Former New York Times CEO and BBC director-general Mark Thompson is teaming up with Filipino journalist and press freedom advocate Maria Ressa to spearhead a global initiative to support independent media outlets and journalists globally.
Why it matters: Around the world, authoritarians are taking more aggressive actions to undermine the free press, especially in light of COVID-19.
Dollar Tree announced its $1 era is over. The bargain brand said to expect items above the 1-buck price point (and $3 or $5 in some locations) on shelves.
Why it matters: For decades, Dollar Tree looked to cheaply sourced goods — and rock-bottom costs to get them here — to deliver the $1 price tag some communities have come to rely on.
Eyeglass brand Warby Parkeris public — with a $6 billion valuation to match, twice what it was worth during its last fundraising round as a private company.
Why it matters: It’s the latest in a slew of direct-to-consumer companies testing investor appetite.
One of OZY Media's earliest investors has surrendered its shares in the beleaguered company, Axios has learned.
Driving the news: SV Angel, led by legendary Silicon Valley venture capitalist Ron Conway, informed OZY yesterday that it no longer wants the stock it acquired back in 2012, per multiple sources. Conway declined comment.
Warby Parker is set to go public Wednesday via a direct listing. It got a $40 per share reference price, which would value the eyeglasses retailer at nearly $5 billion.
Why it matters: This could be a fraught time for direct listings, as vested employees are getting jumbled guidance from D.C. on how their potential sales would be taxed. But that didn't seem to hurt yesterday's direct listing by Amplitude, the data analytics company whose first-day performance defied the Nasdaq's worst trading session since March.
GM chair and CEO Mary Barra, a transformational leader of an iconic American company, on Wednesday was elected chair of the Business Roundtable, the association of CEOs of top American companies.
Why it matters: Barra gives the BRT its first female chair, ahead of the group's 50th anniversary next year. She has long been personally engaged on some of the most important issues for members, including climate and workforce.
Barra begins a two-year term Jan. 1. She succeeds Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon, who began his tenure in 2020, and will remain active on BRT's board.
In presiding over BRT's response to the pandemic and the killing of George Floyd, McMillon drew on his experience as leader of a company with a presence throughout the country.
McMillon helped BRT members navigate expanded expectations of CEOs. He pushed the Roundtable and its members to lean forward on racial reckoning in substantive ways.
With a pragmatic, nonpartisan style, McMillon engaged with the White Houses of both President Trump and President Biden.
Between the lines: Barra's leadership style is pragmatic and goal-oriented, Axios' Joann Muller reports from Detroit.
Case in point: Earlier this year, when many companies were wrestling with decisions about return-to-work policies, Barra issued a simple missive to GM employees: "Work appropriately."
As she wrote on LinkedIn: "This means that where the work permits, employees have the flexibility to work where they can have the greatest impact on achieving our goals. The notion behind this approach — that our employees are capable of making smart decisions without overly prescriptive guidance — is the same notion behind our dress code, 'Dress Appropriately.'"
Barra has been active in promoting STEM education for girls, and started a cross-level networking initiative at GM to help younger women in the company connect with higher-ranking role models.
Barra also has been an outspoken advocate on racial equity issues.
In a statement, Barra praised McMillon for BRT's "work to advance racial equity and justice. I look forward to continuing to help advance policies that offer greater economic growth and opportunity for all Americans."
BRT president and CEO Josh Bolten said that as chair of the group's Education and Workforce Committee, Barra focused on "business initiatives designed to prepare American workers for a rapidly changing economy."
McMillon praised Barra's "understanding of America’s workforce and vision for the future."
Barra began her career with GM in 1980 as a General Motors Institute co-op student at the Pontiac Motor Division, her bio says. She graduated with a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1985, and got an MBA from Stanford in 1990.
Before becoming GM CEO in 2014, Barra held several executive engineering positions.
The digital tech-focusedVC and asset finance firm Energize Ventures just announced the closing of its second fund at $330 million.
State of play: It's focused on "scaling and commercializing cutting-edge technologies and software across renewable energy, mobility, cybersecurity, battery storage, critical infrastructure and climate resiliency," the firm said.
Conventional wisdom sends "smart money" looking to the bond market to interpret investor expectations on things like economic growth or inflation. Sometimes those cues are loud and clear — but for the better part of this year, the signals sent by Treasury yields seem broken.
Why it matters: The market still has things to tell us. But it's gotten harder to decode those messages amid all the noise and the complexities of the pandemic economy, says Drew Matus, chief market strategist at MetLife Investment Management.
Driving the news: Futures contracts shot up this month as heavy rains in Texas and the Mississippi Delta endanger the cotton crop — catching traders with short positions by surprise and setting off a short squeeze, Bloomberg reports.
China’s Evergrande is giving hedge fund managers who invest in distressed situations what they’ve craved all year: a huge company with billions in debt trading at deeply discounted levels.
Yes, but: It’s a sign of the times that in order to access one of the only large distressed opportunities, they have to stretch into one of investing’s riskiest regions.
Metro Councilmember Sean Parker plans to extend an expiring permit program that cuts bureaucratic red tape and allows restaurants and bars to offer more outdoor dining.
Why it matters: More diners than ever wanted to eat outdoors due to the pandemic. But despite Nashville's warm weather, many restaurants were scrambling to add outdoor seats.
Parker's 2020 legislation sought to make it easier on those bars and restaurants. The new law, which passed unanimously, allows permitted restaurants to add tables on sidewalks and parking lots in the public right-of-way, as long as they don't violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Parker's bill also eliminated permit fees and made it easier for restaurants to convert private parking spots to outdoor dining tables.
Country Music Hall of Famer Alan Jackson has a degenerative nerve condition, he disclosed in an exclusive interview with Jenna Bush Hager on "Today."
Why it matters: The 62-year-old superstar said that for the last decade he's dealt with a condition called CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder), which causes abnormalities in the nerves that control the feet, legs, hands and arms.
It has now progressed to the point where it is impacting his ability to perform.
The federal government distributed more than $113 million in aid to struggling Austin music venues through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, according to the latest data from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Why it matters: Music venues in Austin and across the country were forced to shutter because of the pandemic, leaving independent venues especially at risk for permanent closure.
Lucid Group says production of its new electric luxury sedans has begun and it will start delivering cars to customers by the end of October.
Why it matters: The Lucid Air, starting at $77,400, is among a slew of plug-in models like the Mercedes Benz EQS, Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron all hoping to challenge Tesla's control of the EV market.
If you want to get Chicago workers back in the office for a big meeting, you'd do well to schedule it on Thursday and lay out a spread of free food, according to data gathered by a leading workplace management software company.
Why it matters: Many employers in Chicago and across the nation had their autumn return-to-work plans scuttled by the Delta variant. Now, companies that still want to schedule important in-person meetings have to get workers on board first.
Job postings requiring employees to get vaccinated before applying are on the rise, and more and more firms say they'll terminate existing employees who refuse to get the jab.
Why it matters: Corporate America is playing a key role in upping the U.S. vaccination rate. It'll get harder for those who are hesitant to avoid the shot as vaccination status becomes increasingly linked to livelihood.
