Retailers and shippers are on a mad pre-holiday hiring spree, making them one of the few industries adding jobs during COVID-19.
Why it matters: With the entire country turning to online shopping, shippers across the U.S. are preparing for unprecedented package volumes — around 80 million per day between Thanksgiving and Christmas — and frustrating delays.
Numerous journalists, from sports writers to tech reporters, have recently launched their own, independent publications, mostly via email newsletters.
Why it matters: The rise of independent journalism has breathed new life into niche content, with tools like Substack helping subject matter experts carve out their own corner of the internet.
America's electoral infrastructure survived and thrived last week, despite pandemic complexities and President Trump's unfounded claims of widespread fraud. Yes, including software and machines made by Dominion Voting Systems.
Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with Mike Hanmer research director for the University of Maryland's Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement.
Why it matters: The outlook from directors and top executives from hundreds of companies provides some interesting data points on how the corporate world is and isn't addressing climate change.
The redesigned 2021 Nissan Rogue has arrived, and it is vastly improved over the outgoing model.
The big picture: The Rogue is Nissan's best-seller, but the automaker has been known to push it with discounts. Now the Rogue seems capable of competing on its own merits against leading crossover utilities like the Honda CR-V and Toyota Rav4.
Ticketmaster's plan to ensure fan safety using a smartphone app could point to the future of air travel, according to SimpliFlying, an aviation consulting company.
Why it matters: People want to know they won't contract the coronavirus traveling on an airplane or attending a big event like a concert.
The latest step in Ford's foray into electric vehicles is a cargo van arriving late next year with a starting price under $45,000.
Why it matters: Ford wants to defend its hold on the commercial vehicle market where there's growing demand for electric delivery and utility vans by companies looking to make good on carbon-cutting pledges or comply with new rules.
Guitar Center, a 61 year-old musical instrument retailer owned by Ares Management, plans to file for prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, per the New York Times.
Why it matters: This is one of the last chapters of private equity's so-called Golden Age, during which well-known retailers were taken private with huge new debt obligations but without meaningful e-commerce strategies.
A staggering number of Americans continue to fall into a troubling labor market category: out of work for so long that regular unemployment programs have expired. And, that number is rising.
What it means: People are falling off the state unemployment rolls and likely getting work. But that’s being offset by people who are falling off because they are simply no longer eligible to collect state unemployment.
With “Industry,” a new series on the finance industry, HBO is hoping that a focus on a cast of Gen Z characters, along with a setting in London instead of New York, can provide a fresh look at a well-explored topic.
Why it matters: The show airs at a time of reckoning for the corporate world over continued sexism and racism.
Disney's stock skyrocketed Thursday after the company reported a whopping 73.7 million paid Disney+ subscriber additions in its first year — a number that beat even its own ambitious streaming goals.
Why it matters: The fortuitous timing of the launch of Disney+ a year ago has saved the entertainment giant from economic disaster amid the coronavirus. And it's not alone.
A host of alarming new signs suggest that the U.S. economy is on track to deteriorate even faster than had been forecast. A huge reason: A year-end COVID rescue package now looks unlikely.
Why it matters: One of the biggest failures of the current administration and Congress will be a Day One problem for President-elect Joe Biden — and an urgent test of his theory that Republicans will be more willing to work with him once President Trump is gone.
The vaccine news airlines have been waiting for arrived this week, raising hopes for a recovery in passenger air travel — but only if the crippled industry can muster the resources to deliver billions of life-saving doses to the world.
Why it matters: A vaccine could restore the public's trust in flying — if it's widely available — and airlines themselves will play a crucial role in what UNICEF calls the world’s largest and fastest vaccine distribution effort in history.
