Instagram head Adam Mosseri tells Axios that Facebook spent $400 million to acquire Giphy, the popular platform of sharable animated images, not because it wants to harvest data from the company and its users but because it aims to integrate Giphy's talent and creator ecosystem into Instagram.
Why it matters: Facebook is facing intense scrutiny for its market power, specifically pertaining to the way it leverages user data from acquisitions for advertising.
Kevin Mayer, a Disney veteran who oversaw the company's streaming unit and the launch of Disney+, is leaving the company after 27 years to become the CEO of TikTok, Disney announced Monday.
Why it matters: Mayer will take over as head of TikTok at a pivotal time for the Chinese-owned social networking company. Owned by ByteDance, one of the fastest-growing Chinese tech giants, TikTok has become a formidable social media company over the past year, accruing hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
The stock market closed up more than 3% on Monday — the biggest rally in over a month — amid news that Moderna's phase one coronavirus vaccine trial showed a positive first step.
Why it matters: The stock market has rebounded in recent weeks in the face of the coronavirus crisis, which has pushed the U.S. economy into the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Long-time investors have warned about stocks' high valuations based on optimism about a vaccine or cure, as well as the economy's ability to fully rebound.
JCPenney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday, becoming the third major retailer to do so this month. Dan digs into the future of retail, including what companies to watch, with Fortune senior reporter Phil Wahba.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Monday in an email to employees that the company is cutting about 3,000 more jobs and closing or consolidating 45 offices to soften the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Why it matters: Khosrowshahi's announcement comes just two weeks after the company said it would ax about 3,700 jobs and save more than $1 billion in fixed costs. Much of Uber's ride-hailing business has vanished as people stay indoors, even as the company's food delivery sector has seen a boom.
General Atlantic agreed to invest $870 million into Jio Platforms, the telecom and tech subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, at a $65 billion valuation.
Why it matters: Jio is the world's largest mobile provider in the world's second-largest country, with around 35% market share and 400 million subscribers. It also is General Atlantic's largest-ever investment in Asia, despite a long history in the region.
Democratic politicians are coming out in strong opposition to a merger that doesn't yet exist.
Driving the news: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) tweeted Sunday: "If Uber takes over Grubhub it isn’t good for competition and it isn’t good for you." That followed an even more bombastic statement from Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), chair of the House Judiciary's antitrust subcommittee, who called the possible deal "a new low in pandemic profiteering."
Healthy patients who received the first doses of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine appeared to have generated antibody responses to the virus, according to early phase one trial data released by the company Monday.
The big picture: This is an early snapshot of a small sample size within a trial that is focused on the vaccine's safety. This is a positive first step, but still a first step.
Tesla is deciding between Austin, Texas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma as the locations for its next U.S. factory, multiple outlets reported in recent days.
Why it matters: The reports, while hedged, add some clarity to the question of where Tesla will build Model Y crossovers for East Coast delivery, as well as the Cybertruck.
U.S. oil prices are above $30-per-barrel for the first time since mid-March as producers cut output while demand continues recovering from its April depths as restrictions are eased.
Why it matters: The increase eases pressure on the industry, but hardly alleviates the distress as prices remain below profitable levels for many producers and analysts caution that the recovery is shaky.
SoftBank Vision Fund posted a nearly $18 billion operating loss for the fiscal year ended on March 31, with almost $10 billion related to WeWork and Uber.
By the numbers: SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son said during an earnings presentation that, while he expects about 15 of the Vision Fund's 88 companies to go bankrupt, another 15 will be successful and make up for the failures and otherwise lackluster portfolio performance.
Website builder Wix saw its stock price jump by nearly 7% on Friday after reporting strong earnings, showing that the coronavirus pandemic is increasing demand for its products.
Why it matters: The earnings report shows you can add website building tools to the list of sectors that are seeing benefits from the virus and could indicate a new area of long-term growth.
Major banks including Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank and others have engaged in a pattern of fraud in commercial mortgage-backed securities that is putting the whole market at risk, according to a whistleblower complaint submitted to the SEC, ProPublica reported Friday.
Why it matters: That report was published on the same day as the Fed's financial stability report, which warned the commercial real estate market could be among the hardest-hit industries from the coronavirus pandemic.
The less-followed U.S. jobs report, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, released Friday showed there were more than 11 million layoffs in March, a record high.
Why it matters: March's nonfarm payrolls report found just 881,000 jobs lost, so the JOLTS report showed the damage that came in the second half of the month as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ahead of his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell previewed what Americans can expect in the coming months from policymakers: a whole lot more.
What it means: Powell has been adamant that the Fed has not run out of ammunition, even after adding more than $2.5 trillion to the central bank's balance sheet — more than half its pre-2020 total — in just the past two months.
Ivanka Trump will Zoom Tuesday with Apple's Tim Cook, Lockheed Martin's Marillyn Hewson, the National Association of Manufacturers' Jay Timmons and other CEOs, as the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board meets entirely virtually for the first time.
The big picture: The White House says the discussion will include "the need for better digital infrastructure and home connectivity." Ivanka Trump added that the White House is grateful that "online learning platforms are stepping up during this crisis to meet American students and workers where they are.
The American economy is in a dark period right now, but some in Silicon Valley are optimistic it could spawn a generation of startups whose founders are finally getting the nudge they needed to make the leap.
Why it matters: It may sound counterintuitive to launch new businesses in the middle of an economic crash, but it's worked during past downturns, and Silicon Valley's founders and investors remain willing, so far, to keep rolling the dice.
With states reopening for business and millions of people heading back to work, the nation's largest labor organization is demanding the federal government do more to protect workers from contracting the coronavirus on the job.
What's happening: The AFL-CIO, a collection of 55 unions representing 12.5 million workers, says it is suing the federal agency in charge of workplace safety to compel it to create a set of emergency temporary standards for infectious diseases.
