Axios

Nearly all of the major network news giants are launching new voter initiatives ahead of the 2020 election.

Why it matters: Media companies have a long history of using their wide reach to promote voting efforts in the U.S. But ahead of this year's historic election, they are doubling down on those efforts to ensure that changes to voting procedures due to the pandemic don't dissuade voters from taking part.

With colleges and grade schools going virtual, marketers are trying to come up with ways to pry consumers' wallets open during the back-to-school season.

Between the lines: Retail sales in July came in higher than they were in February, before the pandemic sent stores and restaurants closing en masse, the Commerce Department reported Friday morning.

American Express on Monday announced an agreement to acquire online small-business lender Kabbage for an undisclosed amount.

Why it matters: Kabbage is one of the fintech companies that helped small businesses tap into the Paycheck Protection Program despite furloughing hundreds of workers at the beginning of the pandemic.

Sportradar, best known as a supplier of data related to sports betting, has a new service aimed at helping professional athletes avoid and report online harassment.

Why it matters: Efforts geared at identifying online abuse could help pave the way for broader change outside the world of sports. As Twitter's Jack Dorsey is fond of saying, it's all about "the health of the conversation." But improving that health often feels like a never-ending quest.

Sanofi agreed to buy Principia Biopharma, a South San Francisco-based developer of drugs for multiple sclerosis and pemphigus, for around $3.7 billion in cash.

Why it matters: It's the year's second-largest pharma merger so far, and is part of the same cash-reliant, bolt-on playbook that CEO Paul Hudson employed while helming Novartis' drugs division.

Dealmakers always pay attention to presidential elections, but in 2020 they're no longer claiming that the outcome won't significantly affect transactions.

Between the lines: This isn't to say that one candidate is better or worse for dealmakers, or for particular industries. It's to say that the winner won't be a passive bystander, particularly as the wall between regulated and non-regulated industries has decayed.

High-yield bond funds saw their sixth consecutive week on positive inflows for the week ended Aug. 12, data from Refinitiv Lipper showed, netting $1.5 billion for the week.

By the numbers: The six-week streak followed the fourth worst weekly net outflows on record dating back to 1992, showing sentiment on the riskier bond category has been soundly reversed.

While Wall Street has gotten more excited about the economy since March, U.S. household sentiment remains "depressed," says Jon Hill, rates strategist at BMO Capital Markets.

Driving the news: The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index is still near its lowest since 2013.

Even though the Fed's policymaking committee has no meeting scheduled until mid-September, more attention is turning to the central bank as inflation has begun to pick up and Congress left town without delivering a new round of fiscal stimulus.

Why it matters: Since its unprecedented intervention into financial markets in March, the Fed has been seen as the driver of financial markets — holding up stock and bond prices through its massive bond-buying programs.

A new report from The Lean In Foundation, founded by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, finds that for every 100 men promoted to manager in America, only 58 Black women are promoted, despite Black women asking for promotions at the same rate.

Why it matters: "A lot of corporate diversity efforts are really focused on the very top," says Sandberg, who spoke with Axios about the report. "And while the very top is super important, you can't get to the top if you don't get that first promotion."

Dentists' offices are reopening and working overtime, and dental suppliers are optimistic things are close to returning to normal after the coronavirus put the industry on ice for almost two months.

Why it matters: Cleaning teeth and filling cavities, by their nature, require close contact with the vessel that spreads the virus. That has some experts worried, and the World Health Organization this month advised people to delay routine dental care until COVID-19 transmission rates decline further.