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Tony Hsieh, the longtime ex-chief executive of Zappos, died on Friday after being injured in a house fire, his lawyer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He was 46.

The big picture: Hsieh was known for his unique approach to management, and following the 2008 recession his ongoing investment and efforts to revitalize the downtown Las Vegas area. 

After investing in Zappos in 1999 and running the online shoe seller, he sold the company to Amazon in 2009 for about $1.2 billion, where he stayed until stepping down in August.

Zappos has published a statement which reads, in part: 

The world has lost a tremendous visionary and an incredible human being. We recognize that not only have we lost our inspiring former leader, but many of you have also lost a mentor and a friend. Tony played such an integral part in helping create the thriving Zappos business we have today, along with his passion for helping to support and drive our company culture.

Tony’s kindness and generosity touched the lives of everyone around him, as his mantra was of “Delivering Happiness” to others. His spirit will forever be a part of Zappos, and we will continue to honor his memory by dedicating ourselves to continuing the work he was so passionate about.

Tony Hsieh, longtime Zappos CEO, dies at 46

In the last decade, he invested heavily in revitalizing the downtown Last Vegas area.

Business

Amazon

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Top stories & latest news on the Federal Reserve, real-time data, plus the biggest shifts happening in the U.S. and global economy.

Economy

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Economy & Business

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.

Pro Rata

Axios Pro Rata

Airbnb and DoorDash plan to go public in the next few weeks, capping off a very busy year for IPOs. 

Other companies expected to complete IPOs before Christmas include fintech Affirm, gaming platform Roblox and e-commerce company Wish.

State of play: There are over 500 "unicorns," or upstart companies that are valued at $1 billion or more by venture capitalists, according to CB Insights. More than half of those are based in the U.S., and around two dozen are valued at more than $5 billion.

Among some of the better known names are ByteDance (owner of TikTok), SpaceX, Instacart, Epic Games (maker of Fortnite), Coinbase and Stripe.

Then there are the lesser-known cloud software companies seeking to become the next DataDog or Snowflake — valued at a combined $4.6 billion entering 2020, now trading with combined market cap of $130 billion.

"The real story of 2020 is that it's just the preview for 2021, especially if there's a vaccine and the economy roars back," a tech IPO banker tells Axios. 

Another banker, this one based in San Francisco, adds that he regularly participates in multiple "bake-offs" on the same day for large tech IPOs.

There's also been a recent boom in special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), which represent another way for startups to go public — including those that might not be ready to do a traditional IPO, like many of the uncommercialized electric vehicle makers. 

Most of the SPACs formed in 2020 will seek out targets in 2021.

The bottom line: There used to be only a handful of unicorn IPOs per year, due to a limited pipeline, making each one a major Wall Street event. Those days are over.

The unicorn stampede is coming

Airbnb and DoorDash plan to go public in the next few weeks, and that's just the beginning.

Illustration of a U.S. one hundred dollar bill cut into the shape of a unicorn

Initial public offerings (IPO)

The assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the architect of Iran’s military nuclear program, is a new height in the maximum pressure campaign led by the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government against Iran.

Why it matters: It exceeds the capture of the Iranian nuclear archives by the Mossad, and the sabotage in the advanced centrifuge facility in Natanz.

Israel didn’t take responsibility for the assassination, but the New York Times reported it was Israeli agents who killed Fakhrizade, citing intelligence officials.

Iran blamed Israel for the assassination and threatened revenge. But unlike the almost immediate retaliation against U.S. bases in Iraq for the U.S. killing of Quds force commander Qassin Soleimani, this time the Iranians will need more time to prepare their response.

The big picture: The physicist Fakhrizade was to the Iranian nuclear program what
Soleimani was to Iran’s covert activity in the region. Taking him out could
have a similar effect.

Iranian army commander Mohammed Bagheri admitted the assassination was a huge blow to the Iranian defense establishment.

Israeli officials briefed several media outlets in Israel that without Fakhrizade it will be hard for Iran to continue its nuclear program. 

The other side: The Iranian nuclear program has made huge progress and is not dependent on one person. 

Fakhrizadeh had special organizational and management skills and was very dominant inside the Iranian defense establishment, but the Iranian nuclear program will continue after his death.

Between the lines: The killing of Fakhrizadeh comes as part of what seems as an effort by the Trump administration and the Netanyahu government to use the time left until President-elect Joe Biden assumes office for more pressure on Iran.

The Trump administration hasn’t concealed its ambition to make it harder for Biden to renew talks with Iran and rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal. Sanctions, covert operations and threats for military strikes are part of this effort.

The trilateral meeting between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Saudi Arabia on Sunday was also part of the effort to raise the pressure on Iran and send a message to the Biden administration.

What’s next: The tension with Iran, which is high in normal days, is expected to rise ahead of January 20th. After the killing of Fakhrizadeh and possibly more actions against Iran by the U.S. and Israel, the Biden administration is expected to find a much more complicated reality that might make it harder to reengage with Tehran.



Maximum pressure campaign escalates with Fakhrizadeh killing

It exceeds the capture of the Iranian nuclear archives by the Mossad.

World

Iran

Israel

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

2024 will be an election year like no other, as President Biden seeks re-election amid economic uncertainty, two wars and questions about his age. His likely foe, former President Trump, faces felony charges and vows revenge on his political enemies. Meanwhile, Americans generally are dissatisfied with those choices and are divided over immigration, race, education and more.

Politics & Policy

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Axios Hill Leaders

Joe Biden is considering retired four-star General Lloyd Austin as his nominee for defense secretary, adding him to a shortlist that includes Jeh Johnson, Tammy Duckworth and Michele Flournoy, two sources with direct knowledge of the decision-making tell Axios.

Why it matters: A nominee for Pentagon chief was noticeably absent when the president-elect rolled out his national security team Tuesday. Flournoy had been widely seen as the likely pick, but Axios is told other factors — race, experience, Biden's comfort level — have come into play.

Between the lines: Biden's top advisers feel pressure to announce an African American to a prominent Cabinet role. Earlier this week, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), a top ally, said he was disappointed more African Americans had not been included in Biden's early selections.

Austin would be the first Black secretary of defense in American history.

The former head of U.S. Central Command, Austin retired from the Army in 2016. He would need a congressional waiver to serve, just as President Trump's first defense secretary, James Mattis, required as a recent military retiree.

Flournoy was never a foregone conclusion for secretary despite some media reporting suggesting the job was already hers. 

The president-elect does not have the same deep, long-term relationship with her as he does, for example, with Tony Blinken, Flournoy's former business partner and Biden's nominee for secretary of state.

But, but, but: Flournoy, a former top Pentagon official, remains in contention, as do Johnson, a former Homeland Security secretary, and Duckworth, an Illinois senator and combat veteran of the Iraq War.

Johnson, who served as the Pentagon's general counsel in the early years of the Obama administration, is also in contention for attorney general, sources tell Axios. 

Biden had considered Duckworth as his running mate.

Behind the scenes: When the president-elect omitted a candidate for secretary of defense from his marquee national security rollout, it raised questions about whether there were problems with Flournoy's nomination or a late-blooming candidate had eclipsed her.

The big picture: The Biden team wants to elevate diplomacy and de-emphasize the military as an instrument of national power. 

"So having DoD rollout front-and-center sends one message," said a source close to Biden. "Not doing so sends another message. There has always been the intent to signal from Day One that this is not an administration that is going to put the Pentagon at the center of things."

Biden said Tuesday: "This team meets this moment. They embody my core belief that America is strongest when it works with its allies."

Scoop: Biden weighs retired General Lloyd Austin for Pentagon chief

Biden's top advisers feel pressure to announce an African American to a prominent Cabinet role.

Retired Army General Lloyd Austin in seen in his uniform before congressional testimony in 2015.

Lloyd Austin testifying before Congress in 2015. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Politics

Department of Defense (DOD)

Joe Biden

Top scientists at the World Health Organization on Friday called for more detailed information on a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

Why it matters: Oxford and AstraZeneca have said the vaccine was 90% effective in people who got a half dose followed by a full dose, and 62% effective in people who got two full doses. AstraZeneca has since acknowledged that the smaller dose received by some participants was the result of an error by a contractor, per the New York Times.

The half-dose version — the one with 90% efficacy — was tested on a group that didn’t include anyone older than 55, leading to questions about reliability of the results.

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot told Bloomberg on Thursday the company is likely to start a new global trial to measure how effective the vaccine is.

What they're saying: "What we've seen is a press release. And what is really the next most important step is that the data really needs to be evaluated based on more than a press release," Katherine O'Brien, director of WHO's immunization and vaccines department, said Friday when asked to comment on AstraZeneca's vaccine. 

"So I think it's too early for us to say anything about what we make of the data and what is needed next. What we really see is more than a press release and to really see the data and have a chance to ask the questions that are needed," O'Brien said.

"We've heard from AstraZeneca that they would like to do a full trial," said Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO's chief scientist, after noting that all available information on the vaccine has so far come from a press release. "And so if we are to explore this hypothesis of having perhaps a better efficacy with a lower dose, then it would need a trial." 

Go deeper: Why AstraZeneca's vaccine matters for the developing world

WHO: AstraZeneca vaccine must be evaluated on "more than a press release"

Experts have raised doubts about data from the vaccine's Phase 3 trial results.

Close up of a vial with the WHO logo on it 

A medical syringe and vial with fake coronavirus vaccine in front of the World Health Organization (WHO) logo. Photo Illustration: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Health Care

Coronavirus vaccines

Coronavirus

The U.S. health system faces critical questions about cost, access and equity. Technological advances and new discoveries about diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s are transforming patient care and reshaping public health.

Health

A federal appeals court on Friday unanimously rejected the Trump campaign's emergency appeal seeking to file a new lawsuit against Pennsylvania's election results, writing in a blistering ruling that the campaign's "claims have no merit."

Why it matters: It's another devastating blow to President Trump's sinking efforts to overturn the results of the election. Pennsylvania, which President-elect Joe Biden won by more than 80,000 votes, certified its results last week and is expected to award 20 electoral votes to Biden on Dec. 12.

What they're saying: "Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here," Trump-appointed Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote in the Third Circuit Court of Appeal's ruling.

"The Trump Presidential Campaign asserts that Pennsylvania’s 2020 election was unfair. But as lawyer Rudolph Giuliani stressed, the Campaign 'doesn’t plead fraud ... [T]his is not a fraud case.'"

"Instead, it objects that Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State and some counties restricted poll watchers and let voters fix technical defects in their mail-in ballots. It offers nothing more."

Trump legal adviser Jenna Ellis responded to the ruling on Twitter, writing: "The activist judicial machinery in Pennsylvania continues to cover up the allegations of massive fraud.  We are very thankful to have had the opportunity to present proof and the facts to the PA state legislature.  On to SCOTUS!"

Trump

Court rejects Trump campaign's appeal in Pennsylvania case

Photo: Sarah Silbiger for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Pennsylvania

2020 election

Longtime Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko has said he will step down after a new constitution comes into force, according to Belarusian state media.

Why it matters: Lukashenko has faced three months of protests following a rigged election in August. He has promised to reform the constitution to reduce the near-absolute powers of the president, but has insisted that his strong hand is needed to see that process through.

“I will not work as president with you under the new constitution.”

Between the lines: Lukashenko has not held onto power for 26 years by accident, and he's unlikely to simply fade away now — at least not willingly. 

He has slow-walked the constitutional reform process while cracking down on the opposition and ensuring the continued support of the security services.

Even in announcing that he plans to eventually leave his post, he seemed to leave open the possibility of taking a role other than president.

The other side: Franak Viačorka, a top adviser to opposition leader and self-declared president of "democratic Belarus" Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, tweeted that the opposition movement would "continue insisting on elections before constitution reform."

The big picture: An almost Soviet-style nationalist, Lukashenko played the West and Russia off against one another for years, taking what he could from both relationships.

But the U.S. and EU turned sharply against him as August's fraudulent election was followed by allegations of torture against protesters.

What to watch: Russia offered Lukashenko public shows of support amid the initial post-election revolt, but analysts have long predicted that the Kremlin would prefer a transition to a more pliable and less politically toxic president.

Visiting Minsk on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov publicly encouraged Lukashenko to move ahead with the long-promised constitutional reforms.

"We of course have an interest in the situation being calm, stable and we think that beginning the constitutional reform initiated by the country's leadership would contribute to this," Lavrov said.

Belarus dictator Lukashenko says he'll leave post after new constitution

Belarus

Russia

The Iranian ministry of defense issued a statement on Friday confirming the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadhe, an Iranian scientist and the architect behind the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program.

Why it matters: Fakhrizadhe was the head of the Amad project in the Iranian ministry of defense, which focused on developing a nuclear bomb until 2003.

In 2018, after Israel exposed the Iranian nuclear archives, which the Mossad captured in Tehran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outed Fakhrizade publicly and dubbed him "the father of the Iranian nuclear bomb."

Details: Fakhrizadhe was attacked while driving his car in a Tehran suburb, according to the ministry's statement. During a shootout, he was critically injured and rushed to the hospital where he died.

What they're saying: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blamed Israel for the assassination, writing on Twitter: 

"Terrorists murdered an eminent Iranian scientist today. This cowardice—with serious indications of Israeli role—shows desperate warmongering of perpetrators,"

Zarif called on the international community — and especially EU — to condemn the assassination.

Hossein Dehghan, the military adviser to Iran's supreme leader, blamed Israel and the Trump administration for the killing. "In the last days of the political life of their gambling ally, the Zionists seek to intensify and increase the pressure on Iran to wage a full-fledged war," Dehghan wrote in a tweet.

Hossein Salami, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, tweeted on Friday: "The assassination of nuclear scientists is the most obvious violent confrontation of the imperialist system to prevent us from gaining access to modern science."

Iran confirms assassination of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadhe

Fakhrizadeh was head of the Amad project, which until 2003 was developing an Iranian nuclear bomb.

The U.K. government said on Friday that it will establish next year a Digital Markets Unit, which will enforce forthcoming "pro-competition" regulations aimed at curbing some of the digital platforms like Google and Facebook. 

Why it matters: This is the latest move by a government to respond to growing objections to the size and power these companies have amassed. 

The new unit will be part of the Competition and Markets Authority, which published in July a report on online platforms and digital advertising markets, and will start operating in April 2021. 

The upcoming "code of conduct" the new unit will create and enforce will establish parameters for the expectations users can have from these services and promote greater data portability, transparency, and even more advertising choice for users. 

Much of how how the unit will operate, the new regulations, and the penalties still need to be established. 

The big picture: Meanwhile, U.S. regulators have filed or are working on antitrust cases against these same companies, while the European Union unveiled this week new regulations to give users more control over their data. 

U.K. to launch new watchdog next year to police digital giants

The "pro-competition" Digital Markets Unit will seek to curb digital platforms' dominance.

Photo: Muhammed Selim Korkutata/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Big Tech

Tech Regulation

Macro

Axios Macro

Safety nets are likely to be yanked from underneath millions of vulnerable Americans in December, as the coronavirus surges. 

Why it matters: Those most at risk are depending on one or more relief programs that are set to expire, right as the economic recovery becomes more fragile than it's been in months.

Those relief programs include special unemployment benefits and penalty-free pauses in mortgage and student loan payments.

What's going on: Economic support measures were created earlier this year as lawmakers thought the pandemic would be under control by now.

Now that the deadlines are approaching, the virus is worse than it's ever been — and Congress looks unlikely to re-up the support measures.

Adding to the pressure: Congress has taken initial steps to avert a government shutdown, but they have less than two weeks to hash out the final details of a spending package before the Dec. 11 deadline.

What they're saying: "It's a really tough time for these folks and they are caught in the middle of stupid Washington politics," Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, tells Axios. 

"Maybe they lost their job in April and got it back in July and now they're losing it again. And they don't know if they can feed their kids and pay the rent."

There's hope that a vaccine will come and perhaps alleviate economic pressure, but until then, "this is a really important time to give people that bridge," Gleckman says.

Over one-third of Americans say they live in households where it is difficult to afford household expenses, including food, rent or mortgage, and student loans — the highest share in six weeks, according to the Census Household Survey.

Among the programs set to vanish next month:

Unemployment: Over 13 million Americans are relying on weekly unemployment checks through two programs that are weeks away from expiration, according to government figures released Thursday. (The number of participants may be slightly overstated, thanks to reporting issues from state unemployment offices.)

The impact is a roughly $39 billion income shortfall, assuming the unemployed workers can't find another job or alternate income support — a possible outcome, if potential state lockdowns further weaken the labor market.

The result is as much as a 1.2 percentage point drag on next quarter's economic growth (on an annualized basis), Bank of America estimates. 

Housing: After Dec. 31, homeowners can't request penalty-free forbearance for federally-backed mortgage payments. The measure also stopped mortgage lenders from starting a foreclosure process. About 2.7 million homeowners are depending on some sort of forbearance plan.

For renters: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's order that halted rental evictions expires next month, too.

Student loans: The CARES Act paused payments on government-backed student loans without interest. 

About 22 million student loan borrowers took advantage of the payment pause, according to estimates by Student Loan Hero based on government payment status reports.

Nearly 3 million borrowers with government-owned federal loans were already in forbearance before the pandemic hit, Student Loan Hero's Andrew Pentis tells Axios.

State aid: Whatever isn’t expended of the $139 billion allocated to states in the CARES Act will disappear at the end of the year. 

States have so far allocated more than 89% of the funds, according to an October survey by the National Governors Association. 

States also won't be able to turn to a Federal Reserve lending program for aid, since that's set to expire next month, too.

The bottom line: The expiring measures could be a double or triple whammy for those hardest hit by the pandemic.

Cold December as safety nets expire

Safety nets are being yanked out from under Americans just as the virus rages like never before.

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