Week InReview
Friday | Mar 19, 2021
Mindfulness at work.
Source images: Melpomenem/iStock; anyaberkut/iStock
A lot of people have experienced states of “decision paralysis” over minor and relatively inconsequential decisions this past year.

In an uncertain environment, every decision requires additional cognitive resources, and over time, those resources can get depleted to the point where even mundane choices feel complex.

There are a number of strategies for overcoming decision paralysis, even in difficult or stressful circumstances. The first is acknowledging that most decisions are not set in stone, and that choosing is only the first of many steps toward achieving a particular outcome.

— Fast Company
let's recap...
Jerome Powell
Photo: Reuters
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell repeatedly stressed on Wednesday that the central bank won’t raise interest rates until the U.S. economy shows tangible evidence it has fully healed from Covid-19. In doing so, he discarded a cardinal tenet of monetary policy to preemptively strike against inflation. It’s a significant shift that follows the Fed’s new framework announced last year that markets have tested in recent weeks by pushing yields higher. (Bloomberg Economics | Mar 17)
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Securities and Exchange Commission Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee called for clearer disclosures on how asset managers cast the votes that dominate most corporate elections. Lee said disclosure rules have failed to help everyday investors especially as they focus more on environmental and social issues. She called the N-PX forms that companies file “unwieldy, difficult to understand, and difficult to compare across fund complexes.” (Reuters | Mar 17)

Despite all the fuss about expectations for higher prices, there’s little indication that a worrisome jump is coming. And yet, rather than cheer their good fortune, many investors appear to be tormented by the recovery’s potential pitfalls. One of the most feared scenarios is that inflation will spike, pushing interest rates higher and tanking the stock market. While it can’t be ruled out of hand, there’s little indication that a worrisome jump in inflation is coming. (Bloomberg Markets - opinion | Mar 17)

The ferocious sell-off in U.S. government debt markets has spilled into corporate bonds, nudging companies’ borrowing costs higher during a time when the economy is still recovering from the pandemic shock.
(Financial Times | Mar 15)

The bond market is about to get a serious reality check, with traders leaning heavily toward higher long-term yields and also a scenario where the Federal Reserve starts lifting rates from near zero well before officials now envision. (Bloomberg Markets | Mar 15)
Fed sets aside growing inflation fears
Photo: Bloomberg
(Mar 17) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday pushed aside predictions of looming inflation that have been emanating from some quarters. The central bank said it’s continuing to project near-zero interest rates at least through 2023. While the Fed upgraded its economic outlook and acknowledged some officials see rates rising sooner, Chair Jerome Powell stressed that this was the minority view. Any bump in inflation this year, the Fed said, will be short-lived. Stocks hit a new record.
the cyber cafe
Which of these people are fake? Answer: All of them.
Photos: University at Buffalo
The eyes have it
To tell a deepfake photo from one of a real person, check for light reflected in the eyes, according to University of Buffalo researchers. Their algorithm is 94% effective at picking out the real thing, they say. Deepfake images don't consistently create the right kind of reflections in both eyes. 

Cyber attacks: Is the ‘big one’ coming soon?
Many CSO, CTOs, military leaders, and even some global company CEOs, are now saying it's time to ring cyber alarm bells even louder.
— GovTech

Backup everything using the 3-2-1 rule
Before anything else, one idea is paramount: Back up all the things. Investigate your backup system's ability to automatically include all new systems, filesystems, and databases. This is easiest in the virtualization world where you can configure your backup system to automatically backup all VMs on a host whenever they show up. This can also be done with tag-based inclusion, where VMs of different types get automatically included based on their “included” tags.
MORE CYBER SECURITY NEWS HERE
binge reading disorder
And if, perchance, inflation overshoots? 
Source: Hulton Archive/Archive Photos
16th-century traders could've predicted zero rates
Critics of ultra-low interest rates keep waiting for a correction that might not come. Far from being an anomaly, near-zero borrowing costs may be the historical norm and a product of powerful forces at work for the past 800 years.
— Bloomberg Economics (opinion)

How being more productive starts with doing nothing
During the pandemic, as the boundaries between work and home have blurred, it has become harder to create mental breaks. But even brief timeouts help the brain reinforce long-term learning and productivity. You come out of downtime able to learn more, and can access that learning faster. 

Wall Street is mapping a path back to the office
One year after Wall Street sent employees home in droves to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the prospects of a broad return are starting to get clearer — and not a moment too soon for some companies in the industry. From Zoom fatigue to the exhaustion of jobs colliding with home life, many bankers say the strains of long-term remote work are growing for bosses and underlings alike.
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