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National

Pro Rata

Axios Pro Rata

Stocks finished the first quarter of 2019 easily in the black, following a money-losing end to 2018.

The best-performing major industry sector was information technology, but even the worst-performing sector, health care, saw gains. 

Data: Yahoo Finance; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios; Note: A correction was made in S&P Q1'19 and Nasdaq Q1'19 to reflect percent change using the proper dates.

Stocks rebounded in the first quarter

The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 were all up by double-digit percentages.

Business

Wall Street

Axios AI+

Apple announced on Friday that it was cancelling its delayed AirPower wireless charger, saying the product "will not achieve [its] high standards." 

Details: “After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward," said Dan Riccio, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. AirPower had been set to ship last year, but was delayed.

Why it matters: The cancellation is a significant setback for the company which has made a big push toward wireless charging. The wireless charger, announced last year, was designed to make it easier to charge multiple devices. 

With the cancellation, Apple is dependent on third-party wireless chargers for the iPhone and AirPods, while Apple Watch requires a custom charger.

Wireless charging has remained largely limited to powering a single device placed in a specific spot on a charging mat.

Apple will not release AirPower wireless charger

The company said this product "will not achieve [its] high standards."

Apple's AirPower. Photo: AFP Contributor/Getty Images

Technology

Apple

Big Tech

From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.

Attorney General William Barr said in a letter to Congress on Friday afternoon that the nearly 400-page Mueller investigation report will not be shared with the White House before it is submitted to Congress, once properly redacted, aiming for mid-April or before.

Details: Barr wrote in a letter to the chairs of the Senate and House Judiciary: "Everyone will soon be able to read [the report] on their own. I do not believe it in the public's interest for me to attempt to summarize." He said will be available to testify publicly to the committee about the findings in the report on May 1, and also clarified that his initial letter about Mueller's "principal conclusions" was not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the investigation.

Barr said that he and special counsel Mueller would redact information that falls into the following categories.

Material subject to Federal Rule  of Criminal Procedure (6e) that cannot be made public.

Material the intelligence community identifies as potentially compromising sensitive sources and methods.

Material that could affect other ongoing matters, including those that the special counsel has referred to other Department offices.

Information that would unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties.

Dear Chairman Graham and Chairman Nadler,

I write in response to Chairman Nadler's March 25, 2019 letter and Chairman Graham's March 27, 2019 letter, which addressed the investigation of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller, III, and the "confidential report" he has submitted to me pursuant to 28 C.F.F. § 600.8(c).

As we have discussed, I share your desire to ensure that Congress and the public have the opportunity to read the Special Counsel's report. We are preparing the report for release, making the redactions that are required. The SpecialCounsel is assisting us in the process. Specifically, we are well along in the process of identifying and redacting the following: (1) material subject to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e) that by law cannot be made public; (2) material the intelligence community identifies as potentially compromising sensitive sources methods; (3) material that could affect other ongoing matters, including those that the Special Counsel has referred to other Department offices; and (4) information that would unduly infringe on the personal privacy and reputational interests of peripheral third parties. Our progress is such that I anticipate we will be in a position to release the report by mid-April, if not sooner. Although the President would have the right to assert privilege over certain parts of the report, he has stated publicly that he intends to defer to me, and, accordingly, there are no plans to submit the report to the White House for a privilege review.

Also, I am aware of some media reports and other public statements mischaracterizing my March 24, 2019 supplemental notification as a "summary" of the Special Counsel's investigation and report. For example, Chairman Nadler's March 25 letter refers to my supplemental notification as a "four-page summary of the Special Counsel's review." My March 24 letter was not, and did not purport to be, an exhaustive recounting of the Special Counsel's investigation or report. As my letter made clear, my notification to Congress and the public provided, pending release of the report, a summary of its "principal conclusions" - that is, its bottom line. The Special Counsel's report is nearly 400 pages long (exclusive of tables and appendices) and sets forth the Special Counsel's findings, his analysis, and the reasons for his conclusions. Everyone will soon be able to read it on their own. I do not believe it would be in the public's interest for me to attempt to summarize the full report or release it in serial or piecemeal fashion.

As I have discussed with both of you, I believe it would be appropriate for me to testify publicly on behalf of the Department shortly after the Special Counsel's report is made public. I am currently available to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 1, 2019 and before the House Judiciary Committee on May 2, 2019.

Finally, in the interests of keeping the public informed as to these matters, I intend to make this letter public after delivering to you.

The state of play: In response, Nadler released a statement confirming that "Congress requires the. full and complete Mueller report, without redactions, as well as access to the underlying evidence, by April 2. That deadline still stands."

New Barr letter: Mueller report will be sent to Congress by mid-April

The 400-page report will have sections redacted.

Politics

Mueller investigation

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Friday told Axios that he wants the Federal Reserve to "immediately" cut interest rates by 50 basis points. 

Why it matters: This mirrors comments by Stephen Moore, who President Trump is expected to nominate to the Fed's board, but is the first time it has been said publicly by a White House official.

The Federal Reserve recently paused plans to hike interest rates later this year, but didn't say it planned to make cuts.

Kudlow, however, "would love to see" such a downward move, adding that the central bank shouldn't have ever set overnight interest rates past 2%.

They currently are at 2.25%–2.50%, but a 50 basis point cut would put such rates below 2%.

Larry Kudlow wants the Fed to cut rates

The Fed recently paused hikes, but didn't say anything about cuts.

Photo by Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images. 

Federal Reserve

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Whats Next

Axios What's Next

Cars are smarter than ever, but their giant screens can be dangerously distracting. Vastly improved voice controls could improve safety in the near-term and potentially govern how we interact with automated vehicles in the future, too.

The big picture: Removing eyes from the road for just two seconds doubles the risk for a crash, according to AAA research.

With poorly designed technology, simple tasks turn into complicated ones, diverting drivers' attention away from the road.

Staying alert is already a challenge with many of today's partially automated driving features.

Context: Voice controls have always made the most sense but using them can be laughable. Drivers sometimes have to use stilted commands like "navigate" or "telephone" instead of speaking naturally — and still the systems don't always get it right.

What's new: Advances in natural language processing technology mean drivers can now converse with their car in a way that is both safe and helpful.

SoundHound, which started out with a music recognition app, spent the past decade quietly adapting its AI technology to work as a hands-free intelligent system for cars. It has partnerships with Daimler, Hyundai, Honda and PSA, the parent of Peugeot, Citroen and Opel.

Nuance is also developing in-car assistants that can track drivers' emotions and help keep them engaged.

Of note: Consumers want their cars to mimic their smartphones so most carmakers have already incorporated Apple Carplay and Android Auto into their infotainment systems.

Yes, but: There's a downside to that strategy. The invitation to those data-hungry tech giants is getting between the carmakers and their customers, making it harder to create their own brand experience inside the vehicle.

SoundHound offers an alternative. "We've architected a platform that enables major companies to harness best in class technology, but still own their own brand, and not be disintermediated by the giants," says VP and general manager Katie McMahon.

Mercedes Benz set a new industry benchmark for voice controls in the 2019 A-class sedan and GLE utility with its MBUX infotainment system.

Drivers can control many of the car's features by speaking conversationally after a wake-up command: "Hey Mercedes."

The car understands things like "I'm cold" or "I feel like Asian food, but not Japanese" and responds accordingly by turning up the heat or suggesting nearby Chinese or Thai restaurants.

It can also tap into the cloud for answers to multilayered, contextual questions on 150 different topics.

The only car-based features it won't let you control by voice are safety-related things like lane-keeping assist or adaptive cruise control — Mercedes doesn't want you to accidentally disengage the systems by talking about them.

What to watch: Natural language AI voice systems could become one of the most effective driver-assistance technologies available. But they're still potentially a form of cognitive distraction even though your eyes don't leave the road. We'll be watching to see how they impact safety.

Go deeper: Regulating the humans behind the wheels of autonomous vehicles

Improved voice controls could increase car safety

Improved voice controls could make a big difference.

New cars come with a voice command option

Transportation

Autonomous vehicle technology

Lyft last night raised around $2.34 billion in its IPO, selling more shares than expected and pricing at the top of its upwardly-revised range, sparking all sorts of concerns that we're at a market peak.

The big picture: It's entirely possible that we're at or near the top, and that it's all downhill from here. But we don't actually know, and certainly shouldn't extrapolate from the rush of unicorn tech companies going public.

The best of the past six years for VC-backed IPOs was 2012, in terms of offering proceeds, and that clearly wasn't a top.

If venture capitalists and crossover investors know this is a top, why are they still investing tons of cash into high-priced, growth-stage private companies?

If unicorn companies know this is a top, then shouldn't they have gone public last year, given the lockup restrictions (yes, this goes for VCs too).

If banks know this is a top, then their wealth management arms are committing malpractice by pushing high-net-worth clients into these IPOs.

This is the first $1 billion+ IPO on a U.S. exchange without Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley as an underwriter since JD.com went public in May 2014, per Renaissance Capital. The last U.S.-based issue was VMware back in August 2007, when Lehman Brothers was on the book.

Renaissance Capital's Matthew Kennedy emails: "Some obvious parallels with JD going public a few months ahead of its much larger rival (both GS & MS were part of the lead syndicate for Alibaba)."

Lyft reserved up to 5% of the offered shares for a program whose beneficiaries would include "drivers in good standing who have completed at least 10,000 rides on our platform." Such drivers could buy at the $72 per share price, but Lyft won't say how many drivers were eligible and/or participated.

Lyft and Uber are very different companies, particularly in terms of product and geographic focus. But Uber will, at least in part, be valued by investors on the revenue multiples set by Lyft.

The two big risk factors, from my perspective, are autonomous vehicles and labor regulation.

AVs could obviously help Lyft increase its margins and drive down its prices, but it also would open the ride-hail market up well beyond its current duopoly. Suddenly, it and Uber would be competing both with software giants (Google, etc.) and automakers (GM, etc.).

Lyft rang the Nasdaq bell in Los Angeles, where drivers have been protesting fee cuts. The more gig economy workers there are, the more national pressure there will be to guarantee them some sort of minimum wage (whether contract workers or not). These business models go further into the upside down if, for example, active drivers get $15 per hour (whether with passengers or not).

Both the market cap and fully-diluted valuations are way above the $15.1 billion Lyft last received from private market investors.

That's a big data point for growth equity investors who have insisted that private valuations are rational. If Lyft holds its price through the lockup period and other unicorn IPOs follow a similar path, then a lot of price critics from the past five years (sheepishly raises hand) will have to eat crow.

Go deeper: Investor FOMO is driving Lyft's valuation sky high

Charting the heights of Lyft's IPO

The ride-sharer raised around $2.34 billion.

Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Lyft

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May saw her maligned Brexit deal hit with a third defeat in the House of Commons on Friday in a 344-286 vote.

Why it matters: It means that big changes may be coming to the British political sphere over the next few days, like the announcement of an early general election, as only way that the EU might grant another long-term extension —  the U.K. is currently set to leave the bloc on April 12 — would be through some form of significant political upheaval. Otherwise, the U.K. would be forced into a no-deal Brexit.

The state of play: This vote was a little different than the last two. It split the deal's two components — the withdrawal agreement, a legal document setting out the terms of Brexit, and the political declaration, a roadmap for the future EU-U.K. relationship — for a vote only on the withdrawal agreement.

Had the vote been successful, it would have lengthened the EU's Brexit extension from April 12 to May 22, giving the U.K. more breathing room before leaving to avoid having to take part in European elections on May 23.

Theresa May's last-ditch vote on her Brexit deal fails

It means that big changes may be coming to the British political sphere.

Photo: House of Commons/PA Images via Getty Images

World

Brexit

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Conflicts, policies and powers are intersecting and shaping the world. Breaking news and analysis of national security, foreign policy and global crises.

Data: Axios research; Chart: Naema Ahmed/Axios

Last week's news of the EU's latest antitrust fine levied against Google fattened the already multi-billion-dollar tally against the search giant. But like the previous penalties, there aren't many signs the new fine will cause Google to make major changes.

For tech giants, profits far outweigh fines

Even the biggest antitrust-related fines levied by Europe are small compared to revenue numbers for Google, Facebook.

Axios

Friday's top stories

Stocks rebounded in the first quarter

Apple will not release AirPower wireless charger

New Barr letter: Mueller report will be sent to Congress by mid-April

Larry Kudlow wants the Fed to cut rates

Improved voice controls could increase car safety

Charting the heights of Lyft's IPO

Theresa May's last-ditch vote on her Brexit deal fails

For tech giants, profits far outweigh fines

Global stocks have largely recovered from 2018's rough 4th quarter

Stock buyback binge: 2019 is setting a record pace

Trump, the tormentor

The drug pricing debate is stuck in the past

Rebooting high school

Google pulls "conversion therapy" app amid pressure from LGBTQ groups