My end-of-week morning train WFH reads:
• What Happened When the IRS Got Audited: Obsolete software. Archaic code. Tech so old it makes the typical member of Congress look young. The IRS has an IT problem. (Wall Street Journal)
• A beginner’s guide to accounting fraud (and how to get away with it): A history in the faking: The mechanics of making up sales are pretty simple. If we’re running a business and want to boost our top line, all we have to do is phone a friend. A good friend to be sure, who doesn’t ask questions. It’ll only take them a few hours to do the paperwork for setting up a shell company and then we have our customer, one we can invoice whatever we want. We have our fake sales (and I’m pretty sure our mate has done nothing wrong, in the eyes of the law). (Financial Times Alphaville)
• Why a Secretive Short Seller Is Challenging Reports Made by Peers: Is Fiat Lux Partners trying to clean up the industry or just eliminate its competition? (Institutional Investor)
• Meet the Return-to-Office Whisperers: A niche group of consultants is trying to get you back to the office. It’s not going too well. (New York Times)
• The End of the Music Business: A century of recorded music has culminated in the infinite archive of streaming platforms. But is it really better for listeners? (The Nation) see also Did the Music Business Just Kill the Vinyl Revival? A few months ago, I wrote about returning to vinyl after giving up on it 34 years ago. But I was shocked at what I encountered. Few of the albums I wanted were available in vinyl. Prices were outrageously high. The whole market seemed designed to discourage buyers. (The Honest Broker)
• How Bookshop.org Survives—and Thrives—in Amazon’s World: Andy Hunter’s ecommerce platform was a pandemic hit. Now he’s on a mission to prove that small businesses can scale up without selling out. (Wired)
• Europe is not ready to be a “third superpower.” For that, it would need to act as a unified entity, defend itself against Russia, and embrace new technology. (Noahpinion)
• The Military Mental Health Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight: Blast overpressure, it’s called: the “near-instantaneous pressure rise” in the area around an explosion. During a nine-month deployment, the unit would launch shells toward their enemies around 6,000 times. As a result, some incurred noticeable concussions, and each blast had the potential to cause what the Centers for Disease Control now call “primary blast injury of the brain,” with symptoms similar to other types of mild traumatic brain injuries, or mTBIs: headaches, irritability, cognitive deficits, and even death. (Slate)
• Frank Luntz: How to Make Trump Go Away: Why does Donald Trump still generate such loyalty and devotion? And unlike 2016, can a different Republican win the nomination in 2024 who largely shares Mr. Trump’s agenda but not his personality? (New York Times)
• The Ringer’s Streaming Guide: Who’s winning the Streaming Wars? For a few years, it was all Netflix, Hulu had sneaky value, and Prime Video had Fleabag. But when the calendar changed from October to November in 2019, so too did the entire streaming industry. Apple TV+ launched on the first of the month, flanked by stars like Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, and Jason Momoa; 11 days later, Disney+ put its stake in the ground with an instant phenomenon. Two words: Baby Yoda. (The Ringer)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business this week with Joe Baratta, Global Head of Private Equity at PE giant Blackstone. In the 2000s, he helped establish the firm’s private equity business in Europe. He sits on Blacktone’s Board of Directors and its Management Committee and serves on many of the firm’s investment committees.
Supercore inflation accelerated last month
Source: Daily Shot
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