What we’re reading (7/8)
“Ransomware Attacks Will End, But Not Anytime Soon” (Bloomberg). “In economic terms, the private value of internet security is often less than the public value. A ransomware attack that results in only a slight decrease in profits for a business could translate into a major social inconvenience. One consolation is that hackers will almost certainly “overfish” the pool of victims. At some point there will be so many attacks that most institutions will have no choice but to respond with significant defensive measures.”
“Robinhood IPO Faces Threat Of Retail Snub On Reddit” (Reuters). “Online brokerage Robinhood Markets Inc, which helped enable the "meme stock" frenzy earlier this year and later attracted flak for its handling of the trading mania, is facing pushback on social media forums against its initial public offering. Many individual investors are planning to shun the stock market debut, and several posts in recent days urging users to not buy into the IPO have received thousands of upvotes, discussions in online forums on Reddit showed.”
“Iceland Tested A 4-Day Workweek. Employees Were Productive — And Happier, Researchers Say.” (Washington Post). “Several large-scale trials of a four-day workweek in Iceland were an ‘overwhelming success,’ with many workers shifting to shorter hours without affecting their productivity, and in some cases improving it, in what researchers called “groundbreaking evidence for the efficacy of working time reduction.”
“Cash-Laden Companies Are On A Mergers and Acquisitions Spree” (Wall Street Journal). “Businesses spent $1.74 trillion on mergers and acquisitions involving U.S. companies during the first six months of the year—the highest amount in more than four decades—as finance chiefs tapped into cheap funding options to acquire technologies, services and other assets.”
“TikTok Made Me Buy It” (Vox). “There’s now so much stuff that’s gone viral on TikTok that people have opened stores dedicated to it: A 15-year-old student opened a store in his local mall called ‘Viral Trends NY,’ which carries omnipresent TikTok doodads like Martinelli’s apple juice and Squishmallows stuffed animals…a similar shop also exists in Indiana. Downtown Manhattan has its own ‘TikTok Block,’ where two big TikTokers have opened shops with curated vintage clothing. There is now so much stuff that’s gone viral on TikTok that the factories producing those products have gotten on TikTok and now have a hand in making them go viral in the first place.”
