Uber's China Rival Gets a Boost, and Spotify Takes a Step Toward Public Markets
Didi Chuxing secures a $4 billion investment from SoftBank and Mubadala, bringing its valuation to $56 billion. The latest funding round comes amid reports SoftBank is looking to invest in rival Uber at a significant discount to its last $68 billion valuation.
And Spotify will reportedly get approval to list its shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange, a step towards avoiding a traditional IPO. The company could be valued as high as $20 billion.
Plus, speaking of going public, Pinterest will reportedly delay its planned IPO until 2019, as the company expects to fall short of revenue forecasts for the year. The photo-sharing app will bring in sales of $490 million this year, according to The Information. That compares to early estimates above $500 million.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing a new rule to narrow what products qualify for a "Product of USA” or “Made in the USA” label. Now only meat, poultry and egg products from animals "born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States" will make the grade.
The Biden administration sued to block JetBlue Airways' $3.8 billion purchase of Spirit Airlines, saying Tuesday that the deal would reduce competition and drive up air fares for consumers.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will hint that the central bank could increase the pace of interest rate hikes if data indicate price pressures continuing.
Stocks sank on Wall Street after the head of the Federal Reserve warned it could speed up its economy-rattling hikes to interest rates if pressure stays high on inflation.
If measures of the U.S. economy keep coming in hot, as they did in January, the Federal Reserve will likely have to raise interest rates even higher than it has already signaled — and keep them there longer — Chair Jerome Powell will likely warn in testimony to Congress on Tuesday.
