Democratic candidate Andrew Yang noted that the heavy ad spend from his fellow 2020 contenders, billionaires Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer, reflects "a very poor track record," of prior self-funded candidates, but stopped short of outright criticizing them, Yahoo reports.
The big picture: The two billionaires in the race have collectively spent more than $181 million in TV ads so far. The other Democratic candidates have spent about $28 million combined, according to data consulting company Kantar.
The U.S. Army is planning to finance mines and processing plants to establish a domestic supply of rare-earth minerals, which are used in weapons and electronics, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters.
Why it matters: The investment comes in response to a threat from China, which processes most of the world's rare earths, to stop exporting them to the U.S. amid the ongoing trade war.
Fox News host Chris Wallace delivered a vehement critique of President Trump on Wednesday, accusing him of engaging in the most "direct sustained assault" on the free press in U.S. history, The Guardian reports.
Why it matters: Wallace's comments come amid a schism between Fox News' daytime anchors, who have largely stuck to straight news reporting, and primetime opinion hosts, who tend to fervently defend the president.
Hulu on Thursday rolled out "binge" ads that only appear for users who are binge-watching a certain TV series. The ads are co-branded with Hulu in an effort to make them feel less intrusive and commercial than regular TV ads.
Why it matters: Hulu Vice President and Head of Advertising Platforms Jeremy Helfand says that in total, 50% of ad-supported viewing hours on Hulu take place in a binge-watching fashion.
Fed chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the new U.S. trade deal with Mexico and Canada should remove some trade policy uncertainty, and that it's a positive factor for the economy.
Yes, but: However, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other groups have been registering their unhappiness with the trade deal in recent days.
Investors can expect higher stock prices but also a lot of potential potholes in 2020, according to the investment forecasts of major asset managers.
What they're saying: "[I]n 2020 the margin for error — and opportunity — will likely be as small as it’s been in a very long time," top strategists at State Street Global Advisors wrote in their 2020 outlook.
The historic outflow from equity funds this year likely has a lot to do with the aging demographics of the U.S., analysts at the Investment Company Institute say.
What it means: Shelly Antoniewicz, ICI's senior director of industry and financial analysis, says that the record flows out of U.S. and global equity funds and into bond and money market funds largely reflect older Americans' desire for safety.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) responded Wednesday to Fox News host Tucker Carlson describing her district as "filled with garbage" by accusing the network of broadcasting "unmitigated racism" and calling him a "white supremacist sympathizer."
Driving the news: Carlson's show, "'Tucker Carlson Tonight," aired a segment Tuesday on garbage in the progressive Democrat's district in the borough of Queens, New York City. "How can we take seriously anything she says about the environment when this is her congressional district? She should be ashamed of this," he said.
Dozens of Harvey Weinstein's accusers have reached a tentative $25 million payout deal with the movie mogul and his studio board as part of a larger $47 million settlement, the New York Times reports.
The big picture: The overall settlement — meant to close out the Weinstein Company's obligations as it works through bankruptcy proceedings — would reportedly bring to an end nearly all sexual harassment and rape lawsuits against Weinstein, per the NYT.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she believes Hollywood and the media helped Donald Trump become president "and that is really a sad thing," in a new interview with actress and director Olivia Wilde in the Hollywood Reporter.
The state of play: Pelosi is expected to bring a vote on impeachment to the House floor.
The New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday filed a new proposal with federal regulators, aimed at allowing companies to raise money via direct share listings.
Details: The proposal has slightly different numbers than the original effort, which the SEC rejected last week, but still would help companies go public without relying on Wall Street banks to price their shares.
The national capital region (Washington, D.C., metro area) accounts for 12% of all U.S. workers in the information security field — more than double the San Francisco Bay Area.
Yes, but: When it comes to artificial intelligence talent, San Francisco and Seattle have almost 40% of the total workforce.
Infrastructure, housing and climate change are among the top issues mayors want Democratic 2020 presidential candidates to address if elected.
Why it matters: City leaders aren't satisfied with the 2020 field's attention to concerns that are worsening inequality and undermining the safety and financial security of millions who live in cities.
A closely-watched index of CEO hiring, sales and spending plans declined again, according to a survey of some of the biggest corporations in the U.S. by Business Roundtable, their trade group.
Why it matters: The survey has shown declining optimism for almost two years. As we get closer to the 2020 election, the record-high CEO optimism levels that peaked during Trump’s presidency have now vanished — largely thanks to trade war uncertainty.
Intel revealed its racial and gender pay discrepancies on Tuesday.
What they said: Among 52 top executives at Intel, who all earn more than $200,000, 77% are white or Asian men and eight are white women. There is one Asian woman, one Hispanic woman, one black woman and one black man, with no Hispanic men counted among the top executives.
The stock market's magnificent bounce in 2019 has been hard to explain and fueled largely by factors like stock buybacks and central bank easing.
The big picture: But to see an increase in their share prices next year, U.S. companies will have to actually increase their earnings, experts say, a factor that's been notably absent from this year's rally.
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg told MSNBC's "'The Rachel Maddow Show" Tuesday night that he doubts his McKinsey & Company consulting work with health insurer client Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan led to layoffs after he left.
Britt McHenry, a host on the Fox Nation streaming service, filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York Tuesday against Fox News, its parent company and several of the firm's employees over sexual misconduct allegations.
Why it matters: The suit accusing co-host George "Tyrus" Murdoch of sexually harassing McHenry for months in 2018 and alleging Fox News took retaliatory action against her after she complained is the latest sexual misconduct claim involving the network in recentyears. Both Fox News and Murdoch strongly deny McHenry's claims.
