Axios

The craft brewing industry is souring on beer festivals — and it's leading to an existential crisis.

State of play: Once ubiquitous and popular, major festivals in Colorado and nationwide are vanishing from the calendar this year amid tightening economic conditions and fatigue among fans, more than a half dozen breweries and industry pros tell Axios Denver.

Another alleged cybercriminal on the Solana blockchain has gotten busted by Federal authorities, despite cutting a deal with his victims not to press charges.

Why it matters: If thieves think that all it takes to avoid the cops is extorting a deal out of their victims, there will be a lot more theft.

KPMG will invest at least $2 billion over the next five years with Microsoft to co-develop cloud and generative AI tools, the companies announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: Rival consulting giants like PwC and Accenture also have made large-scale commitments toward AI-powered changes.

PGA Tour COO Ron Price and board member Jimmy Dunne spent three hours in a Senate hearing Tuesday defending the Tour's decision to possibly link up with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Why it matters: The potential deal, if it even happens, will forever shake up the future of the sport.

Call it “Black Friday in July”: This Tuesday is expected to be one of the biggest deal and shopping days of the year as more major retailers hold sales to compete against Amazon's Prime Day.

Why it matters: Billions of dollars are expected to be spent at Amazon and competitors this week even as consumers deal with inflation and record-high debt.

In Central Banking 101, there is frequent talk of "long and variable lags" — the idea that after making an interest rate move, there is a delay of uncertain length before it really affects the economy.

• A central question facing the Fed as it meets two weeks from now and in the months ahead is: Just how long, and how variable?

Why it matters: If the interest rate increases enacted in 2022 and early 2023 are still rippling through the economy, the Fed may be about done with rate increases.

Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, stopped by Axios' headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday to meet with several reporters and editors. Here are some key takeaways.

Some musical artists are following Taylor Swift's lead and re-recording their own songs when the masters are owned by someone else, as reported yesterday by The Ringer.

The big question: Private equity funds have begun paying big bucks to buy up song catalogs, but what protects these investments from being devalued by future re-recordings?

Federal regulators are fining Bank of America $150 million for allegedly opening fake customer accounts, charging excessive fees and withholding credit card rewards.

Why it matters: The accusations cast a spotlight on the practices of one of the most powerful banks in the world.

What's happening: Bank of America will pay $90 million in penalties to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, $60 million in penalties to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and more than $100 million to compensate customers.

• The company was "systematically double-dipping on fees imposed on customers with insufficient funds in their account, withholding reward bonuses explicitly promised to credit card customers, and misappropriating sensitive personal information to open accounts without customer knowledge or authorization," the CFPB said in a statement.

In a statement, Bank of America insisted it “voluntarily reduced overdraft fees and eliminated all non-sufficient fund fees in the first half of 2022. As a result of these industry leading changes, revenue from these fees has dropped more than 90 percent.”

• BofA had no immediate comment on the allegation that it opened fake accounts — something Wells Fargo was accused of doing during its scandal several years ago — but the CFPB said the bank had already taken steps to redress the matter.

What they're saying: “These practices are illegal and undermine customer trust," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. "The CFPB will be putting an end to these practices across the banking system.”

Details: The CFPB accused Bank of America of:

• Charging customers $35 "after the bank declined a transaction because the customer did not have enough funds in their account," piling up revenue as a result.
• Refusing credit card rewards to customers who applied over the phone or in person.
• Since at least 2012, "Bank of America employees illegally applied for and enrolled consumers in credit card accounts without consumers’ knowledge or authorization," the CFPB said.
• The bank's employees "illegally used or obtained consumers’ credit reports, without their permission, to complete applications" and then "consumers were charged unjustified fees, suffered negative effects to their credit profiles, and had to spend time correcting errors."

Zoom out: While the situation bears a resemblance to the Wells Fargo fake accounts scandal, the cases appear to be much different in scope.

• Wells agreed to a $3 billion settlement — substantially more than the Bank of America deal.

What's next: The CFPB ordered the banking giant to stop these practices and compensate consumers.

• The bank has already paid $23 million to consumers who were denied credit card rewards and will be required to pay another $80.4 million to customers who were unlawfully charged fees.
• It must also make payments to customers who had fake accounts opened in their name.

Private equity firm Arctos Partners is raising $4 billion for its first non-sports strategy, which instead will focus on flexible capital solutions for private equity firms, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: This reflects how one of private equity's fastest-growing segments is servicing private equity itself.

The Los Angeles Times on Monday launched De Los, a new brand focused on identity and culture targeted to English-speaking Gen Z and millennial Latinos in the U.S., executive editor Kevin Merida told Axios.

Why it matters: The platform is part of a broader effort to engage younger audiences as the storied paper looks to add more digital subscriptions.

Severe storms sweeping the U.S. Northeast caused catastrophic flooding that officials in Vermont said Monday had surpassed levels experienced by the remnants of the deadly 2011 Hurricane Irene, which washed away homes and roads.

The big picture: Tuesday morning, much of the state capital of Montpelier was inundated after the Winooski River soared above levels seen during the flooding associated with the remnants of Irene.

Most mortgage holders aren't feeling the pain of higher interest rates.

Why it matters: It's one reason the U.S. economy has so far proved resilient in the face of the Fed's aggressive rate-hiking campaign.

China's economic pain may be the Fed's gain.

Why it matters: The country's economic slog could indirectly help the U.S. bring inflation down.

Meta's Threads, with 100 million users in less than a week, is a hit by any standard — but what Threads might be beyond that is anyone's guess.

Be smart: Threads today is largely a clone of Twitter, but the format won't define the product — its success will be determined by who uses it, and for what.

Instagram is planning to bring its branded content tools to Threads, a source told Axios, giving marketers a way to get involved with paid promotion on the app while advertising is still off limits.

Why it matters: Companies see a clear advantage in being a first-mover on Threads, but with the rules around paid promotion in flux, it's unclear the best way to get involved beyond creating organic posts.