What we’re reading (3/15)
“Powerful Realtor Group Agrees To Slash Commissions To Settle Lawsuits” (New York Times). “American homeowners could see a significant drop in the cost of selling their homes after a real estate trade group agreed to a landmark deal that will eliminate a bedrock of the industry, the standard 6 percent sales commission.vThe National Association of Realtors, a powerful organization that has set the guidelines for home sales for decades, has agreed to settle a series of lawsuits by paying $418 million in damages and by eliminating its rules on commissions. Legal counsel for N.A.R. approved the agreement early Friday morning, and The New York Times obtained a copy of the signed document.”
“Consultants Are Paid To Fix Businesses. Why Can’t They Fix Their Own?” (Wall Street Journal). “Slower promotions, partner layoffs and fewer office snacks as big firms grapple with a slowdown. Recruits wait months to start, ‘Here I am…doing Uber Eats.’”
“American Debt Stings Like Never Before In New Era For Households” (Bloomberg). “Two years after the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates to tame prices, delinquency rates on credit cards and auto loans are the highest in more than a decade. For the first time on record, interest payments on those and other non-mortgage debts are as big a financial burden for US households as mortgage interest payments.”
“Knives Out” (Business Insider). “Michelin-starred restaurant Quince says a startup stole its name and is ruining its reputation.”
“Laid-Off Techies Face ‘Sense Of Impending Doom’ With Job Cuts At Highest Since Dot-Com Crash” (CNBC). “Allison Croisant, a data scientist with about a decade of experience in technology, was laid off by PayPal earlier this year, joining the masses of unemployed across her industry. Croisant has one word to describe the process of looking for a job right now: ‘Insane.’ ‘Everybody else is also getting laid off,’ said Croisant, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska, where she worked remotely for PayPal. Her sentiment is reflected in the numbers. Since the start of the year, more than 50,000 workers have been laid off from over 200 tech companies, according to tracking website Layoffs.fyi. It’s a continuation of the predominant theme of 2023, when more than 260,000 workers across nearly 1,200 tech companies lost their jobs.”
