Forbes - Metamorphosis 🐛🦋

Every Saturday I send you a tight edit of Forbes’ future trends across tech, entrepreneurship, sustainability and more. Enjoy.

5 things we learned

Meet Meta. After a bruising month of bad news, internal leaks, and disruption from Apple’s privacy crackdown, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the biggest rebrand for Facebook since he dropped the definite article. That shakeup heralds an ambitious, and expensive, push to build a virtual reality-powered digital world and leave behind a toxic brand.

Tesla had an electrifying week thanks to two mega-deals. The electric car maker signed a 100,000 vehicle order with car rental giant Hertz pushing its share price, and CEO Elon Musk’s net worth to all-time highs. Half of the Hertz order will be leased to Uber in a bid to electrify its ride-hail network.

The ‘glass ceiling’ still exists in many industries. A new analysis of gender pay inequality has revealed firms have prioritized managing the optics over real change giving rise to the “glass floor” with women’s salaries banded around median pay.

The host of COP26 has come under fire. In the lead-up to the Glasgow climate summit, the United Kingdom's Budget was slammed as “climate-void” with moves to cut the cost of domestic airfares drawing the ire of campaigners and scientists.

The Trump SPAC had a wild of trading. Shares of Trump Media and Technology Group soared by over 550% following the announcement that it would go public via a blank check company merger. But while few Wall-street elites stand to gain a lot, many of Trump's loyal supporters are destined to lose out.  

The good

Vaccines for kids. The FDA advisory committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorising the Pfizer vaccine to children aged between 5 and 11. This followed the result of a clinical trial that found the vaccine to have 91% efficacy in kids. 

The bad

The food IPO boom is already looking a bit spoiled. There have been 16 food public listings in 2020 and 2021. Almost all of those exits have turned sour, a collective market dud. Is Sweetgreen next on the chopping board?

Got an event coming up?

Know a great event our community should hear about? Let us know and we'll include it next week.

Watch

Watch a scary movie. Popular Netflix show Movies That Made Us is back this Halloween, revealing what goes into making some of the most influential horror films of all time. Netflix, available to watch worldwide.

Listen

Can Amazon workers be unionized? After being fired for organising a strike at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York, Chris Smalls talks about why he’s spearheading an effort to unionize Amazon employees. Gimlet Media, free to listen worldwide.

Read

Make your home a happy place. Matt Gibberd, founder of Instagram favorite Modern House, a boutique realtor for modernist homes, has a new book sharing his 5 guiding principles for creating the perfect home. Penguin Life, from $12.99.

Taste

Salad doesn’t have to be boring. Include some of your favourite foods or leftovers to create a salad you actually enjoy. Don’t forget the dressing.

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