{"id":595,"date":"2024-02-02T07:16:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T06:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/?p=595"},"modified":"2024-02-01T15:20:45","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T14:20:45","slug":"happy-anniversary-a-look-back-at-1-year-of-blogging","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/02\/happy-anniversary-a-look-back-at-1-year-of-blogging\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Anniversary &#8211; A Look Back at 1 Year of Blogging"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This blog celebrated its first anniversary a few days ago. I hope you enjoy reading the articles that I try to offer you weekly as much as I enjoy writing them. I thank you in any case for your loyalty!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you have certainly perceived, my interests are diverse and partly fluctuate depending on current events. Therefore, it seemed relevant to me this week to review the 42 (!) articles already written and assess to what extent their relevance has evolved, one year later. So, in purely chronological order:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The issue of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/30\/braking-or-turning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">employment and layoffs in tech<\/a><\/strong> unfortunately remains current. Google <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2024\/1\/30\/24056132\/google-spent-two-billion-on-layoffs-severance-fourth-quarter-earnings-2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recently announced<\/a> having spent more than 2 billion dollars in compensation for the layoff of over 12,000 of its employees in 2023.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/06\/the-demographic-betonamit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">demographic challenge<\/a><\/strong> is increasingly resonating in the global media sphere. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/economy\/economic-indicators\/article\/3250101\/global-impact-chinas-economic-demographic-dilemma-2024-problems-continue-worlds-second-largest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">China<\/a> will probably be the most impacted country and has embarked on a shift towards a more decidedly pro-natalist policy. In France, President Macron <a href=\"https:\/\/www.france24.com\/en\/video\/20240131-demographic-rearmament-ineffective-to-manipulate-fertility-rates-for-socioeconomic-development\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> last month a desire to &#8220;rearm&#8221; France demographically, proposing a series of measures supposed to help women balance motherhood and professional life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/02\/13\/more-than-a-collar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">transformations in the world of work<\/a><\/strong> experienced in recent years, starting with teleworking during COVID, and more recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/29\/chatgpt-great-progress-or-threat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the rise of AI<\/a> and its applications in business, pose an increasing threat to the sustainability of some so-called &#8220;white-collar&#8221; jobs. Some companies, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inc.com\/bruce-crumley\/paypal-announces-layoffs-as-companies-boost-profits-through-ai-job-replacement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PayPal<\/a>, have recently announced layoff plans supposedly attributable to the replacement of humans by artificial intelligence. The field of higher education seems to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/20\/degree-of-change-revolutionizing-higher-education\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">remain relatively impermeable<\/a> to this movement, despite some timid attempts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>banking landscape has shown more resilience than in 2008<\/strong> following the bankruptcy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/14\/svb-its-a-perfect-mismatch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SVB<\/a> bank in the United States and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/21\/running-out-of-credit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Credit Suisse-UBS merger<\/a> in Switzerland. Notably, there was no &#8220;bank run&#8221;. Nevertheless, the rise in interest rates, still at historically high levels for the 21st century, continues to weigh on the banks&#8217; balance sheets in the form of &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/breakingviews\/banks-hidden-losses-are-surprise-survivor-2023-2023-12-13\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unrealized losses<\/a>&#8220;.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/27\/a-chinese-game-in-theory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prospects for young graduates seem to be darkening<\/a><\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/lifestyle\/careers\/the-m-b-a-s-who-cant-find-jobs-669cc1fa?reflink=share_mobilewebshare\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A recent <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> article<\/a> pointed out that MBA graduates remained unemployed for longer despite a robust job market for the moment. This phenomenon raises questions about the match between &#8220;supply&#8221; and &#8220;demand&#8221; for skills. At the same time, British universities have started to sound the alarm, worrying about their financial sustainability in view of the decline in the number of foreign students.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/05\/dancing-on-a-volcano\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Geopolitical tensions remain high<\/a><\/strong> and companies, as well as governments, are seeking to limit the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/14\/a-brave-new-world\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">harmful consequences<\/a> that this context can have on their supply chains. For example, tensions between China and Taiwan are pushing some countries, led by the United States, to want to equip themselves with semiconductor production infrastructures \u2013 a phenomenon very clearly explained in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.simonandschuster.com\/books\/Chip-War\/Chris-Miller\/9781982172008\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the book <em>Chip War<\/em> by Chris Miller<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/21\/the-4-day-workweek-an-enlightened-approach-or-a-short-lived-fad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>debate over the 4-day workweek and teleworking continues<\/strong><\/a>. In recent months, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/01\/31\/business\/ibm-tells-managers-to-come-to-the-office-or-leave-their-jobs\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">growing number of companies<\/a>, starting with the financial sector, however, seem to call for increased presence in the office. It appears that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/22\/byting-into-the-employee-experience\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fully online employee experience<\/a> does not fully satisfy. The main reasons cited are facilitated collaboration, a desire to strengthen company culture, and in some cases, concerns about the confidentiality of exchanges and data. Faced with reluctance, some companies, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/95ee76b8-f886-4334-9e98-32ec98985c50?segmentid=45a55daa-06c5-0aba-131a-a1eb758674ae\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">EY<\/a>, have decided to step up by implementing strict controls that can lead to disciplinary sanctions. However, in many sectors, the issue remains thorny, the very tight labor market offering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/29\/no-retain-no-gain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an advantage to employees<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>After reaching a peak in 2022, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/07\/one-twist-of-inflation-a-day-keeps-the-recession-away\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inflation has begun to decline in most developed economies<\/a><\/strong> but remains above the unofficial target set by central banks of 2% per year. This explains the desire of said central banks, notably the American FED and the European Central Bank, to keep interest rates at a high level. For <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/31\/interest-rates-in-private-equity-the-great-debt-reset\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">businesses<\/a> and households, these high rates could become increasingly problematic as fixed-rate loans coming due need to be extended and renegotiated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/24\/much-ado-about-nothing-on-openai-and-corporate-governance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">situation at OpenAI has indeed calmed down<\/a><\/strong>, with CEO Sam Altman winning his influence battle against the supervisory board that had dismissed him. However, debates about future developments and the regulation of artificial intelligence remain more relevant than ever, from multiple perspectives: legal responsibility, protection of intellectual property rights related to training data, storage, use, and confidentiality of user data, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Finally, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theftexplained.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/12\/all-other-things-being-equal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the financial markets continue to float in a gentle euphoria<\/a><\/strong>, driven by the strength of the economy and the hope of an imminent decrease in interest rates \u2013 despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barrons.com\/articles\/europe-bank-rates-0951b2a0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent announcements from the FED and the European Central Bank<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Conclusion of this overview: there will be no shortage of topics for 2024! Thanks again for following me &#8211; I really look forward to this 2nd year together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This blog celebrated its first anniversary a few days ago. I hope you enjoy reading the articles that I try to offer you weekly as much as I enjoy writing them. I thank you in any case for your loyalty! As you have certainly perceived, my interests are diverse and partly fluctuate depending on current [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-non-classe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":605,"href":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595\/revisions\/605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theFTexplained.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}