The Oscars will move from ABC to YouTube beginning in 2029, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Wednesday, marking a historic milestone for the streaming TV industry.
Why it matters: What's arguably the most high-profile award show will now be accessible to more than 2 billion people globally to stream online.
Axios Macro readers — about 600 respondents — nailed their predictions of three of the most important measures of the economy in 2025: unemployment, inflation and GDP growth.
They weren't quite so prescient when it came to the trajectory of job creation or Federal Reserve policy.
Why it matters: The wisdom of crowds — especially a crowd as astute as this newsletter's readership — can give a unique sense of both the baseline outlook and what risks loom on the horizon.
And the areas in which the Axios Macro Consensus was and wasn't correct are revelatory about how the economy surprised this year.
Seesawing government policy can wreak havoc on companies.
Exhibit A: Ford Motor Co., which has written off tens of billions in stranded investments over the past 15 years.
Why it matters: Big shifts in political power tend to lead to extreme regulatory swings, too, as policymakers try to steer consumer markets in one direction or another.
Billionaire Ray Dalio will make a "generous contribution" to the "Trump accounts," giving approximately 300,000 children in Connecticut $250 each, or roughly $75 million.
Why it matters: The news came alongside the launch of a website that signaled how White House officials envision the government, corporations and billionaires contributing to the accounts, aimed at improving kids' financial prospects.
Employer-sponsored insurance may be getting costlier, but it still delivers a positive return for firms that cover their workers, according to a new Avalere Health analysis commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and provided first to Axios.
Why it matters: Workplace insurance is the backbone of the American health care system, covering around half of the population. Whether it's a well-functioning system or not, workers and families depend on it.
There's a good chance your health insurance premiums are going up next year, regardless of where you get coverage.
Why it matters: The spike in what millions of Affordable Care Act plan enrollees pay will be acute, but workplace insurance is getting more expensive, too — and all at a time when affordability is prominently on Americans' minds.
Among executives and investors, confidence in the economy is at four-year highs, two new surveys find.
Why it matters: It's a sign that companies are ready to spend money and hire — good news for the economy heading into a new year — but it's also the kind of optimism that in the past has preceded economic slowdowns.
The Financial Services Forum (FSF), a trade association of the country's largest eight banks, is creating a new nonprofit to spend "tens of millions" of dollars to help inform voters and tell the banking industry's story on its terms, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Chastened by the 2008 financial crisis, America's biggest banks have mostly avoided the limelight in Washington and have tried to work behind the scenes.
Robinhood is making its biggest bet yet on the convergence of AI and prediction markets, unveiling an AI-powered investing assistant and sports trading tools.
Why it matters: Robinhood is betting on the future of investing being, well, betting.
