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Judge won't block ex-UnitedHealth exec from going to Amazon venture

Bob Herman

Optum's headquarters in Minnesota. Photo: UnitedHealth Group

A federal judge on Friday denied a temporary restraining order that would have prevented a former employee of Optum, which is part of UnitedHealth Group, from joining the new health venture started by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase.

The bottom line: It's still unclear what the so-called ABC company will do. But UnitedHealth does not want the ex-employee, David Smith, to work for it because UnitedHealth views the company as a competitor, and it believes Smith could divulge trade secrets. The next step is arbitration.

Go deeper

Neil Irwin
55 mins ago - Economy & Business

Why the Fed might want to jolt the markets

Fed chair Jerome Powell at a hearing earlier this month. Photo: Brendan Smialowski-Pool/Getty Images

So far, financial markets are cooperating nicely with the Federal Reserve's efforts to restrain inflation. They're doing the Fed's work for it by creating tighter financial conditions, in a distinctly non-panicky way.

  • But as the central bank's policymakers meet this week, an underlying question they face is whether the adjustment is happening too slowly.
Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Kate Marino, author of Markets
2 hours ago - Economy & Business

Omicron outbreaks were bad for business in January

Data: New York Federal Reserve Bank; Chart: Axios Visuals

Emerging anecdotal evidence shows just how hard the recent rise in COVID-19 cases hit businesses in early January — but that hasn't hurt some business leaders’ longer-term views of their companies' prospects.

Why it matters: Increasingly, the economic recovery has come in fits and starts that move in tandem with new peaks in cases. Look no further than the thousands of canceled flights and shuttered Broadway theaters in the wake of the Omicron variant's spread over the last few months.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Tina Reed, author of Vitals
2 hours ago - Health

The shifting definition of fully vaccinated

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The definition of what it means to be "fully vaccinated" is evolving even as the CDC has remained careful not to change it officially.

Why it matters: CDC officials have been balancing the job of convincing Americans who've already gotten two doses of the importance of boosters with getting many Americans who still need their first doses to get their shots at all.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow