Airbnb began trading Thursday on the Nasdaq at a valuation north of $100 billion, which is more than Marriott, Hilton and Expedia combined.
Axios Re:Cap digsinto the year's largest IPO, and how Airbnb has navigated a perilous year for travel and hospitality, with company co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky.
Soccer star Antoine Griezmann said Thursday he has ended his sponsorship deal with Huawei, citing "strong suspicions" that the Chinese tech giant had tested software aimed at helping the Chinese government's surveillance of Uighur Muslims.
Driving the news: U.S.-based research organization IPVM on Tuesday alleged that Huawei tested facial recognition software that can alert police when it recognizes Uighur minorities. The Washington Post first reported the allegations.
All lives are equally valuable. That's the strong consensus emerging from the many different countries and organizations that have struggled with the question of who should get first access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Why it matters: The current scarcity of the vaccine looks like an economics problem — too much demand, and not enough supply. But no one is seriously proposing a market-based solution, where the vaccine goes first to those willing and able to pay to jump to the front of the line.
While Airbnb is surging on the stock market, its fundamental business might not be quite as healthy as I thought back in September, when an Edison Trends report showed consumers spending 86% more money with the company than they did during the same week of 2019.
Why it matters: Edison Trends strips out any transactions over a certain amount — in this case, $30,000. There are still outliers near that amount, however, — very expensive rentals for multiple months, perhaps — that can skew the aggregates. When the company went back to re-run its data with a different cohort of users, the difference between 2019 and 2020 largely disappeared.
Public market investors have come to view most IPOs through rose-tinted pandemic lenses: Either an issuer benefitted from lockdowns and will hold onto those new customers or the issuer will benefit from widespread vaccine distribution.
Yes, but: Things will return to normal, but the path will be up and to the right. One thing that's changed permanently, however, is the IPO process itself, as the traditional "road show" is dead and buried.
About 853,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment insurance last week, up from 716,000 the week before and 123,000 more than economists had projected.
Why it matters: It's the highest number of new jobless claims since Sept. 19, per AP, and an indicator that labor market is heading in the wrong direction.
The number of job openings kept rising in October — though there’s still a whopping shortage for the number of unemployed, according to the Job Openings and Layover Turnover survey (JOLTS) out Wednesday.
The numbers: 6.7 million open jobs, but roughly 10.9 million people considered unemployed.
Middle-income housing across America — particularly in big coastal cities — is growing scarcer than ever, as the wealthy bid up properties that might once have been considered "affordable."
Why it matters: The pandemic's effects on the housing market may turn out to be permanent — and could widen the gap between rich and poor. Renters and buyers alike face rising prices that outstrip income growth and favor people with cash savings.
Newsmax is working to pull ahead of conservative rival Fox News, trying to lure away its vital booking agents with promises of higher salaries, two people who have been contacted by Newsmax tell me.
Why it matters: The battle to serve as the venue of choice for conservative viewers has intensified as President Trump has chastised Fox for declaring Joe Biden the election winner and Newsmax has pandered to his believers.
