Retailers are fighting online anonymity to stop stolen goods from being resold on the internet.
Driving the news: CEOs of nearly two dozen retail companies threw their weight today behind legislation aimed at marketplaces like Amazon and eBay in a letter to congressional leaders.
Starbucks workers at a store in Buffalo, New York overwhelmingly voted in favor of forming a union, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) confirmed Thursday.
Why it matters: The push to unionize was largely fueled by staffing shortages and poor working conditions exacerbated during the pandemic, per CNBC. None of the coffee giant's U.S. company-owned stores were unionized before the vote.
Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon have between them gained $5.5 trillion of value since their March 2020 lows.
Zoom in: Apple alone has risen in value by an astonishing $1.85 trillion in just 433 trading sessions — an average increase of well over $4 billion per day.
In just 118 days between May 6 and September 1 last year, Apple increased its valuation by $1 trillion.
Before 2018, no company had ever even been worth $1 trillion. Now, Apple will be worth more than $3.3 trillion if it rises from its current level of $175 and hits Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty's target of $200 per share.
A record number of journalists are in jail for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday, a grim reminder of the growing threat the free press faces against authoritarian rulers.
Driving the news: The pandemic has empowered autocratic leaders and others to go after the free press under the guise of arbitrary "fake news" laws and internet blackouts meant to silent dissent.
A feeling of unreality still pervades financial markets. Investors who take fiduciary duties seriously still exist — but they're seemingly outnumbered by people who see investing as a fun get-rich-quick game.
Why it matters: The post-pandemic return to some kind of pre-pandemic "normal" has yet to arrive, and as a result there's a lot of worry about the disruption and volatility that could accompany such a transition. The markets, so far, have done an excellent job of climbing that wall of worry.
Today's cars typically lose value as soon as they leave the dealership. But with regular software updates, it's possible your next car might keep more of its value over time.
The big picture: A new generation of digital-age car buyers wants to update their vehicles as seamlessly as their smartphones, adding features and services that weren't available at the time of purchase.
A #StopAsianHate tweet was the most retweeted in 2021, Twitter said on Thursday. The post, from K-pop group BTS, generated nearly 1 million retweets.
Why it matters: The tweet, published on March 29, came a few weeks after a 21-year-old white man shot and killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women, in Georgia.
Before the turbulence of the last decade, retail LBOs followed a clear model. But with rich valuations and a low appetite for credit risk, retail has seen a dearth of traditional leveraged buyouts, even as the industry slowly emerges from the pandemic.
Why it matters: Private equity firms with dedicated retail practices will have to be more creative about how they invest in the sector going forward.
Look for carbon emissions from companies held by private equity to come under increasing scrutiny, a new report finds.
Driving the news: MSCI, the investment research and data firm, is out with its list of trends and topics to watch in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) space.
Endeavor — the publicly-traded company that owns the UFC, Professional Bull Riders, WME and IMG — is buying nine minor league baseball teams affiliated with MLB's most iconic franchises.
Why it matters: Minor League Baseball was forced to cancel the 2020 season because, unlike MLB, it didn't have media rights to fund games with empty stands. Endeavor, which has experience negotiating large media deals, believes it can change that.
Job quits, the monthly stat driving the Great Resignation — which has become synonymous with the post-pandemic economic recovery — cooled a bit in October.
The big picture: The ratio of unemployed Americans per job opening fell to the lowest level in decades, according to data out Wednesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The board of Lee Enterprises has unanimously voted to reject an unsolicited takeover proposal from Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund known for cutting journalists at local papers to maximize profits.
Why it matters: Lee is one of the last remaining independent local newspaper chains. Alden's hostile takeover bid sparked panic about the death of local news.
Italy's antitrust regulator fined Amazon $1.3 billion on Thursday, claiming an investigation unveiled that it abused its dominant position in the market by favoring third-party sellers that used its logistics services.
Why it matters: It comes amid a wave of antitrust law enforcement by European nations against Big Tech companies.
JPMorgan Chase Global Research says in a forecast to clients: "2022 will be the year of a full global recovery, an end of the global pandemic, and a return to normal conditions we had prior to the COVID-19 outbreak."
The big picture: The bullish report sees "a return of global mobility, and a release of pent-up demand from consumers (e.g. travel, services)."
Congress on Wednesday sent the Biden administration and Corporate America an unequivocal message about the Chinese government's repression of Uyghur Muslims: If this is genocide, as the U.S has declared, the response can't be business as usual.
Driving the news: The House overwhelmingly passed a bill that would ban all imports from the Chinese region of Xinjiang unless the U.S. government determines with "clear and convincing evidence" the products were not made with forced labor.
New Zealand officials announced Thursday legislative plans to outlaw smoking by making it illegal to sell or supply tobacco products to the next generation as part of a lifetime ban.
Why it matters: "People aged 14 when the law comes into effect will never be able to legally purchase tobacco," Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said in a statement announcing the proposed law, part of the Smokefree 2025 Action Plan.
House lawmakers voted 364 to 60 on Wednesday night to pass the The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021, a bipartisan bill aimed at curbing the shipping container crisis.
The big picture: The bill could greatly reduce the practice of sending empty cargo boxes back to China, among other countries, and gives American exporters more opportunities to ship goods abroad.
