Axios

The serious people in crypto are building relationships in Washington.

Driving the news: New hire announcements for policy chiefs, corporate strategists, legal counsel and compliance directors have been coming in hot lately — folks who do facetime with government officials, regulators and policymakers.

Jeffrey Schmid, a former bank executive, will be the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the regional Fed bank said on Wednesday — ending an unusually lengthy search for a new leader.

Why it matters: Schmid succeeds Esther George, who retired earlier this year after 12 years as its leader. He will become a member of the rotating group of Fed presidents that vote on critical interest rate decisions.

Fitch Ratings downgraded its assessment of the U.S. government's creditworthiness Tuesday afternoon, declaring that Uncle Sam is a mere AA+ rated credit, no longer AAA.

The big picture: It was a weird decision, not because the U.S. fiscal outlook is pretty (it isn't) but because of Fitch's stated reasons.

Private sector hiring boomed in July, but the pace of jobs growth did slow from the previous month, according to ADP's latest employment report.

By the numbers: Private employers added 324,000 jobs to payrolls, down from the 455,000 added in June (which was revised lower by 42,000 jobs).

The PGA Tour, which recently agreed to merge with Saudi Arabia-based LIV Golf, said that it's adding Tiger Woods to its policy board.

Why it matters: This would give golfers an equal say on the board, and thus an equal say on the LIV deal's fate.

Allurion Technologies, a Massachusetts-based maker of swallowable gastric balloons, today will go public on the New York Stock Exchange.

Why it matters: Anti-obesity is health care's new big thing, thanks to the popularity of new drugs like Ozempic, after a long history of most prescribed treatments being behavioral.

Gas prices ticked up 15 cents in just the past week, as the heat wave hitting Texas and Louisiana slowed oil refineries down.

Why it matters: The nation's mood runs on gas prices — when they're high, economic vibes worsen. And, rising energy prices keep inflation levels elevated, complicating the Fed's efforts to rein in higher prices.

Federal money is set to pour into the manufacturing industry in the U.S., but a big question looms: Who is going to do all this work?

Why it matters: The tight labor market poses a challenge to what Axios' Neil Irwin calls the coming manufacturing investment supercycle.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo wants to remake the image of manufacturing for younger workers.

Why it matters: Raimondo has been instrumental in driving public and political support for the CHIPS Act, which is expected to create an explosion of new jobs in the semiconductor industry that will need to be filled.

Controversy propelled Jason Aldean to the pinnacle of popular music Tuesday, when his song "Try That in a Small Town" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Why it matters: The song's ongoing success, driven by streams and digital sales, shows it has become a touchstone in the nation's culture wars.

Fitch Ratings on Tuesday downgraded America's long-term foreign currency rating, citing the country's deteriorating fiscal position — and the frequently chaotic process driving governance decisions.

State of play: Fitch cut the country's default rating from a pristine AAA to the next level down, AA+. The ratings agency said rising debt levels and a polarized political culture is making the U.S. a less dependable payor of its debts.

• The agency had previously put the country on downgrade watch.

Why it matters: Although largely symbolic, Fitch's decision signals Washington's "steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years, including on fiscal and debt matters."

• The latest debt ceiling standoff was marked by weeks of infighting and uncertainty that brought the world's largest economy to the brink of default. The eventual agreement only postponed the day of reckoning until 2025.

Flashback: In 2011, Standard & Poor's famously cut the U.S.'s credit rating from AAA to AA+, a controversial episode that marked the country's first-ever downgrade, which temporarily riled Wall Street.

• Stock futures fell in after-hours trading on Tuesday, reflecting renewed investor jitters. Markets have been mostly bullish over the waning probability of a recession and solid second-quarter earnings.

What they're saying: "The repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management," Fitch said in a statement.

• Fitch also called out Washington's undependable budgeting, "tax cuts and new spending initiatives" contributing to repeated debt increases, and "limited progress in tackling medium-term challenges related to rising social security and Medicare costs due to an aging population."

However, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pushed back against Fitch's decision. In a statement, the former Federal Reserve chair wrote that "I strongly disagree" with the decision, blasting it as "arbitrary and based on outdated data."

• She said the country has "shown improvement over the course of this Administration," including infrastructure investments, the debt ceiling increase and economic growth.
• Treasury securities, Yellen said, will remain the "world's preeminent safe and liquid asset."

Pfizer's COVID revenue boom is over.

The big picture: Sales of its COVID vaccine and its COVID treatment Paxlovid led to skyrocketing revenue for Pfizer during the heights of the pandemic.

The graveyard of upstart online sportsbooks is filling up as the digital gambling market consolidates around the biggest players with the deepest pocketbooks and brand recognition.

Why it matters: Gambling operators are engaged in a digital gold rush to grab market share as more states legalize online sports wagering.

Surging international travel demand is fueling record applications and long waits for Global Entry, a program that promises "expedited processing" when returning from abroad.

Why it matters: Call it the summer of "revenge travel" part two with COVID-19 restrictions largely a thing of the past and travelers wanting to make up for delayed trips.

Francisco Partners and TPG on Monday announced plans to take software observability company New Relic private for $6.5 billion.

Why it matters: This is one of the year's largest private equity deals.

NATO has raised more than €1 billion from certain member nations for a fund that will invest in deep tech startups, including those that developing technologies that could have military or defense applications.

Why it matters: This appears to be the first-ever "multi-sovereign" investment fund.

Investing in stocks or opening retirement savings accounts has long been elusive for many Latinos, but social media and podcasts that offer culturally relevant financial coaching are turning that on its head.

Why it matters: U.S. Latinos' economic power is growing, yet they are less likely than their non-Hispanic white counterparts to have savings, retirement and non-retirement investment accounts.

Box to Box Films, the U.K.-based production company behind some of Netflix's biggest sports hits, is looking to raise roughly $30 million, sources told Axios.

Why it matters: The explosive success behind several of Box to Box Film's shows has not only inspired more streamers to consider sports docuseries, but it's fundamentally changed the popularity of several sports.

The latest data on job openings and turnover out Tuesday shows how the steam is coming out of the U.S. labor market. It's happening so exceptionally slowly and painlessly that it's easy not to notice.

Why it matters: This gradual shift away from the ultra-tight labor market of 2021 is reducing inflationary pressure and mitigating frustrations caused by labor shortages. Yet it's leaving workers in a broadly favorable position and happening without large-scale job losses.

Bed Bath & Beyond is back online under new ownership — less than two days after its last remaining brick-and-mortar stores shuttered.

Why it matters: Overstock has officially transformed itself into Bed Bath & Beyond. Its takeover of the retailer marks one of the fastest-ever relaunches of a bankrupt brand name and website.

German stocks are at record highs, while their U.S. cousins remain short of such levels.

Why it matters: TSMINTE (the stock market is not the economy). German GDP was stagnant in the second quarter, showing zero growth rather than the 0.3% growth that economists had expected.

Whatever you think of Elon Musk personally, you have to give him credit for, more than anybody else, moving the world from the internal combustion past to the EV future. Or do you?

Why it matters: A narrative is now emerging that Musk might have actually done more harm than good for the EV industry as a whole. That narrative, however, largely ignores the crucial role played by the stock market.

Following a year of historically slow growth, analysts believe the ad market is finally beginning to improve.

Why it matters: The slowdown in the ad market contributed to a massive sell-off across the media, entertainment and technology sectors last year.

Purveyors of lab-grown meat — who prefer the term "cell-cultivated," to avoid the mad-scientist-with-a-test-tube image — foresee a world where our plates are full of steak but animal slaughter is largely a thing of the past.

Why it matters: Investors are pouring money into the sector and its promise of cruelty-free meals that are (maybe) better for the environment, but many unknowns remain.

X accused the Center for Countering Digital Hate in a lawsuit Monday of making "false" claims after the nonprofit found bigoted speech had surged since October's Elon Musk-led takeover of the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Driving the news: The complaint accuses the hate speech watchdog of "using flawed methodologies to advance incorrect, misleading narratives." The CCDH said in an online post earlier Monday that "Musk's lawyers have threatened CCDH with baseless legal action over our work exposing the rise in hate & lies on Twitter."