What we’re reading (6/11)
“Private Equity Investors Want GPs to Put More Skin in The Game. GPs Might Have To Get Creative To Afford It.” (Institutional Investor). “For a lot of private equity investors, the best protection against losses is to make sure their general partners have enough invested in their own funds so that GPs won’t emerge unscathed from negative returns. The average GP commitment reached 4.8 percent in 2021, according to the latest GP trends survey from Investec. That’s already double the typical expectation of 1 to 2 percent.”
“Behind The Automation Boom Coming To The Hotel Industry, From 24-Hour Check-In To Texting For Towels” (CNBC). “‘The labor issue is a big driver for investments in technology,’ said Mark Haley, a partner at Prism Hospitality Consulting, which specializes in hospitality technology and marketing. ‘You can’t hire enough people. ... I would submit to you that to most hoteliers today, [labor] is a more profound and concerning issue than a pending economic slowdown.’”
“Apple Goes Deeper Into Finance With Buy Now, Pay Later Offering” (Wall Street Journal). “The tech giant is launching a buy now, pay later offering in the U.S. later this year that will allow consumers that shop with Apple Pay to split purchases into four payments every two weeks. Apple will underwrite the loans and fund them, which also means absorbing losses when borrowers fail to repay. An Apple subsidiary has obtained lending licenses in most states to offer the new payment plans, called Apple Pay Later.”
“Silicon Valley Braces For Tech Pullback After A Decade Of Decadence” (Washington Post). “After a decade of exuberance, Silicon Valley start-ups, venture capitalists and established tech companies alike are cutting investment and firing workers, prompting some in the tech world to openly predict a U.S. recession is on the way. Facebook and Amazon have slowed their frantic hiring paces, while highflying newer companies including scooter company Bird and email client Superhuman have laid off workers.”
“The Case For Economic Optimism Is Over” (New York Magazine). “[T]he Labor Department released its May consumer price index, and it’s ugly. Very ugly. Prices, on average, rose 8.6 percent, the highest annual increase during the Biden-era price surge and the most since December 1981. The report has effectively shattered the cautious optimism that the economy could actually turn in any meaningful way anytime soon. The rest of the year looks bad for the American consumer, and the reality is that there is very little anyone can do about it.”
