Former employees of The Messenger who were left without severance or health coverage when the news site suddenly shut down this week are now suing, arguing the company violated state and federal laws requiring advance notice of layoffs.
Why it matters: The Messenger's meltdown raises complex questions about what a collapsing company owes its employees.
Walmart stock splits used to be a regular event — there were six of them just between November 1980 and June 1990. But it's now almost 25 years since the last one, in March 1999.
Why it matters: Nowadays, almost every brokerage, including Walmart's own Associate Stock Purchase Plan, allows the purchase of fractional shares, making a company's nominal share price less important than ever.
Deep reservoirs of individual and philanthropic wealth are being tapped in an attempt to save or rebuild the news industry. In reality, however, large amounts of up-front liquidity never seem to be the solution to the problem.
Driving the news: The demise of The Messenger this week is just the latest in a stream of headlines about small or fast news-media implosions. Its founder, Jimmy Finkelstein, wrote this in his note to staff:
Over the past few weeks, literally until earlier today, we exhausted every option available and have endeavored to raise sufficient capital to reach profitability.
Microsoft flaunted its head start in generative AI this week, Hope writes.
Why it matters: Investors increasingly want to see more results than hype.
Driving the news: Microsoft's server and cloud business, which includes Azure, grew 30% in the last three months of 2023 from the prior year, according to its latest earnings.
Generative AI contributed a 6 percentage point bump within that figure, CFO Amy Hood noted on the call.
And UBS analyst Karl Keirstead described the boost as "just extraordinary."
Elsewhere, competitors and peers had less substance to offer.
Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichaishared sparse financial details about its "thousands of product advances, including broad Gen AI capabilities."
Spotify announced a new multiyear deal to distribute "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast today, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.
The deal could be worth up to $250 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Flashback: Spotify first signed "The Joe Rogan Experience" exclusively back in 2020.
At the time,the company was investing much more in bringing popular podcasts exclusively to its platform. It's since backed away from that strategy in light of Wall Street pressure for profits.
But Rogan had the most popular podcast in America last year, per Edison Research.
Sean Wang won the U.S. dramatic audience award at the Sundance Film Festival for his feature debut "Dìdi (弟弟)" — little brother in Chinese — a coming-of-age story, Hope writes.
Why it matters: The institute behind the Park City, Utah, festival has helped to launch the careers of many top Hollywood filmmakers, including Ava DuVernay and Steven Soderbergh.
Previous films that have won the same award include "CODA" and "Whiplash," which eventually grabbed numerous Oscars.
The big picture: Critical praise aside, independent titles need to find buyers and Sundance also serves as a market.
Sales at the festival this year appeared on pace with last year, Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente told Marketplace.
Among them is "Dìdi (弟弟)," which was picked up by Focus Features.
"Maybe Bill Murray wrote the press release for the jobs number out today."
— John Petrides, portfolio manager at Tocqueville Asset Management, writing on LinkedIn about yet another stronger-than-expected jobs report — out today on Groundhog Day.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week said it would not amend its controversial "gag rule" tied to settlement agreements.
Why it matters: The long-standing policy has been criticized over the years by targets of its enforcement actions, advocacy groups and even judges, who say the policy flies in the face of the First Amendment.
The cryptocurrency industry's adoption by the public is going appreciably more slowly than the public internet, any way you look at it.
Why it matters: The idea that crypto is roughly on the same trajectory as the web is something that gets thrown around a lot, but it's helpful to look at hard numbers.
Divorce has become a major life milestone replete with specialized parties, large support networks and a whole industry ready to capitalize on the big change — just like weddings.
Why it matters: Cultural attitudes toward ending a marriage have become far less negative, and in the process divorce has gotten more commodified, from services marking the transition to digital culture that lightens the mood.
Former President Trump told Fox Business on Friday that if re-elected in November, he would not reappoint Jerome Powell to a third term as chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Why it matters: Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, has a checkered relationship with Powell, routinely criticizing the central bank on its rate decisions while in the White House.
The stories about layoffs in media and tech are starting to make people freak out a bit over the health of the economy. But taking a step back, the high-level economic data isn't so worrying.
The big picture: The job market is cooling, but it's still pretty strong.
Welcome to the era of "loud budgeting," where speaking up about saving money and not overspending is no longer taboo.
Why it matters: The new personal finance trend — born on TikTok — is a quick reversal from last year's social media fad of flaunting luxurious purchases.
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