What we’re reading (5/22)
“Home Prices Just Smashed Another Record” (CNN Business). “Home prices in the US continued to climb in April, reaching new highs and rising at the fastest pace on record. The median sale price was a record $341,600 in April, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors. It was the highest median price since NAR began tracking this data in 1999. The median price, which includes existing single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, was up a record 19% from a year ago.”
“Why It’s Hard To Hire Right Now” (DealBook). “Businesses of all types report that they are having trouble hiring despite high unemployment. But are expanded unemployment benefits really to blame? We asked experts in economics, recruiting and other fields what’s making it hard for many U.S. businesses to hire right now — and what they can do to fix it.”
“At Its Heart, The Legal Battle Between Apple And ‘Fortnite’ Maker Epic Games Is About Whether Or Not The iPhone Is A Computer” (Business Insider). “[The] argument is critical because of how the App Store operates, with Apple acting as the sole arbiter of what can and cannot be published on the iPhone. If the iPhone is a computer, then the App Store is a monopoly, Epic's lawyers argued. If it isn't, and it's a distinct category of device, then Apple says it is protecting its users by keeping alternative digital storefronts off the iPhone.”
“Green Finance Goes Mainstream, Lining Up Trillions Behind Global Energy Transition” (Wall Street Journal). “Some of the world’s biggest companies and deepest-pocketed investors are lining up trillions of dollars to finance a shift away from fossil fuels. Assets in investment funds focused partly on the environment reached almost $2 trillion globally in the first quarter, more than tripling in three years. Investors are putting $3 billion a day into these funds. More than $5 billion worth of bonds and loans designed to fund green initiatives are now issued every day. The two biggest U.S. banks pledged $4 trillion in climate-oriented financing over the next decade.”
“Inside The Rise And Fall (And Rise And Fall) Of Shit Coins” (Vanity Fair). “If this all seems a little ridiculous, it’s designed to be. The entire premise of shit coins is to play on people’s anxieties by inflating every aspect of the coin in question. Think of it like theater, in which the entire internet is the stage, and every social platform, messaging app, and meme is at the disposal of the actors who are trying to pump up the value of a specific coin so they can make money, and then run off with the proceeds before everyone else realizes they’ve been conned by a group of rogue investors.”
