The bad news (in case you’ve missed it, a feat in itself given the amount of ink spilled on the topic): inflation’s not nearly as transitory as first promised. The good news: consumers are so far managing to spend their way through it, with retail sales increasing “in October for the third straight month,” bolstering the “view that consumers are absorbing higher prices and splurging on a range of goods, from electronics to home improvement projects” - NYTimes and WSJ and CBSNews
Case in point, strong quarterly results from Walmart, Home Depot, and Target, even as cost pressures for the retailers are on the rise - WSJ and Bloomberg
Stunning revelations in the ongoing HR debacle at video-game giant Activision Blizzard, with the Journal reporting that longtime CEO Bobby Kotick “knew for years” about allegations of sexual misconduct and rape at his company yet never informed the company’s board about the incidents. That knowledge stands in stark contrast to Kotick’s public position that “he wasn’t aware of many of the allegations of misconduct” - WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch
The International Energy Agency reported this week that “oil supplies were catching up with demand,” a possible indication, if true, that the current “upward pressure on prices” could ease in coming weeks - NYTimes and MarketWatch
Your Fed Chair sweepstakes update, with a White House decision on whether to keep Jay Powell at the helm of the central bank or go with current governor Lael Brainard apparently coming in a matter of days - Bloomberg and WSJ
Ahh, the late-pandemic workplace, where we’re still Zooming all the time, even if we’re back in the office. Welcome to the “mushy middle ground” - NYTimes
Peloton said on Tuesday that it will sell $1 billion in shares, a reversal from just weeks earlier when it “said it didn’t need additional capital to weather wider-than-expected losses and slowing growth.” As a reminder, the connected fitness equipment company saw massive growth last year, but 2021’s been a challenge, and the company warned that “annual revenue could be nearly 20% lower than it initially predicted” - WSJ
Fannie and Freddie are expanding their reach to “back mortgages of nearly $1 million for the first time,” a move that appears a direct result of the “rapid appreciate in home prices nationally over the past year” - WSJ
Google has revealed plans to pour $740 million in Australia over the next five years, “promising to build a research hub, increase its cloud computing capacity and team up with government scientists to address challenges like expanding the use of green energy.” The commitment it’s the company’s biggest Down Under since it opened its Sydney office in 2002 - NYTimes
Jill Lepore on the tyranny of the 7-day week (and whether there’s anything to be done about it after all this time) - NewYorker
Stay safe, and get vaxxed,
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