Wall Street firms are expected to pull in hundreds of millions of dollars working on a trio of mega IPOs over the next few months — though that may be a little less than they might have hoped, Axios' Pete Gannon writes.
Zoom in: Elon Musk's SpaceX is negotiating to pay base fees under 0.75% to banks working on the deal, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
While that's far below the typical 4%–7% fees usually commanded for typical IPOs, the coming deals for SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI are anything but typical.
Between the lines: Big offerings typically pay smaller fees, Bloomberg notes, but 0.75% is smaller than previous "big offerings."
Victoria's Secret and Dollar General are two very different retailers, but they have one intriguing trend in common: they're finding growth at both ends of the income spectrum.
Why it matters: The retailers' latest results suggest both affluent shoppers and budget-conscious consumers are helping fuel sales, even as many Americans feel financial pressure.
T-Mobile is marking the 10th anniversary of T-Mobile Tuesdays by expanding one of the wireless industry's best-known perks programs into a broader lifestyle and loyalty platform.
Why it matters:Loyalty programs are becoming a bigger battleground for companies looking to retain customers and deepen engagement beyond their core products and services.
Amazon is putting a spotlight on groceries this Prime Day, reflecting its broader push to become a bigger destination for shoppers' everyday spending, not just occasional big-ticket purchases.
Why it matters: The retail giant is using its marquee summer sales event to highlight grocery savings, faster delivery and AI-powered shopping tools as it looks to make Prime a deeper part of consumers' daily lives.
The latest labor market green shoot: Job openings soared to their highest level in two years in April, a sign that employers' appetite to hire is steadily improving — even if they aren't quite yet lowering the gangway to bring staff on board.
By the numbers: Job openings surged by 731,000 in April — the biggest monthly surge in five years, bringing vacancies to their highest level since 2024.
Economists are looking for clues that AI is eliminating jobs for young workers. Two new papers suggest a different culprit: remote work.
Why it matters: Young workers' white-collar job woes might stem from the massive, pandemic-era shift in how Americans work. Any AI-related impacts are landing on top of that headwind. The consequences could reverberate for years to come.
President Trump tapped Bill Pulte, his unusually prominent Federal Housing Finance Agency director, as the new acting director of national intelligence.
The big picture: Pulte will split time between overseeing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and holding a massively important position for the country's national security — an extraordinary dynamic even against the backdrop of other officials wearing multiple hats.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A wave of company expansions and new arrivals is supercharging Charlotte's growth, forcing the city to rapidly upgrade its utilities and shifting who it competes with for big business, city leaders said at an Axios event.
Why it matters: Charlotte's ability to attract corporate capital and new residents has moved it past traditional regional rivals as it matches up with larger metropolitan areas.
"We're competing with markets like Atlanta and Dallas in a way that's refreshing, because we're punching above our weight," said Tracy Dodson, COO and head of economic development at Charlotte Regional Business Alliance.
Axios Local reporter Alexandria Sands and business reporter Nathan Bomey moderated discussions with Dodson as well as Red Ventures COO and CFO Ben Braun. The May 29 event was sponsored by Bank of America.
What they're saying: Companies are investing a lot more money in the region, and that is bringing more residents to fill the newly created jobs to the area, Dodson said.
In the past 18 months, there were "77 announcements, 12,000 jobs and almost more than $3 billion of investment," Dodson said, adding an average of 157 new residents are moving in daily.
To sustain this momentum, the city must rapidly build out its transit and water infrastructure to prevent breaking under the pressure of its own success.
Between the lines: Securing major corporate relocations, such as a recent 2,000-job expansion by financial firm SMBC, requires close coordination across local businesses, Dodson said.
"The entire corporate community and the economic development community lean in when these [deals happen]. ... That's part of why we win," Dodson said.
Yes, but: The rapid pace of development has put pressure on the region's utility and transit systems, Dodson said.
Water facilities are reaching capacity as development crosses county lines, causing friction that could affect potential movers' views of the city's business climate. "We have different needs in water... and so that creates some hurdles that we are going to have to work through," Dodson said.
Context: Charlotte's fast-growing economy also means companies must redesign their internal operations to keep up, Braun said.
"AI is changing the game because it forces you to completely rethink how you do business," Braun said. "The mistake companies make is trying to sprinkle AI on top of old processes."
Content from the sponsor's segment:
In a View From the Top conversation, Andrew Natneil, Bank of America senior vice president and senior relationship manager for business banking, discussed localized resources and financial advice for entrepreneurs navigating a rapidly growing regional marketplace.
"We operate as a small bank, but we have the big bank capabilities," Natneil said.
Editor's note: This story was updated to correct Andrew Natneil's last name.
Princeton University's endowment on Monday abandoned its 2022 pledge to divest from publicly traded oil and gas companies, although it will comply with a trustee mandate to divest from thermal coal and tar sands companies.
What they're saying: Princo president Vincent Tuohey writes that the endowment will continue working toward a "net-zero endowment by 2046," but doesn't believe such divestitures are necessary to achieve that goal.
Anthropic officially started its IPO clock yesterday, filing a confidential registration statement with the SEC.
It could be one of three American companies to go public this year at a valuation of more than $1 trillion, something that has never before happened even once on a U.S. exchange.
Companies are racing to secure AI systems, but many are still hiring cybersecurity workers using job descriptions, career laddersand training programs built before the AI boom.
Why it matters: Fending off AI-powered hacks expected from advanced AI models will require a new vision for how employers train, hire and retain cybersecurity talent.
Americans age 50 and older are becoming an increasingly crucial part of the economy, notes a new report from AARP expected out Tuesday morning.
Why it matters: The AARP, of course, has always said that older people matter, but it really has a point in these times.
A wave of aging baby boomers, on top of the sharp fall in immigration, is poised to radically reshape the U.S. economy.
Zoom in: Americans age 50 and older generated $12.5 trillion in economic activity in the U.S. in 2024, per the group's Longevity Economy Outlook report — that's up more than $2 trillion since 2018.
Workers age 65 and older now make up 8% of the labor force, more than double their share (3%) 25 years ago.
Stunning stat: By 2050, 1 in 4 Americans will be over 65.
Between the lines: Older Americans are sitting on an enormous mountain of wealth — and as they retire, they're spending that down and passing on some of that cash to younger generations.
The intrigue: Some market analysts believe that's propping up the U.S. economy.
This is a "G-shaped" economy, for generational, in which older folks provide "financial support to their younger adult children and grandchildren," economist Ed Yardeni wrote.
Yes, but: Many older Americans are struggling with rising costs and have little saved for retirement.
Zoom out: Still, as the affordability crisis crushes young adults, many of their elders are more insulated.
"This explains the resilience of consumer spending and suggests that it can continue," he said.
The retail trading crowd has found a new buzzworthy stock: IBM.
Yes, your father's "Big Blue" IBM.
Driving the news: Shares of IBM exploded in recent days, posting their best two-day showing in records stretching back to the early 1970s.
Why it matters: IBM's surge shows how individual investors have become a market force, by coordinating purchases, touting positions on social media and boosting buying power with borrowed money, or margin.
Analysts are starting to wonder if the world needs less oil than they thought it did when the Iran war started.
Why it matters: Decades ago, a global oil shock triggered permanent changes to the structure of the global economy, and signs are now emerging that it's happening again.
This is the chart that White House economic officials want you to see: A closely watched industry survey suggests a long U.S. manufacturing slump is giving way to a factory rebound.
Why it matters: By this measure, the manufacturing recession is over. Activity across the sector expanded for a fifth straight month in May after spending much of the last two years in contraction territory.
