We propose a merger. Uber Eats riders, who are paid to ride, are hopeful a new test being considered in the US will recognise gig workers as employees. Peloton riders, who pay to ride, are not subscribing at the rate they did in the peak of the pandemic. The solution – Peloton Eats. No payments, just riding.

The lowdown

• 🚙 Shares in gig economy companies tumble as new test to recognise workers as employees is proposed.

• 🦍 Getir in talks to buy Gorilla as delivery apps continue consolidation.

• 🇯🇵 Nissan takes $687 million Loss on its Russian business.

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Margin calls playing havoc 

We have to wonder whether we are at the beginning of another financial crisis, with all the talk of margin calls right now.

Peloton co-founder and former CEO John Foley faced repeated margin calls from Goldman Sachs last month, before leaving Peloton. Foley had taken personal loans against his shares and faced the margin calls after Peloton lost more than 95% of its value. He said his decision to leave the Peloton Board last month was unrelated to the margin calls, though sitting on the Board may have restricted his ability to sell or further borrow against the shares.

Pension funds in the UK are also desperate for liquidity. The rapid selling of government bonds caused prices to deteriorate, driving down the value of assets held as collateral for the funds. In the face of margin calls, the BoE was forced to intervene to bring some order to the selling. The pension funds have until 14 October to get their over-leveraged house in order.

And briefly, the Twitter deal – which, at this point, has become a case study for every financial concept imaginable – was also originally to involve a loan against Elon Musk’s Tesla shares. This element was removed and did not form part of the final financing, in a positive for the beleaguered deal.

The content we're consuming today

• This Twitter thread from Michael Miao, Partner at IVP. (There’s a Business Insider wrap-up in there, too ($).)

Off-balance sheet items

• Margin Call – a 2011 drama that follows key characters over a 24-hour period at an investment bank in the early days of the financial crisis. Good/bad news is that we might get a sequel. 

The bottom line