What we’re reading (11/30)
“Jerome Powell Signals Fed Prepared To Slow Rate-Rise Pace In December” (Wall Street Journal). “Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell provided a clear signal that the central bank is on track to raise interest rates by a half percentage point at its next meeting, stepping down from an unprecedented series of four 0.75-point rate rises aimed at combating high inflation.”
“How Jay Powell Is Bending Time And Upending The Business World” (Slow Boring). “There’s a perpetual dynamic on Twitter where VCs — who are enthusiasts by nature — get enthusiastic about stuff, and then journalists — who are haters by nature — point out that the stuff sounds dumb. Looking back on the past 15 years, the journalists feel vindicated because a huge share of the stuff VCs get excited about turns out to be dumb. But the VCs also feel vindicated because they’re really rich, and skeptical journalists conveniently forget that they called seven out of the past two stock market crashes and said Facebook could never make money. At the end of the day, venture capital is just a slightly odd line of endeavor where flopping a lot is fine as long as you score some hits. I think most of us find this to be an unnatural way of thinking because, when you’re out there hunting and gathering, it’s very important to not be impaled by a bear or to accidentally feed your kid a poison berry. Good investors are able to internalize the much more abstract nature of finance and embrace prudent levels of embarrassing failure.”
“Here’s What History Says About Stock Market Performance In December” (MarketWatch). “While historical data is only a rough guide, December’s track record is an impressive one when it comes to the ‘winning percentage’ for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, the S&P 500 and the small-cap Russell 2000. The Nasdaq Composite’s December performance isn’t too shabby either[.]”
“The Not-So-Obvious Costs of ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Plans” (Slate). “BNPL firms like to advertise themselves as risk-free credit options. But it’s only free if you follow all the rules. Many consumers complained to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that these BNPL firms aren’t disclosing the costly hidden fees and interest rates that can be incurred when someone falls behind on payments.”
“DoorDash Lays Off 1,250 Employees To Rein In Operating Expenses” (TechCrunch). “DoorDash is laying off 1,250 people in an effort to rein in costs, the company’s CEO Tony Xu said in a message to employees on Wednesday. Xu’s message notes that the pandemic presented unprecedented opportunities to serve merchants and consumers, and as a result, DoorDash sped up hiring to catch up with growth. Xu says although most of the company’s investments are paying off, it did not properly manage team growth.”
