Axios

Southwest Airlines canceled more than 350 flights and delayed around 600 others on Monday after mass cancellations over the weekend from what the airline called "operational challenges," according to AP.

Driving the news: The cancellations started after its pilots asked a court to block the company's new COVID vaccine mandate, though Southwest said Sunday the service disruptions were not a result of a planned labor demonstration by its pilots, Axios' Michael Mooney and Ben Montgomery report.

Facebook's latest firestorm highlights a broader reckoning over what public companies should disclose to investors, both about their external impacts and their inner workings.

Why it matters: The belief that all companies need to disclose is how much money they’re making, and how much they’re spending, is quickly becoming outdated.

Dorel Industries agreed to sell its portfolio of bike brands, including Cannondale, Schwinn and Mongoose, for $810 million to Dutch mobility group Pon Holdings.

Why it matters: This creates one of the world's largest analog bike makers, and also reflects surging e-bike usage in the U.S.

The barbarians are backing away from the gates, as Henry Kravis and George Roberts this morning stepped down as co-CEOs of private equity giant KKR.

Why it matters: Kravis and Roberts, along with the late Jerome Kohlberg, are the godfathers of leveraged buyouts (which were later rebranded as private equity, in part due to the brutal capitalism once practiced by LBO firms like KKR).

Netflix on Monday announced a partnership with Walmart to sell branded merchandise across a new online retail hub pegged to some of its biggest hits, including "Squid Game" and "Stranger Things."

Why it matters: Netflix has spent billions of dollars on original programming but has only recently started expanding some of those franchises to things like merchandise, games and podcasts.

Oil and gas prices have skyrocketed this year as energy demand rushes back — but U.S. producers aren’t activating their dormant rigs in droves.

Driving the news: The U.S. added five rigs last week and a total of 30 over the past four weeks, according to Baker Hughes.

The silver lining in Friday’s mediocre jobs report was this milestone: The unemployment rate dropped below 5% for the first time since the pandemic sent workers home in droves.

Yes, but: Part of what pushed it down was shrinking labor force participation.

The third-quarter earnings season is going to be telling. We all expected monster numbers across the board out of Q2 results — but this time around, some companies will distinguish themselves more than others for how they’ve managed the escalating supply chain headaches and effects of the Delta variant.

Why it matters: The blistering pace of economic growth is expected to have slowed in Q3. That will show up earnings, which began trickling out last week.

Three U.S.-based researchers were awarded the Nobel Prize in economics for using natural experiments to study the effects of economic policy and other societal questions.

Why it matters: The Nobel committee said David Card, Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens have "completely reshaped empirical work in the economic sciences," per AP.

Merck said Monday it submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization for molnupiravir, its experimental antiviral COVID-19 treatment.

Why it matters: An oral antiviral drug designed to prevent or treat COVID-19 could be a key tool to combat the pandemic, and Merck's drug, which it developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, could be the first one authorized in the United States.

If you're traveling internationally this holiday season, make sure you know all the COVID-related requirements at your destination.

Why it matters: International travel poses an increased risk of infection even for fully vaccinated travelers. If you don't follow local rules on masks, testing or quarantine, you could be forced to return to the U.S.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky told me in an interview for "Axios on HBO" that the biggest risk to Big Tech is that "the world is rooting against them."

Driving the news: "They don't think they have society's interest in their favor," said Chesky, whose unicorn startup is based in San Francisco.

Significantly more people plan to travel during the holidays this year than in previous years, according to a new PWC survey — but that pent-up demand will strain airlines still trying to recover from last year, industry analysts warn.

Why it matters: While many airlines are adding flights to popular destinations, consumers are likely to find higher prices and limited availability. Airlines could also face staffing shortages over newly issued vaccine mandates.

Nine out of 10 Medicare Advantage members are enrolled in plans that earned the government's highest quality marks for 2022, according to new federal data.

Between the lines: Health insurers were quick to tout the quality scores in press releases. But the federal government went easy on the grades during the pandemic, and experts have long considered MA's quality system to be "flawed and inconsistent."

Sydney businesses reopened Monday after more than 100 days of lockdown measures implemented by Australian authorities.

The big picture: Some bars and entertainment venues in the city of 5 million residents opened at 12:01am, as most restrictions were relaxed for fully vaccinated people in the New South Wales state capital amid declining coronavirus cases.