Thursday morning news drop
Canada's inflation rate jumps to new 31-year high of 6.7% Largest annual increase in cost of living since GST was created (CBC)
Hot Economy, Rising Inflation: The Fed Has Never Successfully Fixed a Problem Like This Central bank says it is possible, but many factors are out of its control; ‘they are strikingly behind’ (Wall Street Journal)
Bitcoin investors tend to have low financial literacy, according to Bank of Canad research Central bank researchers found that around 5 per cent of Canadians owned bitcoin between 2018 and 2020. That ownership was “concentrated among young, educated men with high household income and low financial literacy.” The researchers also found that bitcoin owners tend to score lower on general financial knowledge. At the same time, “Canadians who are financially literate are more likely to be aware of bitcoin but less likely to own it,” (Globe and Mail)
The Tech Bubble That Never Burst It is a familiar refrain. For the past decade, such warnings have cropped up repeatedly in start-up land. The industry is in another bubble, investors and commentators caution, conjuring the 1999 dot-com era and the dramatic collapse and recession that followed. Jobs disappeared, fortunes vaporized, and reputations were tarnished. The message since has carried those scars: The boom times are ending. Buckle in for a rough ride. Yet every time, more money has flooded into start-ups. Instead of a collapse, things got bubblier. (New York Times)
Transforming Trees Into Skyscrapers In Scandinavia, ecologically minded architects are building towers with pillars of pine and spruce. (New Yorker)
What’s in store for empty downtown office buildings? Business districts have a vacancy problem. The white-collar workers around the US who fled city centers at the start of the pandemic haven’t all come back yet. Even as some large employers like Google and Apple start to roll out back-to-office policies, it’s looking like many of them may never return. (Quartz)
Jim Farley Tries to Reinvent Ford and Catch Up to Elon Musk and Tesla Ford’s chief executive is about to introduce an electric F-150 pickup truck that could determine whether the automaker can survive and thrive in an industry dominated by Tesla. (New York Times)
The hydrogen energy dream: Automakers, industries, and governments are betting on hydrogen again. Will it work this time? (Vox)
Netflix Struggles to Hold Its Place in the Streaming Wars Subscriber fatigue, unwelcome price hikes, and competition from the likes of Disney+ and HBO Max have rattled Netflix. What’s next? (Wired)
What Is the Future of America’s Greenest Town? After a tornado, Greensburg, Kansas rebuilt as a shining example of red-state sustainability. It wants to be more than a curiosity. (Reasons to be Cheerful)
Anything You Can Do, Pascal Siakam Can Do Better The Toronto Raptors forward has the size to go toe-to-toe with NBA big men and the skill to function as a wing or a point guard. And even after developing from a curiosity to a championship role player to an All-NBA player in the span of six seasons, Siakam isn’t done exploring the limits of his versatility. (Ringer)