Former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison hasn't finished testifying yet, but the government seems intent to show that founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was always in charge of both her company and his crypto exchange, FTX.
Why it matters: For the prosecution to stick, the government needs to show that the defendant knew what he was doing and that what he was doing was wrong.
Why it matters: Companies are not only worried about being able to operate during crises, but also about employee safety as remote work and flexibility create a greater number of potentially dangerous scenarios.
The Washington Post is offering voluntary buyouts to employees across its organization in an effort to eliminate 240 jobs, its interim CEO Patty Stonesifer said in a note to staff Tuesday.
Why it matters: The news comes as The Post tries to strengthen its financial position ahead of bringing on a new, full-time CEO.
By the numbers: More than one in four holiday shoppers started buying gifts by the end of September — but 59% will wait until November or December to start, a Shopify-Gallup survey of 1,761 U.S. adults found.
Several airlines canceled flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel's busiest airport, in recent days over the escalating war between Israel and Hamas.
Why it matters: With hundreds of flights canceled, thousands of people from other countries may be temporarily stranded inside Israel as Hamas rocket barrages continue to hammer the country's missile defense system.
General Motors and the Canadian auto workers union reached a tentative labor agreement hours after workers launched a strike at three of the automaker's plants earlier on Tuesday, according to the union.
Why it matters: If ratified by the union's members, the tentative contract would head off one of the labor strikes against GM, which is also dealing with a historic UAW strike in the U.S.
FTX and Alameda Research co-founder Gary Wang testified Tuesday that the financial balances for the ill-fated exchange were even worse than they seemed.
Why it matters: Whether or not Sam Bankman-Fried knew he was misleading customers and investors about the safety of his exchange and its associated hedge fund is crucial to the government's fraud and conspiracy case.
The prosecution in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried spent roughly five hours over two days last week questioning his longtime friend and fellow FTX co-founder Gary Wang about special privileges the exchange extended to its sister hedge fund Alameda Research.
What he's saying: Wang, who was also FTX's chief technology officer, said Alameda's privileges were written right into the code, the software language behind the FTX platform. "He asked us to do it, so we did it," Wang told the jury.
The good news is that the global economy has proven resilient to the shocks of the pandemic, high inflation and war in Ukraine. The bad news is that it is only limping along, the International Monetary Fund says.
Driving the news: The latest installment of the IMF's World Economic Outlook projects the global economy will grow 3% this year, down from 3.5% last year.
The Federal Reserve's leadership has noticed the rapid rise in longer-term interest rates; they appreciate the economic damage that might inflict; and they'll take that into account in setting policy.
Why it matters: Those takeaways from two speeches Monday helped reverse — for the moment, at least — an extraordinary bond market sell-off that has sent mortgage rates and corporate borrowing costs skyrocketing.
But the nuanced message doesn't signal a reversal of the Fed's "higher for longer" rate message.
Venture capital's propensity for backing white, male founders is about to get quantified, on a firm-by-firm basis.
Driving the news: California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed into a law a bill that will require covered VC firms to annually report on founder diversity demographics for companies in which they invest, beginning in 2025.
Jellysmack, a startup that helps creators grow their online video businesses, is acquiring Law&Crime, the true crime and legal drama media company founded by legal analyst and entrepreneur Dan Abrams, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The deal, which a source said values Law&Crime Network at nine figures, represents an extraordinary outcome for Abrams, who raised just $5 million from A&E Networks to jump-start the company's growth in 2017.
Harvard economist Claudia Goldin, best known for her work on women in the labor market, was awarded the Nobel in economics Monday, the first woman to win the prize solo.
Why it matters: This isn't just a win for Goldin, it's a victory for the study of women in economics — a long-overlooked area of research that Goldin legitimized and opened up to a generation of scholars.
Support is waning for corporate involvement and advocacy around many of the country's biggest hot-button social issues, according to a new Public Affairs Council survey shared first with Axios.
Why it matters: No business wants to become a political football ahead of the 2024 election.
