Week InReview
Friday | Apr 8, 2022
Button up.
Recent sales figures suggest that men are ending their affair with patterned Zoom shirts and opting for updated versions of the more traditional dress shirt. Photo: F. Martin Ramin | WSJ, Styling by Deidre Rodriguez
MEN SHUNNED stifling dress shirts in the WFH era, but collared button-ups have surprisingly returned — with a twist. As America – largely freed from pandemic restrictions – returns to the workplace, retailers are watching the demand for dress shirts bounce back with force.

— The Wall Street Journal
let's recap...
FT montage: Getty Images/Dreamstime
The death of the dollar has been predicted on countless occasions before, only for the U.S. currency to maintain its position. Inertia is a powerful force in cross-border finance: once a currency is widely used, that becomes a self-perpetuating position. Even the IMF believes the dollar’s dominance could be diluted due to the “fragmentation” of the system, although it will likely remain the primary global currency. (Financial Times - The Big Read | Mar 7)

Faultlines that were exposed when coronavirus shook corporate bond markets must be addressed to prevent future disruptions to a key source of funding for companies worldwide, according to the top organisation representing securities regulators. The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is examining ways to improve the overall functioning and liquidity of corporate bond markets, particularly in stressed conditions. (Financial Times | Apr 7)

“I’ve made clear to my colleagues in Indonesia that we will not be participating in a number of meetings if the Russians are there,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers Wednesday as she testified before the House Financial Services Committee. A Treasury spokesperson subsequently said Yellen’s comment was in reference to a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors scheduled for April 20 in Washington. (Bloomberg Politics | Apr 6)

Investors don’t know precisely what will happen when the Federal Reserve cuts its massive Treasury and mortgage-backed security holdings. But they know that they don’t like it. In minutes from last month’s rate-setting meeting, released Wednesday, Fed policy makers signaled a plan to start shrinking the central bank’s asset portfolio, a process known as quantitative tightening, as soon as their next gathering in May. Moreover, with inflation high and the job market tight, the minutes also showed policy makers are inclined to reduce the Fed’s $9 trillion balance sheet at a much more rapid pace than they did during the quantitative-tightening round that began in October 2017, when inflation was much cooler and the unemployment rate was higher. (The Wall Street Journal | Apr 6)

Almost 30 years on, the great bond massacre of 1994 still looms over Wall Street. So when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pitches 1994 as the model of what he’s trying to achieve in this interest-rate cycle, it’s enough to cause shivers on trading floors. “In three episodes,” he observed in a recent speech, “in 1965, 1984, and 1994 – the Fed raised the federal funds rate significantly in response to perceived overheating without precipitating a recession.” (Bloomberg - opinion | Mar 5)
the cyber cafe
Officials in Germany and the U.S. said they had shut down a ‘darknet’ marketplace that facilitated cybercrimes including ransomware attacks; the Justice Department in Washington. Photo: Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
Russian darknet market tied to ransomware is shut down
U.S. and German officials said Tuesday that an international law-enforcement effort had shut down the world’s largest darknet marketplace. Hydra Market had facilitated ransomware attacks, drug deals and other criminal activity, officials said.

FBI takedown of Cyclops Blink botnet suggests aggressive new stance
The U.S. Department of Justice yesterday announced that it has disrupted a botnet operated by a group linked to Russia’s GRU intelligence agency. The FBI neutralized the botnet, known as Cyclops Blink, by cutting off its command and control servers and removing malware from network devices in use by businesses. This aggressive method of combating botnets could be indicative of a coordinated push against Russian cybercrime following the invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. government launches Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy to enhance cybersecurity across nation
The U.S. Department of State has launched the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy (CDP) to address challenges within the cybersecurity space. In a statement published April 4, the government announced that the bureau will “address the national security challenges, economic opportunities, and implications for U.S. values associated with cyberspace, digital technologies, and digital policy”.
binge reading disorder
Illustration: Kenneth Andersson | FT
The man who predicted the Great Resignation has more big news
Not that many of us can name a single day when our life took a radically different turn. For the U.S. academic, Anthony Klotz, it came in February last year when a reporter was interviewing him about what even he calls his “mini niche” area of expertise: how people quit their jobs. Quitting rates could stay higher than average for years, says Anthony Klotz.

A futurist predicts the 3 biggest disruptions to how we’ll travel
What might this new digitally native infrastructure look like? “Pop-up” airports that use augmented reality to replicate navigational markings on temporary 3D-printed runways, and computer vision systems for managing tower operations remotely. Similarly, we’ll need ferry terminals that are capable of switching between different kinds of sailings, from ferries with lots of onboard vehicles to others with walk-on passengers transferring to waiting rideshare vehicles. And the transit infrastructure of the future will need to be adaptive, resilient, and able to scale over time.

What will the G20 do if Putin shows up at Bali summit?
Russia’s war in Ukraine is looming large over a Group of 20 summit that’s still seven months off, with officials frantically preparing in case President Vladimir Putin decides to turn up. The range of possible scenarios includes some leaders staying away, sending lower-level delegations or only dialing in from afar, according to people familiar with the discussions among member countries. The meeting could very well end without a formal communique for the first time.
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