What we’re reading (7/17)
“Regulators Feel Torn About Cryptocurrencies” (DealBook). “Cryptocurrencies have ‘completely failed’ to become a legitimate payment system, the Fed chair, Jay Powell, said yesterday at a Senate hearing. He added that so-called stablecoins — cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to the dollar or another asset like gold, with the idea of making them a predictable means of exchange — are dangerously unregulated. Central banks could step in and develop digital versions of their currencies, but Powell is ‘legitimately undecided’ about the benefits of doing so, he told senators.”
“Wall Street Is Paying Bankers More Than Ever To Cloak A Brutal Work Life” (Bloomberg). “[R]ates of turnover and burnout among young workers are accelerating. Banks have tried to turn the tide with raises, bonuses, vacations and even free Pelotons. All that means it’s never been more lucrative to be a young banker in the U.S. The problem though is that it’s also never been more lucrative for aspirants to work outside the gilded world of finance. And the gap between banks and other employers like technology firms has narrowed. ‘Is it the best time to be a banker in terms of making money? Sure,’ says executive recruiter Dan Miller of True Search. ‘Is it a horrible time in terms of lifestyle? Absolutely.’”
“Staffing Firms Look Beyond The Pandemic” (The Economist). “A year ago employers were furloughing staff. Now many of them are desperately looking for more. The rapid bounce-back in some bits of the labour market—notwithstanding the risk of a new pandemic flare-up—has been good news for workers angling for a pay rise. It is also a boon for staffing agencies, which match firms with potential hires. Beyond short-term dislocations to the workforce, the changing way in which people want to work should keep the recruiters busy.”
“Investors Are Very Scared Even With Stocks Near Record Highs” (CNN Business). “The Dow and S&P 500 are both up about 15% in 2021 and are each about a percent away from their all-time highs. But as Friday's market sell-off showed, investors remain extremely nervous about the market. The CNN Business Fear & Greed Index, which looks at seven different measures of market sentiment, is showing signs of Extreme Fear. Four of the seven indicators are in bearish territory.”
“What Makes A Champion? Early Multidisciplinary Practice, Not Early Specialization, Predicts World-Class Performance” (Güllich, et al., Perspectives on Psychological Science). “What explains the acquisition of exceptional human performance? Does a focus on intensive specialized practice facilitate excellence, or is a multidisciplinary practice background better? We investigated this question in sports…adult world-class athletes engaged in more childhood/adolescent multisport practice, started their main sport later, accumulated less main-sport practice, and initially progressed more slowly than did national-class athletes…[w]e illustrate parallels from science: Nobel laureates had multidisciplinary study/working experience and slower early progress than did national-level award winners. The findings suggest that variable, multidisciplinary practice experiences are associated with gradual initial discipline-specific progress but greater sustainability of long-term development of excellence.”
