Today's Takes: Monday, July 12

Headlines

🧊 Iceland cuts working hours for majority after shorter working week trial (EuroNews)

Iceland experimented with lowering the working week from 40 hours to 35 hours between 2015 and 2019 noting reduced levels of stress and burnout, and either increased or steady levels of productivity. Workers were not paid less for working fewer hours. Spain has begun experimenting with a four-day workweek.

The 9-5 workweek is a relic of the industrial era pioneered by Henry Ford. The world has been completely remade since the 1920s when it was first introduced. Who knows how this would fly in the US, but rethinking our relationship to work seems to be one of the more permanent side effects of the pandemic.

🌲 Biden’s nominee to run the Bureau of Land Management has a record of terrorism (WSJ)

Tracy Stone-Manning was heavily involved with Earth First! in the late 80s. Earth First! was an eco-fascist advocacy group that practiced what it called “monkeywrenching”—spectacular arsons, equipment destruction, and most notably the deadly practice of tree spiking—to gum up the works of fossil-fuel production, logging, and mining. She's lied multiple times, on record, about her involvement with the group

📰 TODAY IN: General Headlines

• CDC Urges Schools to Fully Reopen in Fall (National Review)
  • ...without mandatory coronavirus vaccination of all students and staff.
  • The church has spoken
• Biden Defends Afghan Pullout, Sets Evacuation for Interpreters (WSJ)
  • The Biden administration deserves applause for this one
• Bipartisan Majority of Americans Now Believe Coronavirus Leaked from Lab (National Review)
  • ...and circle gets the square!
• Richard Branson Races Jeff Bezos to Space as Covid-19 Hits Business Back on Earth (WSJ)
  • It's strange that the richest men in the world are competing to see who can get off the planet first
  • Bon voyage to the old fashioned habit of noblesse oblige
  • Branson's journey was successful! (Watch)
• Biden launches assault on monopolies (Politico)
  • The White House announced a sweeping executive order Friday to promote competition throughout the U.S. economy, in the most ambitious effort in generations to reduce the stranglehold of monopolies and concentrated markets in major industries.
  • Add this to the growing pile of Executive Orders Biden won't gather the energy to follow through on

💰 TODAY IN: Financial News

• Wall Street is finally waking up to the reality of China (Washington Post)
  • Trump was the first to question China and his SEC was seeking to force US-listed Chinese companies to comply with our accounting standards. Of course, there's no mention of that here.
• Borrowing Is Back as Sign-Ups for Auto Loans, Credit Cards Hit Records (WSJ)
  • Consumer demand for auto loans and leases, general-purpose credit cards and personal loans was up 39% in April compared with the same period last year.
• Global Tax Overhaul Gains Steam as G20 Backs New Levies (NY Times)
  • A "minimum" tax enforced globally will only diminish competition

🏞 TODAY IN: California Wants You Out

And we're not talking about the people or the government.

• Here's what we know about the 6.0 Antelope Valley Earthquake (SF Chronicle)
• Gavin Newsome asked Californians to reduce their water usage by 15% as a worsening drought takes hold (CalMatters)
  • “Not here as a nanny state. And we’re not trying to be oppressive,” he said.
  • If Californians are serious about climate change, maybe they shouldn't live in the middle of a desert

🤡 TODAY IN: Clown World News

• The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus released a "satirical" song about converting kids and making "allies" of their parents (Fox News)
  • It was taken down after word spread that many of the members were sex offenders
• Inflation’s silver lining: higher salaries (CNBC)
  • Everything may be more expensive, but you'll get paid a little more too!
• Rural racism in Dorset: Why is our countryside 98% white? (BBC)
  • Racism = white people just existing somewhere not surrounded by other races
• White House grapples with ethics of Hunter Biden’s pricey paintings (Washington Post)
  • Rumor has it that one of his pieces is just a crack pipe duct-taped to the wall
• Voters Chose Boring Over Bombast. They Got Biden’s Penchant for Pontificating. (NY Times)
  • No. They didn't.

Nashville Politics

• What Can $2M Buy For 37208? Residents Will Get A Vote (WPLN)
  • Not all direct democracy ballots are created equal
  • Property tax referendums are "extremist", but disbursement votes are "democracy in action"
• State committed to keeping 'propaganda like critical race theory' from classroom (Tennessean)
• Southern Legislative Conference kicks off in Nashville on Saturday (TNJ)
• Gov. Bill Lee to visit US Southern border this weekend (Channel 5)
• Board members to vote on Middle Point Landfill expansion bill Friday (WSMV)

Nashville News

• Revenue up, unemployment steady as Tennessee’s economic recovery continues (Main Street)
• Clarksville embarks on transportation improvements with help from tax increase (Channel 5)
• Nashville International Airport sees record passenger numbers (Post)

Nashville Development

• Pie Town building offered for $9.2M (Post)
• Germantown commercial building sells for $2.1M+ (Post)
• Fifth Third gives $1M for new career development program (Biz Journal)
• Building in The Nations sells for $19.1M (Post)
• 📸 Tour of Facebook's $800M Gallatin data center construction highlights a rocky vista and plenty of room for growth (Biz Journal)
• Southeast Venture buys Silo Studios in The Nations for $19.1 million (Biz Journal)
• Fall construction start planned for 9-acre Neuhoff project in Germantown (Biz Journal)

One Good Tweet Thread

🇺🇸 An atypical recommendation, but a Twitter thread concisely lays out all the things media and government did to lose citizen's trust last year. Tucker Carlson read the thread on his show on Friday night (Twitter)

Robinhood IPO

📈 Some crazy numbers from Robinhood's upcoming IPO (Nerd Wallet):

• 18 million users
• $80 billion in AUM
• 47% of users use the app daily
• 98% of users use it at least once a month
• 50% of ALL brokerage accounts opened in 2016-2021 were opened on Robinhood

You are what you eat

Have a great Monday