What we’re reading (4/27)
“GDP Report Shows Economic Growth Slowed In First Quarter” (Wall Street Journal). “U.S. gross domestic product, a measure of the value of all the goods and services produced in the country, rose at an inflation- and seasonally-adjusted 1.1% annual rate from January to March, a significant slowdown from 2.6% growth in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday.”
“Taylor Swift: Better Crypto Due Diligence Than The SEC, Plus Integrity In Wielding Influence” (Dealbreaker). “When Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange FTX melted down, a lot of celebrities were left looking foolish. FTX was known for its high-profile, high-dollar endorsement deals. Now some celebrities — including Tom Brady, Stephen Curry, Larry David, and Shaquille O’Neal — are facing a lawsuit accusing them of promoting an unregistered security. Not Taylor Swift. When the superstar was approached by FTX for a $100 million deal to sell her concert tickets as NFTs, her response was reportedly, ‘Can you tell me that these are not unregistered securities?’”
“What Microsoft’s Activision Setback Means for Deal Making” (Dealbreaker). “A British regulator’s decision to reject Microsoft’s $69 billion takeover bid for Activision Blizzard stunned many who had expected the deal to go through. That’s especially because moves this month by the agency, the Competition and Markets Authority, suggested that the transaction might pass muster.”
“Will Office-To-Residential Conversions Save America’s Downtowns?” (The Week). “Can America's big cities solve two problems with one big idea? Downtowns have been decimated by the post-pandemic rise of hybrid work — and there's also a nationwide shortage of affordable housing. The solution? Turn all those empty offices into apartments. The Associated Press reports that in cities across the country, ‘office-to-housing conversions are being pursued as a potential lifeline for struggling downtown business districts.’”
“You Learn The Value Of A College Degree When You Live Without One” (New York Times). “Companies from Google to G.M. to Delta Air Lines are dropping college degree requirements for many roles, focusing instead on skills-based hiring, a philosophy that emphasizes people over pedigrees. Some high-profile chief executives, including Ryan Roslansky of LinkedIn, have been vocal about the benefits of a skills-based approach for companies looking to broaden their talent pipelines. And the Business Roundtable introduced its Multiple Pathways Initiative with the goal of improving diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels of corporate America by emphasizing ‘the value of skills’ in recruitment, retention and advancement. This movement is not new, but the tight labor market, along with some of the inequities that were made more apparent by the pandemic, has brought it to the fore.”
