Axios

FedEx announced on Friday it will not be renewing its domestic shipment contract for express shipping with Amazon, the Washington Post reports.

The big picture, Axios' Erica Pandey writes is that the company's decision to cut ties with Amazon comes as the e-commerce giant is quickly building its own logistics capabilities. Amazon, which used to be just a customer for big shippers like UPS and FedEx, is emerging as a competitor and may soon start taking market share.

Barney Harford, chief operating officer, and Rebecca Messina, the chief marketing officer of Uber are stepping down from their posts and exiting the newly public company, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters, per Axios' Ina Fried: This is the most significant turnover since the early days of Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, with Harford and Messina being the first of Khosrowshahi's executives to leave.

Big companies living under the shadow of looming antitrust investigations typically tread warily, careful not to give regulators too many ideas — but judging by this week's corporate announcements, Big Tech isn't using that playbook.

What's happening: Despite reports that regulators are interested in probing Big Tech's behavior, Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple charged ahead this week with acquisitions, software integrations and other grand new programs.

This week, Ford, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Volvo announced a major data sharing partnership focused on road safety that includes European service providers and the transportation ministries of several EU member states.

Why it matters: Shared data from connected vehicles on weather and road conditions will ideally improve safety in real-time, and it could represent a major step forward for vehicle to vehicle communication.

If you're decorating an apartment for cheap, you might buy everything — couch, bed, dresser, cupboards, desk — from Ikea.

But, but, but: What if you're in a tiny, tiny apartment, the kind that's increasingly prevalent in huge, packed cities? Well, you might go instead for Ikea's all-in-one couch-bed-dresser-cupboards-desk.

Barack and Michelle Obama have signed an exclusive deal with Spotify to produce a series of podcasts, Variety reports.

Why it matters: Politicians are increasingly turning to streaming media, like Netflix, as a way to reach the younger audience that uses those platforms, according to Axios' Sara Fischer. The Obamas signed a similar multi-year production deal with Netflix last year.

YouTube found itself the center of discussion around hate speech Wednesday, but not in the way it had hoped.

Driving the news: The company had long ago picked the date to announce a range of new policies aimed at limiting the presence and spread of hate speech on its platform. Instead, the announcement came in the midst of another uproar over the platform's enforcement of its policies, this one centering around conservative host Steven Crowder and the many homophobic and racial insults he has made over the years against Vox's Carlos Maza.