Jobs Report Friday again! And this one should be a doozy, as we look for what a wave of recent strikes, increased competition for workers, and millions of workers reconsidering career paths will mean for the numbers - Bloomberg and NYTimes and WSJ
E-truck company Nikola is nearing an agreement to pay $125 million to resolve SEC claims over “allegedly misleading statements made by” the company’s founder and former executive chair, Trevor Milton (who was indicted on fraud charges in July). Nikola said it would pay the amount “in installments over time” and will seek reimbursement from Milton for that amount - WSJ and Law360
Meanwhile, it’s looking like some rocky roads ahead of next week’s IPO for Rivian, with news that former sales and marketing vice president Laura Schwab has sued the company in California state court for alleged retaliation after she told HR execs “that she had been subjected to gender discrimination.” In her complaint, Schwab describes a “toxic ‘bro culture’” at the e-truck startup that was “the worst” she’d experienced “in over 20 years in the automotive industry” - WSJ and TechCrunch
Jeff Bezos’ space side hustle, Blue Origin, suffered a blow on Thursday in its bid to “overturn NASA’s multibillion-dollar moon lander contract with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.” Blue Origin sued the space agency in August, accusing it of “unfairly award[ing] to SpaceX a $2.9 billion contract in April to conduct the first two missions to the moon.” U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Richard Hertling rejected the company’s arguments in a sealed order, leaving Bezos & co. with “few other legal avenues to challenge the contract” - NYTimes and Bloomberg and WSJ
The OPEC+ nations have shrugged off entreaties from world leaders to increase production amidst surging oil prices and will “stick with their previous plan to raise oil production by a modest 400,000 barrels a day next month” - NYTimes and Bloomberg
A new EDNY lawsuit by the now-defunct photo-sharing app Phhhoto accuses Facebook of approaching the app’s leadership about a partnership (that didn’t pan out) while launching “a competing product that mirrored Phhhoto’s features” and suppressing “Phhhoto’s content within its phot-sharing app, Instagram.” Of particular note, the presence of Gary Reback, Phhhoto’s counsel, who in the 1990s “persuaded the Justice Department to sue Microsoft for violating antitrust laws” as well as Zuck’s alleged “personal involvement” in the alleged anticompetitive activity - NYTimes
AT&T and Verizon have agreed with federal authorities to “delay their planned Dec. 5 rollout of a new 5G frequency band” so that they can work with the FAA to “address concerns about potential interference with key cockpit safety systems,” including those that help land planes in bad weather - WSJ and Bloomberg
As earnings season rolls on, we heard on Thursday how an investment in Chinese ride-hailing company Didi cost Uber $2.4 billion last quarter and marred an otherwise strong showing from Uber, which posted revenue just shy of $5 billion—an improvement of 72% from a year ago - NYTimes
Streetwise on why the bond market’s big-old red flag warnings are largely being ignored by equities investors - WSJ [and Bloomberg]
The Journal helps us trying to make sense of the Great Resignation (or at least, the Great Reevaluation) - WSJ
Among the many ugly truths associated with Theranos that are being exposed for all to see thanks to Elizabeth Holmes’ criminal fraud trial: “the many ways sophisticated investors can be swept up in the hype of a hot start-up, ignoring red flags that look obvious in hindsight” - NYTimes
Must read from one of our favorites, the historian Jill Lepore, on the Muskism sweeping Big Tech’s founders these days - NYTimes
Stay safe, get vaxxed, and have a great weekend,
MDR
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