1. An end to super-cheap money? FT reports the mounting evidence of labor shortages and the apparent recovery in spending generated the tilt toward being more aggressive with interest rates. The US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting featured the most explicit acknowledgment yet that it is preparing to dial back the emergency support put in place in the early days of the pandemic to stave off a much more pronounced contraction.
2. How Xi Jinping lost Australia: Politico reports that Australia thought it was on the cusp of a beautiful friendship with China nearly ten years ago. It opened up its economy to Beijing, wanted to teach Mandarin in schools, and invited the Chinese president to address parliament.
Now, that's all over.
These days, Australia is buying up nuclear-powered submarines to fend off Beijing, barring the country from key markets and bristling at its relentless attempts to coerce Australian politicians and media.
In part, the head-spinning shift reflects the rising global wariness of China's increasingly pugilistic behavior.
Xi's "Wolf Warrior" tactics pushed Australia right back into its traditional military nexus, with the US and UK, costing Beijing a potentially valuable partner in the region.
3. Dara Khosrowshahi, the man reforming Uber: As the company approaches profitability for the first time, the chief executive faces new challenges to its model.
FT reports Khosrowshahi's efforts to rehabilitate Uber's reputation could go flat tire, as it goes toe-to-toe with drivers seeking employment status and local authorities trying to protect restaurants. Several significant markets, including San Francisco and New York City, have moved to limit the commissions levied on sales of the delivery sector.
On top of that, there is continued opposition against the employment model of its core ride-sharing business.
4. The psychology of betting big and losing it all: Ben Carlson writes on well-known bettor Norm Macdonald:
"The risk-taking mentality that allowed him to lose all his money on numerous occasions was the same one that allowed him to make it in the entertainment business as a stand-up comedian.
"Becoming famous has much lower odds than gambling, yet Macdonald won that bet on himself."
5. Fendi and Versace team up for a design experiment: At Milan Fashion Week, the NYT reports introducing Fendace, aka Fendi by Versace, or Versace by Fendi, the pre-spring 2022 pop-up collections created by Kim Jones, Fendi's women's wear artistic director and Silvia Venturini Fendi, Fendi's men's wear designer, and Donatella Versace of Versace, in which the designers tried their hands at the other's house and then showed the results on the runway.
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