Insider Finance - Business - Your workplace isn’t a family

Hello, Insiders. As a new year has begun, a lot of people are rethinking their lives, adjusting their priorities, and setting new goals — all in a new era of employment.

This week, I’ll be using my notes to explore the reinvention of work in 2023. I’ll be looking at new ways people are working, including the rise of lucrative side hustles, how people are generating passive income, and the current entrepreneurship boom. So stay tuned. But for now, let’s get to the news.

— Nicholas Carlson

The biggest threat to the economy right now: Jerome Powell's ego.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has spent over a year scrambling to rein in prices and bring down inflation. But just as we’re beginning to see signs of progress, Powell risks going too far.

Many experts believe Powell and the Fed need to pause their aggressive interest-rate hikes to orchestrate a so-called soft landing for the economy. 

Going too far could lead to a surge in unemployment, and a deeper stock market sell-off, senior investing reporter William Edwards writes. But there is no sign Powell is slowing down, and economists at major Wall Street banks believe that his commitment to fighting inflation will push the US into a recession.

The underlying issue, according to one economist? “Powell doesn’t want his name to go down in infamy.”