Financial Daily Dose 2.19.2021 | Top Story: UK High Court Deems Uber Drivers “Employees”

Britain’s Supreme Court dealt Uber a blow this morning when it ruled that “drivers must be classified as workers entitled to a minimum wage and vacation time.” The decision—a disaster for Uber in a dispute that reaches back to 2016—is likely to ripple throughout the U.K. gig economy - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch and Marketplace and TechCrunch

All the latest and greatest from the House Gamestop hearing, including an apology from Robinhood’s CEO Vlad Tenev about the platform’s decision to “abruptly limit trading,” some forced cutesiness from Roaring Kitty, and hard questions for Citadel’s Ken Griffin  - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch and Law360

And since Congressional hearings are so much fun, how about some Zuck, Sundar, and Jack time in about a month’s time, when the House Energy and Commerce Committee revisits the ongoing Section 230 debate - NYTimes

Why has the White House intervened in an attempt to address the global chip shortage? Well, there’s the fact that the situation has “shuttered auto factories in the United States” and “slowed shipments of consumer electronics.” And, bigger picture, it has highlighted vulnerabilities in America’s supply chains and hampered the Biden administration’s focus on reenergizing a flagging U.S. manufacturing sector - NYTimes

North America’s first bitcoin ETF had a banner debut this week, with “investors exchanging $165 million worth of its shares” after it hit markets in Toronto on Thursday - Bloomberg

Walmart announced on Thursday that it would “raise wages for about 425,000 of its employees after a year in which the Covid-19 pandemic boosted its business and demand for workers who handle online orders” - WSJ

After a Journal article revealed widespread surreptitious distribution of sensitive personal data from health apps to Facebook, Zuck and Co. have “taken steps” to stop the mother ship from “collecting unauthorized data about people’s medical conditions, religious practices and finances.” Still, a NYDFS probe into Facebook’s data-collection habits found that the social-media giant “should do more to limit the sharing of such sensitive information” - WSJ

Vice President Harris has declared the exodus of 2.5 million women from the economy in the past year a “national emergency,” suggesting that the “pandemic has put decades of the progress we have collectively made for women workers at risk.” Harris is pitching the administration’s $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill as a key element of addressing the crisis - NYTimes

VW is reportedly toying with the idea of offering as much of a 25% stake in its iconic Porsche brand, a move that “could boost the market value” of the entire VW outfit and “raise cash needed for investment in electric vehicles and new technology” - WSJ

Thinking about really going all in on that home office after a year of makeshift work-from-homing it? The Journal’s here to help with advice on the top 5 mistakes to avoid for your dedicated WFH setup - WSJ

Stay safe, and have a good weekend,
MDR