Investors rushed to buy shares this week of running shoes company On in its stock market debut, amid new signs that consumer spending remains resilient.
Why it matters: Apparel sales rebounded earlier this year as the economy reopened — and buying athletic apparel, especially sneakers, is one pandemic habit that’s not dying out.
Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will split "Jeopardy!" hosting duties for the rest of the year, AP reports.
The big picture: The announcement by Sony Pictures Television on Thursday comes after the previously named host, Mike Richards, stepped down when a history of derogatory comments about women and Jewish people came to light.
Boeing is placing Ziad Ojakli, who served as former President George W. Bush’s principal deputy for legislative affairs, in charge of the company’s public policy and lobbying efforts starting October 1.
Why it matters: His appointment comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Justice opening a $500 million fund for relatives of the two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes, which is part of a $2.5 billion settlement agreement reached in January.
You probably don't remember learning much about money or finance in high school. Now a whole industry, rife with conflicts of interest, is springing up in an attempt to change that.
Why it matters: Millions of people do badly on problematic standardized tests of financial literacy; millions of people are also poor, and struggle with their finances.
The combination of stablecoins and yield farming — a way to earn interest on crypto assets — means that there are now high-yielding currencies that claim to have no risk of depreciating against the U.S. dollar. The ingredients for an enormous carry trade are in place.
The big picture: The carry trade is the lifeblood of the FX markets. You borrow cheaply in one currency, invest at a higher interest rate in another, and so long as your funding currency doesn't devalue too sharply against your target currency, you make easy money.
The electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup hasn't even gone on sale yet, but demand is so hot that the company is already expanding production.
Driving the news: The first Lightning prototypes are leaving Ford's Dearborn, Mich., factory for real-world testing, with the truck available to customers next spring.
Former "Good Morning Britain" host Piers Morgan signed a global deal with Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Media and News Corp, the companies announced Thursday.
Why it matters: The announcement marks Morgan's first new TV role since he resigned from "Good Morning Britain" in March after criticizing Meghan Markle for her interview with Oprah Winfrey.
When Mailchimp recently agreed to be acquired by Intuit for $12 billion, we noted how it was the richest sale ever of a private bootstrapped company. Now we know more about why the Atlanta-based email marketing company never took outside funding.
The big picture: Mailchimp founder and CEO Ben Chestnut tells Axios that it was all about timing.
Tradesy, an online marketplace for secondhand high-end fashion goods, raised $67 million in Series D funding led by Foris Ventures, John Doerr's family office.
Why it matters: With climate change (and ESG more broadly) solidifying itself as a mainstream concern, companies like Tradesy that help consumers cut down on their consumption and waste are seeing exploding interest.
Omaze, a company that helps nonprofits fundraise by organizing sweepstakes, has raised $85 million in Series C funding led by Louis Bacon’s Moore Strategic Ventures.
Why it matters: While Omaze's customers are non-profits, the company is not only a for-profit, but also taking in venture dollars — a financing model that's often criticized for pushing companies to prioritize growth and shareholder returns over their impact on society.
Industrial production joins metrics like GDP and consumer spending that have returned to and surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
Why it matters: The pandemic has caused a wide array of disruptions that have gummed up the links along the supply chain. The fact that industrial production still continues to grow suggests the supply chain, while troubled, is at least improving.
Macau casino stocks imploded Wednesday on news that gaming companies on the island are now squarely in China's regulatory crosshairs.
Why it matters: Macau historically operated at arm's length from Beijing, developing a reputation as a Wild West not only for casino gambling but also for money laundering and loan-sharking.
Electric vehicles might be good for the environment, but they're terrible for state budgets, which depend on fuel taxes to pay for road maintenance. So states like Oregon and Utah are experimenting with new road user fees — known as "vehicle mileage taxes" or VMTs — that reflect changing mobility trends.
Why it matters: By charging drivers for the miles they drive — instead of taxing the gas they use — states can ensure that everyone pays their fair share for public roads. But some drivers might wind up paying more than they do now, and the preliminary technology involved is raising privacy concerns.
In East Room remarksThursday afternoon on leveling the economic playing field, President Biden will argue that his Build Back Better plan will "deal everyone in."
What to watch: A White House official tells me that Biden will argue that the nation has reached an inflection point — whether or not to perpetuate an economy where the wealthiest taxpayers and biggest corporations play by a set of rules they’ve written for themselves.
President Biden convened a meeting of top business leaders Wednesday to build support for a sweeping vaccine mandate that will affect most of America's workers. The message: Vaccines work, and the stalled uptake is holding back the economy.
Why it matters: As vaccine rates have flattened across the country, business leaders have thepower to impact their employees’ decisions. Many corporate leaders had been looking for stronger federal guidance to lean on.
Congress is fast approaching its deadline to raise the debt ceiling or risk defaulting on the nation's debt, and, as of now, there's no serious plan to stave off what many members are calling the worst-case scenario.
Why it matters: The U.S. has never defaulted on its debt. If Congress doesn't take "extraordinary measures" to finance the government, it would "likely cause irreparable damage to the U.S. economy and global financial markets," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned last week.
