Finance
- CNBC
The new class war: A wealth gap between millennials
informed Summary
- The wealth gap between rich millennials and the rest of their age group is the largest of any generation, according to a recent study. The average millennial has 30% less wealth at the age of 35 than baby boomers did at the same age, but the top 10% of millennials have 20% more wealth than the top baby boomers at the same age.
Finance3 min read - AP News
Bitcoin's next 'halving' is right around the corner. Here's what you need to know
informed Summary
- Bitcoin "halving" is a preprogrammed event that occurs roughly every four years, which cuts the fixed income of miners in half. This effectively reduces the number of new bitcoins entering the market. The event is expected to occur in the next few days.
Finance4 min read - Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Housing costs – and Airbnb – are driving families out of Paris
informed Summary
- Paris has seen a significant population decline, losing a net 73,000 inhabitants between 2015 and 2020. The number of people living in the French is predicted to fall below 2 million in 15 years' time.
Finance6 min read - DW
What's behind China's gold-buying spree?
informed Summary
- The price of gold has surpassed $2,300 for the first time due to geopolitical issues, expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts, and China's accumulation of the precious metal.
Finance3 min read - CNN
Why ‘dynamic’ pricing feels like such a scam
informed Summary
- Surge pricing, also known as dynamic pricing, is becoming more common in the era of AI, helping companies increase their margins and theoretically offering discounts to customers when demand is low. However, this practice has caused PR issues for some businesses -- including Wendy's and JetBlue -- due to a customer backlash.
Finance3 min read - CNN
The important irony in SBF’s sentencing
informed Summary
- FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's 25-year sentence for fraud is seen as a social judgement, aiming to impose standardized norms of corporate governance and behavior on the cryptocurrency industry.
Finance3 min read - NPR
Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for his FTX crimes
informed Summary
- Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of seven counts of fraud related to the collapse of the crypto exchange he founded.
Finance4 min read - Vox
Uber-style pricing is coming for everything
informed Summary
- Fast food chain Wendy's recently faced a backlash for its plans to implement dynamic pricing, a strategy where prices fluctuate based on supply and demand. The company clarified that it would use the strategy to offer lower prices during off-peak hours, not to raise them when traffic is highest.
Finance9 min read - TIME
How to have a low-spend month
informed Summary
- The "low-spend month" is a budgeting trend gaining popularity on social media platforms like TikTok, where participants aim to spend only on essentials and limit or cut out discretionary spending entirely.
Finance4 min read - TIME
Why we're spending so much money
informed Summary
- The rise of financial technology (fintech) and frictionless transactions is making it easier for consumers to spend money, often leading to overspending. The convenience and speed of these transactions -- such as mobile payments and online shopping -- remove barriers that might have once slowed spending.
Finance7 min read - Politico
EU snubs dying solar manufacturers as China poised to swallow market
informed Summary
- Europe's solar manufacturers are facing extinction due to cheap imports from China and a lack of subsidies. As a result of the competition from Asia, major companies in the European Union are laying off workers and shutting down production lines.
Finance1 min read - Vox
The billionaire’s guide to doing taxes
informed Summary
- Wealthy individuals often reduce their tax bills by ensuring most of their wealth is in the form of assets rather than cash, and by not taking a regular paycheck. Instead, they are often paid in stock rewards, which aren't taxed until they are sold.
Finance10 min read - El Pais
The end of the crypto winter looms: These are the tailwinds that are driving Bitcoin again
informed Summary
- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission authorized the marketing of exchange-traded funds linked to Bitcoin in January, making it easier for private investors to purchase the cryptocurrency.
Finance9 min read - El Pais
Who will cut interest rates first: The Fed or the ECB?
informed Summary
- A shift in the economic cycle is expected in 2024, leading central banks to embark on a program of interest rate cuts. The European Central Bank may cut rates in April, ahead of the Federal Reserve's expected cut in June.
Finance3 min read - BBC
Could AI 'trading bots' transform the world of investing?
informed Summary
- AI investing is gaining popularity, with one in three investors willing to let a trading bot make all their decisions, according to a U.S. survey. However, experts warn that AI isn't a crystal ball and cannot predict unforeseen events that impact the stock market, such as 9/11 and the coronavirus pandemic.
Finance4 min read - Politico
Christine Lagarde makes a poor central banker, ECB staff say
informed Summary
- In a survey of European Central Bank staff, around half of the participants rated President Christine Lagarde's performance as "very poor" or "poor". This contrasts with the positive ratings received by her predecessors, Mario Draghi and Jean-Claude Trichet.
Finance4 min read - BBC
The hacks that can help to keep your home warmer
informed Summary
- Energy poverty is a growing issue, with nearly 5,000 excess deaths in the U.K. last winter attributed to cold homes, a rise of nearly 50% on the previous winter. In the U.S., 27% of households reported energy insecurity, equating to around 34 million homes.
Finance7 min read - El Pais
The dilemmas of monetary policy
informed Summary
- Central bankers are struggling to understand and predict inflation, with some doubting the effectiveness of existing macroeconomic models. These often rely on unobservable variables such as the output gap and inflation expectations.
Finance4 min read - DW
Why are Germans hoarding billions of useless deutsche marks?
informed Summary
- More than two decades after the introduction of the euro, millions of old deutsche mark coins and bills are still in circulation in Germany, with an estimated 12.24 billion marks worth around €6.26 billion ($6.92 billion) unaccounted for at the end of 2023.
Finance3 min read - CNBC
How the two biggest crypto billionaire CEOs proved the critics right
informed Summary
- Binance's Changpeng Zhao and FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried, two of the biggest names in the crypto industry, have been found guilty of crimes related to their multibillion-dollar crypto empires.
Finance9 min read
