themselves and the broader market up for big losses.
What's happening: The S&P 500 hasn't moved more than 1% in either direction in more than 5 weeks, according to Datatrek co-founder Nicholas Colas. That defies historical trends and is leading more investors to take short-sell bets that the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), which tracks big, unexpected moves in the market, will decline.
News deserts in cities and small towns all over the country are beginning to capture the attention of big tech companies, donors, regulators and advocacy groups who want to step in and save local journalism.
Why it matters: Newspaper closures that started in rural America are creeping towards small and medium-sized cities. Often, the closing of local papers leaves communities without the watchdogs that can keep municipal governments accountable and productive.
