Axios

Folks are making hay out of HayCoin, a cryptocurrency never intended to carry any value at all.

Why it matters: The price of the coin hit more than $4.2 million recently, making each worth more than a bitcoin.

The UAW on Monday added another factory to its strike against the Detroit Three automakers, bringing the total number of workers on strike to more than 40,000.

Driving the news: Roughly 6,800 workers walked out of Stellantis' plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, on Monday in a surprise expansion of the historic labor stoppage.

Venture capitalists are pouring huge money into AI startups, with a dollar weighting toward those building foundational models.

Why it matters: The VC market may be making its biggest binary bet ever, without quite realizing it.

Usually, when there is geopolitical strife, money gushes into ultra-safe U.S. Treasury bonds, pushing interest rates downward. But since the Hamas attack on Israel three weeks ago, the opposite has happened.

Why it matters: Soaring rates, even in this moment of conflict, is a sign that bond markets are now being driven in significant part by the outlook for future U.S. government borrowing.

U.S. oil industry consolidation is suddenly happening at breakneck speed.

Driving the news: This morning Chevron announced an all-stock deal to buy Hess Corp. for $53 billion, with a total deal value of $60B including debt. It comes on the heels of Exxon's blockbuster Oct. 11 deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources in an even larger transaction.

About 16% of pending home sales fell through in September as mortgage rates climbed to new highs, according to new data from Redfin.

Why it matters: It's another sign of how high rates — now nearing 8% on a 30-year fixed mortgage — are crushing housing activity.

A closely watched jury trial underway in Kansas City, Mo., could upend a contentious cornerstone of the U.S. real estate market — broker fees.

Why it matters: The case, one of two antitrust class-action suits filed against the largest brokers in the country and the National Association of Realtors (NAR), could shake the powerful trade group's stronghold on the industry — and change how Americans buy houses.

Goldman Sachs is embarking on a new advocacy campaign on behalf of small businesses, asking federal regulators to abandon a push for new banking rules that opponents argue will heap new pressures on Main Street.

Why it matters: Already, the small business sector and interest-rate-sensitive parts of the economy are crying uncle as rates hit their highest levels in at least a decade. That has chilled housing activity and crimped lending.

Foxconn, the Taiwan-based maker of Apple products including iPhones, is facing tax and land-use investigations in China, Chinese state media reported Sunday.

State of play: The world's largest contract electronics maker, which is formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., said in a statement to media later Sunday that it will "actively cooperate with the relevant units on the related work and operations."