"Automation anxiety" is likely to trigger popular resistance to robotization, Carl Frey, a leading researcher on the future of work, tells Axios.
Quick take: Frey is the co-author of among the most influential papers in the current obsession with automation, a 2013 study that said AI could swallow 47% of U.S. jobs. His paper — along with the two-year-old populist movement across the West — is the primary reason for the nervousness in Washington and other western capitals over robots and AI.
“Businesses generally anticipate further price increases in the months ahead, particularly for steel and building materials."
— Fed report
Why it matters: The report highlights the tension between President's Trump's trade policies to protect U.S. steel and aluminum companies that also risk hurting companies that use those materials. One company told the Fed the tariffs are "now killing high-paying American manufacturing jobs and businesses."
The lender group controlling Toys "R" Us has rejected an $890 million offer from billionaire Isaac Larian that would have involved the takeover of over 200 U.S. stores and more than 80 Canadian stores, according to multiple media reports.
Why it matters: A lot of jobs are at stake here, and the lenders seem uninterested in saving them.
Tax cuts and the Affordable Care Act are supposed to be big issues in the midterm elections, but both have faded from the attention of the cable news networks now that they're no longer front and center in Congress, according to data from GDELT, a service that monitors television news coverage.
Data: GDELT Television Explorer. Volume in all tracked national stations using keywords: Obamacare, repeal and replace, Affordable Care Act; tax cuts, tax plan, tax bill, tax reform; Stormy Daniels. Chart: Lazaro Gamio/Axios
Why it matters: Democrats are campaigning hard on the GOP's unpopular attempt to repeal and replace the ACA, and Republicans are pushing the financial benefits of their tax law. But while the tax cuts have gotten another burst of attention during tax filing season, both issues are getting less cable news attention than Stormy Daniels right now. Both parties will have to hope that changes in time for the elections.
Supreme Court justices seem split on whether to allow state governments to collect sales tax from online retailers, a move that would drastically change long-standing interstate e-commerce rules.
Why it matters: It's one more example of the Supreme Court grappling with the collision of existing legal precedent and the realities of the tech-driven economy.
Fox News issued a statement Tuesday saying they were "unaware of Sean Hannity's informal relationship with Michael Cohen," adding that Hannity "continues to have our full support."
Why it matters: Hannity has received criticism for failing to disclose that he was a client of Cohen's when covering the lawyer's raid on his Fox News program. He has since tried to distance himself, saying that he never really paid Cohen and only had a few conversations with him about real estate.
Cheddar, the streaming video network dubbed the "CNBC for millennials" is launching its original tech and business-focused news network and a new general news network, Cheddar Big News, on YouTube TV.
Why it matters: Cheddar is one of the few news outlets that focuses specifically on live news for streaming audiences. While its exact audience numbers are unknown, it is hoping partnerships like the one announced today will help broaden its reach amongst news consumers that are "cutting the cord," or ditching their cable packages for cheaper, digital bundles.
Apple is going to build a subscription news service based on Texture, a magazine app it recently acquired, Bloomberg reports citing people familiar with the matter. The new news app will launch within the next year.
Why it matters: Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he wants to double the revenue Apple makes from software — such as Ipp Store apps and iTunes — by 2020.
Manufacturing printed circuit boards in San Francisco sounds crazy given the high cost of labor and real estate, but Tempo Automation has raised $20 million to do just that.
The bottom line: Tempo isn't building production runs like one would get from Shenzhen. Instead, it is focused on getting quick prototypes to Bay Area tech firms looking to rapidly iterate on a design.
Axios is about collisions — how the worlds of business, tech, media and politics are increasingly and inextricably intertwined. It's hard to imagine a more emblematic, evocative collision than the revelation in court yesterday that Fox News star Sean Hannity — Trump adviser, kibitzer and cheerleader — was an undisclosed client of Michael Cohen's.
The state of play: This week is already so crazy that MSNBC's Brian Williams last night began an interview with a guest on "The 11th Hour": "Comey. Cohen. Hannity. Trump. Start anywhere you want."
The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC endorsed by House Republican leadership, announced it will be spending $48 million on initial ad reservations in 30 competitive congressional districts for the fall 0f 2018 — the first outside conservative group to do so ahead of the midterms.
The bottom line: This is a huge ad spend for an outside group so early on in the election cycle, and the 30 districts targeted reveal which areas across the country that House Republican leadership are most concerned about come November. Most of the targeted districts align with the Cook Political Report's "Republican Toss-Up" rating.
