Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg via Getty Images
When Elon Musk says something,don’t assume he'll follow through — at least not right away.
Why it matters: As the richest person in the world and CEO of a company valued at over $1 trillion, Musk's words carry weight. They move markets and set expectations. But he seems to think out loud — typically on Twitter — unlike the usual buttoned-up, calculated approach taken by most CEOs.
Artisan marketplace Etsy is facing backlash from sellers on its platform as the company raises fees.
Why it matters: Independent sellers have organized virtual strikes and boycotts in protest of what they see as “a giant corporation” taking advantage of small businesses, a petition reads.
Block (formerly Square) and Blockstream(a long-time Bitcoin company) have agreed to co-finance a pilot project to mine bitcoin off the electric grid in an all-solar facility.
Why it matters: The energy overhead of Bitcoin has become hotly controversial, but some bitcoiners argue the technology can help finance further development of renewable energy.
More employees are taking part of their paycheck in cryptocurrency, at least based on data from one payroll company.
Details: Deel, which serves over 6,000 customers in more than 150 countries, is seeing more employees on its platform doing just that for one cryptocurrency or another.
For a thoughtful prognosis for cryptoin the developed world, you could do worse than to read the Secretary of the Treasury's speech on digital assets at American University last week.
Why it matters: Yellen seemed to acknowledge that cryptocurrency has put pressure on the global financial system to speed itself up and cut its costs to end users — without any suggestion, however, that the system can't fix itself.
The U.S. could make more than $5 billion by waiting a few years to replenish its oil reserves.
Why it matters: President Biden has committed to sell 1 million barrels of oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months. All of that oil will need to be replaced, somehow; ideally, at a profit.
Thoma Bravo agreed to buy Austin, Texas-based enterprise cybersecurity firm SailPoint Technologies (NYSE: SAIL) for $6.9 billion. The deal includes a 35-day go-shop provision, and works out to $65.25 per share (31.6% premium to Friday's close).
Why it matters: Private equity is entering a new normal on debt financing, preferring private credit over bank loans that may struggle to get syndicated due to geopolitical instability.
Goldman Sachs is succeeding in its efforts to diversify corporate board rooms, but still has a ways to go inside the bank.
"There's a lot to be done internally," Ilana Wolfe, who heads up corporate board engagement at the bank.
The big picture: More than two years ago Goldman Sachs said it wouldn't take a company public in the U.S. or Western Europe if there wasn't at least one woman, LGBTQ person or underrepresented minority member on its board.
Kmart — once a retail giant with well over 2,000 U.S. stores — will be down to just three after its store in Avenel, New Jersey, closes on April 16, AP reports.
Why it matters: The retail world now is dominated by Walmart, Target and Amazon.
Downloads of BeReal, Gen Z's hot new social media app, have skyrocketed in recent months, giving the world's mobile-first generation a new way to connect through the work or school day.
Why it matters: With so many apps fighting to get even a small sliver of Gen Z's attention, BeReal has pulled ahead by getting users not to over-think what they post.
A new inflation reading is due out Tuesday morning, and it looks to be a doozy. The Consumer Price Index for March will reflect the surge in energy prices tied to the war in Ukraine, which is likely to push the headline number to yet another multi-decade high.
Why it matters: The biggest question facing the economy now is whether inflation will come down on its own, or require such aggressive Federal Reserve action as to bring a recession. The new numbers will provide fresh evidence of which reality we're living in.
Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" brought in $71 million at the domestic box office this weekend, beating its predecessor — the first "Sonic the Hedgehog" movie from 2020 — as the top video game movie opener in history.
Why it matters: Movies adapted from video games aren't typically box office winners, but momentum is slowly starting to build around the genre as families return to theaters.
The California Legislature is considering a bill that would reduce the workweek to four days for companies with more than 500 employees.
Why it matters: Though the legislation is a long shot, calls to shorten the workweek — a perennial fantasy for cube dwellers, factory workers and others — have grown louder and more prevalent since the pandemic showed us what's possible in terms of alternative job arrangements.
Two former top officials in the Trump White House have secured billions of dollars from the Saudi government, in the form of investments in their new private equity funds, the New York Times reports.
Driving the news: Jared Kushner's firm, Affinity Equity, scored a $2 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, while former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's Liberty Strategic Capital secured $1 billion.
Elon Musk "has decided not to join" Twitter's board of directors, the social media company's CEO Parag Agrawal said late Sunday — days after it announced he would take a board seat.
Driving the news: Agrawal said in a memo shared to Twitter that Musk's appointment to the board was to become officially effective on Saturday. "Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board. I believe this is for the best," he added.
