In the 17th century, Europeans worked largely from their homes, often as artisans and farmers. Each family member had a hierarchical place in the flow of tasks, attuned to their age and skills, and were acknowledged for that contribution.
Then came the Industrial Revolution, which sent workers en masse into factories, and the accepted definition of work suddenly changed: laborers earning cash outside the home were doing authentic work, while those at home — largely women and children — were not.
This lost status has plagued European and American women ever since.
Shari Redstone, vice-chairwoman of National Amusements, the holding company for CBS and Viacom, is contemplating firing CBS chief Leslie Moonves, should merger talks between the two networks fail, CNBC reports.
Why it matters: Moonves was reportedly disinterested in a deal prior to the latest round of merger talks. The Wrap reported a few weeks ago that Moonves had become more interested. The news Tuesday shows that Redstone is willing to remove any executives that stand in the way of recombining the two companies.
Wireless carriers Sprint and T-Mobile are in merger negotiations. Again.
Why it's a big deal: Because the third time might be the charm, as it's hard to imagine the two sides would even be talking if there wasn't some sort of possible breakthrough on the issue of combined company control.
President Trump called out the New York Times for reporting that Bob Mueller is investigating foreign cash Trump received for a speech, tweeting that the Times was wrong about who asked him to speak.
Yes, but: The Times says Schoen set up the speech. And Trump did not deny the speech itself or that Ukrainian Victor Pinchuk donated $150,000 to the Donald J. Trump foundation in exchange for Trump's appearance, via video, at a conference in Kiev, as the Times reported.
Republican senators are extremely worried about Trump’s protectionist moves on trade. Specifically, senators who represent farm states are furious about Trump’s threats of tariffs — and the responding Chinese threats to crops like soybeans — are already driving down crop prices.
Why it matters: Little by little, Senate Republicans are souring on Trump publicly, dissing his trade moves, his Mueller threats and constant drama.
It’s as if the post-election presidential transition to power never ended for Donald Trump. Or never began. Everything in this White House is in flux — and in play.
Why it matters: Some officials tell us it’s like Jan. 20, 2017, every day — with different characters and different plots, but the same maddening improviser, with the same maddening tricks:
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday that Trump thinks special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation has "gone too far." The comments follow the FBI's raid of the president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen's office.
Sanders said she isn't sure if Trump is still represented by Cohen and included that the president hasn't spoken to him since the raid. Trump believes he has the power to fire Mueller if he "chooses to do so," added the press secretary.
Seven Myanmar soldiers were sentenced to "10 years in prison with hard labor in a remote area" for the massacre of 10 Rohingya men in September, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested for reporting that story, and are now facing up to 14 years in prison. Per Reuters, the military said on Tuesday that the 10 men who were killed "belonged to a group of 200 militants who had attacked security forces," but witnesses tell Reuters there was no large attack, and that soldiers "plucked the 10 from among hundreds" of people.
For the first time, the Department of Homeland Security is including a social media simulator in its annual exercise that simulates how the United States and the international community respond to a global cyber attack, Jeanette Manfra, the head of cybersecurity at DHS, told Axios at the exercise's kickoff at U.S. Secret Service's headquarters this morning.
How it works: The social media simulator is intended to replicate how people respond to news of a cyber attack, including simulations of tweets and news articles online, Manfra said. She would not discuss whether the exercise simulates the way bots have been increasingly impacting the way news spreads on Twitter.
Markets around the world are rallying Tuesday morning after Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech pledging to significantly lower tariffs on imported cars and emphasizing that China wants a "greater balance of international payments."
The details, via WSJ: "Shortly after the U.S. open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 373 points, or 1.6%, to 24352. The S&P 500 added 1.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.4%."
Walmart's potential buyout of Humana could be one of the most consequential deals in the feverish turf war of health care mergers, because it targets the spending power of the aging population.
The big picture: If a Walmart-Humana deal comes to fruition, which is still a big "if," Walmart would catapult from being the most recognizable American retailer into an even bigger corporate powerhouse with a tight grip on billions of federal health care dollars.
When Tiger Woods is playing, he and his sponsors get much more time on camera than other competitors, according to Nielsen:"Through the Arnold Palmer Invitational (March 12-18, 2018), Woods had seen more branding time on screen than any other golfer on the PGA Tour, with 583 minutes of branding exposure."
Why it matters: "For the four events this season that Woods has finished inside the top 25, broadcast network viewership is up 93% versus the same events last year, or about 2 million more viewers on average."
The North American box office decreased by 2% last year to $11.1 billion, dragging down total global box office dollar growth, according to the Motion Picture Association of America's latest 2017 Theatrical and Home Entertainment Market Environment report.
Why it matters: The rise of streaming in the U.S. is eating at box revenue growth. In the U.S., home entertainment spending for content released digitally was up 20% from 2016 to 2017. U.S. physical home entertainment spending — on Blu Ray and DVD — continues to decline.
During a speech on economic policy Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing "will significantly lower import tariffs for vehicles" this year, the Nikkei Asian Review reports.
Timing: This comes after President Trump called differing tariff rates for American and Chinese autos "STUPID TRADE" in a Monday morning tweet. In the speech, without mentioning the United States by name, Xi also said China "does not seek a trade surplus" and wants a "greater balance of international payments," though he warned against "Cold War and zero-sum mentalities."
The new tariffs on U.S. steel imports were already poised to raise costs for steel-intensive domestic oil and gas production. But China's proposed retaliatory tariffs on ethanol and propane pose the greatest threat yet to the U.S. energy trade.
The big picture: If tensions continue to escalate, Beijing might target U.S. oil and natural gas, too. While all businesses could face weaker margins if tariffs, quotas and other barriers slow global GDP growth, a trade war with China would prove especially damaging to U.S. energy producers, which have grown increasingly dependent on overseas markets.
