Welcome back to our Sunday edition, where we round up some of our top stories and take you inside our newsroom. What would you do if you won $10 million? The winner of MrBeast’s “Beast Games” told us he immediately started estate planning and exploring tax strategies.
On the agenda today:
But first: 25 years since the bubble burst.
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This week’s dispatch
Dot-com déjà vu
The sheer timing of the market’s recent sell-off has an eerie precedent.
As my colleague Matthew Fox reports, this month marks the 25th anniversary of the peak of the dot-com bubble. Back then, a burgeoning technology called the World Wide Web lit a fire under the markets. Stock valuations soared to dizzying levels.
The boom times eventually gave way to an epic bust. In March 2000, the party stopped. The tech-heavy Nasdaq would lose nearly 80% of its value over the next few years.
There are parallels between then and now. Today’s AI mania looks much like the internet excitement of the late 1990s.
Yet few expect a similar decline this time around. The IPO market is dormant and deal activity hasn’t picked up. Brian Belski, chief investment strategist at BMO, told BI’s Fox that the stock market is nowhere near a bubble. “In a bubble, everybody makes money,” Belski said.
Regardless, the market’s high-fliers have been hit hard. Tesla has lost roughly half its value and warned the Trump administration that it could suffer from increased costs due to a trade war. Shares of Nvidia and Apple are teetering and the so-called Magnificent 7 suddenly doesn’t look so magnificent anymore.
While Trump’s trade policies have fueled much of the market’s recent declines, the Trump administration doesn’t seem too perturbed. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Thursday that the White House is unconcerned about “a little” market volatility. That isn’t a ringing endorsement of things turning around anytime soon.
Friday’s rally alleviated some concerns and pulled the S&P 500 out of correction territory. But it is still in the red for the year.
Here’s to hoping we’re not headed for dot-com déjà vu.
Has the market sell-off gone too far? Or do you expect it to go down even more? Let me know your thoughts: [email protected].
Read the full story.
How’s Amazon’s RTO going?
Amazon’s five-day return-to-office hit some speedbumps early on, with reports of office theft, a shortage of desks, and overflowing parking lots.
Ten weeks into the rollout, we’re checking in with Amazon employees across corporate departments and the country to see how they’ve adjusted. Eleven people told us their experiences, which ranged from energized and connected to depressed and demoralized.
Plus, two employees explained why they left.
How to prep for a possible recession
Even before the stock market’s whirlwind week, recession fears had been gripping Wall Street. BI spoke to financial planners who shared what you can do now to prepare for a possible recession.
Their biggest advice? Do not panic. Fear can be a powerful motivator to take drastic measures. And if you haven’t already, now is the time to build your emergency fund.
Actions you can take now.
Cutting low performers? Not so fast.
Layoffs are the new normal in Big Tech, but is turning up the heat on “low performers” really the best strategy? Research says otherwise.
Demanding versus demeaning — BI’s Aki Ito doesn’t think every tech exec is getting it right.
Why firing them doesn’t “raise the bar.”
What private equity firms pay employees
Private equity is one of the most sought-after careers in the finance industry. These firms are increasingly driving the world of corporate dealmaking as investors flock to the sector.
BI pulled publicly available data for 12 firms, including Blackstone, Apollo, and KKR. Salaries for entry-level analysts start at $100,000, and for partners and managing directors, those salaries can soar up to $500,000.
How much those in PE make.
This week’s quote:
“No one in America should feel threatened or targeted simply for driving a vehicle.”
— A Cybertruck owner spoke to BI about facing growing hostility and verbal harassment.
More of this week’s top reads:
- JPMorgan staff are using a private chat to vent about the incoming RTO mandate — and share intel.
- M&A and IPOs slump under Trump: ‘It’s almost as bad as Covid.’
- Inside xAI’s organizational chart: Who’s in charge at Elon Musk’s company.
- It’s Peter Thiel’s world now. We just live in it.
- Streaming movies and music is more expensive — and uneven— than ever.
- She took down Intel. Now AMD’s CEO has a new miracle to perform.
- Inside Harvard’s risky plan to ‘play by Trump’s rules.’
- Meta is trying to silence a former executive. In an interview, she tells BI why.
- ‘Klarnageddon‘: Employees in limbo as fintech startup preps for IPO.
- Inside Larry Page’s secret bet to 3D-print the future of air travel.
- Airlines were having a banner year — then it all went wrong. Here’s how.
- Target was the cool place to shop. Now it’s everyone’s favorite target.
- Big Tech is striking secret deals to make you foot its electricity bill, Harvard researchers say.
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A photographer took a shot of Trump’s notes — and they read like a Tesla sales pitch.
The BI Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.
Read the full article here
