Oct 22, 2019

Podcast: Fortune's decision to keep Kirstjen Nielsen

Axios

Fortune came under fire this week for its decision to interview former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at its Most Powerful Women summit, after Hillary Clinton dropped out and thousands of petitioners argued Nielsen used the opportunity to rehabilitate her image.

  • Fortune kept Nielsen in the lineup, and she proved unapologetic for her role in separating undocumented immigrant children from their parents. We dig in with Fortune's Michal Lev-Ram.

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Sara Fischer

Nielsen to separate business into two public companies

Data: Yahoo; Chart: Axios Visuals

Nielsen Holdings, a $7.5 billion company known best for its decades-long position as the leader in television measurement, announced Thursday that it would spin off its retail measurement business, called Nielsen Global Connect, into an independent, public company. Nielsen's Media Connect business, which measures media and advertising consumption, would remain as its own independent, publicly-traded business.

Why it matters: Despite criticism about whether its TV measurement tactics are outdated, Nielsen's media arm has been outperforming its retail counterpart lately, which measures consumer sentiment about goods and retail sales. That division has been negatively impacted by the decline in traditional retail and increased competition. Meanwhile, competitors to Nielsen's media business, like Comscore, have struggled.

Go deeperArrowNov 7, 2019
Stef W. Kight

House Democrats challenge legality of Wolf, Cuccinelli jobs at DHS

Ken Cuccinelli of the Department of Homeland Security testifies during a House Oversight subcommittee last month. (Photo: Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Democratic lawmakers are disputing the legality of Chad Wolf's appointment as acting Homeland Security secretary and immigration hardliner Ken Cuccinelli as his deputy, asking the U.S. Comptroller General for an expedited review. 

Why it matters: If the argument set forth by two House committee chairs on Friday prevails, it could give Democrats a path to try to block the ascension of Cuccinelli, or more broadly to seek to invalidate months of agency actions.

Go deeperArrowNov 15, 2019
Dion Rabouin

China's growing share of the world's business revenue

Adapted from ChinaPower using Fortune data; Note: Top 10 countries shown, Italy dropped out in 2017; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Chinese companies are taking an increasingly larger share of the Fortune Global 500, an annual ranking of the world’s top 500 companies by revenue.

What's happening: In 2008, China had just 29 companies on the Global 500 and none in the top 10. This year, the list includes 119 Chinese companies that have a combined revenue of nearly $8 trillion, which represents almost a quarter of the revenue generated by all the companies on the list.

Go deeperArrowNov 5, 2019