Axios

The fast-food chain that will replace McDonald's in Russia has unveiled its new logo ahead of a grand reopening on Sunday.

The big picture: McDonald's temporarily closed its Russian stores in March after the country invaded Ukraine. In May, the fast-food chain announced it would be selling its Russian business, noting that "continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values."

Leaders of the crypto industry, whether discussing roiling markets or the future of [name anything], encouraged enthusiasts and skeptics alike to see the value of crypto as tech.

Driving the news: Thousands flocked to Austin, Texas as Digital Currency Group subsidiary CoinDesk kicked off their crypto conference yesterday.

There is no silver lining: May's inflation report is a disaster for the "soft landing" camp — policymakers and politicians hoping to tame inflation without an all-out recession. Prices rose 1% alone during the month, bringing the year-over-year increase to a fresh four-decade high.

Why it matters: The Fed will likely have to take more aggressive steps to cool demand broadly in the economy to tackle worsening inflation, which amplifies the risk of a sharp economic downturn.

Retailers are gearing up to accept crypto.

Driving the news: That's according to a fresh report from Deloitte. They surveyed over 2,000 executives in retail organizations, and 65% of respondents said that their company either has already enabled crypto payments or should do so within a year.

Cathie Wood confirmed this week that ARK Invest is raising a crossover fund that will invest in both private and public tech companies, adding that ARK is the "closest to a venture capital fund in the public equity markets."

Why it matters: This is the part of the cycle when tourists usually rush out, not rush in.

Things are usually colder up north, but Canada's deal market is absolutely frigid.

By the numbers: Canadian M&A volume is down 46% from this point in 2021, an all-time record with around US$350 billion of activity, despite expectations of another strong year.

As gas prices continue to rise, the Internal Revenue Service is increasing the "optional standard mileage rate" used to calculate tax deductions by 4 cents a mile for the last six months of 2022.

Driving the news: The "special adjustment" starts July 1 and brings the IRS rate to 62.5 cents per mile. It comes after a 2.5-cent increase went into effect in January and represents the first mid-year adjustment made since 2011, the IRS said.

Activision Blizzard will announce Friday that it is opening collective bargaining negotiations with workers in the gaming giant’s Raven Software unit who recently voted to join a union, Axios has learned. 

Why it matters: Activision is in the middle of trying to get regulatory approval for its $68.7 billion acquisition by Microsoft.

Gasoline prices are about a cent shy of the never-before-seen national average level of $5 a gallon, and it's unclear how Americans — and the economy — will react.

Why it matters: Prices at the pump play an outsized role in the minds of Americans and are often seen as harbingers for everything from plummeting presidential approval ratings to ugly recessions.

A key gauge of inflation accelerated by 8.6% from a year earlier in May, the government said on Friday, a big leap from the previous month as costs for food and gasoline continued to surge.

Why it matters: Hot inflation remains a huge challenge for the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve as they deal with price shocks not seen since the 1980s that are squeezing consumers and souring their view of the economy.

For the highest earners, the pain at the pump is more psychological than anything else. But for lower-income Americans, high gas prices can set off a cycle of hardship.

Driving the news: The daily U.S. average national price for a gallon of regular climbed to $4.99 as of Thursday morning — a cent shy of the symbolic $5 threshold, according to AAA.

Disney's chairman of general entertainment content, Peter Rice, has been ousted and replaced by his longtime colleague Dana Walden, who previously served as chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment.

Why it matters: The move caught Hollywood by surprise. Both Rice and Walden came to Disney in 2019 from Fox, following Disney‘s acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019.

One thing we wanted to fully purge from Axios from the get-go was internal drama — the whispering and gossipy wonderment that plagues and pollutes so many workplaces.

• Our solution was radical transparency: Share everything with everybody so everyone felt in the loop and together.

Why it matters: By sharing everything other than how much someone makes or why someone left — those exceptions are out of respect for the individual — we mostly eliminated the suspicion and resentment that flows so easily from not knowing what’s really going on.