U.S. jobless claims hit 166k last week, the lowest “since November 1968, when the labor force was less than half of its current size.” Labor Department data also showed some 4.3 million workers quitting their jobs in February—a “figure that has remained elevated as employers raise wages and improve benefits to retain and entice workers”—and reassess their place in a employment landscape in which there are “around 1.8 job openings for every unemployed worker” - WSJ and Marketplace
As a long-dormant union movement in America finds new life, the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel is out with a memo “arguing that the widespread employer practice of requiring workers to attend anti-union meetings is illegal under federal law, even though labor board precedent has allowed it.” Some former NLRB officials applauded the move, though they questioned whether it would have any practical effects, “since many employees may feel compelled to attend anti-union meetings even if they were no longer mandatory” - NYTimes
Rising interest rates are pushing a mad dash by hopeful sellers to list before a still-hot housing market in the U.S. finally starts to cool - WSJ
Pfizer announced plans to purchase respiratory-virus drugmaker ReViral in a deal that could top $525 million, the latest move by the drug giant to “expand its infectious-disease business on the heels of the company’s successful Covid-19 products” - WSJ and Bloomberg
Just days after WarnerMedia head Jason Kilar announced his departure from the company, Discovery CEO David Zaslav—who will helm the combined media giant—appointed a slate of “his longtime lieutenants to key positions overseeing areas like cable networks, streaming, revenue, finance, legal and communications” - NYTimes and WSJ
Stocks bounced back after a few days of losses, even as the yield on 10-year Treasury notes hit a three-year high. As some analysts put it, in explaining the past few days, “Investors selling this week were seemingly last to understand that the Fed is actually changing policy . . . even though it has been stating its intentions for a long time” - WSJ and Bloomberg
Insightful stuff, as always, from Kara Swisher (and guest Casey Newton) on what Twitter’s addition of Elon Musk to its board of directors means for the future of the social media company - NYTimes
Richard Liu, the founder of “Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com Inc.” who found himself in a sea of controversy in August 2018 after being “accused of sexual assault by a university student in Minnesota,” is stepping down from his chief executive role at the company—the “latest technology-sector billionaire to leave his post amid Beijing’s tougher regulatory environment” - WSJ
Further analysis of the week’s surprising news that JetBlue submitted a late offer for budget carrier Spirit suggests the brewing battle for Spirit may create—under either a JetBlue or Frontier mash-up—a “more formidable threat to the nation’s four largest airlines”: American, Delta, United, and Southwest - NYTimes
As the world’s richest now measure their fortunes in billions rather than millions, the Times gets creative to help us try to get a handle on the enormity of the wealth of one of the tech barons near the tippy top: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos - NYTimes
Reveling with the rest of Minnesota and Purple nation in WCCO TV’s “miraculous” discovery of a 1970 interview of the legend as an 11-year-old student commenting on a Mpls teachers’ strike - NYTimes
Stay safe, and have a great weekend,
MDR
The Robins Kaplan Financial Daily Dose features top stories and latest news headlines in financial markets, banking, securities and technology topics.
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