What we’re reading (5/20)
“High Inflation? A Generation Of Investors Has Never Felt It” (ABC News). “The central question gripping Wall Street is whether the burst of inflation hitting the economy as it recovers from the pandemic is just temporary or the start of a real problem. The answer threatens to crack the stock market’s incredible, record-setting run that began in March 2020. Adding to the fog of the debate — and the uncertainty that has markets churning — is that more than a generation has passed on Wall Street since investors had any experience at all with high, long-lasting inflation.”
“How Apple Screwed Facebook” (Wired). “Since the update [Apple’s iOS 14.5 update] went live last month iPhone owners have been opting out of data tracking in their droves. According to Flurry Analytics, 85 per cent of worldwide users clicked ‘ask app not to track’ when prompted, with the proportion rising to 94 per cent in the US. Apple did not respond to requests to comment. For an organisation like Facebook, whose entire business model is based around collecting, analysing, selling on and profiting from data about its users’ likes and dislikes, such numbers could be devastating.”
“Real-Estate Frenzy Overwhelms Small-Town America: ‘I Came Home Crying’” (Wall Street Journal). “Home prices in the U.S. have shot up in the past year, driven by limited supply, record-low interest rates and buyer demand. Bidding wars have spread from such high-profile locations as Palm Beach, Fla., and the suburbs outside New York City to smaller cities and towns, including long-neglected locales where properties typically sat on the market for months.”
“Treasury Targets Tax Cheats, Cryptocurrency In Proposal It Hopes Will Bring In $700 billion” (Washington Post). “The Treasury Department on Thursday announced a plan to raise an additional $700 billion through new tax compliance measures, a potentially key source of revenue for the Biden administration’s multitrillion-dollar spending proposals. In a 22-page report, Treasury officials identified a number of policies to increase enforcement aimed at closing the ‘tax gap’ between what taxpayers owe to the federal government and what they actually pay. These include increased reporting requirements, new tools for auditors, massively increasing the Internal Revenue Service’s budget, and new rules on cryptocurrency, among other measures.”
“6 Personal Assistants Dish On The Wildest Requests They've Ever Gotten From Execs, Like Shipping A Sandwich From Beverly Hills To Dubai” (Business Insider). “Personal assistants, or PAs, to top executives command on average $80,000 a year, according to Salary.com. But they often work hard for their money and need to go to great lengths to deliver quickly and constantly on demands from their bosses. Sometimes, these requests are downright quirky to any outsider — but for many PAs, it's all in a day's work. Insider spoke with six PAs and executive assistants who work for the remote-assistant platform Double and boast résumés that include positions at Deloitte, Visa, Target, and Danone (whose brands include Evian and Dannon). They shared a few of the wildest situations they've been tasked with handling in their careers.”
