Axios

Justin Bieber lifted beleaguered sales at Tim Hortons almost instantaneously.

Catch up quick: The Canadian-born entertainer collaborated with the Canadian restaurant chain for a limited run of donut holes in November. 

Rising prices for lumber are once again adding to worries of soaring home prices.

Fueling the surge: Sawmills still can’t keep up with demand, wildfires wrecked inventory and tariffs doubled on Canadian lumber.

ViacomCBS on Wednesday said the company plans to rebrand as "Paramount," matching its corporate name to its streaming service, Paramount+ and its movie studio, Paramount Pictures.

Why it matters: The name reflects Shari Redstone's ambition to create a single, unified brand that is centered around streaming.

Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine is putting the U.S. on the doorstep of $4-per-gallon gasoline for the first time in nearly 14 years.

• Oil prices fell a few dollars per barrel on Tuesday on hopes that Russia may not attack, but lingering tension promises continued volatility for the commodity.

Why it matters: Spiking energy prices have played a central role in the current 40-year inflation peak and threaten to cause further disruption to America’s political landscape.

The New York Times was handed a small victory on Monday, after a New York district judge said he would dismiss a landmark defamation case brought against it by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

The latest: The jury unanimously found The Times not liable in the case on Tuesday, a day after Judge Jed S. Rakoff said Palin failed to prove the New York Times acted with "actual malice," per NPR's David Folkenflik.

Republican members of the Senate Banking Committee will boycott a planned Tuesday afternoon vote to advance five Biden nominees to lead the Federal Reserve, denying the panel a quorum.

Driving the news: They are demanding that Democrats wait to hold a vote on Sarah Bloom Raskin, tapped to be the Fed's top bank regulator, until she answers more questions about her board service for a financial technology company.

More than 101 million Americans watched Super LVI on live TV Sunday across NBC and Telemundo, according to preliminary ratings from Nielsen. Across all of NBC's platforms, including its streaming platform Peacock, the game was watched by 112.3 million viewers, per NBC.

Why it matters: It's an improvement from last year's game, which saw ratings drop to a 10-year low.

Intel on Tuesday said it has agreed to buy Israel's Tower Semiconductor for around $5.4 billion in cash, or $53 per share (60% premium to Monday's closing price).

Why it matters: America's largest chipmaker is seeking to significantly expand its specialty manufacturing capability, at a time of surging semiconductor demand.

Arielle Zuckerberg has left Coatue Management, where she helped launch an early-state investing effort in 2018, to become a partner with Long Journey Ventures.

Behind the scenes: Zuckerberg tells Axios that Long Journey's Lee Jacobs recruited her during a walk last year in San Francisco, and that "it hit me like a brick in the head ... it was just such an obvious team ... the mix of optimism and chasing the weird and magical."

Crypto went mainstream on Sunday, via a series of hyped Super Bowl ads that featured everything from LeBron to Larry David to a bouncing, technicolor QR code.

Be smart: This was a new customer land-grab, with crypto companies reaching to the edges of TAM. But new tech has a very mixed track record when it comes to this particular sort of spend, particularly if bankrolled by venture capitalists.

The Financial Times will soon reach 1 million digital-only subscribers, a source familiar with the numbers confirms to Axios.

Why it matters: The FT has had a digital paywall since 2002. It was one of the first publishers to introduce a metered paywall in 2007, before transitioning over to paid subscription trials in 2015.

WSC Sports, a B2B sports video company, has raised $100 million in a series D funding round, led by ION Crossover Partners, to expand into new verticals and countries.

Why it matters: The Israel-based company's growth reflects the changes rapidly disrupting the sports media industry.

Peter Thiel is injecting $1.5 million into a seed round for a new conservative dating app called "The Right Stuff," a source familiar with the funding tells Axios.

The big picture: Conservatives have been aggressively building their own apps, phones, cryptocurrencies and publishing houses in an attempt to circumvent what they see as an increasingly liberal internet and media ecosystem.

Better Tomorrow Ventures, a fintech-focused early stage venture firm headed by NerdWallet co-founder Jake Gibson and ex-500 Startups partner Sheel Mohnot, has raised $150 million for a sophomore fund, and $75 million for an opportunity fund.

Why it matters: Fintech has been a hot sector over the past couple of years, with record venture dollars invested and several blockbuster exits.

The Chernin Group and talent management company Night Media are setting up a new growth equity vehicle named "NightCap" that will aim to acquire businesses and team them up with content creators, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: It's yet another testament to the influence and commercial power of social media stars, rivaling that of traditional celebrities like actors and musicians.

Environmentalists are pressing financial regulators to look skeptically at companies' use of carbon offsets to help meet their climate pledges.

Driving the news: In a public comment docket posted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency about draft guidelines for how large banks should handle climate risk, the Center for American Progress said OCC should deter banks from using offsets to meet their public emissions pledges.

An index of wholesale prices rose 9.7% compared to a year ago, remaining near all-time high levels since 2010 when the government started collecting the data.

Why it matters: The Producer Price Index (PPI) is a key leading indicator for the prices that consumers eventually see. These wholesale prices that companies pay for goods are often passed on to customers in the form of retail price increases.

The Associated Press plans to hire roughly 20 journalists across Africa, Brazil, India and the U.S. to expand its coverage of climate change, per deputy managing editor Sarah Nordgren.

Why it matters: The new climate desk is backed by roughly $8 million in funding from various philanthropies, including Quadrivium, the foundation run by James and Kathryn Murdoch, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.

Lee Enterprises was delivered a huge win this week after a Delaware judge sided with Lee in hedge fund Alden's lawsuit against the local newspaper company.

Why it matters: The decision marks a major milestone in the bitter takeover battle between Alden, a hedge fund known for consolidating local news companies for profit, and Lee, one of the last remaining independent chains of local newspapers.

Comedians and actors Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall will host the Oscars this year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: The Oscars haven’t had a host for the last three years.

Russia announced a partial pullback in Ukraine today, but the crisis is far from over.

Why it matters: If there was a Russian invasion, there would not only be geopolitical shockwaves and human tragedy, but it also could upend markets and strain the global economy.

Markets sheriff Gary Gensler came for the crypto Wild West Tuesday, cracking down on a particularly popular kind of product, the high-yield crypto "savings" account that really isn't a savings account at all.

Driving the news: BlockFi, a crypto startup, said it will pay $100 million to settle allegations that it misled investors about its BlockFi Interest Accounts (BIA), where customers lend the company money in exchange for yield — up to around 8% in some cases.

If Russia invades Ukraine, the economic ripples would likely spread worldwide — and make for a tricky situation for global central bankers.

• War in Europe would further strain commodity markets and supply chains, fueling higher inflation, while also acting as an impediment to global recovery.

Eli Manning says he and his older brother Peyton are both committed to the next three seasons of ESPN's hit alternate broadcast, ManningCast, despite speculation that Peyton may be considering other career opportunities.

• "I have talked to him about this," the younger brother said in an interview with Axios. In extending for another year, "that shows that we are enjoying this; we're committed to it; and hopefully, we'll continue to do it for a while."

Americans are starting new businesses at a rapid clip — and that's a great sign for the economy.

By the numbers: There were 5.4 million applications to start companies in 2021, a 53% jump from pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to census data.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway bought nearly $1 billion in shares in Activision Blizzard just before Microsoft agreed to buy the video game maker, according to documents filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday.

By the numbers: As of Dec. 31, Berkshire owned 14.7 million shares worth about $975 million of the Call of Duty maker, according to the filing.

Elon Musk donated some $5.7 billion in Tesla shares to charity last November, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission published Monday.

The big picture: The donation of 5,044,000 shares to the unidentified charity from Nov. 19 to Nov. 29 by the Tesla CEO and world's richest person were made days before he traded barbs with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) over taxes, during which he declared he'd "pay more taxes than any American in history this year."

The U.S. is offering Ukraine up to $1 billion in sovereign loan guarantees to help the country's economy as it faces the threat of a Russian military buildup at its border.

Driving the news: Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an emailed statement late Monday the offer, combined with "the strong partnership" among Ukraine, the International Monetary Fund and others, would "bolster Ukraine’s ability to ensure economic stability, growth and prosperity for its people in the face of Russia’s destabilizing behavior. "