Happy holidays, buds! Dan DeFrancesco in NYC, and I'll leave our list of the marijuana-testing policies at all the major banks right here just in case...

Today we've got stories on how one hedge fund is leveraging the public cloud to build cutting-edge tools, why Taylor Swift is the queen of pop AND due diligence, and where to get the best iced coffee.

But first, tell me a bit about yourself.

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1. The dos and don'ts of hiring.

Hiring is never easy, but it's particularly difficult on Wall Street. 

Not only is the competition fierce, but the stakes are extremely high. When even junior employees are expecting salaries in the six-figures, you can't afford to make too many mistakes.

So what's a firm to do?

For starters, stop it with those mind-numbing hypothetical questions during interviews.

That's one piece of advice from Geoff Smart, the founder and CEO of talent advisory company ghSmart. Smart spoke to Insider's Emmalyse Brownstein about the mistakes firm's make during the hiring process.

He would know. GhSmart helps some of the top players on the Street, including Citadel and Blackstone, make decisions on their most senior hires. (For more on ghSmart's process, including its famous five-hour psychological interview, click here.) 

Emmalyse's story is worth a read not only for Smart's advice but his candidness, a dying trait on Wall Street. Smart doesn't pull any punches when describing, in very blunt terms, how bad some firms are at hiring. 

Click here to read more about the hiring mistakes you can't afford to make from Wall Street's talent whisperer.

In other news:

2. These cloud tools are proving to be game changers. Balyasny has leaned into using the cloud since 2017, and it's paying off for the $19.5 billion hedge fund via a slew of new tools. Two of the firm's top tech executives detail four tools it built that are helping it push into new trading strategies. Read more here.

3. Regional banks' plight was Morgan Stanley's perk. The bank saw nearly $20 billion in new client assets in the wake of the banking crisis that rocked smaller banks like First Republic. Why the bank became a "destination of choice" amid the crisis.

4. Taylor Swift was the only one asking the right question on FTX. The mega star didn't sign a $100 million sponsorship deal with the crypto exchange because, unlike seemingly everyone in Silicon Valley, she did some form of due diligence. But if you're a long-time reader of the newsletter, you already knew that.

5. The new-age pension plan. Fidelity and State Street are rolling out annuity options within their 401(k) products, The Wall Street Journal reports. But it comes with a hefty price tag, and not everyone is sold on it.

6. It's starting to get scary in the housing market. Foreclosure filings were up 22% in Q1 compared to last year, and repossessions are headed in the wrong direction as well. More on how it's starting to get ugly out there.

7. Where all those Wall Streeters in Miami are probably sending their kids. We mapped out the 10 most prestigious private preschools in Miami. So if you're in the market, and have roughly $30,000 to spare, check out the list, along with tips for getting in.

8. Everybody hates Gen Z. Managers were throwing shade at working with Gen Zers in a recent survey. Here's some of their biggest complaints about working with the younger generation. 

9. What your favorite store says about you. Are you a fan of Trader Joe's (younger, married, college-educated person earning over $80,000) or more of a Walmart type (a 59-year-old white suburban woman earning $80,000 a year). Check out if the average shopper at your store of choice fits.

10. The iced coffee to rule them all. As the weather starts to warm up, plenty of people are making the switch to iced coffee. (Meanwhile, some of us never left.) Here's how four of the top coffee chains stack up.

Curated by Dan DeFrancesco in New York. Feedback or tips? Email ddefrancesco@insider.com, tweet @dandefrancesco, or connect on LinkedIn. Edited by Jeffrey Cane (tweet @jeffrey_cane) in New York and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.