The United Auto Workers union on Saturday announced a tentative contract agreement with Stellantis that would end a six-week strike against the maker of Jeep SUVs and Ram trucks.
Why it matters: The proposed agreement, which comes days after Ford reached a separate deal with the union, brings the historic work stoppage against the Detroit Three one step closer to a complete end.
The funding environment for climate tech has vastly improved from a decade ago, but there's still a huge gap left between early de-risking by venture capitalists and later-stage project financing.
Why it matters: Governments and large corporations — including Big Oil — will be needed to help fill that gap, panelists told me onstage Thursday at a New York Stock Exchange event.
How would you calculate penalties and interest on tax arrears of $29 billion dating back as far as 2004? That's one of the many questions facing the U.S. government as it endeavors to extract a record sum from Microsoft in the largest audit the IRS has ever attempted.
Why it matters: Microsoft seems decidedly sanguine. "We believe we have always followed the IRS' rules and paid the taxes we owe," wrote Daniel Goff, a senior tax executive, in a corporate blog post when the ruling was revealed this month.
National security has both an economic and a military component, and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan is convinced that laissez-faire economic policies have made his country less secure — an opinion that is shared by most lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Why it matters: How the U.S. reacts to this state of affairs will have profound consequences for whether global economic peace and prosperity can endure. There are no easy solutions.
Sam Bankman-Fried, testifying in his own criminal fraud trial Friday in Manhattan, attempted to distance himself from the decisions that ultimately brought down both the FTX crypto exchange and its sister hedge fund Alameda Research.
Why it matters: Crypto's fallen star needs only to establish reasonable doubt with the jury about his culpability as it relates to his companies' alleged misstatements and misuse of funds.
A twist of the knife in the already soured relationship between Digital Currency Group's Genesis Global and crypto exchange Gemini involves a dispute over Grayscale's bitcoin trust shares.
Zoom in: The problem is that they're worth a lot more now than they were before.
First lady Jill Biden slimes fifth-grade students in Philadelphia Friday for the debut of "Well Versed." Photo: Sara Fischer/Axios
First lady Jill Biden helped Nickelodeon and ATTN: debut a new TV show called "Well Versed" focused on teaching kids civics — a modern take on "Schoolhouse Rock."
Why it matters: The animated show, announced on National Civics Day, debuts at a trying time for American democracy.
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, now on trial on fraud charges in Manhattan, will not be allowed to discuss relying on counsel in almost all cases, the judge in the case ruled Friday.
Why it matters: The defense has been seeking to present evidence that SBF relied on conversations with company attorneys to verify the legality of decisions he made at the crypto exchange and its sister hedge fund, Alameda Research.
Driving the news: Personal consumption expenditures rose a scorching 0.7% in September, the Commerce Department said, or 0.4% when adjusted for inflation. That is a key factor in the strong 4.9% annualized Q3 GDP growth number reported Thursday.
H.I.G. Capital this week sued fellow private equity firm Audax Group, accusing it of perpetrating a "brazen, massive, systemic fraud." Audax says it plans to countersue.
Why it matters: Both firms appear to be asking a court to pierce the so-called "corporate veil," behind which private equity often hides when accused of wrongdoing. If successful, it could set new precedent.
Private equity firm Nexus Capital Management has agreed to buy a majority stake in Dollar Shave Club from Unilever, which had paid $1 billion in cash to buy the upstart razor brand in 2016. No financial terms were disclosed.
Why it matters: Dollar Shave Club helped lead a wave of buzzy direct-to-consumer startups that threatened to upend omnichannel retail, before becoming small cogs in that same system.
Americans' savings rates slid again in the third quarter as consumer spending led the charge to a strong reading on U.S. economic growth.
Why it matters: Analysts have been watching falling rates of consumer savings — which surged during the pandemic and created a big savings cushion — for hints about whether consumers are reaching the end of their ability to fuel spending growth.
Advent calendars, originally a way for Christian parents to teach their children about the meaning of Christ's birth, have turned into a sales-and-branding opportunity and a new holiday product category.
What's happening: Modern calendars dispense not just a tiny piece of chocolate or a holiday-themed picture, but jewelry, cosmetics, perfume, bottles of wine, dog toys and more.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said Thursday night that he'd been "surprised" at the growth of the company's generative AI business over the last few months.
Why it matters: He made the comments during an analyst call following the release of Amazon's third quarter earnings, which revealed that businesses are still cautious about overall spending on cloud services.
Why it matters: The singer is "one of the few entertainers" to achieve billionaire status based solely on music and performances, per Bloomberg, which reported Thursday that this was due to work, talent, "canny marketing and timing."
Stop trying to soak up everything you see online or hear from friends. You'll drown.
Instead, learn to be a sponge — a finely filtered one.
Why it matters: A sponge mindset, Adam Grant argues in his new book, "Hidden Potential," will help you absorb the right information — and save you time.
