Week 10/05/2020 - 10/11/2020

Cooler Screens raises $80 million to bring interactive screens into cooler aisles.
Regeneron stock rises 7% because of the presidential treatment.
Facebook brings shopping functions into Instagram’s IGTV videos and plans to test it on Reels.

U.S. trade deficit ($67.1 billion) grew to its highest level in 14 years.
Stocks fell sharply since President Trump announced that he would halt negotiations on COVID stimulus relief until after the election.
Apple shut down third-party hardware (Sono’s smart speaker, Logitech’s speakers, Bose’s headphones and speakers) on its site.
Gucci partners with The RealReal, a n online marketplace for verified second-hand luxury goods public.
Lyft partners with Grubhub to offer Lyft Pink members free delivery.
The Trump administration upped requirements for employers who hire workers through the H-1B visa program.

McDonald’s adds baked goods to its permanent menu for the first tim ein eight years.
Levi’s launched a recommerce site for second-hand jeans and jackets.
Slack is collaborating with Cole Haan to make Slack-branded sneakers.
The World Bank said an addional 88 million to 115 million people will fall into extreme poverty this year due to the pandemic.
Twitch is doing well and its streaming numbers are up 91%.
Facebook said it will halt political ads in the U.S. after the polls close on Election Day.

President Trump said he wouldn’t devate joe Biden in a virtual format, so the next two presidential debates are up in the air.
JPMorgan Chase announced that it’ll spend $30 billion over the next five years to help close the racial wealth gap. This is the biggest monetary commitment any company has made to advance racial equity.
Moderna vows not to enforce COVID19 vaccine patents during the pandemic and is willing to license the tech behind its shot.
Instacart raises $200 million at a $17.7 billion valuation.
Lyft also teams with medical provider Epic to let hospitals book rides for patients.
Waymo said it will open up its autonomous ride-hailing service to the general public in metro Phoenix.
IBM announced that it will break up with the segment that manages IT infrastructure for clients.
Dollar General is launching “Popshelf”, a store aimed at higher-end shoppers. This is targeted on suburban womenwith household incomes of $50K - $125K per year.

The White House upped its stimulus package offer to $1.8 trillion.
Twitter announced major changes to curb the spread of misinformation.
Broadway League extended its shutdown another four months through May 30, 2021.
Microsoft is allowing more of its employees to work from home permanently.
Alibaba stock hit an all-time high.
Katzenberg, Quibi’s founder, strikes out on Quibi sale efforts. He has pitched several tech and entertainment executives about buying Quibi, only to be turned down.