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The fight against the steep price rises unleashed by the pandemic and war in Ukraine has been long and painful, with central banks hiking interest rates at a scorching pace to try to cool inflation.
Some — like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank — have started to signal that they will soon end their cycle of rate rises, and investors have been only too eager to call the end of the campaign, driving stocks higher as a consequence. READ MORE
Moody’s cut the credit ratings of several small and mid-sized banks and warned it may downgrade a handful of major Wall Street lenders.
The agency said late Monday that it lowered the ratings of 10 banks by one notch amid concerns over higher interest rates, rising funding costs and increased risk from the commercial real estate sector. Among the firms that had their ratings cut are M&T Bank, Pinnacle Financial, BOK Financial, Webster Financial, Old National Bancorp and Fulton Financial. READ MORE
Financial services firms taking a hard line on forcing workers back to the office could find themselves having trouble retaining managers and attracting new ones, according to new data.
Deloitte's latest survey of executives at U.S. financial services institutions released Tuesday found 66% of respondents who either work from home full-time or have a hybrid schedule said they would leave their job if required to return to the office five days a week. READ MORE
Shareholder proposals reflecting the extreme views of both advocates and opponents of tougher ESG standards increased this year and gained comparatively low support, eroding overall approval rates, Diligent Market Intelligence Editor-in-Chief Josh Black said.
Also, companies in 2023 have shown a higher tendency to accept proposals prior to a vote, he said in an email response to questions. READ MORE
Zoom has told its employees to return to the office for the first time since the video communications tool saw a boom during the remote work revolution of the coronavirus pandemic.
The tech company is now requesting all employees within 50 miles of a company office to return for in-person work at least two days a week on a hybrid schedule. READ MORE
The explosive launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022 has put the artificial intelligence or AI conversation into overdrive. As we sort through potential ramifications of advanced AI applications, the impact on jobs is at the top of the list.
In July, two significant reports on AI job displacement were released. On July 11, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reported, "27% of jobs are in occupations at high-risk of automation." READ MORE
Findings from one of the largest experiments with a four-day workweek offers new ballast for people hoping to adopt the same schedule: The longer people worked in new, more efficient ways, the shorter their workweeks became.
The results come from a series of four-day-workweek trials conducted in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Ireland over the past 18 months. Dozens of companies ranging from design agencies to manufacturers and nonprofits tested the four-day concept, an approach that is gaining traction as employers and employees rethink the traditional ways of work. Workers were given a paid day off a week but the same workload to see whether they could get as much done working more effectively. READ MORE
The unsuccessful effort to launch a highly-automated factory for Craftsman tools in the U.S. underscores the challenges American businesses face in bringing manufacturing back from overseas.
Craftsman, the world’s largest tool brand, owned by Stanley Black & Decker, initially announced in 2019 that it would build a $90 million facility employing up to 500 workers in Fort Worth, Texas. The effort was viewed as an opportunity to showcase Craftsman products being "Made in the U.S.A." with cutting-edge manufacturing technologies to make the automated factory competitive with overseas facilities that use more manual processes. READ MORE
Some employees who are fed up with their bosses or jobs are turning to social media to quit in a vocal and viral way, declaring they're leaving their jobs on such social media platforms as TikTok or Instagram Live.
This behavior may seem amusing, even something that could make the unhappy employee go viral and become an online "star."
HR pros say it's wise to think twice about engaging in "loud quitting." READ MORE
Among the many ways to classify a new business, perhaps the most subtle is drawing a distinction between businesses that truly innovate and those that simply improve upon something that already exists. It might sound like a philosophical question, but the answer has very practical applications for both venture investors and startup founders. READ MORE
U.S. business activity slowed to a five-month low in July, dragged down by decelerating service-sector growth, closely watched survey data on Monday showed, but falling input prices and slowed hiring indicate the Federal Reserve could be making progress on important fronts in its bid to reduce inflation.
S&P Global said its flash U.S. Composite PMI index, which tracks manufacturing and service sectors, fell to a reading of 52 in July from 53.2 in June. July's reading showed the sixth straight month of growth but was restrained by softening conditions in the service sector. Readings above 50 indicate expansion. READ MORE
Twitter rebranded to x.com on Monday, but the transformation of the social media website was not without its hiccups.
In the early morning hours of Monday, x.com was not redirecting to Twitter and instead was showing up as a vacant web address. READ MORE
When will the layoffs end? The question is top of mind for anyone who works in the tech sector, whether they’ve watched friends and co-workers lose their jobs or been handed a pink slip of their own.
The tech industry has undergone a major reset since the glory days of 2021. By our count, at least 250,000 tech workers in the U.S. alone have lost their jobs since the start of 2022 — likely many more, as we often don’t have reliable layoffs figures for smaller startups. READ MORE
You don’t have to look hard to find someone arguing passionately about the benefits or perils of remote work. Some people argue that leaders’ productivity concerns are unfounded, while high-profile executives like Elon Musk suggest that anyone working from home is “phoning it in.” The issue, variably framed in terms of returning to the office (RTO), hybridity, or flexibility, is no doubt polarizing. But the one consistent element of the arguments for and against is how strong and entrenched the stances are. READ MORE
A group of large companies has developed a set of principles and policies for the self-regulation of using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in hiring processes in response to the relative lack of government regulation on the subject.
A total of 18 companies worked with BBB National Programs to develop a pair of documents that will serve as a voluntary framework for self-regulation. READ MORE
Starting last week, companies in New York City now face enforcement of a 2021 law designed to reduce bias in the hiring process when automated employment decision tools are in use. The new standard prohibits companies that have offices or employees in the city from using AI tools to decide hiring or promotion practices unless these tools have been independently audited for bias. While this regulation decisively impacts organizations with a footprint in the Big Apple, experts say all U.S. companies should pay attention. READ MORE
When it comes to paid time off from work, America doesn’t have the best reputation. Last year, researchers named the U.S. one of the worst countries in the world for giving employees paid leave.
American workers get an average of 10 paid days off per year, according to careers site Zippia. While this increases slightly after five years with the same employer, it’s still far less than workers in other parts of the world are entitled to—often by law. READ MORE
Observers are divided on whether AT&T’s recent return-to-office (RTR) mandate will prove to be a proactive move to maximize its talent or “just a ploy to cut jobs.”
In May, AT&T CEO John Stankey mandated that 60,000 managers must report to work in personOpen in a new tab — but only at nine specific offices among its 350 locations spread across the country. READ MORE
In the modern workplace, you can "quiet quit" or stay and become a "resentee."
After a bad day at the office some workers reported "rage applying" on LinkedIn and coming up with a five-figure salary raise. Employers have also hit back with "quiet hiring" — spreading out the work between existing employees or freelancers instead of hiring a new full-time employee to save money. READ MORE