Today’s Big Story

Dragged Back to the Office

Are remote workers really working all day? Not really.

It’s not so surprising: The majority (over 86%) of CEOs say they’d rather “reward employees who make an effort to come into the office with favorable assignments, raises or promotions,” according to a survey by consultancy KPMG.

This comes as the higher-ups “increasingly favor” a full return to the office but understand the need for flexibility. “Employees develop faster, learn faster, gain new skills faster by in-person interaction, or in-person learning, or in-person mentoring, in-person development,” KPMG U.S. chair and CEO Paul Knopp told Axios.

This is not lost on the workers. Employees have noticed that people going to the office in person have an edge—and young workers, in particular, are more likely to want to work from the office. This not only makes it easy for them to learn, but they’re ripe for development and promotions. Of course, hybrid work—in which workers spend part of their time in the office and part at home—grew exponentially during the pandemic and isn't going away anytime soon.

The share of American workers in hybrid arrangements has remained relatively steady since early last year, per data from WFH research, a monthly survey run by several universities. But several companies are now starting to challenge the concept. On Monday, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that employees must return to the office five days per week at the start of 2025. Some say it’s a signal that—in the tech sector at least—employers have regained some leverage over workers.

And while hybrid workers often praise the flexibility and say they can be more productive without the commute gossipy colleagues to distract them, a new survey is offering fresh insights into how remote workers really spend their time. Spoiler alert: It’s not all white papers and PowerPoint presentations. Nearly half of remote workers multitask on work calls or complete household chores like unloading the dishwasher or doing a load of laundry. A third take advantage of the flexibility of remote work to run errands, whether popping out to the grocery store or picking up dry cleaning. Sleeping on the job? It happens more than you might think. One in five remote workers confessed to taking a nap now and then. Not that I can blame them … a nap sounds pretty good, right?

More Wireless Devices Explode in Lebanon

For a second day, hand-held communication devices exploded in an apparent attack on Hezbollah

A second wave of device explosions hit Lebanon on Wednesday, killing 20 people, injuring 450 others and igniting blazes across the country a day after hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members detonated in an unprecedented attack on the militant group. This time, it was walkie-talkies, as Hezbollah has long touted secrecy as a cornerstone of its military strategy, forgoing high-tech devices to avoid infiltration from Israeli and U.S. spyware.

Not surprisingly, people in Lebanon are now terrified of everyday communication devices. But this was clearly a complex, multistage attack that the Washington Post appears to have meticulously mapped out. Hovering over the unprecedented operation was a critical question: Why now? The lack of any major military follow-up by Israel in the hours after the first explosions suggests “the timing wasn’t the optimal one,” said Oded Eilam, a former senior Mossad operative who oversaw international counterterrorism operations.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that he believed the country was in a “new phase in the war.” In neighboring Arab states, already on edge after months of intensifying strikes and counterstrikes along the Israel-Lebanon border, intelligence and security officials were rattled by the latest provocation. “We were already well up the escalatory ladder,” said one regional official. “This was a big gamble by Israel.”

Teamsters Won’t Endorse a Candidate

Internal polling shows Trump support, but local unions in battleground states have backed Harris

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters declined to endorse a presidential candidate on Wednesday. The 1.3-million-member union has historically thrown its weight around in presidential cycles and endorsed Democratic presidential candidates in recent cycles, with 1988 being the last time it supported a Republican, then-Vice President George H. W. Bush.

However, hours before the union was set to announce its highly coveted endorsement on Wednesday, the Teamsters released polling of union members showing a nearly two-to-one preference for former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris. According to ABC News, “blue-collar union workers have been a mainstay of Democratic support for several cycles, but Trump has made inroads with voters without a college degree, a key demographic that helped eat away at Democrats' union advantage.”

The decision by the Teamsters board, while short of an endorsement for Trump, the New York Times says it vindicated his strategy of wooing the union’s president, Sean O’Brien, a leader who has repeatedly signaled his willingness to chart his own path. The board’s vote was 14 for not endorsing and three for Harris. No board member backed Trump. The decision remains an outlier leading up to November, as most major labor unions have backed Harris including the United Auto Workers, the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and the United Steelworkers. And after Wednesday’s announcement, several local Teamster councils in the battleground states of Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin have since publicly pledged their support for Harris.

Air Fried Twinkies Are a Thing

And, apparently, they’re pretty good

Twinkies were first produced in 1930 by the Continental Baking Company in Illinois as a way to use shortbread pans that were no longer in use. One of the bakers created a banana cream-filled cake using the small shortbread pans. During World War II banana imports all but ceased, so the company switched the banana cream for vanilla, and the Twinkie as we know it today was born. Of course, if America is good at one thing, it’s improving something by frying it.

You might think that the “deep-fried Twinkie” was some carnival creation from an obscure state fair, but in reality, the original debuted in Brooklyn in the early 2000s. A British restaurant owner named Christopher Sell started deep-frying everything from Oreos to pickles, including Twinkies, at his restaurant, the Chip Shop. The Brooklyn Heights restaurant made it so popular that food vendors at festivals and fairs all over the country picked up on the trend and deep-fried Twinkies became the beloved snack we know and love today.

Well now you can easily make them at home … in the air fryer. According to The Takeout, TikTokers are experimenting by putting the classic Hostess snack cake in the air fryer, without much work involved aside from popping it in at 400 degrees for a few minutes. The result is a toasty Twinkie with a dark exterior and an audibly loud crunch to it, plus a really gooey cream center. Enjoy!

The Rising Demand for Whiskey: A Smart Investor’s Choice

Why are 250,000 Vinovest customers investing in whiskey?

In a word - consumption.

Global alcohol consumption is on the rise, with projections hitting new peaks by 2028. Whiskey, in particular, is experiencing significant growth, with the number of US craft distilleries quadrupling in the past decade. Younger generations are moving from beer to cocktails, boosting whiskey's popularity.

That’s not all.

Whiskey's tangible nature, market resilience, and Vinovest’s strategic approach make whiskey a smart addition to any diversified portfolio.

Schedule a call with a Vinovest advisor to learn more.

Why wait?