The pair of asset managers in the pole position for a spot bitcoin ETF now want to launch one for ether, the second-largest digital asset behind just bitcoin.
Driving the news: Cathie Wood's Ark Invest and 21Shares filed to launch the ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF on Wednesday, in a first test of the Securities and Exchange Commission's position on a spot ether investment fund.
Why it matters: While quirks in how health insurance prices are measured, and how medical providers set prices, have led to a downturn in inflation in recent months — that trend looks likely to reverse.
Rick Klau spent nine years as a partner with Google Ventures, before leaving in 2020 to become California's chief technology innovation officer. Now he's back in the private sector with a startup that wants to revolutionize the humble hot water heater.
Driving the news: Klau is co-founder of Onsemble, which today will announce $3 million in seed funding and a rollout in three Northern California counties.
SaaSGrid, a business intelligence and dashboarding tool for SaaS startups, has raised $3.3 million in seed funding led by founding investor Craft Ventures.
Behind the scenes: Craft is one of Silicon Valley's busiest backers of SaaS startups, but it took the David Sacks-led firm a while to recognize the opportunity right under its nose.
Why it matters: For decades, a far higher share of men worked than women. Now that gender gap is the narrowest it's ever been, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The White House prefers to keep out of labor negotiations, acting Labor Secretary Julie Su tells Axios in an interview.
Why it matters: With the possibility of another economy-shaking strike on the horizon — now it's auto workers; earlier this summer it was UPS — the Biden administration's stance on unions is an important factor in talks, whether they're at the table or not.
Jared Kushner's private equity fund, which he launched after President Trump left the White House in 2021, has agreed to its first Israeli deal.
Why it matters: Miami-based Affinity Partners is backed by $2 billion from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, and this is believed to be the first Saudi-sponsored investment in an Israeli company.
Warner Bros. Discovery expects an earnings hit of $300 million to $500 million "predominantly due to the impact" of Hollywood's ongoing writers and actors strikes, the company said in a securities filing Tuesday.
Details: It now predicts earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for 2023 in the range of $10.5 to $11 billion, with free cash flow for the third quarter expected to exceed $1.7 billion, "in part due to the strong performance" of blockbuster movie "Barbie" — the highest-grossing Warner Bros. film ever, per the filing.
