WhatsApp, one of the world's most popular messaging services, is getting paid ads for the first time.
"The ads will appear in the Status section of the messaging service, visible through the Updates tab on the left of the app screen, so keeping them separate from the main chat conversation area," the FT reports.
By the numbers: 1.5 billion people visit the Updates tab of WhatsApp on a daily basis, according to Meta.
"WhatsApp will collect some data on users to target the ads, such as location and the device's default language, but it will not touch the contents of messages or whom users speak with," the NYT reports.
🏪 Home goods retailer At Home filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, which has 260 stores in 40 states, is planning to eliminate nearly all of its debt and stay open. (CNN)
📺 Roku shares jumped after the company announced an advertising partnership with Amazon. The deal allows Amazon's marketing tool to recognize logged-in Roku viewers. (Bloomberg)
✈️ Southwest Airlines is integrating a new system to alert pilots to dangerous situations. The Honeywell tech will provide cockpit warnings when the plane is careening toward the wrong runway, for example. (WSJ)
🎓 Credit scores for millions of Americans have declined after the Trump administration resumed collection of overdue student loan payments. (AP)
After JPMorgan Chase last week teased an overhaul coming to its Sapphire Reserve credit card, American Express today teased "major updates" coming to its Platinum cards.
🥊 The announcements signal an escalation in the battle for high-income customers willing to pay several hundred dollars in annual fees for perks like airport lounge access and food-delivery service memberships.
💳 Zoom in: "The expectation among industry experts is that both companies will offer ever-longer lists of perks in travel, dining and experiences, while potentially raising their annual fees, as has been the pattern with recent updates," CNBC reports.
Since the top leaders of the Federal Reserve last wrote down their projections for how the economy and rates policy will evolve in the coming years, there has been an endless cascade of teeth-rattling economic news.
The big picture: Despite it all, the economy and policy outlook are right back where they were three months ago.
For that reason, expect the tone of cautious patience that the Fed showed at its last couple of meetings to persist this week — notwithstanding the president's calls for massive, imminent rate cuts.
Anne Wojcicki is poised to regain controlof genetics testing company 23andMe, which she cofounded and led until earlier this year, after agreeing to put much of her personal fortune on the line.
Why it matters: This is the same person that 23andMe customers originally trusted with their personal data, albeit under a much more opaque governance structure.
Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil company and sovereign wealth fund have teamed with U.S. private equity firm Carlyle to make an $18.7 billion takeover bid for listed Australian energy company Santos.
Why it matters: It would be one of the largest takeovers ever in Australia, and reflects how Middle Eastern oil giants are seeking to grow their liquefied natural gas portfolios.
Workers with college degrees who come to the U.S. on student visas out-earn their native-born peers, but also do more of the research and development work critical to the economy, according to a new analysis of data from the National Survey of College Graduates.
Why it matters: The Trump administration is using student visas as both policy tool and negotiating leverage on trade, potentially forcing a sharp decline in the number of foreign students in coming years.
The aggressive immigration crackdown by the Trump administration is striking fear not only among blue-collar laborers, but inside the nation's white-collar offices, too.
Why it matters: Companies are making hard decisions about whether to spend time and money fighting to keep staff or fire them.
