Axios

Former President Barack Obama told Peter Hamby on the Snapchat original political show "Good Luck America" that "snappy" slogans such as "defund the police" can alienate people, making the statements less effective than intended.

What he's saying: "You lost a big audience the minute you say it, which makes it a lot less likely that you're actually going to get the changes you want done," Obama told Hamby in an interview that will air Wednesday morning at 6 a.m. EST on Snapchat.

New diversity and inclusion rules are on the table for some of America's most powerful corporations, courtesy of one of its most powerful stock exchanges.

What's new: Nasdaq is threatening to delist companies that won't move toward having at least one woman and at least one underrepresented minority or LGBTQ person on their corporate boards.

While countries with larger shares of their populations able to work remotely have generally fared better economically throughout the pandemic, there are clear outliers.

The big picture: A smooth transition to telecommuting is just one part of pandemic-era economic health. Factors like infection rates and lockdown measures have had massive impacts as well.

If you're feeling like working remotely has killed your lunch break or kept you on email later than usual, you're not alone.

• Americans have been working an average of 32 more minutes a day since the beginning of the pandemic, according to research from Atlassian, a big workplace software company that analyzed data on usage of its products across 65 countries.

Latino professionals have the widest gap between representation in the labor force and executive positions — bigger than that of any other minority group.

Why it matters: Latinos will make up a quarter of the U.S. population by 2050, and scores of U.S. firms profit off of Latino consumers, but this group is absent from the business world's highest and most impactful decision-making positions.

Salesforce on Tuesday afternoon said the company will pay $27.7 billion in cash and stock to buy workplace collaboration platform Slack.

Why it matters: This is the largest software merger since IBM agreed to buy Red Hat in late 2018, and it creates a cloud giant that can better compete with Microsoft.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell circulated a new framework for coronavirus stimulus legislation to Republican members on Tuesday that would establish a fresh round of funding for the small-business Paycheck Protection Program and implement widespread liability protections, according to a copy of the draft proposal obtained by Axios.

Driving the news: The revised GOP relief plan comes after McConnell's meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, during which they went over in detail what provisions would get backing from President Trump.

The Nasdaq today said it will ask federal securities regulators to approve new rules that would require its listed companies to regularly report on the demographic diversity of their boards, and also comply with board diversity requirements.

Axios Re:Cap goes deeper with Jeff Thomas, Nasdaq's senior VP of corporate services, to learn why Nasdaq is enacting this policy, the internal discussions that led to it and what happens to companies that don't comply.

The Small Business Recovery Initiative, a group backed by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, released a video on Tuesday featuring struggling small business owners urging viewers to sign a petition that calls on Congress to pass COVID relief.

Why it matters: Recent data increasingly shows the economic recovery is floundering, as coronavirus cases surge and states tighten up restrictions ahead of what is likely to be a grim winter for many families and small businesses. Many of the economic safety nets that vulnerable Americans rely on are set to expire in December.

Americans spent $10.8 billion on Cyber Monday this year, making it the largest online shopping day in U.S. history, according to Adobe Analytics data reported by CNBC.

Why it matters: The surge in online shopping comes as the pandemic has accelerated the decline of Black Friday shopping at traditional brick-and-mortar stores, which saw in-store traffic plunge by roughly 50% compared with last year, according to data from RetailNext and Sensormatic Solutions.

Carey Smith founded a company, sold it for a ton of money and became a full-time venture capitalist. Pretty standard evolution. But that's where the ordinary ends.

The intrigue: Smith, who runs Austin-based Unorthodox Ventures, doesn't invest in software. He doesn't think entrepreneurs should give up much equity, and that they should seek to become profitable as soon as possible. He doesn't have return expectations, nor does he have interest in managing anyone else's money.

Netflix has managed to keep its dominant position as one of the least-canceled subscription services in America, according to data from ANTENNA, which tracks purchase behavior and key metrics across subscription media services. The one exception was in September, when it faced brief backlash around a French film called "Cuties."

Driving the news: Data shows that other streamers, like Disney+ and HBO Max, are able to drive sign-ups and buzz with new hits, but the question is whether they can retain users long-term.

Patch, the hyperlocal (and profitable) local digital news company, has built a new software platform called "Patch Labs" that lets local news reporters publish their own newsletters and websites, sources tell Axios.

Why it matters: It follows a growing trend of journalists going solo via newsletters at the national level.

Nikola Corp.'s stock plummeted yesterday on the news that GM was no longer taking an equity stake in the electric and fuel cell truck company or planning to build its now-kaput Badger pickup.

Yes, but: Nikola will still use GM tech for their planned semitrucks under the scaled-back deal, and some analysts still see an upside.

Three of Politico’s biggest reporting stars plan to launch a competitor to the company’s Politico Playbook franchise, sources tell me. 

Why it matters:  Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and John Bresnahan will launch a daily newsletter in 2021 as a stand-alone company, the sources say. In effect, they will be competing against the Playbook franchise they helped create and grow. 

The Lion Electric, an electric truck and bus company, is going public via a merger with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Northern Genesis Acquisition.

Why it matters: It's the latest in what's becoming a big collection of EV and EV-adjacent companies forgoing traditional IPOs and instead going the SPAC route.

Local news groups will miss Ajit Pai when he leaves his post as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on January 20.

Why it matters: Despite the fact that the Trump administration broadly was seen as having a hostile view towards the press, Pai was considered by several trade groups as a loyal supporter of local news.

TCG, a venture affiliate of The Chernin Group that invests in media, entertainment and tech businesses, is investing $30 million in Surfline, a media company that focuses on surfing coverage and live wave and weather forecasts for surfers, executives tell Axios.

The big picture: For Chernin, the investment follows a similar pattern of investing in niche content businesses that don't rely on advertising.

Loan growth at U.S. banks declined in the third quarter, as banks tightened lending standards and demand from businesses fell.

Why it matters: It's the latest piece of evidence showing that the Fed's programs are helping prop up Wall Street but aren't trickling down to help most everyday Americans.

Hospitality giant Airbnb on Tuesday set terms for its upcoming IPO, saying it plans to raise up to $2.6 billion.

Big number: The company would have an initial market cap of $28 billion, or an enterprise value of around $32 billion, were it to price shares in the middle of its proposed price range of $44-$50 per share.

Go deeper: Airbnb files for long-awaited IPO

Following positive vaccine news and the run-up in global equities punctuated last week by the Dow hitting 30,000 points, investors are again throwing caution to the wind and growing more uniform in their bets that stocks will continue to rise.

Between the lines: The resurgence of traders' risk appetite has some urging caution, as unanimity in either excitement or fear historically has proven to be a contrarian signal for the stock market.

Salesforce's likely acquisition of workplace messaging service Slack — not yet a done deal but widely anticipated to be announced Tuesday afternoon — represents a big gamble for everyone involved.

For Slack, challenged by competition from Microsoft, the bet is that a deeper-pocketed owner like Salesforce, with wide experience selling into large companies, will help the bottom line.

Facebook said Monday that it plans to launch Facebook News in the U.K. in January, with several big publishers, including Conde Nast, The Economist, Guardian Media Group, Hearst and others, initially providing content.

Why it matters: The creation of Facebook's dedicated News tab has helped the company appease regulator demands globally for more equitable relationships with news publishers.