My Two-for-Tuesday morning train WFH reads:
• New Yorkers Plan to Cut Time Spent in the Office by Half, Survey Finds NYC is second to San Francisco in its reduction of office time, as office occupancy stands at just 36%. (Bloomberg) see also Wall Street’s Rigid Culture Bends to Demands for Flexibility at Work Many big banks are offering flexible working arrangements — sometimes grudgingly — as they chase talent that would rather stay home. (New York Times)
• 10 Companies to Watch In Q2 2022 The rise of remote work in the pandemic has boosted demand for cloud computing; Relationships with partners such as Amazon Web Services is poised to grow at three times the rate of the broader cybersecurity market through 2025, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. (Bloomberg)
• Tracking the Price of Nails since 1695: The real price of nails fell by a factor of 10 from the late 1700s to the middle of the twentieth century, largely as a result of productivity growth in manufacturing. (NBER) see also Why Do People Dislike Inflation? The great public concern with inflation has certainly had an impact on the economics profession. We must ask whether the extent of public concern with inflation really makes sense, or whether the economics profession has been influenced from without into devoting too much attention to inflation. (NBER)
• Why new music is facing a decline while older performers surge in popularity. ‘We’ve got a generational shift’: Artists and groups who first made their mark decades ago, including the Beatles, are winning the streaming wars. (Marketwatch)
• Economist Jim O’Neill on Russia: “The West Will Decide on Putin’s Bankruptcy”: Jim O’Neill once coined the term BRIC to refer to the rapidly growing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. In an interview, he discusses why the Russia of Vladimir Putin has failed to live up to expectations. (Spiegel) see also 3 Fund Chieftains Explain Why Oil Prices Will Keep Rising To Britt Harris, Marcus Frampton, and Sean Bill, big forces are aligned to buoy energy costs for a while. (Chief Investment Officer)
• Can Home Prices and Interest Rates Soar at the Same Time? Rising mortgage rates are supposed to cool house prices. But this time could be different. (New York Times)
• Happiness, benevolence, and trust during COVID-19 and beyond The evolution of life evaluations, and a number of emotions since the Gallup World Poll data first became available in 2005-2006. Using a wider range of the emotional and other supports for life evaluations enables us to distinguish a greater variety of global and regional trends. (World Happiness Report) but see Alcohol-Related Deaths Spiked During the Pandemic The deaths were up 25% in 2020 compared with 2019, amid heightened stress factors and delayed treatment. (New York Times)
• Hertz Plans Electric Car Fleet Expansion With 65,000 Polestars The five-year deal will give renters an alternative to Tesla. (Bloomberg)
• 11 rules for buying an ebike, and the 11 ebikes to buy now Ebikes are about to change the world. They are already the best selling electric vehicles, and are selling as fast as factories can make them. (Ryan’s Blog) see also Electric Bikes are Booming (Again) Sales are rising faster than expected, above already high expectations set by a pandemic boom. While the cause is hard to pin down — eased pandemic restrictions and the return to the office may play a part — most point to fuel prices as a contributing factor. (Bloomberg)
• How Jon Batiste Broke Grammys Expectations The jazz pianist was a traditionalist choice to win Album of the Year—but a traditionalist choice for an evolving institution. (The Atlantic)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Bill Gross PIMCO co-founder who managed the Total Return Fund, which at $293B was the world’s largest mutual fund. Gross advised Treasury on the role of subprime mortgage bonds, and was named Morningstar’s Fund Manager of Decade in 2010.
Streaming accounts for 65% of recorded music revenues, up from a 61.9% share in 2020
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