National

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

Cannabis retailer Tokyo Smoke and Uber Canada are partnering to streamline the process for ordering cannabis in Ontario, the companies announced Monday.

Why it matters: Tokyo Smoke is the first cannabis merchant to be listed on Uber Eats across all of Uber's global markets, Uber Canada said.

Driving the news: Uber Eats now has a section in its digital marketplace for Tokyo Smoke's virtual stores. Consumers will be able to place orders on the app and pick them up at their respective store locations.

The companies say the partnership will help combat the underground illegal market, which accounts for over 40% of all nonmedical cannabis sales in Canada, according to data from the government.

What they're saying: "Tokyo Smoke is thrilled to partner with Uber Canada on this innovative offering for our customers, bringing them high quality products and the very best customer experience," said Mark Hillard, Tokyo Smoke's vice president of operations, in a statement. 

"As a market leader in innovation and a platform used by so many Canadians, we believe this is the ideal next offering that can be done safely and conveniently on the Uber Eats app." 

"By combining a streamlined ordering process through the Uber Eats app with Tokyo Smoke's in-person pickup service, we're creating a new end-to-end experience for responsible cannabis ordering across the province," added Lola Kassim, general manager of Uber Eats Canada. 

What to watch: Cannabis delivery looks like the next horizon. 

"When Canadian cannabis laws evolve to include delivery, options like Uber Eats are expected to help decrease impaired driving and improve safety on the road," Uber Canada said in its release.

Cannabis orders are now available on Uber Eats in Ontario

Tokyo Smoke is the first cannabis merchant to be listed on Uber Eats across all of Uber's global markets.

Photo of a storefront showing "Tokyo Smoke" on the right and "High Variety on the left"

Cannabis shops High Variety and Tokyo Smoke in Toronto, Canada. Photo: Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images

Uber

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Technology

There's a new era at the Fed: Jerome Powell will keep the top job, Lael Brainard will step up as No. 2 — with more fresh faces set to come.

Why it matters: Prices are rising at the fastest pace in 30 years with millions still out of work. What Biden's Fed picks do may be felt by everyday Americans.

Inflation-jobs tango: Acting to tamp down inflation could test Powell and Brainard's top pursuit: a labor market so strong even marginalized workers reap the benefits.

Climate change: The Fed has stepped up considerations about the risks climate change poses to the economy — a charge largely led by Brainard.

Environmentalists see Powell as too slow to act on climate, but they're enthusiastic about Brainard's elevation, according to Axios Generate co-author Andrew Freedman.

Wall Street's rules: Some were loosened under the Fed's last bank cop. A nominee for that post (vacant since October), which helps shape policies for financial regulation, is weeks away.

Biden is facing pressure to put up someone who's tough on regulations. Brainard was not shy about wanting more requirements.

Taken together, it's a sign that top decision-makers will be tilted to a stronger hand.

What to watch in the Fed's new era

What Biden's Fed picks do may be felt by everyday Americans.

President Biden with Jerome Powell and Lael Brainard at a press conference today. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden with Jerome Powell and Lael Brainard at a press conference Monday. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Federal Reserve

President Biden has made the COVID-19 crisis and a post-Trump return to national unity and traditional democratic ideals his top priorities. From vaccinations to stimulus to schools, Biden is seeking bipartisan compromise while showing a willingness to use executive authority and bare Democratic majorities in the U.S. House and Senate to implement his policies. Republican leaders are navigating deep party divisions over if and how to move beyond former President Trump.

Politics & Policy

Earlier this month, the data analytics software maker Tableau announced a goal to help enable 10 million data learners over the next five years. But where do they begin? And how does data literacy go beyond software? 

Axios Re:Cap host Hope King is joined by Tableau CEO Mark Nelson to discuss the role of data in our future. 

The future of data literacy

Tableau announced a goal to help enable 10 million data learners over the next five years.

Data

Axios Re:Cap

Podcasts

Axios Sneak Peek

President Biden's nomination of Jerome Powell for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve shows Biden's willingness to stare down progressives to get his cherished Build Back Better legislation through the Senate and into law.

Why it matters: Inflation is threatening Biden’s $2 trillion social spending and climate package, and Biden wants to save his political capital with moderates for that fight.

Driving the news: Biden wasn’t willing to forsake Powell for a marginally more progressive candidate, like Fed governor Lael Brainard, simply to appease Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who called Powell a “dangerous man” to his face in September.

Instead, Biden named Brainard vice chair.

The big picture: Powell and Brainard, colleagues on the Fed, appear not to have substantially different views on inflation and how quickly to remove stimulus from the economy.

Biden's move opts for continuity and an easy confirmation process over a symbolic fight that could have risked market turmoil.

What they are saying: Biden’s gambit appears to have worked, with important Senate Democrats, and Republicans, promising to confirm him. 

“I look forward to working with Powell to stand up to Wall Street and stand up for workers,” said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

After clearing his throat about Powell and inflation, Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), the ranking Republican on banking, got behind him: “I look forward to supporting his confirmation,” he said.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, a persistent Biden critic on inflation, was all praise today: “The institution is in good hands,” he tweeted.

The other side: Warren vowed to oppose Powell while promising to support Brainard. 

But her Powell criticism was muted, and she seemed more focused on fighting for a strong vice chair for bank supervision, which Biden didn’t fill today. 

“This position must be filled by a strong regulator with a proven track record of tough and effective enforcement — and it needs to be done quickly,” Warren said.

What we're watching: Biden hinted that progressives may be more pleased with his future Fed picks, promising that diversity would be a key factor in filling three other positions. 

“While Jay and Lael bring continuity and stability to the Fed, my additions will bring new perspectives and new voices,” he said.

Besides inflation, the Fed is confronting challenges traditionally outside its purview — from climate change to cryptocurrency regulation. Bloomberg News has deemed these “tricky economic problems” among the most complicated in the Fed’s 107-year history. 

Biden's Fed pick puts progressives on notice

The president is saving his political capital with moderates to push for passage of his Build Back Better plan.

Fed chair Jerome Powell walks to a podium with American flags in the background as President Biden watches

Powell and Biden. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Jerome Powell

Axios Closer

Singer Jason Derulo is set to host a prime-time live shopping show on Twitter on Sunday, just ahead of Cyber Monday and Cyber Week, featuring products from Walmart.

Why it matters: Shoppable video formats sit at the intersection of entertainment, e-commerce and social media — a combination that retailers and tech platforms find hard to resist given how hot each category has grown during the pandemic.

What’s new: The show will be Twitter’s first test of its Live Shopping format, the company announced today.

Viewers will be able to watch the livestream while browsing or buying the products mentioned and tweeting.

The holiday ramp-up: Walmart has been actively testing live shopping formats for about a year — with 15 "shoppable" livestreams since last December on its own website and other platforms including TikTok.

Macy’s, in addition to regular live shopping shows launched earlier this year, is planning Black Friday-focused livestreams starting this Tuesday.

The big picture: Interactive video ads in the form of shopping shows are seen as a way to hook people for longer periods of time and generate more sales.

Twitter now joins YouTube and Facebook in pushing the format of live shopping.

Details: The show starts at 7pm ET Sunday and runs for 30 minutes.

Twitter to test first live shopping show ahead of Cyber Week

Singer Jason Derulo is set to host a primetime show on Twitter next week.

Jason Derulo attends LivexLive's Social Gloves: Battle Of The Platforms PPV Livestream at Hard Rock Stadium on June 12, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Jason Derulo at Hard Rock Stadium in June in Miami Gardens, Fla. Photo: John Parra/Getty Images

Retail

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is giving $100 million to the Obama Foundation in honor of Congressman John Lewis, the foundation announced on Monday. 

Why it matters: This is the largest individual donation the Obama Foundation has received to date, as first reported by Puck News.  

The big picture: Bezos has been more philanthropic in recent years, as public scrutiny toward him has increased, per Puck News. 

Some of these donations and pledges include a $1 billion commitment for preschools and a $10 billion pledge to climate nonprofits, known as the Bezos Earth Fund.

Bezos has asked that the foundation name the plaza at the Obama Presidential Center the John Lewis Plaza. 

The foundation hopes Bezos' willingness to name something after a civil rights leader will "change the paradigm around naming public spaces," per the announcement. 

There will not be any other restrictions on how the money can be spent, per Puck News. 

What they're saying: “We believe that there is incredible power in lifting up the names of extraordinary change agents upon whose shoulders we all stand, and we are thrilled by Mr. Bezos’ offer to name our magnificent Plaza in honor of John Lewis,” said Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett.

Jeff Bezos donates $100M to Obama Foundation in honor of John Lewis

This is the largest individual donation the Obama Foundation has received to date.

Jeff Bezos speaking at COP26. Photo: Paul Ellis - Pool/Getty Images

Jeff Bezos

The longstanding feud between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon has bubbled up over a breach of contract lawsuit, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

What they're saying: “If JPM doesn’t withdraw their lawsuit, I will give them a one star review on Yelp,” Musk told the Journal. “This is my final warning!”

“We have provided Tesla multiple opportunities to fulfill its contractual obligations, so it is unfortunate that they have forced this issue into litigation,” JPMorgan said in a statement last week.

Why it matters: Part of the bad blood between the two came to light last week when JPMorgan Chase sued Tesla over $162 million, alleging "breach of contract action" over stock warrants.

The big picture: Musk has "spurned" JPMorgan over the years as he sought to expand Tesla, per the Journal.

Conversations between the two companies have, "often upset one side or the other," and efforts by Dimon and Musk to reconcile have failed, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

While JPMorgan was involved in Tesla’s 2010 initial public stock offering and several subsequent transactions, other banks such as Goldman Sachs Group frequently took precedence, the Journal reported.

JPMorgan hasn't worked on any Tesla offerings or transactions since 2016, and Musk has turned to other banks for his personal loans, per the Journal.

Mogul feud: Musk v Dimon

Efforts by Dimon and Musk to reconcile have not succeeded.

Split screen of Elon Musk and Jamie Dimon

Photo: Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images and Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

JP Morgan Chase

Axios Pro Rata

KKR offered to take Telecom Italia (BIT: TIT) private for around €33.2 billion, or €0.505 per share (45% premium to Friday's closing price), including the assumption of more than €20 billion in net debt. 

Why it matters: This would be one of the largest-ever leveraged buyouts of a European company. It also sets up a possible battle between KKR and French media giant Vivendi, TIM's largest outside stockholder, which paid an average of more than €1 for each of its shares.

Details: KKR's offer is described as nonbinding and indicative, and would need approval from both the company and the Italian government.

The bottom line: "KKR's plan would see TIM carve out its fixed network to be run as a government-regulated asset along the model used by energy grid company Terna or gas grid firm Snam ... The government wants any plans for TIM's grid to be in line with the goal of rapidly completing broadband rollout across Italy, supported by adequate investments, and protecting jobs." — Reuters

KKR makes buyout offer to Telecom Italia for €33.2 billion

This would be one of the largest-ever leveraged buyouts of a European company.

KKR logo. Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Telecom

The 17,000+ cryptocurrency enthusiasts who collectively funded a losing $40 million bid to purchase a copy of the U.S. Constitution last week face a new hurdle in getting their money back: transaction fees.

How it works: The ConstitutionDAO group used Ethereum to build its war chest, and contributors paid "gas fees" — essentially, network transaction costs — that observers estimated to run about $50 per transaction.

That didn't mean much to big-ticket participants, but took a big bite out of smaller contributors. The median contribution size was a little over $200, according to the ConstitutionDAO site. 

Participants in the bid collectively spent nearly $1 million on the gas fees, according to one estimate.

The catch: Organizers announced over the weekend that they'd be returning contributors' Ether contributions, but each participant would have to pony up another gas fee for this new transaction.

Between the lines: Transaction costs have long been the bane of all sorts of currency and payment innovations and are one reason that micropayments have never taken off.

Crypto supporters point out that credit card systems still take a hefty 2% to 3% per transaction.

What's next: Ethereum has plans to streamline its system in ways that might reduce transaction costs, while a slew of new systems are competing to take its place with more efficiently-tooled blockchain systems that cost less to run.

Crypto group tries to claw back fees after failed Constitution bid

Fees now hamstring the crypto enthusiasts who funded a losing bid to buy a copy of the Constitution.

A meta photo of people taking photos of the U.S. Constitution.

Photo: Yuki Iwamura/AFP via Getty Images 

Cryptocurrencies

Target CEO Brian Cornell said Monday that Target stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day this year, as well as all future Thanksgiving Days.

Driving the news: “What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard — one that recognizes our ability to deliver on our guests’ holiday wishes both within and well beyond store hours,” Cornell wrote in a note to employees, obtained by Axios.

"You don’t have to wonder whether this is the last Thanksgiving you’ll spend with family and friends for a while, because Thanksgiving store hours are one thing we won’t ‘get back to’ when the pandemic finally subsides," he added.

Of note: Target's distribution and call centers will still have some staff on Thanksgiving while stores will be closed, AP reported.

Our thought bubble, via Axios' Dan Primack: This reflects heightened pushback against unfriendly labor practices and that the pandemic has taught most U.S. consumers how to shop for everything online.

Target to keep stores closed on Thanksgiving for good

"What started as a temporary measure driven by the pandemic is now our new standard," Target CEO Brian Cornell said.

Photo: Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Target

President Biden said today he will renominate Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell for another term — as market-watchers widely anticipated.

Why it matters: The decision caps a long stretch of uncertainty about who would steer the nation's most influential economic body. The Fed is front and center as the country faces prices rising at the fastest pace in decades.

Biden nominated Lael Brainard to be the vice chair of the Fed’s board of governors. She was widely reported to be in the running for Powell's job if the president wanted to replace him. 

Brainard was also seen as a top contender to get the nod for the vice chair for supervision role, the Fed’s banking cop. That position — along with two others — remain unfilled with no nominations, giving Biden a lot of room to leave a significant mark on the Fed.

The White House said in a statement that "the President intends to make those appointments beginning in early December, and is committed to improving the diversity in the Board’s composition."

The big picture: The Powell-led Fed played an extraordinary and unprecedented role in helping resurrect the economy from the depths of the pandemic shock. Now he's set to continue to oversee the central bank as it charts a course to pull back on that support.

Powell recently said the Fed would begin to slow — or taper — its massive bond purchases that have underpinned the recovery.

The Fed has maintained the price shock is a fleeting ("transitory") phenomenon. Powell said they are in no rush to lift interest rates from rock-bottom levels because it wants to see the labor market heal further.

What they're saying: "While there’s still more to be done, we’ve made remarkable progress over the last 10 months in getting Americans back to work and getting our economy moving again," Biden said in a statement.

"That success is a testament to the economic agenda I’ve pursued and to the decisive action that the Federal Reserve has taken under Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard to help steer us through the worst downturn in modern American history and put us on the path to recovery."

What to watch: Powell, who was first tapped as Fed chair by former President Donald Trump, is expected to face a tense confirmation process this time around.

Perhaps the most outspoken is Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who called Powell "a dangerous man" for his record on financial regulation.

Warren ratcheted up pressure on Powell after a rare scandal hit the Fed. Two now-former officials came under fire after financial disclosures show they owned — and in one case, actively traded — assets sensitive to the monetary policy they helped shape.

The Fed has since overhauled its trading rules. Officials and senior staff can no longer own individual stocks or actively trade.

The bottom line: Biden's decision is in step with a long tradition of giving Fed chiefs appointed by their predecessor a second term. 

Trump — who replaced then-Fed chair Janet Yellen — was a rare exception. 

Biden taps Jerome Powell for another term at the Fed

The decision caps a long stretch of uncertainty about who would steer the nation's most influential economic body.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell leaves a meeting 

Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Axios Generate

New EPA data on U.S. vehicle fuel economy paints a mixed picture, showing record average efficiency in model year 2020 that's nonetheless far short of what policymakers hope to see ahead.

 Driving the news: The annual report shows that average overall fuel economy for cars, SUVs and light trucks sold in the U.S. reached 25.4 miles per gallon (mpg) in model year 2020 in real-world conditions, a 0.5 mpg increase over 2019.

Preliminary data shows that it's basically stagnant this year.

The big picture: It's nowhere near the 52 mpg by 2026 in standards the Biden administration has floated, which Bloomberg notes "equates to roughly 41 mpg in real-world driving conditions that typically account for about a 20% drop in fuel economy from EPA’s ratings."

Why it matters: Transportation overall — including heavy trucks and other vehicles — is the largest source of U.S. carbon emissions.

Zoom in: For model year 2020, Tesla’s all-electric fleet had by far the lowest tailpipe CO2 emissions, EPA notes. The next best performers on average CO2 emissions and mileage were Honda, Subaru and Hyundai.

Conversely, "Stellantis had the highest new vehicle average CO2 emissions and lowest fuel economy of the large manufacturers in model year 2020, followed by Ford and GM," EPA notes.

Go deeper: The slowing global gains in fuel economy

U.S. fuel economy hits record high but falls short of policymakers' hopes

Fuel economy for vehicles sold in the U.S. reached 25.4 miles per gallon last year,  a 0.5 mpg increase.

Gasoline

Climate change

Transportation

Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

Energy & Environment

Axios Cities

Mayors' top concerns about pandemic fallout

Data: Menino Survey of Mayors; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

The No. 1 concern of U.S. mayors about the long-term consequences of the pandemic is their residents' mental health, followed closely by the learning loss for children, a survey released this morning finds.

Why it matters: Last year, the top worry among the mayors polled annually in the  Menino Survey of Mayors was financial ruin — budget shortfalls and service cuts. This year, thanks to cash infusions from the American Rescue Plan (ARP), their concerns have shifted pronouncedly.

Driving the news: The Menino Survey of Mayors canvassed 126 mayors from cities with more than 75,000 residents over the summer — just as the Delta variant of COVID-19 was a looming worry — and found less concern with crime, the shift to remote work and outmigration than canvassers had expected.

"One of the things that was really striking to us was how concerned they were about mental health and the lingering effects of the pandemic," Katherine Levine Einstein, associate professor of political science at Boston University and a principal investigator for the survey, tells Axios.

"A lot of them were talking about the ways in which people felt fearful, emotionally drained, anxious, cautious or on edge," she said. "Over half of mayors are really worried about mental health and trauma."

This concern is amplified when it comes to homeless residents, since it's even harder to help people who are having mental health and financial challenges at the same time.

The survey, conducted annually by Boston University's Initiative on Cities (and named for former Boston mayor Thomas Menino), included mayors from 39 states; it bills itself as "the only nationally representative survey of America’s mayors."

What's changed: Last year, the mayors were gloomy about the pandemic's effect on municipal coffers. This year, thanks to the money earmarked for individual cities under the ARP, they find themselves with money to spare.

4 out of 5 mayors said they'd use ARP money for "transformative aims" on housing, infrastructure, and equity, not to fill budget gaps.

Go deeper: Mayors fear long-lasting effects of COVID-19

Mayors' top concern: mental health

A shift away from 2020's concerns about budget cuts.

Mayors

Axios Finish Line

This year's Thanksgiving won't be immune to the supply chain issues and labor shortages that have been roiling the nation, but the turkey supply is strong.

The big picture: You might be dealing with a pricier Thanksgiving dinner due to inflation, and you might have to find alternatives for some of your favorite side dishes. But don't fret about the main dish.

What's happening: The only turkey compromise families might have to make is buying a bigger bird than they need this year, Butterball CEO Jay Jandrain tells Axios.

Smaller turkeys — between 10 and 14 pounds — are in shorter supply than usual because many people are still limiting travel and having smaller gatherings this year, he says.

And labor shortages at meatpacking plants prompted many turkey suppliers to extend the birds' lifetimes before slaughtering and processing them. So there are just more big turkeys — 16 pounds and up — than smaller ones this year, says Jandrain.

One reason grocery stores may have fretted about having enough turkeys is that many people bought their birds early, he says. October turkey sales were up 200% year-over-year, per the market research firm IRI. But supply remains strong for last-minute shoppers.

Other Thanksgiving staples, however, are a different story:

Cranberry sauce: Ocean Spray told ABC News that its ability to supply canned sauce is being interrupted by an aluminum can shortage and transportation issues.

Pies: Refrigerated pies and bakery pies are slightly understocked at vendors around the country, IRI told Good Morning America.

Sweet potatoes: North Carolina farmers — who are responsible for about 40% of the nation's sweet potato supply — told a local TV station they would be charging more this year to offset the rising labor costs prompted by worker shortages.

Gravy: The canned stuff is in short supply at stores, Greg Ferrara, president and CEO of the National Grocers Association told Bloomberg Law.

The bottom line: This may be the year to start getting creative with traditional Thanksgiving favorites.

And if you end up with a bigger turkey than you need, start brainstorming fun ideas for leftovers.

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