Twitter on Thursday introduced "Tip Jar," a feature that allows users to send and receive monetary support on the platform.
What they're saying: "Tip Jar is an easy way to support the incredible voices that make up the conversation on Twitter," the company said. "This is a first step in our work to create new ways for people to receive and show support on Twitter – with money."
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) on Thursday ordered the termination of the state's participation in all federal, pandemic-related unemployment benefit programs.
Driving the news: McMaster cited labor shortages, but some experts say it's the job climate and not unemployment benefits that is determining the pace at which people are returning to work.
Wall Street's top regulator says a report examining meme stock mania will be coming "sometime this summer."
The big picture: It will "detail the range of activities" that came out of the January events," SEC chair Gary Gensler said Thursday at a third congressional hearing held to dissect the GameStop trading phenomenon.
It's not just you: Uber and Lyft rides are more expensive, company executives said this week.
Why it matters: Demand for rideshare is roaring back as the economy starts to reopen, but the same can't be said for drivers on the apps. That means fewer cars on the road, causing a supply gap that's pushing up prices.
Peloton has lost more than half its value since its mid-January high, when it was valued at $60 billion — and it's still trading at more than double its pre-pandemic high.
Why it matters: Most of the recent decline is a function of the economy reopening faster than expected, leaving people with much less desire to spend thousands of dollars on at-home exercise. But a lot of the drop is also self-inflicted.
Warren Buffett is the ultimate buy-and-hold, long-term investor; Robinhood is filled, at least in the popular imagination, with day-trading teens rushing in and out of meme stocks and crypto. So it's hardly surprising they've started trading barbs.
What they're saying: Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger described Robinhood at their annual meeting last Saturday as being a "casino group" that is "deeply wrong."
It's every founder's worst nightmare: You take money from a venture capitalist, who then uses what he learns from due diligence and board meetings to create a competitor.
Driving the news: Sure Inc., a startup that provides the infrastructure layer between insurance companies and consumer brands, has sued Boost Insurance, a rival VC-backed startup whose founder and CEO was an early Sure investor and director.
Yale's legendary chief investment manager David Swensen has died after a long battle with cancer, the university's president announced Thursday.
The big picture: Swensen had one major insight that utterly transformed the world of endowments, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds: That investors pay a substantial premium for liquidity.
Following the news that the Paycheck Protection Program had run out of funding and stopped accepting most new applications, the White House unveiled data for its $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), which it said saw “extremely high demand.”
Why it matters: Small businesses play an important role in the U.S. economy and many, especially those in the services sector like restaurants and bars, are still struggling with a disproportionate number forced to close for good because of revenue losses from the pandemic.
Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are pushing to launch their first paying customers to the edge of space.
Why it matters: If the two companies succeed, it will open up a new market in the space industry, one focused on consumer-driven demand for expensive trips to suborbital space.
American consumers and businesses face an array of shocking shortages in 2021 — the result of corporate miscalculations in the early days of the pandemic. The shortages range from labor to lumber to rental cars.
Why it matters: As vaccinations rise and the economy grows back to its pre-pandemic size, Americans are tantalized by the prospect of the country reverting to something approaching the familiar old normal. While that might happen eventually, it could take a surprisingly long time for a new equilibrium to establish itself.
India has seen demand for oxygen jump "seven-fold" as the country set a new world record for daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday, per AP.
By the numbers: India's health ministry reported 412,262 new infections, taking the official tally past 21 million, and 3,980 deaths from the coronavirus in the past 24 hours. The official death toll now stands at 230,168. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher.
Argentina's government has this week launched a "Green Mondays" campaign that calls on citizens to replace meals containing meat with plant-based ones on Mondays in an effort to tackle climate change.
Why it matters: Cattle ranches contribute to 22% of all emissions in Argentina, making them the "biggest contributor" in the country, per Bloomberg. The campaign is part of a growing worldwide environmental movement away from meat.
A new report makes the case that closing the gap in broadband access could add hundreds of thousands of jobs and tens of billions of dollars in economic output.
Why it matters: As both education and work shift online, those who don't have reliable internet access will be left behind, which hurts them and the country as a whole.
SEC chairman Gary Gensler alluded that tougher rules could be coming for players involved in the Reddit trading saga earlier this year, according to remarks released ahead of a congressional hearing scheduled for Thursday.
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