Emerging from pandemic lockdown is shaping up to be pricey. Traveling, eating out and even refreshing your wardrobe costs more, per April inflation data out today.
Why it matters: The economy is reopening and suddenly Americans want in on the activities they've gone a year without. The data shows how much that sudden demand has helped push prices higher — at least for now.
In a new show that debuted on Amazon Prime this week, venture-backed companies face a panel of potential investors — including ex-NSYNC member Lance Bass and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak — who grill them about their businesses and decide whether to cut a check.
Why it matters: "Unicorn Hunters," bills itself as bringing the craft of pre-IPO investing to the mainstream and as "a master class for people out there," Bass tells Axios. The title is a play on "unicorn" — the industry-wide nickname for startups valued at over $1 billion.
At least 11 states and Washington, D.C. are experiencing gas shortages after a ransomware attack forced Colonial Pipeline, a critical pipeline running from Texas to New York, offline on Saturday, according to crowdsourced data collected by the app GasBuddy.
Why it matters: The event demonstrates how a cyber breach of critical infrastructure can cripple large swaths of the country and that no company is safe from ransomware attempts.
Ubisoft, the maker of "Assassin's Creed," "Rainbow Six Siege" and (once upon a time) "Splinter Cell," is putting more emphasis on mobile and free-to-play game development, provoking some understandable confusion.
Why it matters: Ubisoft's changing direction seems consistent with where much of the game industry is going, but such moves are controversial for many players.
Spotify has signed an exclusive, multi-year deal to distribute "Armchair Expert," the popular podcast that's co-hosted by actor and comedian Dax Shepard and Emmy-nominated producer and personality Monica Padman.
Why it matters: It's the latest in a long line of exclusive podcast deals that Spotify has inked in the past year to bolster its podcast ambitions.
Ellen DeGeneres will end her long-running daytime talk show after its upcoming 19th season, she confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter.
Why it matters: The show's end comes after DeGeneres lost more than a million viewers in the wake of employees alleging a toxic work environment and a culture of fear perpetrated by producers and senior managers, as reported by BuzzFeed News.
Forte, a blockchain-based gaming infrastructure startup, recently agreed to raise $185 million at around a $1 billion post-money valuation, according to multiple sources. Then other investors, including Tiger Global, came calling — offering to nearly double the price. But Forte CEO Josh Williams stuck to his word, quietly closing earlier this week.
Why it matters: In an era of "can you top this" VC valuations, often for the sake of instant gratification, Forte chose to play the long game.
The British asset management firm LGIM has thrown its weight behind activist investors' push to force Exxon into getting more aggressive on climate change.
Driving the news: LGIM, citing "persistent climate and governance concerns," yesterday endorsed the slate of board nominees from the investment group Engine No. 1.
U.S. companies have begun to face costly problems abroad while they wait for American and European partners to hammer out a new privacy deal after the EU voided a key international pact last year.
What they're saying: U.S. businesses that operate internationally say they've lost "tens of millions" of dollars thanks to the legal logjam, according to Jules Polonetsky, CEO of the Future of Privacy Forum, an industry-backed nonprofit. "European companies are being cautious and not going ahead with transactions until there is clarity."
Gas stations in several statesare out of fuel and AAA reports the nationwide average price breached $3-per-gallon for the first time in six years amid the cyberattack-induced shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline.
Driving the news: The ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, the nation's largest refined fuel pipeline that extends from Texas into the Northeast, is creating a scramble as the outage persists into its sixth day.
Centroid Investment Partners of Seoul agreed to buy Carlsbad, Calif.-based golf equipment maker TaylorMade from KPS Capital Partners.
Why it matters: It reflects how golf has boomed in the pandemic, including in both the U.S. and South Korea, due to its fundamental nature as a socially distanced outdoor activity.
Nielsen likely undercounted TV audiences during the pandemic, according to a review by the Media Ratings Council, the de facto industry watchdog.
Why it matters: Viewership numbers dictate advertising dollars, and networks use that money to pay leagues for the right to air live sports. That money then trickles down to players in the form of salaries.
The latest gauge on inflation released Wednesday morning showed that prices rose 4.2% over last year, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Why it matters: The gains were highest since September 2008, stoking new fears of inflation. Prices jumped significantly compared to the start of the pandemic last year, when lockdowns drove down demand.
Small business owners'optimism improved during April, even as many struggled to fill open positions.
Why it matters: Small businesses were hit hard with closures at the beginning of the pandemic, and an uneven recovery has proved that business owners still face a mountain of uncertainty.
New datafrom the JPMorgan Chase Institute released Wednesday shines a light on how and when stimulus checks were used by Americans over the last year.
Why it matters: While D.C. debated the size and frequency of stimulus payments, many economists had argued the crisis caused by the pandemic required a large response. The new data shows that the stimulus played a key role in boosting the cash buffers of low-income families disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
Electric scooter company Bird on Wednesday agreed to go public via a SPAC, at an implied value of around $2.3 billion.
Between the lines: This is a lower valuation than what Bird got in the private markets before the pandemic, but could help set it up to benefit from a rider rebound as cities reopen.
China released its censusreport on Tuesday, showing that the number of births in the country last year dropped 18% from 2019. And China isn't alone — populations have been stagnating globally for decades, including in the U.S.
Why it matters: China has long relied on its large population — the biggest in the world — as a core engine for economic growth. The way that it, and officials across the globe, deal with changing demographics will lead to shifts in the economy and geopolitics.
Pittsburgh-based Argo AI will begin testing self-driving Volkswagen vans in Germany this summer, its first test market outside the United States.
Why it matters: It's the first step toward launching an autonomous ride-pooling service in Europe by 2025, and eventually, in the U.S., the companies said.
Reports of fuel shortages across the U.S. emerged on Tuesday as the national average for gasoline prices soared to its highest level since 2014 amid a key fuel pipeline shut down, per Bloomberg.
What's happening: Operator Colonial Pipeline aims to have service restored by the week's end following last Friday's ransomware attack that shut down some 5,500 miles of pipeline from Texas to New Jersey. The governors of Florida, Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina declared states of emergency Tuesday due to shortage concerns.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) announced Tuesday that his state will withdraw from federally funded pandemic unemployment benefits on July 3.
Why it matters: Tennessee joins a growing list of states with Republican governors that are turning down the federal benefits citing worker shortages. Some experts say, however, it's the job climate and not unemployment benefits that is determining when and how people return to work.
