Axios

Jerome Powell’s second term as Federal Reserve chair will be defined by his response to the economy he helped create.

Why it matters: Powell's job will be harder in many ways than when the Fed was focused on just keeping the country afloat at the onset of the pandemic.

The nest is empty — again.

What’s happening: The percentage of young adults — or "boomerang kids" — who live with their parents is back to pre-pandemic levels, according to a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama, will redo a union vote, with mail ballots expected to go out next month, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: The new election comes after last year's vote, in which NLRB determined Amazon had "interfered with the employees’ exercise of a free and reasoned choice."

The Girl Scouts are jumping into the gig economy.

Driving the news: The youth organization said Tuesday that it’ll offer delivery of its signature cookies through DoorDash this year — in addition to the usual sales routes.

Medicare has proposed covering the controversial Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm, but only for patients who enroll in a randomized clinical study.

Why it matters: Medicare is sending a signal to the pharmaceutical industry that Aduhelm — an IV medication with unproven clinical benefit, serious side effects and a $28,000 annual price tag — and other Alzheimer's drugs must show they work to gain Medicare's full coverage and payment.

Circulo Health, an Ohio-based insurance startup focused on people who use Medicaid, has quietly acquired primary care provider Huddle Health, Axios has learned. Circulo is also said to have partnered with telehealth startup Brave Health to deliver tele-psychiatry services.

Why it matters: Much of the recent healthcare buzz has focused on using tech to provide affluent people with more convenient, comprehensive care. That’s left people who use Medicaid or Medicare — notably, those most in need of care — behind.

Bank of America clients will no longer face a fee for bouncing a check, starting next month, and will pay only a $10 fine instead of $35 if they overdraft an account, beginning in May, the financial institution announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: Bank of America is the latest major bank to reconsider its penalty system, as the industry as a whole has faced mounting pressure from lawmakers for the practice of charging such fines.

It’s a bull market for media companies targeting high-end readers, with Justin Smith and Ben Smith joining the likes of Puck, Air Mail, The Information, Axios, Punchbowl News, and others targeting influential, wealthy individuals with new digital publications.

Why it matters: "In this commercial environment, quality is being supported by paying audiences," said Rodney Benson, chair of NYU's Department of Media, Culture, and Communication. "Obviously, long-term, this is going to have tremendously negative civic effects."

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell faced a Senate confirmation hearing for a second term leading the central bank Tuesday. It showed the exceptionally difficult political balancing act the Fed will face in the coming years.

Why it matters: Powell appears on track to be confirmed, but if so his second term will involve a gantlet of political and economic cross-pressures.

A venture capital investor in The Athletic is criticizing the company for its $550-million sale to The New York Times, saying the media upstart was "gun shy and on defense post-COVID."

Why it matters: This is a reminder that there can be downsides to raising venture capital at high valuations.

Citadel Securities, the electronic trading firm controlled by Ken Griffin, raised $1.15 billion from Sequoia Capital and Paradigm at a $22 billion valuation.

Why it matters: This is the first-ever outside investment in Citadel Securities, which claims to have its digital fingers in around 27% of daily U.S. stock trades. Citadel Securities also has over 1,600 global clients, including large sovereign wealth funds, and this deal could be setting it up for an IPO.

Candle Media, a new media rollup company backed by Blackstone and led by former Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer, has acquired Faraway Road Productions, the content studio behind "Fauda."

Why it matters: It's the latest production studio to be snapped up by the pair. They are looking to create a global media company via rollup brands that they can one day take public, per The Information.

Since United Airlines' COVID-19 vaccine mandate went into effect last summer, no employee has died, CEO Scott Kirby said in a letter to employees.

Driving the news: Kirby said that prior to the vaccine mandate, "tragically, more than one United employee on average *per week* was dying from COVID,” but "we’ve now gone eight straight weeks with zero COVID-related deaths among our vaccinated employees."

A record number of advertising and marketing technology companies went public last year, according to a new report from LUMA Partners, a leading media and marketing investment firm. Deal volume among ad tech, marketing tech and digital media companies soared 82% year-over-year.

Why it matters: It wasn't long ago that investors were pulling back from the ad tech industry, fearing it would crumble as the sector moved away from tracking cookies and toward privacy-focused targeting solutions.

European natural gas prices continue to go nuts, as the market has become a theater in the growing conflict between Russia and the West.

Why it matters: Russia is increasingly seen as treating its energy assets as political tools, rather than mere sources of revenue, upending a market once driven largely by basic questions of supply and demand. For now, that geopolitical game of chess is squeezing the balance sheets of Europe's energy companies and ordinary consumers.

AMC Entertainment’s apes helped provide a lifeline — more than $1 billion in equity issuance — that’s kept the movie theater operator out of bankruptcy.

The big question: Whether that help extends to the debt market.

Several women were named to top business positions at news companies in the past week, adding to a broader trend of women assuming top editorial roles at news companies in the past year.

Why it matters: Business leaders tend to oversee departments that are critical to the mission of news companies, like revenue, marketing, communications and human resources.

Tesla's latest assisted-driving software lets car owners decide how aggressively they want their car to behave in traffic — even to the point of bending rules.

What's happening: The latest release of Tesla's "Full Self-Driving" (FSD) beta software lets owners choose among three driving profiles — Chill, Average or Assertive — that dictate how the car will behave in different scenarios, The Verge reports.

Global demand for anime content grew 118% over the past two years, making it one of the fastest-growing content genres by that metric during the pandemic, according to data from Parrot Analytics.

Why it matters: Surging viewership has led to more deal-making in Hollywood around the genre.

Owning a median-priced home is more affordable than the average rent on a three-bedroom property in 58% of the U.S., a new report says.

There's a big city/suburban divide, though: Renting makes more sense in big metropolitan areas, while homeownership wins out in rural areas and suburbs, where property prices are lower.

Fox News, CNN and MSNBC all announced major hires and staffing shakeups Monday, as the three networks continue to wrestle with their post-Trump and post-cable futures.

Why it matters: While CNN appears to be pushing aggressively into lifestyle and hard news programming for its new streaming service CNN+, MSNBC and Fox News are doubling down on partisan voices.

The makers of Goldfish are increasing the crackers' size for adult fans.

Details: These fish-shaped snacks in each new bag of Mega Bites are 50% bigger than regular Goldfish, the company said in a statement on Monday.