🍋 Bankers Looking for Love

Together With

Good Morning! TikTok says the platform will roll out a feature that automatically sets a daily 60-minute time limit for users under 18. Mortgage demand in the U.S. hit a 28-year low as high prices drive first-time buyers away. Eli Lilly cut the price for insulin by 70% and also capped patients’ out-of-pocket expenses.

A report found that 100 SPACs don’t have the cash necessary to make it through the year. And Elon Musk says he’s building a ‘based’ AI that will compete with ChatGPT.

If you are interested in getting in front of a smart, young audience of business leaders, bankers, investment professionals, policy influencers of over 500,000 people, then fill out this form, we’ll be in touch.

1. Story of the Day: Bankers Looking for Love

Workplace romances are on the rise, and it seems like the younger generations are leading the way in embracing the trend. According to recent data, younger millennials and Generation Z workers are far more open to the idea of office romances than their older colleagues. While around 20% of baby boomers and older workers are comfortable with the idea, over one-third of younger millennials and Gen Zers are open to the possibility.

The average person will spend approximately 90,000 hours at work over the course of their lifetime, so it's no surprise that some individuals may develop personal or romantic attachments with their colleagues. In a world where office romances are no longer taboo, companies have evolved to reflect changing attitudes about workplace relationships.

Gone are the days of love contracts and strict policies that forbid romantic involvement with co-workers. Today, 71% of American workers report that their employers do not require them to disclose their office romances. This shift in policy is a reflection of the evolving nature of office culture, where employees are increasingly seeking connection and companionship in the workplace.

Takeaway: Are workplace romances unprofessional? According to a recent survey, 40% of workers think so. But despite the potential judgment and negative impact on careers, workplace romances have actually increased during the pandemic. With the barrier between work and personal life becoming more porous than ever, the taboo of office romances is fading away as well.

2. Markets Rundown

_{For access to Wall Street insider interviews, industry deep-dives, premium research/resources and weekly Knowledge Drop newsletter, check out our Insiders membership.}

S&P closed lower after manufacturing data was stronger-than-expected.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) First Solar ($FSLR) +16% after the solar company issued positive guidance

• (–) First Horizon ($FHN) -11% after its acquisition by TD Bank was delayed.

• (–) Rivian ($RIVN) -18% after weak sales and outlook by the EV company.

Private Dealmaking

• Apollo in talks to buy Arconic, an aluminum parts maker, at a $2.6 billion market cap

• Wiz, a cloud security platform, raised $300 million

• Equisoft, a Canadian insurtech startup, raised $125 million 

• Flock, a drone insurance startup, raised $38 million

• DataMesh, an Australian payments processing software company, raised $30 million

• Electra Vehicles, an AI software for EVs startup, raised $21 million

A Message from Masterworks

A Banksy got everyday investors 32% returns?

Mm-hmm, sure. So, what’s the catch?

We know it may sound too good to be true. But it’s not only possible, it’s happening—and thousands of investors are smiling all the way to the bank, thanks to the fine-art investing platform Masterworks.

These results aren’t cherry-picking. This is the whole bushel. Masterworks has built a track record of 11 exits, the last 3 realizing +13.9%, +35.0%, and +10.4% net returns even while financial markets plummeted.

But art? Really? Okay, skeptics, here are the numbers. Contemporary art prices:

• outpaced the S&P 500 by 131% over the last 26 years

• have the lowest correlation to equities of any asset class

• remained stable through the dot-com bubble and ’08 crisis

Got your attention yet? Short Squeez readers can skip the waitlist with this exclusive link.

3. Top Reads

• Goldman trying to reset culture after three unusual years (YF)

• Eli Lilly will cut insulin prices by 70% (Reuters)

• How the Great Recession paved the way for the influencer industry (Vox)

• Rivian’s $6.4 billion cash burn might be a record (WSJ)

• OpenAI wants to build systems smarter than us (Vox)

• Meta can’t keep people interested in headsets (YF)

• Corporate America’s earnings quality is the worst in decades (BB)

• How many people does Elon Musk need to run Twitter? (WSJ)

• America’s fastest-growing cities for millionaires (CNBC)

• Ugly February for stocks eats into market’s gains (Axios)

4. Book of the Day: Radical Markets

Read a Book in a Day - Don't think it's possible? With Shortform it is. Their super-detailed book guides give you the world's best ideas without all the fluff. And they don't cut corners, either. Shortform's guides to popular nonfiction books and articles include comprehensive coverage, analysis, and even interactive exercises. With a library of 1000+ books in categories like finance, careers, and personal development, you'll have the tools to excel in 2023. Start learning faster with a free trial and $42 off the annual subscription - that's almost 3 months free!

Many blame today's economic inequality, stagnation, and political instability on the free market. The solution is to rein in the market, right? Radical Markets turns this thinking on its head.

With a new foreword by Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin and virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier as well as a new afterword by Eric Posner and Glen Weyl, this provocative book reveals bold new ways to organize markets for the good of everyone.

It shows how the emancipatory force of genuinely open, free, and competitive markets can reawaken the dormant nineteenth-century spirit of liberal reform and lead to greater equality, prosperity, and cooperation.

Only by radically expanding the scope of markets can we reduce inequality, restore robust economic growth, and resolve political conflicts.

But to do that, we must replace our most sacred institutions with truly free and open competition―Radical Markets shows how.

“The logical end point of institutional investment and diversification is the coordination of all capital to extract maximum wealth from consumers and workers.”

5. Short Squeez Picks

• 10 foods that boost brainpower

• The wildest homes you can rent in upstate New York

• 7 toxic signs of highly insecure people

• 7 benefits of waking up early

• This VC is slowly automating their job

What Else to Read

🦉Market Hedwig is a highly-rated platform where investors have access to 5-minute weekly financial articles created by ex-investment bankers, who summarize key market news from a professional finance perspective, including opinions across various asset classes.

🎁Subscribe to their FREE newsletter to stay ahead in the ever-changing financial markets and enter in a lucky draw to win an iPad.

6. Daily Visual: More Plane Near-Misses

Severe runway incursions at US airports

_{Source: Axios}

7. Daily Acumen: 3 Lessons

1. Curate your information diet to be rich and diverse. Follow people who think differently than you. Read old books. Remember that what you put into your mind today is the raw material you have to work with tomorrow.

2. Surround yourself with people whose default behavior is your desired behavior. If you want to run more, join a group that runs every day. Spend less time with people whose default behavior isn't your desired behavior.

3. Design your environment knowing it will influence your future self. You can easily make undesired behaviors harder and desired behaviors easier.

8. Job Board

• Goldman Sachs - Analyst, Trading/Quantitative Modeling - New York, NY

• Charles Schwab - VP, Financial Consultant - New York, NY

• Jupiter Research Inc. - Senior Quantitative Financial Analyst - New York, NY

• Allied Universal - Financial Controller - New York, NY

• FTI Consulting, Inc. - Director, Strategic Communications - New York, NY

• Wells Fargo Bank - Sr. Consultant, Business Transformation - New York, NY

9. Memes of the Day

 Advertise With Us / Merch Store / Private Equity Course

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See you on the Inside.

*****

“Net Return" refers to the annualized internal rate of return net of all fees and costs, calculated from the offering closing date to the date the sale is consummated. IRR may not be indicative of Masterworks paintings not yet sold and past performance is not indicative of future results. See important Regulation A disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.