Axios

Delta Air Lines said it is making big changes to its SkyMiles program and will soon start restricting access to its Sky Club airport lounges.

Why it matters: Pent-up demand has been driving travelers to frequent flyer programs and rewards credit cards, but airlines have been making it harder to cash in on popular perks.

Arm Holdings, the British semiconductor design giant, rose in its trading debut Thursday, in a vote of confidence for the sluggish U.S. IPO market.

Why it matters: Last year was the worst for U.S. public offerings in over 30 years.

The United Auto Workers union is ready to strike all Detroit Three automakers at midnight, an unprecedented move that could disrupt the economy for weeks or more.

Why it matters: General Motors, Ford and Stellantis collectively have about 150,000 UAW-represented employees — and their U.S. plants could immediately shut down if they can't reach a deal with the union by midnight.

The Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that restricts communication between the Biden administration and social media companies.

Why it matters: The move came hours after Justice Department officials asked the court to issue a stay on the ruling, arguing it violated the First Amendment.

Media measurement firm VideoAmp quietly laid off about 10% of its workforce last week, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The layoffs suggest VideoAmp, which still isn't profitable, needs to cut expenses as it works to pay down debt after just raising a $150 million Series G.

Check out two new titles based on bestselling books, plus a new season of "The Morning Show."

• Here's what's new on streaming this weekend.

At least 10 Sweetgreen workers filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the quick-serve salad chain, alleging they faced racial discrimination and sexual harassment at seven of its New York City restaurants.

Why it matters: The workers, who are Black, said their complaints to the company's upper management and human resources department were ignored for years.

A trademark dispute between Nestlé USA and two Mexican distributors could affect the types of staple products found in many Latino pantries.

Why it matters: The fight, headed to trial in federal court this November, comes as all kinds of companies try to tap into the growing, multi-trillion-dollar U.S. Latino market.

For all the talk of soft landings and fading inflation pressure, the latest round of data on the U.S. economy still shows some heat.

Why it matters: Demand across the U.S. economy remains solid — a key reason the nation has dodged a recession.

Databricks has become one of the AI sector's most valuable companies, this morning announcing over $500 million in new funding at a $43 billion valuation.

Behind the scenes: CEO Ali Ghodsi says the new round was sparked by inbound interest from chipmaker Nvidia, with whom almost every AI company wants a deep relationship.

Telegram is infested with bots, and that's the good news — at least for true believers in cryptocurrency looking around for anything to feel good about.

Driving the news: Unibots is one of a small handful of Telegram trading bots that are seeing profits, excitement and value creation (for now).

Maureen Davenport oversees the newly created U.S. corporate affairs function at "Big Four" professional services firm KPMG.

🗣What she's saying: "What happens in South Africa or Germany has a huge impact on our brand," she tells Axios. "There was a real need to transform the [corporate affairs] capability and at the most basic level, reshape how we promote and protect the reputation of the firm across the globe."

Corporate communicators have been successfully punching back at regulators, policymakers and critics through comprehensive messaging campaigns.

Why it matters: It's a shift toward the political way of communicating and a pivot away from the usual corporate playbook of strategic silence.

Communications teams are increasingly reporting to the chief executive officer, though some are still layered under marketing, according to a new report from media insights platform Memo.

Why it matters: Where communications sits in an organization is one of the biggest signals of change in the industry.

Talent advisory firm Diversified Search Group (DSG) has named Megan Shattuck as global managing partner of its corporate business.

Why it matters: She's not just recruiting top communication and corporate affairs talent, she's also placing and advising their chief executives and board members.

The U.S. job market has stabilized, but there's still demand for executive-level communication talent who aren't afraid to stick their necks out in defense of a company's reputation.

Driving the news: No one understands the changing nature of the job better than top headhunters, who are challenged with recruiting these unicorn-like experts.

Nielsen, the TV measurement company, on Thursday named longtime product executive Karthik Rao as its new CEO, replacing CEO David Kenny, who is moving to an executive chairman role.

Why it matters: The move comes amid broader controversies plaguing the longtime leader in TV ratings.

Americans ramped up spending last month as prices for gasoline spiked: retail sales rose a larger-than-expected 0.6% in August, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Why it matters: The data, which is not adjusted for inflation, shows consumers spent more as costs at the pump surged. But excluding those costs, shoppers still look resilient in the face of higher prices.

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced its 10th consecutive interest rate increase on Thursday, a surprise move for some who were expecting officials would pause the rate-hiking campaign.

Why it matters: It's the latest sign that policymakers believe inflation is still too persistent to forgo a quarter-percentage point hike, even as other global central banks have eased efforts to slow their respective economies.

Walmart is debuting its first store-brand compostable cutlery — and making it cheaper than the plastic kind.

Why it matters: An estimated 40 billion plastic forks, spoons and knives are used and discarded annually, polluting the environment and hurting wildlife, according to Habits of Waste.

Thanks to an increase in state pay-transparency laws, slightly more than half of the listings on Indeed.com now include salary information, the highest share yet, per data from the jobs website out Thursday morning.

Why it matters: Job seekers appreciate salary transparency because it gives them an edge in negotiations over pay — employers are less fond, for the same reason.

Flat shoes can still lift you up.

To wit: Iconic comfy-shoe maker Birkenstock cites "modern feminism" as a driver of growth in its filing to go public.

The official poverty rate for Black Americans declined to 17.1% in 2022, the lowest on record dating back to 1959, according to Census data released Tuesday.

In the weeds: The so-called official rate is different from what's known as the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which takes into account government benefits like pandemic-era aid and SNAP.

Yesterday's inflation data came in a touch hot — and you can blame your car.

What's happening: Auto insurance prices for American consumers are rising at their fastest pace in more than 40 years. And gasoline prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, surged almost 11% in August alone, on the back of rising oil prices and refinery shutdowns.

A rising number of American workers fear technology will make their jobs obsolete in the near future, according to a Gallup survey released Monday.

Why it matters: College-educated workers who are hyper-aware of AI and other technological advances are struggling with FOBO, the fear of becoming obsolete.

Americans' incomes are falling, they're getting older, and they're decamping to states like Florida, Idaho and South Carolina.

• That's one big takeaway from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) one-year estimates, released this morning.

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz stepped down from the coffee chain's board with immediate effect, the company announced Wednesday.

Yes, but: Starbucks is honoring the 70-year-old retiring from the board of directors by naming Schultz as a "lifelong Chairman Emeritus," per a company statement.

The Tennessean and USA Today announced this week that they were looking for reporters to cover two unconventional beats: Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.

Driving the news: "Swift's fanbase has grown to unprecedented heights, and so has the significance of her music and growing legacy," the job description for the Taylor Swift reporter stated.