Axios

Verizon is considering selling its media assets division, which includes Yahoo and AOL, the Wall Street Journal first reported on Wednesday.

Driving the news: The company is in talks with Apollo Global Management about a deal with worth up to $5 billion, according to the WSJ and Bloomberg.

New data from the U.S. census shows that American population growth in the 2010s was the slowest since the 1930s, and COVID-19 will likely be a further drag.

Why it matters: Demography has always been destiny, and America's sheer size and relatively young age have been vital components to its global influence. An America that grows slower and older will face new challenges around economics and innovation.

President Biden will ask Congress to pay for the entirety of his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan, yet some Democratic senators want him to finance it with deficit spending, lawmakers and their aides tell Axios.

Why it matters: The "human infrastructure" proposal, which Biden will formally unveil Wednesday night during his joint address to Congress, is already dead on arrival among Republicans — so the Democratic reaction is key.

Apple's latest quarterly results greatly exceeded Wall Street expectations, as sales of the iPhone, Mac and iPad all came in far ahead of expectations. The iPhone maker saw total sales outside the U.S. account for more than two-thirds of its nearly $90 billion in quarterly revenue.

Why it matters: Apple is seen as a bellwether for the broader tech industry and is also a huge driver of demand for chips, screens and other components.

It’s starting: Employers are asking workers to go back to the office this summer. Those callbacks are expected to be more common after Labor Day.

Why it matters: Getting back to normal could undo the total work-at-home routine office workers have adopted.

Qualcomm executives told Axios on Tuesday that they are seeing demand for semiconductors exceed supply in all of their businesses, from cars to smartphones to networking gear, but they expect the shortage to start easing, at least for them, by the end of the calendar year.

Why it matters: A global chip shortage is hampering supply of all kinds of goods, but most notably the auto industry which is having to cut car production due to a lack of required semiconductors.

Facebook's stock was up more than 6% in after-hours trading Wednesday, after it reported strong Q1 revenue results, which it attributed to growth in its advertising business. It also exceeded Wall Street expectations on earnings per share.

Yes, but: The tech giant missed Wall Street expectations slightly on user growth, suggesting its consistent user growth throughout the pandemic has begun to slow slightly.

President Biden's proposed tax hikes on the wealthy could apply to at least some 2021 earnings, White House economic adviser Heather Boushey told the Axios Re:Cap podcast on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The administration has said it wants to raise income and capital gains rates on the richest Americans to offset new spending, but has not yet specified when it wants those increases to go into effect.

The Federal Reserve made no changes to its policy rate on Wednesday and chair Jerome Powell was resolute in insisting that the central bank is still not ready to "think about thinking about" or "talk about talking about" raising U.S. interest rates or reducing its $120 billion a month bond-buying program.

Why it matters: As the economy has improved and inflation expectations and price hikes have picked up, economists and market participants have wondered aloud if the Fed was open to reducing its massive market assistance sooner than expected.

Humana agreed to buy the 60% stake it doesn't already hold in Kindred at Home, the country's largest home health and hospice care provider, from TPG Capital and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe at an $8.1 billion enterprise value.

Why it matters: Home healthcare demand is surging as the U.S. population ages, and President Biden's infrastructure plan includes $400 billion in new spending for at-home senior care. Plus, Humana has been the insurer most aggressively participating in a test program to increase hospice coverage under Medicare Advantage.

The SPAC party may not be over, but the cops are asking everyone to keep the noise down.

Driving the news: The SEC is mulling new guidance on when safe harbor applies to forward-looking statements by companies going public via SPAC, according to Reuters.

Volt Capital, a venture capital firm focused on the cryptocurrency industry, tells Axios that it raised $10 million for its first fund.

Why it matters: Volt plans to maintain its focus on early-stage startups, which are being increasingly ignored by venture capital firms that are raising ever-larger funds.

Marty Baron, former executive editor of the Washington Post and a Pulitzer Prize recipient, is writing a book on his newsroom leadership during the Trump administration, AP reports.

Why it matters: The book, titled “Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post," could offer rare personal reflections from Baron after he oversaw the Post's editorial transformation under Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — turning it from a regional paper into a national brand.

A very public battle is raging over how ExxonMobil should face questions about long-term oil demand and prepare for a carbon-constrained world.

Driving the news: Investment group Engine No. 1, which is nominating board members it says are equipped to deal with these dynamics, this week gained new support.

Sony shipped 7.8 million PlayStation 5s between the new console’s November 2020 launch and the end of March, with demand outstripping supply, the company said in its latest financial reports.

Why it matters: The video game business has boomed since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, but a shortage of semiconductors threatened to slow down the manufacturing of new game consoles, including the PS5.

LinkedIn surpassed $3 billion in advertising revenue within the last 12 months, its parent Microsoft announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: LinkedIn's ad business is slightly bigger than that of other social media giants, like Snapchat, which brought in $2.8 billion in the last 12 months.

Spotify on Wednesday reported strong Q1 revenue growth, fueled by positive subscriber additions and strong ad sales, as well as lowered headwinds from foreign exchange rates.

The big picture: The Swedish tech giant noted that increased subscriber growth and user engagement can be attributed in part to the better-than-expected performance of "The Joe Rogan Experience," a podcast it acquired exclusively for over $100 million.

Cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have become major buzzwords among asset managers and market participants but new surveys from data firm CivicScience show that most Americans are not at all familiar with them.

Where it stands: Cryptocurrencies have become more popular as companies like PayPal and Tesla have announced they will accept bitcoin for payments and companies like MassMutual have moved sizable chunks of reserves into the cryptocurrency.

Tuesday's strong consumer confidence report from the Conference Board wasn't the only good news about U.S. consumers. Data are beginning to show more Americans are getting more comfortable with returning to regular pre-pandemic activities.

Driving the news: Morning Consult's "Tracking the Return to Normal" series reveals all-time highs in consumer comfort across activities including dining, entertainment, sports and more.

The price of corn is surging at a record pace. Prices have risen by 16% so far this month, the largest monthly gain since May 2019, and have risen every month since July, unleashing a 43.7% gain so far this year, per FactSet.

Why it matters: As commodities like lumber and copper see prices sky higher and global food prices continue to soar, the price of corn is especially important because it is a major input for everything from gasoline to meat to industrial products like wallboard and insulation used in houses.

Airlines are scrambling to catch up as travelers return to the skies.

Why it matters: Passengers are finding fuller planes, busier airports — and, in some cases, surprise changes to their itineraries — as airlines try to add flights and rework their schedules.

Epicurious will no longer publish beef recipes in what is being called a "pro-planet" shift, the popular digital food magazine has announced.

Driving the news: The Condé Nast-owned publication's Maggie Hoffman and David Tamarkin wrote in a post Monday that the decision was "solely about sustainability, about not giving airtime to one of the world's worst climate offenders."

Gary Knell, the chairman of National Geographic Partners, has stepped down, according to an internal email. Sources say his seven-year contract had expired.

Why it matters: National Geographic Partners is a joint venture between Disney and the non-profit National Geographic Society. According to one source, the merger between 21st Century Fox and Disney in 2019 diluted some of the business units that once fell under National Geographic Partners' periphery.