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The US Senate will vote tomorrow on two separate competing bills that would bring an immediate end to the government shutdown: one backed by President Trump that includes $5.7 billion for his border wall, and another that would simply extend funding for shuttered agencies through February 8. The plan, a compromise between Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, and Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, offers the first hint of a path out of the partial shutdown, which is now in its fifth week and has left 800,000 federal workers without pay. Both would need a bipartisan mass of 60 votes in order to advance. [Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Julie Hirschfeld Davis / The New York Times]
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Zynga founder Mark Pincus is raising up to $700 million for a new investment fund called Reinvent Capital that will focus on publicly traded tech firms that need strategic restructuring. Pincus is being joined by veteran hedge fund manager Michael Thompson; Reid Hoffman is involved as a senior adviser, although this is not expected to affect his full-time job as a general partner with VC firm Greylock. Each of the three are committing $33 million toward the $700 million target. The fund’s strategy is to invest in up to 15 internet, software, and media companies that Reinvent believes it can help steer in a smarter direction. [Dan Primack / Axios]
Apple has signed up Taco Bell and Target to its Apple Pay mobile payments service, meaning that 74 of the Top 100 US retailers by revenue now accept Apple’s digital payment via iPhone and Apple Watch. Target initially held out on systems like Apple Pay, teaming up with companies including Best Buy and Walmart to build the Merchant Customer Exchange to create mobile payment systems for each individual retailer. Late last year, Apple Pay also added pharmacy chain CVS, along with 7-Eleven; they joined other major US retailers including Best Buy, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Walgreens, Costco, and Kohl’s. Some of the biggest holdouts include Walmart and Home Depot. [Mike Murphy / Quartz]
The biggest US radio broadcaster, iHeartMedia, gained court approval that would allow it to emerge from bankruptcy within the first half of this year; the creditor-supported plan would reduce its debt to $5.75 billion from $16 billion and would spin out Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings into a separate company, which could position both companies as takeover targets. The company filed for bankruptcy in March 2018; Clear Channel never filed for bankruptcy, but iHeartMedia held an equity stake of about 90 percent in the outdoor advertising company, and Clear Channel was an unsecured creditor for about $1 billion. CEO Bob Pittman and CFO Rich Bressler will remain in their roles under four-year contract extensions after its exit from bankruptcy. [Allison McNeely / Bloomberg]
Billionaire inventor James Dyson has decided to relocate his company’s head office to Singapore in a blow to the UK government. Known for vacuum cleaners and hand dryers, the Dyson company has mushroomed in recent years, driven by a growing customer base in Asia. The firm has expanded into air purifiers and hair-care products, and has embarked on a costly project to build an electric car by 2021. Dyson himself is an ardent backer of Brexit, but CEO Jim Rowan said that the move to Singapore was not due to tax or fears of Brexit, but to the shift in the importance of the region to the company. [Giles Turner / Bloomberg]
Lady Gaga is officially an Oscar-nominated actress for her role in A Star Is Born; check out the complete list of Academy Award nominees here. Meanwhile, Netflix — which has its first Best Picture nominee in Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma — is in advanced talks to join the Motion Picture Association of America, a trade association currently representing six legacy Hollywood studios. The reported move comes after Netflix left the Internet Association earlier this month and as the streaming service ramps up its original television and feature film production — Netflix now creates hundreds of television programs and movies each year in markets around the globe, distributing them to a growing subscriber base that now includes nearly 140 million paid streaming customers. AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas have declined to show Roma in their Best Picture nominee showcases, screening only films that had a traditional theatrical release with a 90-day cinema window. [Cole Delbyck / HuffPost]
Top stories from Recode
Facebook may be facing a “record” fine from the FTC. Here’s why. Cambridge Analytica is still causing headaches for Facebook. [Kurt Wagner]
Google was fined $57 million for violating Europe’s new data privacy laws. The fine is symbolic and it won’t leave much of a mark. [Kurt Wagner]
“Venture capital money kills more businesses than it helps,” says Basecamp CEO Jason Fried. On the latest episode of Recode Decode, Fried says tech startups are addicted to raising and spending money, and the VC funding cycle is to blame. [Kara Swisher]
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This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
