Jobs Report Friday! Here’s what we’re looking for in the numbers, including a possible rebound from November’s lower-than-expected figures. Note that the report also likely doesn’t account for the recent Omicron surge, which was starting to take hold just as the jobs data was being amassed. Still, whatever the December total, 2021 was a record year for job growth in America - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch

The U.S. International Trade Commission affirmed a judge’s findings that Google devices “were using Sonos’ patented inventions without permission” and issued a ban on the import of some of Google’s phones, laptops and speakers made overseas unless the White House vetoes the exclusion on public-policy grounds—a rare occurrence - Bloomberg and NYTimes and WSJ

The New York Times has reached an agreement to purchase the online sports news outlet The Athletic “in a deal valued at around $550 million.” The Athletic will bring with it 1.2 million subscriptions and some 600 employees - NYTimes and WSJ

Newly unionized workers at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York staged a walkout this week “to protest what they say are unsafe working conditions” as coronavirus cases surge in the area - NYTimes

We’ve got our first behind-the-scenes look at the key elements in the federal jury’s recent conviction of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes on 4 of 11 fraud and conspiracy charges, including false documents that Holmes paraded in front of investors to mislead them - WSJ

“Spare-change investing and checking account app” Acorns Grow Inc.—set to go public later this year—said Thursday that it’s “developing a new feature that will let users choose their own investments for the first time.” The move, dubbed Customizable Portfolios, is being viewed in the industry as a challenge to Robinhood as well as “legacy services like E*Trade and Fidelity” - Bloomberg

In the latest reminder that our global society means little can be dismissed as merely someone else’s problem, the recent unrest in Kazakhstan related to the ousting of the country’s sitting government and that has drawn Russian military presence has also “disrupted huge cryptocurrency mining operations in the country, which has become one of the world’s largest hubs for this activity.” The “power-hungry process” of crypto mining took hold after Chinese officials cracked down on the activity within their borders last year, prompting miners to “look elsewhere for cheap power” - NYTimes

Food giant Conagra is predicting that the latest Omicron surge will “stress food supply chains and stretch staffing” at its facilities, especially as “more of its employees are testing positive for Covid . . . [while] heightened consumer demand is already outstripping the company’s available supplies” - WSJ and Bloomberg

Chinese officials have accused Walmart of violating the country’s new cybersecurity law, just days after other officials criticized the retailer for “supposedly stopping sales of products from Xinjiang, where the Chinese government has conducted a campaign of forcible assimilation against religious minorities” - WSJ

Meanwhile, data privacy authorities in France have fined Google and Facebook nearly $240 million “for making it difficult for users to refuse cookies, in violation of French data protection law” – Law360 and TheGuardian

Your “better meeting” primer, with advice applicable in person, on Zoom, and in the coming metaverse - WSJ

Stay safe, get boosted, and have a great weekend,

MDR