Axios

🛢️Chevron's CEO tells his employees to "do better" after the company's performance lagged its oil competitors in 2023. (Bloomberg)

💉WeightWatchers is launching a new membership plan for people wanting access to popular new weight-loss drugs. (CNN)

Public, the investing startup, is getting in on the high-yield savings game, Axios' Javier E. David writes.

Driving the news: Public announced yesterday that it would offer a zero-fee, no minimum or maximum balance cash account to anyone who signs up, with a generous 5.1% annual percentage yield.

The details: Public is offering account protection for up to $5 million, multiples higher than the standard FDIC bulwark (which became a major focus after the meltdown of Silicon Valley Bank in March).

Why it matters: SVB's sudden collapse — combined with the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hiking campaign — touched off a veritable gold rush for retail consumers seeking shelter (and returns) in yield-bearing alternative instruments.

"Future is bright …but you might get fired."

The holidays have become a critical time for restaurants — and conditions are ripe for a strong showing this year.

Why it matters: With gas prices at a 2023 low, the stock market rising and consumer sentiment improving, restaurants are hoping for a merry holiday season, after recently struggling with inflation.

Shoppers are turning to a lesser-known gold retailer for their precious metal needs – Costco.

Driving the news: The company sold $100 million in gold bars in its first quarter ending Nov. 26, Costco CFO Richard Galanti said during an earnings call Thursday.

PR isn't what it once was, and the profession should rebrand from "public relations" to "protectors of reputation."

Why it matters: When reputations take a hit, so does the business' ability to attract customers, employees and investors.

The U.S. economy is on track to avoid a recession next year as inflation returns to normal, according to new economic projections released by the Congressional Budget Office.

Why it matters: The nonpartisan agency expects more moderate economic conditions in 2024 — including slower growth and higher jobless rates — than previously anticipated. But its projections suggest America will skirt an all-out contraction in growth.

U.S. companies' debt default rates have been unusually low since 2021, but that's changing now.

What's happening: The default rate has been climbing all year, and in November it reached its historical average of 4.1%, according to S&P Global Ratings.

The most pronounced dynamic shaping U.S. cities heading into 2024 is "the donut effect" — a hollowing of the urban core as people, jobs and retailers flee to the suburbs and exurbs.

Why it matters: For all the talk of 2023 being the year of downtown recovery, the reality looks more like a swirl of experiments in how to attract residents, commuters and visitors to cities where the pulse beats differently than it did pre-pandemic.

General Motors plans to lay off more than 1,300 workers at two Michigan plants, the company revealed in state documents.

Driving the news: The layoffs at the Lake Orion and Lansing plants are expected to come in January.