Axios

A startup is employing machine learning to process aerial imagery and remotely analyze insurance risks to properties around the country.

Why it matters: The combination of AI and aerial imagery from satellites and even stratospheric balloons can help insurers quickly judge property risks without an in-person visit, saving money and time.

As U.S.-based companies have spoken out against Georgia’s new voting law, some politicians on the right have pointed out that these same companies have stayed quiet on human rights violations in China — and the lawmakers are alleging hypocrisy.

Axios Re:Cap is joined by Axios China author Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian to discuss what’s happening in China, what U.S. corporations have and haven’t said, what to make of these allegations and the expectations they set.

One big difference between 2021 and 2009: Many of the world's top economic officials this time around are women.

The big picture: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai are front and center on U.S. efforts, Reuters reports.

The craft beer industry posted declines in sales for the first time ever as the pandemic shut down taprooms and bars where the industry has traditionally thrived.

By the numbers: An annual report from the Colorado-based Brewers Association shows 2020 was a sobering moment.

MasterClass, which sells subscriptions to online courses taught by experts, is raising new funding led by Fidelity at a $2.5 billion valuation, Axios has learned.

The big picture: Online content boomed during the pandemic as people were stuck at home.

JPMorgan Chase is working to advance racial equity and inclusion in the workforce – including investing $350 million into jobs and skills programs over five years.

Why it’s important: The racial wealth gap continues to expand.

Why it’s essential to create new career paths for U.S. workers.

There is a significant racial gap in the U.S., and COVID-19 exacerbated inequities

Why it’s important: The widening racial wealth gap and reduced buying power for Black and Latinx people cost the U.S. economy about $2.3 trillion per year, according to a National Equity Atlas report.

To address this, JPMorgan Chase is investing in jobs and skills programs as part of its work to advance racial equity, including the company’s $30 billion firmwide commitment across the business.

Over 30% of the U.S. labor market and 375M workers globally will need to change jobs or upgrade their skills by 2030.

JPMorgan Chase is investing $350 million to develop, test and scale innovative efforts that prepare individuals with skills they need to be successful in a rapidly changing economy.

JPMorgan Chase’s efforts help strengthen the pipeline to college and create inclusive pathways to careers. Their approach:

• Advancing policy solutions.
• Mentoring and support.
• Upskilling employees
• Investing in community partners.
• Raising firm-wide minimum wage.

JPMorgan Chase’s PolicyCenter is advancing specific policy recommendations for inclusive, high-quality career pathways.

The reason: Current education and training systems are not meeting the existing demand for skilled workers.

Learn about the company’s policy recommendations.

Early career and lateral recruiting efforts are often focused on talent with a university degree.

• But only 32% of eligible Americans are obtaining a 4-year degree.

JPMorgan Chase is committed to helping create opportunity for diverse talent that are often left out of the traditional pipeline.

Policymakers and businesses increasingly recognize that to meet the growing demand for skilled workers, career pathways should begin in high school.

What this means: Career pathways should be carefully designed to prepare students to meet the knowledge and skill demands of the labor market.

The Fellowship Initiative provides comprehensive and hands-on academic, social and emotional support to young men of color in high school.

The result: The program has driven 100% high school graduation and college acceptance rate among graduating Fellows over the past decade.

Find out more about TFI.

JPMorgan Chase is committed to fueling female ambition and advancing financial equality. The company’s Women on the Move program aims to:

• Recruit and retain more women.
• Increase women’s representation at all levels.
• Propel more women into leadership positions across the company.

The company is committed to preparing its employees to succeed in growing jobs at JPMorgan Chase.

The goal: Support workforce solutions and job training to advance racial equity in the workforce.

Learn how they’re supporting their employees.

The Treasury Department released details on Wednesday of President Biden's plan to hike corporate taxes over the next 15 years to raise about $2 trillion for his sweeping jobs and infrastructure proposal.

Why it matters: The plan will likely serve as a roadmap as Democrats in Congress craft legislation to enact Biden's $1.9 trillion American Jobs Plan, which seeks to fulfill a range of campaign promises to fix the country’s crumbling infrastructure, slow the growing climate crisis and reduce economic inequality.

Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has offered to buy listed Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp. for around $20 billion.

Why it matters: This could be the largest leveraged buyout of an Asian company, topping Bain Capital's 2018 deal for a majority stake in Toshiba's flash memory unit (now known as Kioxia).

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon today warned in his annual letter that the U.S. and European banking sectors are being surpassed in scale by shadow banks and fintech rivals.

Why it matters: Dimon, who has at least some pull in the Biden White House, is asking for a "level playing field." Or, put another way, a loosening of capital requirements on banks and/or greater regulatory oversight of fintech.

IMF fiscal chief Vitor Gaspar in an interview with Financial Times called for an additional tax on high-earning individuals and companies that remained stable through the pandemic, saying it would show solidarity with those who struggled.

Why it matters: The temporary tax would go toward reducing social inequities that have widened under economic and health strains. Younger and poorer people have suffered the most during the pandemic, the IMF said in its April 2021 Fiscal Monitor.

10 early-stage companies led by Asian women have been selected for an accelerator program from Gold House, a nonprofit aimed at improving representation and achieving cultural equity.

Why it matters: People of Asian descent have faced systemic bias in the U.S. for generations and during the past year have been disproportionately impacted by "twin crises" of the pandemic — women especially.

New data shows both the promise and peril of the White House push to speed deployment of renewables while also accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels.

Driving the news: A report on energy industry wages across sectors shows that they're far above the national median and more likely to provide healthcare and retirement benefits than the national average.

The U.S. Treasury has disbursed over 156 million direct payments worth approximately $372 billion since President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law, the agency announced Wednesday.

What to watch: The fourth batch of relief checks — over 25 million payments worth more than $36 billion — is due to start appearing in bank accounts on Wednesday, according to the Treasury.

Unprecedented government borrowing and spending helped cushion the global economy from the coronavirus pandemic and will need to stay in place for some time to ensure a healthy recovery, according to top economists at the IMF's spring meetings.

Driving the news: At the opening of its spring meetings on Tuesday the IMF again revised up its forecast for global growth this year, now projecting the world will see 6% GDP growth, the highest since the 1970s.

A new poll of more than 10,000 small business owners finds that even as nearly half (48%) are earning less than 50% of their monthly, pre-pandemic revenues, their worries are moving from COVID-19 to the increasing cost of goods and supplies.

What's happening: The latest survey from Alignable finds "a newfound optimism that expedited vaccine distribution in the U.S. has kick-started the beginning of a recovery for some industries and groups, while others still suffer."

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is calling on companies to play a bigger role in the world’s problems, saying today in his annual shareholders letter that the business sector should be a “responsible community citizen."

Why it matters: Corporations are increasingly facing more pressure to take a stand on politically divisive issues.

Premiering Wednesday on Netflix ... "This Is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist," a four-part documentary series from director Colin Barnicle taking viewers back 30 years to St. Patrick's Day weekend in 1990.

• "[L]egendary works by Rembrandt, Vermeer and others worth over half a billion dollars today were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston."

Venture capitalists are plowing money into startups that help content creators to directly monetize their work.

Driving the news: Patreon, a platform that connects creators with fans, today will announce $155 million in fresh funding at a $4 billion valuation.

LumiraDx, a British diagnostics startup that makes COVID-19 tests, has agreed to merge with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) CA Healthcare Acquisition Corp. in a deal valued at $5 billion, the companies announced Tuesday.

Details: LumiraDx has also secured a $300 million loan from BioPharma Credit and another $100 million from Capital One Financial, per the statement.

Weather-related problems were the leading cause of Texas power plants going offline during February's record cold snap that left millions of Texans in the dark, a preliminary report published Tuesday states.

Why it matters: These initial findings from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the flow of electric power in the state, indicate that many facilities were unable to cope with the extreme weather.

Archer Aviation, an air taxi startup planning to go public soon through a SPAC merger, is now facing a federal investigation and accusations that the company stole trade secrets from a key rival.

Why it matters: The dispute between Archer and Wisk Aero, a joint venture of Boeing and Google co-founder Larry Page's Kitty Hawk, underscores the intense competition to dominate the still-unproven market for flying cars.