How subscriptions took over our lives
Vox · 10 minOn platforms like Substack and Patreon, subscriptions can be emotional purchases. But others, like Amazon Prime, feel more like utilities.
Business
Curated by our editorsStories to fuel your mind
Whatever Happened to Six Sigma?
Quartz · 14 minAs GE began its long, slow decline, so did the popularity of the once dominant management system.
The Lie of ‘No One Wants to Work’
Eater · 6 minAmid reports of a restaurant industry “labor shortage,” employees say all they really want are wages that makes the risk worth it.
The Race to Build Self-Driving Trucks Has Four Horses and Three Jockeys
Bloomberg · 3 minThese are the companies set to dominate the highways of tomorrow.
Lumber mania is sweeping North America
Vox · 18 minA lumber frenzy has taken over homebuilding, Home Depot, and the internet.
Popular with Pocket readersStories from across the web
Amsterdam Is Embracing a Radical New Economic Theory to Help Save the Environment. Could It Also Replace Capitalism?
Time · 12 minThe so-called true-price initiative, operating in the store since late 2020, is one of dozens of schemes that Amsterdammers have introduced in recent months as they reassess the impact of the existing economic system.
At 93, She Waged War on JPMorgan—and Her Own Grandsons
Bloomberg · 19 minBeverley Schottenstein said two grandsons who managed her money at JPMorgan forged documents, ran up commissions with inappropriate trading and made her miss tens of millions of dollars in gains. So she decided to teach them all a lesson.
The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin Billionaire Arthur Hayes
Vanity Fair · 32 minThe BitMEX cofounder created a cryptocurrency exchange that has traded trillions. Now he’s wanted by U.S. authorities, and insiders wonder whether he and his partners are villains—or victims of a two-tiered justice system that favors big banks over brash outsiders.
Corporate Taxes Are Wealth Taxes
The New York Times · 7 minAnd their decline has led to a steep drop in tax rates for the affluent. The main cause of the radical decline in tax rates for very wealthy Americans over the past 75 years isn’t the one that many people would guess.
Debranding Is the New Branding
Bloomberg · 9 minFrom Burger King and Toyota to Intel and Warner Brothers, major brands are discarding detail and depth. Why now, and what’s the rush?
How to Spot Business Ideas Worth Pursuing
Entrepreneur · 4 minNothing propels a company more quickly than innovation, and nothing stifles it more quickly than a “that’s how we’ve always done it” attitude. News startup Axios is an excellent example of a company breaking barriers and thinking outside the box.
Financial Targets Don’t Motivate Employees
Harvard Business Review · 5 minIt’s natural for leaders to emphasize the importance of hitting financial targets, but making numbers the centerpiece of your leadership narrative is a costly mistake.
Dropshipping: How to use Amazon and eBay to become your own boss
CNBC · 4 minDropshipping is a business model that allows entrepreneurs to sell products to their customers without ever having to stock inventory themselves. In this growing niche, the retailer is a middleman between buyer and supplier. There are many advantages to this method.
Here’s Why So Many People Intend to Die With Money in the Bank
Bloomberg · 4 minClose to two-thirds say “saving as much as I can makes me feel happy and fulfilled.”
Elon Musk Doesn’t Care About Patents. Should You?
Harvard Business Review · 5 minOwnership seems straightforward in business: Get a patent or copyright when you create something. Charge for its use. Avoid ambiguity about who owns what. But much of this wisdom is wrong.
There’s Nothing to Do Except Gamble
New York Magazine · 9 minWelcome to the non-fungible, memeified, cryptodenominated, degenerate future of finance.
Inside the Dirty Business of Hit Songwriting
Variety · 14 min“The money grab is worse than ever, it’s gotten out of control.”
Behind the Back-Office Blunder That Cost Citigroup $500 Million
Bloomberg · 6 minClunky software led to mistaken payments to companies ready to fight to keep the money.
What Substack Is Really Doing to the Media
Slate · 9 minThis week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg granted a rare, live, hourlong interview to a tech journalist, where he revealed the company’s plans for a slew of new audio products. Normally, such a scoopy, wide-ranging interview would be a coup for the media company that landed it.
Electricity needed to mine bitcoin is more than used by 'entire countries'
The Guardian · 5 minBitcoin mining – the process in which a bitcoin is awarded to a computer that solves a complex series of algorithm – is a deeply energy intensive process.
How a 10-second video clip sold for $6.6 million
Reuters · 5 minIt’s a new type of digital asset - known as a non-fungible token (NFT) - that has exploded in popularity during the pandemic as enthusiasts and investors scramble to spend enormous sums of money on items that only exist online.