Economy & Business

Why it matters: 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.

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Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will host "Jeopardy!" for the year

Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings. Photo: Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images

Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will split "Jeopardy!" hosting duties for the rest of the year, AP reports.

The big picture: The announcement by Sony Pictures Television on Thursday comes after the previously named host, Mike Richards, stepped down when a history of derogatory comments about women and Jewish people came to light.

Boeing taps former Bush official Ziad Ojakli to head government operations

Photo: Boeing

Boeing is placing Ziad Ojakli, who served as former President George W. Bush’s principal deputy for legislative affairs, in charge of the company’s public policy and lobbying efforts starting October 1.

Why it matters: His appointment comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Justice opening a $500 million fund for relatives of the two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes, which is part of a $2.5 billion settlement agreement reached in January.

Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Vaccines: Los Angeles County to require vaccination proof at indoor bars — France suspends 3,000 unvaccinated health workers without pay — Moderna suggests booster shots, citing clinical data.
  2. Health: 1 in 500 Americans has died — Cases are falling, but deaths are rising — Study: Gaps in data on Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders alarming amid COVID.
  3. Politics: Gottlieb says CDC hampered U.S. response — 26 states have limited state or local officials' public health powers — Axios-Ipsos poll: 60% of voters back Biden vaccine mandates.
  4. Education: Denver looks to students to close Latino vaccination gap — Federal judge temporarily blocks Iowa's ban on mask mandates in schools — Massachusetts activates National Guard to help with school transportation.
  5. Variant tracker: Where different strains are spreading.
Felix Salmon, author of Capital
3 hours ago - Economy & Business

The financial literacy industrial complex

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

You probably don't remember learning much about money or finance in high school. Now a whole industry, rife with conflicts of interest, is springing up in an attempt to change that.

Why it matters: Millions of people do badly on problematic standardized tests of financial literacy; millions of people are also poor, and struggle with their finances.

Felix Salmon, author of Capital
3 hours ago - Economy & Business

The crypto carry trade

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The combination of stablecoins and yield farming — a way to earn interest on crypto assets — means that there are now high-yielding currencies that claim to have no risk of depreciating against the U.S. dollar. The ingredients for an enormous carry trade are in place.

The big picture: The carry trade is the lifeblood of the FX markets. You borrow cheaply in one currency, invest at a higher interest rate in another, and so long as your funding currency doesn't devalue too sharply against your target currency, you make easy money.

Workout economy hangs fate on celeb trainers

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

At-home workout companies are turning fitness instructors into stars.

What's new: Tonal, which makes a wall-mounted, strength training device, said its machines will start streaming live classes in October. 

Ford adds jobs to meet soaring demand for electric F-150 Lightning

Ford's first F-150 Lightning pickup truck prototypes are rolling out of the factory in Dearborn, Mich., for real-world testing. Photo: Ford Motor

The electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup hasn't even gone on sale yet, but demand is so hot that the company is already expanding production.

Driving the news: The first Lightning prototypes are leaving Ford's Dearborn, Mich., factory for real-world testing, with the truck available to customers next spring.

Piers Morgan signs deal with Fox and News Corp

Piers Morgan. Photo: Morgan Lieberman/WireImage

Former "Good Morning Britain" host Piers Morgan signed a global deal with Rupert Murdoch's Fox News Media and News Corp, the companies announced Thursday.

Why it matters: The announcement marks Morgan's first new TV role since he resigned from "Good Morning Britain" in March after criticizing Meghan Markle for her interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata
5 hours ago - Economy & Business

An inside look at Intuit's Mailchimp acquisition

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

When Mailchimp recently agreed to be acquired by Intuit for $12 billion, we noted how it was the richest sale ever of a private bootstrapped company. Now we know more about why the Atlanta-based email marketing company never took outside funding.

The big picture: Mailchimp founder and CEO Ben Chestnut tells Axios that it was all about timing.

Luxury fashion marketplace Tradesy raises $67 million

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Tradesy, an online marketplace for secondhand high-end fashion goods, raised $67 million in Series D funding led by Foris Ventures, John Doerr's family office.

Why it matters: With climate change (and ESG more broadly) solidifying itself as a mainstream concern, companies like Tradesy that help consumers cut down on their consumption and waste are seeing exploding interest.

Omaze raises $85 million from VCs for non-profit fundraising

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Omaze, a company that helps nonprofits fundraise by organizing sweepstakes, has raised $85 million in Series C funding led by Louis Bacon’s Moore Strategic Ventures.

Why it matters: While Omaze's customers are non-profits, the company is not only a for-profit, but also taking in venture dollars — a financing model that's often criticized for pushing companies to prioritize growth and shareholder returns over their impact on society.

Milestone: Industrial production reached pre-pandemic levels

Data: FRED; Chart: Axios Visuals

Industrial production joins metrics like GDP and consumer spending that have returned to and surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

Why it matters: The pandemic has caused a wide array of disruptions that have gummed up the links along the supply chain. The fact that industrial production still continues to grow suggests the supply chain, while troubled, is at least improving.

7 hours ago - World

Macau casino stocks reel as China flexes regulatory powers

Data: YCharts; Chart: Axios Visuals

Macau casino stocks imploded Wednesday on news that gaming companies on the island are now squarely in China's regulatory crosshairs.

Why it matters: Macau historically operated at arm's length from Beijing, developing a reputation as a Wild West not only for casino gambling but also for money laundering and loan-sharking.

New tolling systems are poised to hit highways

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Electric vehicles might be good for the environment, but they're terrible for state budgets, which depend on fuel taxes to pay for road maintenance. So states like Oregon and Utah are experimenting with new road user fees — known as "vehicle mileage taxes" or VMTs — that reflect changing mobility trends.

Why it matters: By charging drivers for the miles they drive — instead of taxing the gas they use — states can ensure that everyone pays their fair share for public roads. But some drivers might wind up paying more than they do now, and the preliminary technology involved is raising privacy concerns.

Mike Allen, author of AM
9 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden vows to "deal everyone in" as Nobel laureates back economic plan

President Biden talks infrastructure at the Flatirons campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Arvanda, Colo., on Tuesday. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP

In East Room remarks Thursday afternoon on leveling the economic playing field, President Biden will argue that his Build Back Better plan will "deal everyone in."

What to watch: A White House official tells me that Biden will argue that the nation has reached an inflection point — whether or not to perpetuate an economy where the wealthiest taxpayers and biggest corporations play by a set of rules they’ve written for themselves.

Biden enlists business leaders in campaign for vax mandates

President Joe Biden at a meeting with business leaders Sept. 15, 2021. Photo: Oliver Contretas/Getty Images

President Biden convened a meeting of top business leaders Wednesday to build support for a sweeping vaccine mandate that will affect most of America's workers. The message: Vaccines work, and the stalled uptake is holding back the economy.

Why it matters: As vaccine rates have flattened across the country, business leaders have the power to impact their employees’ decisions. Many corporate leaders had been looking for stronger federal guidance to lean on.

19 hours ago - Politics & Policy

The debt ceiling stare down

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Congress is fast approaching its deadline to raise the debt ceiling or risk defaulting on the nation's debt, and, as of now, there's no serious plan to stave off what many members are calling the worst-case scenario.

Why it matters: The U.S. has never defaulted on its debt. If Congress doesn't take "extraordinary measures" to finance the government, it would "likely cause irreparable damage to the U.S. economy and global financial markets," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned last week.

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