The San Francisco company's revenue increased 73% to $864 million from the year-earlier period, as its ridership edged closer to pre-pandemic levels. The company reported 18.9 million active riders in the quarter, up from 12.5 million a year earlier. Lyft had 22.9 million active riders at the end of 2019.
Printer R.R. Donnelley & Sons Nears Deal to Go Private
Commercial-printing company R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. is nearing a deal to sell itself to a private-equity firm for just over $2 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.
Greenwich, Conn.-based Atlas Holdings is expected to pay around $8.50 a share to take R.R. Donnelley private, the people said. A deal could be unveiled as soon as Wednesday, when the company is set to report third-quarter earnings, assuming the talks don't fall apart.
Following the Journal report of a possible deal with Atlas, investment firm Chatham Asset Management LLC raised its takeover offer for R.R. Donnelley to $9.00 to $9.50 a share in cash. Chatham in October offered $7.50 a share.
Zillow Quits Home-Flipping Business, Cites Inability to Forecast Prices
Real-estate firm Zillow Group Inc. is exiting from the home-flipping business, saying Tuesday that its algorithmic+ model to buy and sell homes rapidly doesn't work as planned.
The firm's termination of its tech-enabled home-flipping business, known as "iBuying," follows Zillow's announcement about two weeks ago that it was halting all new home purchases for the rest of the year. At the time, Zillow pointed to labor and supply shortages for its inability to renovate and flip houses fast enough.
Justice Department Sues to Block Penguin Random House's Acquisition of Simon & Schuster
WASHINGTON-The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Tuesday that seeks to block Penguin Random House from acquiring rival Simon & Schuster for nearly $2.18 billion, the latest in a series of aggressive antitrust cases brought under the Biden administration.
The department's complaint, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., focused not on the prices consumers pay for books, but instead on the competition between publishers to secure rights from authors, especially bestselling ones. The industry paid authors over $1 billion in advances last year.
Facebook to Shut Down Facial Recognition in Photos, Videos
Facebook said it is shutting down its facial-recognition system in the coming weeks, scrapping a feature that has developed into a key tool for sharing photos on social media but has raised concerns among privacy advocates and regulators
The move continues a dramatic reshaping of the tech giant in recent weeks, which includes pausing the development of an Instagram for children product and a rebranding of the entire company to Meta Platforms Inc. to focus on a future beyond social media.
Fed Prepares to Taper, but Markets Crave More Insight on Rate Rises
The Federal Reserve is likely to announce Wednesday that it will begin steadily reducing its bond-buying program, the biggest step the central bank has taken toward reversing its pandemic-era stimulus.
The decision to wind down, or taper, those purchases this month has been so heavily telegraphed by Fed officials that the focus of the two-day meeting that ends Wednesday has shifted toward how they will characterize inflation risks-which carries important implications for how soon they might raise interest rates.
Negative Bond Yields Recede in Europe
Negative bond yields are getting harder to find in Europe, shrinking the pool of debt that pays back less to investors than they put in.
French, Irish, Dutch and Swiss yields have all either turned positive or flirted with the line in recent weeks and months. German 10-year bond yields, the region's benchmark, are still negative, but rose as high as negative 0.07% this week, the closest they have come to turning positive since April 2019.
SEC Chairman Says Crypto Market Won't Mature Without Oversight
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said the regulator will be "very active" in bringing the digital currency market under its investor protection framework, as the Biden administration increases scrutiny of cryptocurrencies.
Mr. Gensler's comments Tuesday at a conference hosted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association came a day after a Treasury Department-led panel issued a report on stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged to assets such as the U.S. dollar. The report asks Congress to impose a new regulatory framework around stablecoins and to limit the issuance of such digital assets to banks.
China Services Activity Maintains Robust Growth in October
A private gauge of China's services sector activity maintained robust growth in October, hitting its highest level since July amid the weeklong National Day holiday and relaxation of social-distancing measures.
The Caixin China services purchasing managers index rose to 53.8 in October from 53.4 in September, Caixin Media Co. and research company IHS Markit said Wednesday. The gauge came in above 50, which separates expansion from contraction.
Biden Picks Wall Street Critic Saule Omarova to Oversee Large Banks
WASHINGTON-The Biden administration formally nominated Saule Omarova, a law professor and critic of big banks, to serve as a top banking regulator, a setback for Wall Street and other firms that had pushed to scuttle her nomination.
The move Tuesday comes about a month after the administration said it intended to nominate the Cornell University law professor to serve as the Comptroller of the Currency, a powerful regulator charged with overseeing large national banks.
CDC Recommends Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine in Young Children
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended use of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE's Covid-19 vaccine among children ages 5 to 11 years, opening the door for immunizations to start.
The endorsement, by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Tuesday, was the last step before doctors, nurses and pharmacists could start giving the shots.
Democrats Reach Deal on Lowering Prescription Drug Prices
WASHINGTON-Democrats reached an agreement on provisions designed to lower the price of some prescription drugs, appearing to resolve one of the final issues in the party's negotiations over their $1.85 trillion healthcare, education and climate-change bill.
The agreement, which is backed by the White House, would empower Medicare to negotiate the price of some drugs, penalize drug companies for raising prices faster than the rate of inflation and cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors at $2,000 annually. It also creates a $35 out-of-pocket monthly maximum for insulin, Democrats said.
Glenn Youngkin Wins Virginia Governor Race
Republican Glenn Youngkin was elected governor of Virginia on Tuesday, halting a yearslong trend of Democratic electoral gains in the state and giving the GOP a potential playbook in competitive parts of the U.S. ahead of next year's congressional midterm elections.
Mr. Youngkin, a 54-year-old former private-equity executive and political newcomer, defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe, a party stalwart who served as governor from 2014 to 2018, according to the Associated Press.
Michelle Wu Is First Woman Elected Boston Mayor
Boston voters chose city councilor Michelle Wu as mayor, making her the first woman and first person of color elected to lead Massachusetts' capital.
The Associated Press declared Ms. Wu, 36 years old, to be the winner Tuesday night over Annissa Essaibi George, also a city councilor. Ms. Wu had 60% of votes in the two-person race with 52% of precincts reporting. Both are Democrats, though the Boston mayoral race is officially nonpartisan.
Supreme Court Weighs Challenge to New York State's Concealed-Weapons Permit Law
WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court on Wednesday will consider a challenge to New York state's century-old system for issuing concealed-weapons permits, potentially paving the way for a new expansion of the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
After gun violence spiked in the early 20th century, New York enacted legislation limiting concealed-weapons licenses to individuals of "good moral character" with "proper cause" for a license. In Wednesday's case, two gun owners from upstate Rensselaer County and a New York affiliate of the National Rifle Association argue the law is unconstitutional because it requires them to provide specific reasons for carrying concealed weapons in public beyond their general fear of crime.
Write to sarka.halas@wsj.com
COP26 ROUNDUP ############### ###############
Financial System Makes Big Promises on Climate Change at COP26 Summit
Most of the world's big banks, its major investors and insurers, and its financial regulators have for the first time signed up to a coordinated pledge that will incorporate carbon emissions into their most fundamental decisions.
The lenders and investors say they will help fund a shift that will reduce carbon emissions by businesses and spur the growth of industries that can help limit climate change. Regulators are putting in place new rules to oversee the shift.
The United Nations' Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero says financial groups with assets of $130 trillion have committed to its program to cut emissions. That is enough scale to generate $100 trillion through 2050 to fund investments needed for new technologies, and enough reach to impose pathways for corporations and financial institutions to restructure themselves, the group said.
Biden Says Xi, Putin Cede Climate Influence by Missing Glasgow Summit
President Biden criticized the leaders of China and Russia for not joining other heads of state at the climate summit in Glasgow, arguing they were ceding their global influence.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
11-03-21 0616ET
