Wednesday morning news drop
The Yield Curve Just Inverted…Now What? Last week the yield curve inverted for the first time since August 2019. For the uninitiated, a yield curve inversion occurs when the interest rate paid on short-term debt exceeds the interest rate paid on long-term debt of the same quality. Typically, this occurs when 2-Year U.S. Treasuries are paying more than 10-Year U.S. Treasuries. (Of Dollars and Data)
Why Do People Dislike Inflation? The great public concern with inflation has certainly had an impact on the economics profession. We must ask whether the extent of public concern with inflation really makes sense, or whether the economics profession has been influenced from without into devoting too much attention to inflation. (NBER)
Tracking the Price of Nails since 1695: The real price of nails fell by a factor of 10 from the late 1700s to the middle of the twentieth century, largely as a result of productivity growth in manufacturing. (NBER)
Child Care Revolution: What Canada Can Learn from Germany With $10-a-day child care on the horizon, there’s a lot to learn from a country similar to ours (Walrus)
Wall Street’s Rigid Culture Bends to Demands for Flexibility at Work Many big banks are offering flexible working arrangements — sometimes grudgingly — as they chase talent that would rather stay home. (New York Times)
10 Companies to Watch In Q2 2022 The rise of remote work in the pandemic has boosted demand for cloud computing; Relationships with partners such as Amazon Web Services is poised to grow at three times the rate of the broader cybersecurity market through 2025, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. (Bloomberg)
Shrinking the Gap: how the clothing brand lost its way Gap’s clothes defined an era, but the brand has been steadily declining for years. Can a collaboration with Kanye West revive its fortunes – or is it just another sign of a company flailing around for an identity? (Guardian)
Hertz Plans Electric Car Fleet Expansion With 65,000 Polestars The five-year deal will give renters an alternative to Tesla. (Bloomberg)
The Alberta government spent another $22 million on unpaid land rent for oil and gas operators in 2021 When oil and gas companies are unable, or unwilling, to pay their land rent, the provincial government will pay it for them. More than 99 per cent of the time, Alberta never gets its money back (Narwhal)
“This Shouldn’t Happen”: Inside the Virus-Hunting Nonprofit at the Center of the Lab-Leak Controversy Chasing scientific renown, grant dollars, and approval from Dr. Anthony Fauci, Peter Daszak transformed the environmental nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance into a government-funded sponsor of risky, cutting-edge virus research in both the U.S. and Wuhan, China. Drawing on more than 100,000 leaked documents, a V.F. investigation shows how an organization dedicated to preventing the next pandemic found itself suspected of helping start one. (Vanity Fair)
Victoria's Colonial Bungalow Fling "The colonial bungalow, identified by its extensive perimeter verandahs, dominant hipped roof, and low-slung horizontal form would have been familiar to any British colonist who had spent time in India or the Pacific possessions where it had become the standard expatriate house type." (Century Bungalow - Part 1) and (Century Bungalow - Part 2)