Dec 29, 2017

YouTube app pulled early from Amazon as Google negotiations continue

YouTube Rego Korosi via Flickr CC

The YouTube app on Amazon's Fire TV product has been pulled ahead of the Jan. 1 cancellation date set by Google earlier this year, Fast Company reports. Google said earlier it would pull YouTube access from Fire TV in response to Amazon's unwillingness to sell Prime Video on Chromecast. YouTube will still be accessible on Amazon through Silk or Firefox browsers.

Why it matters: Amazon just announced two weeks ago that it would resume selling Chromecast, among other Google products, and Apple TVs. Google announced in response that "productive discussions" were taking place between the two companies. An early cancellation could indicate that negotiations between the two tech giants aren't moving as quickly as previously suggested.

The backstory: Per Axios' Ina Fried: "There's a lot of frenemy stuff at play here, with Google, Apple and Amazon all selling their own streaming devices, but also looking to offer their own services on one another's devices. Apple doesn't offer its programing on rival devices, but does move a lot of hardware through Amazon."

Go deeper

Kia Kokalitcheva

32 mins ago - Economy & Business

HBCUs are missing from the discussion on venture capital's diversity

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Venture capital is beginning a belated conversation about its dearth of black investors and support of black founders, but hasn't yet turned its attention to the trivial participation of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as limited partners in funds.

Why it matters: This increases educational and economic inequality, as the vast majority of VC profits go to limited partners.

Go deeper (1 min. read)

Courtenay Brown

1 hour ago - Economy & Business

Unemployment rate falls to 13.3% in May

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Axios Visuals

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 13.3% in May, with 2.5 million jobs gained, the government said on Friday.

Why it matters: The far better-than-expected numbers show a surprising improvement in the job market, which has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

Go deeper (1 min. read)

Dion Rabouin

2 hours ago - Economy & Business

The difficulty of calculating the real unemployment rate

Data: U.S. Department of Labor; Note: Initial traditional state claims from the weeks of May 23 and 30, continuing traditional claims from May 23. Initial PUA claims from May 16, 23, and 30, continuing PUA and other programs from May 16; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The shocking May jobs report — with a decline in the unemployment rate to 13.3% and more than 2 million jobs added — destroyed expectations of a much worse economic picture.

Why it matters: Traditional economic reports have failed to keep up with the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic and have made it nearly impossible for researchers to determine the state of the U.S. labor market or the economy.

Go deeper (2 min. read)