Brat TV, a Hollywood production studio for Gen-Z content, is launching a standalone app that will house all of the shows it typically distributes on other platforms.
Why it matters: The move represents Brat’s expansion from a production partner for other streaming platforms to a standalone media company that creates and distributes its own content.
Taco Bell is launching a training program to groom underrepresented employees to become franchisees, aiming to diversify the ownership of its 7,500 restaurants.
The big picture: The Yum Brands-owned fast-food chain is forming the Taco Bell Business School with a goal of boosting the “low percentage” of its franchised restaurants currently owned by people of color, Taco Bell CEO Mark King tells Axios.
Multifamily housing construction boosted U.S. homebuilding last month to a nine-month high.
The big picture: The construction and real estate industries are betting that homebuyers will settle for renting amid a shortage of homes and high prices.
President Biden said Wednesday that fighting inflation is the job of the Federal Reserve, tacitly endorsing the central bank's shift toward higher interest rates.
Why it matters: Biden's comments made clear that Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell will face no pushback from the White House as it moves toward tighter money, contrary to the typical political dynamics.
American mask manufacturersare getting whiplash, having gone from sleepy sector to mission-critical industry overnight — only to see sales collapse before now being suddenly in demand again.
Why it matters: As the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19 rages, health experts now say Americans need legitimate N95 or KN95 masks to best protect themselves — not widely available fakes or less effective cloth masks.
Cardi B has offered to paythe burial costs for all 17 people killed in this month's Bronx high-rise fire, Mayor Eric Adams' office said Wednesday.
What she's saying: "I cannot begin to imagine the pain and anguish that the families of the victims are experiencing, but I hope that not having to worry about the costs associated with burying their loved ones will help as they move forward and heal," the Grammy-winning rapper said in a statement.
Topography Health landed $21.5 million in Series A funding from Bain Capital Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, Axios has learned.
The New York and Los Angeles-based startup aims to carve a niche in the clinical trials landscape by engaging community physicians with a plug-and-play trials platform.
Why it matters: The clinical trials landscape is dominated by a few expensive and slow-moving studies run largely by elite, hard-to-access academic medical centers.
Starbucks has dropped plans to require that U.S. workers get the COVID vaccine or submit to weekly testing, the company announced Tuesday in a memo to employees.
Why it matters: The company's decision comes in response to the Supreme Court's ruling last week to block the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine-or-test requirement for large employers.
Three Houston philanthropies are coming together to launch an independent nonprofit news operation in Houston, executives tell Axios.
Why it matters: Houston is the fourth-largest U.S. city by population and one of the most diverse places in the country. But local philanthropists argue its community is underserved by its current local news offerings, which are facing economic pressure.
Russia's ruble has sold off as diplomatic efforts to defuse the growing crisis around Ukraine have stalled.
Why it matters: The weakening currency — as of Wednesday it was down roughly 9% against the dollar since October — suggests some investors are dumping Russian investments because they expect the country will face new economic sanctions.
Algorithm-driven trading in the corporate bond market still makes up a tiny share of overall activity — but it reached a new peak in November at 5.7% of total trades, according to Tradeweb estimates.
Why it matters: Portfolio trading, as it's known, uses a pricing algorithm to identify a clearing price for a basket of dozens or even hundreds of individual bonds. On the large end, the portfolios can be over $1 billion in size.
Stocks are much more vulnerable to interest rate swings than they used to be.
Why it matters: A sharp rise in rates in early 2022 is the key reason the stock market is off to an ugly start. And with the Federal Reserve making noise about trying to keep inflation in check, rates could go higher.
Six health insurers control roughly three-quarters of the fast-growing Medicare Advantage market, according to an Axios analysis of federal data.
Why it matters: Medicare Advantage enrollment hasn't slowed down in 2022, even though dismal projections from Humana and Cigna freaked out Wall Street earlier this month, and concentration at the top remains high.
Emirates and Delta airlines announced Tuesday that the planned rollout of 5G services at certain American airports could affect flights.
Driving the news: AT&T and Verizon announced earlier Tuesday that they would delay this week's scheduled rollout of 5G signals near a limited number of airports due to continued concerns from the aviation industry.
RocaNews, an Instagram news brand with 1 million followers, has raised $4.4 million in a seed round led by Ori Allon, the co-founder and executive chair of Compass Real Estate.
Why it matters: The team plans to add gaming features to the news app it's acquiring to help boost engagement.
