The Daily Valet. - 12/5/22, Monday

✔️ Can We Stay Home?

December 05, 2022

Monday, December 5th Edition

By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor

Would you want your checking account balance displayed publicly? I sure wouldn’t after all the buying last week.

Presented by

Today’s Big Story

We Still Want Remote Jobs

Demand for WFH jobs is outpacing supply

Call it the Great Mismatch. American job applicants want remote gigs, but the number of postings that allow people to work from home is dwindling as companies start to call workers back to offices.Nearly three years into a pandemic that reshaped workplace norms and put the balance of power squarely in the hands of employees, the tides seem to be shifting again. According to the Washington Post, wage increases are plateauing, signing bonuses are cooling off, and fewer companies are allowing people to work from home than they did even a few months ago.Fewer businesses are dangling remote work as an option in their employment ads, according to a new report from LinkedIn. 50% of applications submitted are for remote jobs, but just 15% of postings are advertising flexible work.However, many labor economists say that the remote work “revolution” is here to stay. “This is going to be an enduring feature of the employment landscape,” a chief economist at Glassdoor told CNBC. That's because working from home wasn't solely a pandemic-era phenomenon—the share of remote workers had been doubling every 15 years prior to 2020.And while the unemployment rate, at 3.7%, remains near historic lows, Fed officials have said they expect that number to tick up to 4.4% in the next year, which would translate to more than 1 million lost jobs. And many believe that the remote workers will be among the easiest to cut.

Time is money:

Working from home two days a week, on average, saves employees 70 minutes a day commuting. Almost half (30 minutes) of that is spent working more, which benefits employers.

Iran’s Morality Police ‘Abolished’?

Iranian official signals possible suspension of the feared so-called morality police

A top Iranian official said Sunday that the country's controversial morality police will be “abolished” amid ongoing nationwide protests—although the official status of the force remains uncertain.According to CNN, Iranian state media strongly pushed back on those comments. But even if the force is abolished, the law that imposes the mandatory dress code for women would remain. So that wouldn't likely appease protesters who are still clashing with other security forces and have become so emboldened that some are calling for an end of the Islamic Republic.The months of protests were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in the hospital three days after she had been detained by the morality police in September for failing to fully cover her hair. The wearing of a hijab in public is currently mandatory for women in Iran under strict Islamic law.Iranian protesters on Sunday called for a three-day economic strike this week. According to Axios, it's expected to be accompanied by a rally to Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square on Wednesday—the same day President Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to address students in Tehran to mark Student Day.

Dig Deeper:

The New York Times analyzed video footage for insights about what is propelling the protests, and how women are leading the movement.

Partner

Want to Really Surprise Them?

When it comes to luxurious gift-giving, it's hard to top opening a present and finding a piece of jewelry, right?

Pentagon Debuts New Stealth Bomber

The aircraft, named the Raider, is more advanced than any other in the U.S. military’s arsenal

The U.S. unveiled its first new stealth bomber in three decades, the B21 Raider. Almost every aspect of the program is classified, but the plane is part of the Pentagon's answer to rising concerns over a future conflict with China.Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the plane is proof of the Defense Department's commitment to building advanced capabilities that “will fortify America's ability to deter aggression, today and into the future.” The stealthy plane—with a distinctive batwing shape—has “50 years of advances in low-observable technology” built in, making it difficult for “even the most sophisticated air-defense systems” to detect a B-21 in the sky.The U.S. Air Force is expected to buy 100 planes, which ring in at around $700 million a piece. This is the first part of the U.S. nuclear deterrent's $1 trillion overhaul, which will also include new nuclear submarines and silo-launched nuclear ballistic missiles, countering China's own expanding nuclear forces. The B-21 will carry conventional and nuclear arms, and could eventually fly without a pilot.

Dig Deeper:

What's it take to learn how to fly a never-before-seen plane? The test pilots tell The War Zone how they're preparing.

Art Basel’s Most Talked About Piece

A Working ATM That posts a picture of you with your bank balance

There were plenty of parties and lots of art down at Art Basel Miami, but MSCHF seems to have the piece everyone is talking about. The Brooklyn art collective set up a working ATM that puts users' bank account balances on a ranked leaderboard for everyone to see.“ATM Leaderboard is an extremely literal distillation of wealth-flaunting impulses,” Daniel Greenberg, co-founder of MSCHF, told NPR. “From its conception, we had mentally earmarked this work for a location like Miami Basel, a place where there is a dense concentration of people renting Lamborghinis and wearing Rolexes.”The ATM was used by a number of brave Basel-goers with balances ranging from an incredible zero dollars to the No.1 spot, which went to the DJ and music producer Diplo, who inexplicably, had $3,004,913.06 in his account. The machine was later sold for $75,000, but top scores on the leaderboard will remain on the ATM.

FYI:

The world's first ATM was opened in 1967 at a branch of Barclays in London.

In Other News

The Hunt for a Male Contraceptive: Scientists Look to Stop Sperm in Their Tracks

Researchers are looking into several options.

This Woman Collects Thousands of Stuffed Animals and Brings Them to Seniors Who Are in Need of a Christmas Gift

The U.S. Crashes Out of the World Cup—but There’s Reason for Optimism

The Georgia Senate Runoff Is Raphael Warnock’s to Lose

Have you heard about ...

Keke Palmer on ‘SNL’

The world’s highest outdoor pool

The Land Cruiser’s return to the U.S.

Partner

Give Some Everyday Luxuries

John Hardy specializes in well-crafted jewelry for everyone on your list

John Hardy Remix transformable sterling silver necklace

Jewelry is inherently special. Which is what makes it such a dazzling gift to give. But few brands offer jewelry for any and everyone. John Hardy specializes in pieces that are at once beautiful, comfortable and hardwearing. They’re crafted from sterling silver, gold and adorned in pearls and yet, somehow remain easy to wear. Inspired by Bali and its time-honored jewelry-making traditions, the sustainable jewelry brand makes a range of designs, from timeless pieces to more modern interpretations. So whether you’re shopping for your stylish brother, your traditionalist mother or your significant other, there’s something on this list for them.