 Image: Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images The FDA is planning to order Juul Labs to take its e-cigarettes off the U.S. market. According to people familiar with the matter, the FDA announcement could come as early as Wednesday. The FDA has been reviewing U.S. vaping products for the last two years, weighing their popularity with young people against their potential benefit as less harmful alternatives for adult cigarette smokers. More: - Juul could pursue an appeal through the FDA, challenge the decision in court, or file a revised application for its products.
- In 2020, the FDA required all U.S. e-cigarette manufacturers to submit their products for review to stay on the market.
- The FDA banned all sweet and fruity e-cigarette cartridges sales but permitted Juul competitors Reynolds American and NJOY Holdings to keep selling their tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes.
- In 2018, Juul was the top-selling e-cigarette brand in the U.S. It gained immense popularity among young adult users and fueled a surge in underage vaping.
- Juul earned $1.3B in revenue in 2018; between $130M and $650M of its net revenue are attributed to underage – middle school and high school – users.
- In Dec. 2018, Altria Group, formerly Philip Morris Companies, bought a 35% stake in Juul for $12.8B.
- Following news of the potential FDA decision, Altria shares fell 7%. It closed at $41.50, down ~9% for the day.
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On Wednesday, President Biden asked Congress for a three-month suspension of the federal gasoline and diesel taxes amid record-high gas prices across the U.S. The Biden Administration has been discussing pausing the federal taxes — 18.4 cents a gallon for gas and 24.4 cents a gallon for diesel — for a while. The suspension would be in effect from July through September and would require congressional approval. More: - Lawmakers have expressed reservations about the tax break proposal, with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) saying he does not know if Democrats have the votes for it.
- Hoyer said that lawmakers would need guarantees that the proposed tax breaks would bring down the retail price of gas for consumers and not just for wholesalers or retailers.
- Hoyer added that the proposal also would need to not eat into funds designated for highways, bridges, and other infrastructure projects.
- Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said the tax break would have a short-term impact without actually increasing the energy supply.
- Young added that consumers would respond by buying more gasoline, which would cause prices to increase and would ultimately have little benefit to families.
- Biden is expected to ask state and local governments to suspend their gas taxes or offer rebates.
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 Image: Netflix Google and Comcast’s NBCUniversal are top contenders to partner with Netflix as the streaming platform aims to develop an ad-supported tier for its service. During its Q1 earnings call, Netflix announced plans to offer a cheaper, ad-supported tier in hopes of boosting subscriber numbers and revenue amid stiffer competition in the video streaming market. Netflix reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers last quarter, its first loss in over a decade. More: - In the past, Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings stated the company would not offer ads on its platform.
- Last month, it was reported that Netflix was aiming to roll out the ad-support tier by the end of the year.
- According to people familiar with the partnership discussions, a Netflix-NBCUniversal linkup would likely be exclusive.
- Comcast’s video ad unit, FreeWheel, would supply the technology to help serve the ads.
- NBCUniversal’s ad-sales team would help sell ads in the U.S. and Europe.
- A revenue-sharing model might be deployed.
- Google already has a commercial relationship with Netflix and may also pursue an exclusive arrangement.
- Google has experience with video through YouTube and would help with ad-serving technology.
- Netflix shares rose ~5% on Wednesday, closing at $178.89. The company is down over 70% YTD.
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Bidders looking to take over Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp are considering offering up to 7,000 yen ($51.41) a share, valuing the company at 3T yen ($22B). The prices being discussed would be up to a ~27% premium on Toshiba’s Wednesday close price of 5,551 yen ($40.38) a share. More: - Earlier this month, Toshiba disclosed that it received eight buyout proposals to take the company private and two capital alliance proposals to keep it public.
- According to people familiar with the matter, the range of offers is wide, and they have various conditions attached to them.
- Firms that have submitted bids for Toshiba include KKR & Co, Blackstone, Baring Private Equity Asia, Bain Capital, Brookfield Asset Management, and Apollo Global Management.
- Some of the bidders may form a consortium.
- Some Japanese funds, like Japan Investment Corp., want to see how they can participate in the deal.
- If a buyout is successful, the deal would be the largest transaction in Japan since a consortium led by Bain Capital took over Toshiba’s memory chip unit, Kioxia, for $18B in 2018.
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Tesla worker Owen Diaz has rejected the reduced $15M award in his lawsuit alleging racial abuse by coworkers. In 2017, Diaz sued Tesla, alleging his colleagues and a supervisor subjected him to a hostile work environment that included slurs, caricatures, and swastikas in his nine months working at the Tesla Fremont, California plant in 2015 and 2016. A jury awarded Diaz $6.9M in compensatory damages and $130M in punitive damages in October. More: - In April, U.S. District Judge William Orrick lowered the jury award to $15M, saying the initial $137M award was excessive.
- Earlier this month, Judge Orrick denied Diaz’s motion for permission to appeal the ruling and gave him two weeks to either accept the lower amount or agree to a new trial.
- Tesla is facing multiple lawsuits involving alleged widespread race discrimination and sexual harassment at its Fremont plant, including a case by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.
- Last week, a Tesla shareholder filed a lawsuit accusing CEO Elon Musk and its board of directors of neglecting worker complaints and fostering a toxic workplace culture.
- Tesla has denied wrongdoing and says it has policies in place to prevent and address workplace misconduct.
- Diaz’s lawyers said the reduced award was unjust and would not deter future misconduct by Tesla.
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 Image: CNW Group|DoorDash Food delivery company DoorDash has signed an exclusive deal to build warehouses for Canada’s largest grocer, Loblaw Companies, which owns the Loblaws and Real Canadian Superstore chains. The agreement is the first of its kind for DoorDash as it looks to diversify its offerings to include grocery deliveries and convenience items. DoorDash hopes to establish similar arrangements with other grocery chains in other markets. More: - The warehouses will handle deliveries within 30 minutes for about 5,000 to 8,000 items sold under Loblaw’s President’s Choice brand.
- The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
- Loblaw previously had an exclusive deal with Instacart.
- Instacart users would still be able to select Loblaw but wouldn’t have access to the 30-minute delivery option.
- DoorDash shares closed at $65.15 on Wednesday, up ~3.3%. The company is down ~55% YTD.
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 Yellowstone National Park | Image: National Park Service/AP Quick Hits - Learn why many SMEs are pivoting away from perimeter-based security to a Zero Trust model.*
- Crypto trading platform Binance is offering zero-fee trading for Bitcoin and plans to add more tokens in the future. The move will increase pressure on other crypto exchanges to lower fees. Binance is the largest crypto exchange by trading volume.
- Over 1,000 have died from a 6.1 magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan on Wednesday. More than 600 people were injured, and an unknown number of people remain stuck under the rubble. The U.N. humanitarian office said it was deploying a medical health team and providing medical supplies.
- In the ongoing public hearing on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, several senior Republican state officials testified they were bombarded with phone calls from Donald Trump and his lawyers to overturn the 2020 election.
- On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell testified before the Senate Banking Committee on the central bank's ongoing efforts to tackle inflation. Powell noted that steep interest-rate hikes could tip the U.S. economy into a recession.
- Yellowstone National Park partially reopened on Wednesday after closing on June 13 due to record floods that caused rivers across northern Wyoming and southern Montana to overflow their banks.
- Adobe tools help you create, manage, and distribute personalized content. Take this self-assessment to test your brand's content velocity.*
*This is a sponsored post.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a Researcher at Inside. Her interests include finance, tech, and startups. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending music festivals, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or through email at vanessa@inside.com |  | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
Boost your team’s efficiency and streamline workflows - with the help of monday.com. | |
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