17 Mar WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES; A 69-HOUR WORK WEEK?!
Welcome to this week’s round up of insights and commentary, brought to you by Team Cannings.
WHAT A DIFFRENCE A WEEK MAKES
The collapse of two relatively small US banks – Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank – last weekend and the instability at Credit Suisse, not only sent shockwaves through global financial markets but has swiftly changed conversations on Australian shores about interest rates.
This time last Friday, money markets and economists were still fairly convinced the RBA would lift the cash rate for a 11th consecutive month in April before finally hitting the pause button.
But within about 48 hours of those two US bank collapses, chatter about the RBA’s next move did a quick 360. Most money market pundits now expect the RBA will keep the cash rate on hold at 3.6 per cent in April, with some observers going as far as predicting a small rate cut.
Stay tuned …
A 69-HOUR WORK WEEK?!
Many companies around the globe have been testing four-day work weeks and reporting increases in productivity, revenue and employee well-being as a result.
So, how would you respond if your boss asked if you wanted to try a 69-hour work week instead?
South Korea’s government faced a backlash from young workers this week after it announced plans to increase the working week to a maximum of 69 hours. Officials argued that work-life balance would improve for many if workers with kids and other caring responsibilities could rack up the overtime in return for taking time off down the track.
But protests by millennials and Gen Z made it clear that they were far from keen on the idea. Currently, the maximum weekly hour in Australia is 38.
MURDOCH SOLVES SUCESSION MYSTERY
It’s the big question everyone wants answered: does Rupert Murdoch watch Succession, the hugely successful TV drama purportedly based on the media mogul and his family?
Max Tani, a reporter for online US news site Semafor, took one for the team and emailed Mr Murdoch to check if he’s planning to tune into the final season of Succession when it hits TV screens later this month.
“Never watched it,” was Murdoch’s reply.
Here at Cannings, we can’t wait for Logan Roy, the fictional media titan said to have been inspired by Murdoch, to start sharpening the knives against his wannabe heirs Kendall, Shiv, Connor and Roman. For those who’ve missed the Season 4 trailer, you can watch it here.
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