Economics

• CPI surges in October to 6.2% annual rate. (CNBC)
• Neil Irwin looks at the psychology of inflation. (NYT – subscription may be required)
• Wages are rising, but don’t seem to be driving inflation. Productivity is gaining too, and is often overlooked. (Ritholz)
• The supply chain problem is one big logistics puzzle to be solved. (Vox)
• Small businesses are at a disadvantage regarding the supply chain, as big retailers tackle transportation for themselves. (WAPO – subscription may be required)

Investing

• GE plans to split into three separate, publicly-traded units. (CNBC)
• Johnson & Johnson plans to split into two. (NYT-subscription may be required)
• Robinhood had a data breach exposing 7 million users. (CBSNews) (The Verge)
• Ben Carlson in A Wealth of Common Sense describes three levels of “FOMO” when it comes to investing.
• Did anyone vote on Musk’s selling off Tesla shares? He sold $5 billion. (CNBC) (Reuters)

Crypto

• Cryptocurrencies are hitting record highs. What’s up with that? (MarketWatch)
• This paper by Matt Huang is a longer read but looks at bitcoin in terms of the attributes of a monetary asset. (Bonus, you get a little history of money too.)

"Like written language, money is a protocol standard with immense network effects. A new monetary asset can only emerge if it better fulfills the core functions of money, and it can overcome the adoption hurdle of a new money. We believe Bitcoin offers a compelling answer to both."

• We have all read the doomsday predictions for Bitcoin. The Institutional Investor examines if it is too big to fail.

"With institutional acceptance on the rise and ever larger amounts of capital at stake, there is indeed a hunt for crypto’s Damoclean sword."

• Want to better understand Shiba Inu? Try this one: (Bloomberg newsletter)

Career/Budgeting

• As employers struggle to find employees, they turn to financial apps that allow workers to access their earnings daily. Of course, there is a cost (to employees.) (CBSNews)

• Starbucks workers in Buffalo New York are voting to unionize. (AP)

Financial Literacy

• Ally Financial is getting into the Financial Education space with its game “Fintropolis,” aimed at middle-school aged children. (News Journal)

Other Interesting News

• There appears to be a Covid baby boom happening among millennials. (CNBC)

About the Author

Beth Tallman

Beth Tallman entered the working world armed with an MBA in finance and thoroughly enjoyed her first career working in manufacturing and telecommunications, including a stint overseas. She took advantage of an involuntary separation to try teaching high school math, something she had always dreamed of doing. When fate stepped in once again, Beth jumped on the opportunity to combine her passion for numbers, money, and education to develop curriculum and teach personal finance at Oberlin College. Beth now spends her time writing on personal finance and financial education, conducts student workshops, and develops finance curricula and educational content. She is also the Treasurer of Ohio Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.

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