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Netflix and a popular beauty stock were featured among Friday's biggest analyst calls. Analyst Rob Sanderson initiated coverage of DoorDash with a buy rating and $170 price target, citing strong execution. Alongside the upgrade, Blum downgraded Sunnova Energy to an equal weight rating and slashed his price target to $6 from $11, citing a higher-for-longer rate environment. "Share gains upmarket by Shopify support confidence in the durability of growth against tempered consumer spending expectations," wrote analyst Keith Weiss. The stock has tumbled 11% this year, but could rally 22% based on the firm's adjusted $85 price target.

Persons: Canaccord Genuity, Rob Sanderson, DoorDash, Sanderson, – Samantha Subin, Wolfe, Steven Chubak, BAC's, Chubak, bode, Wells, Michael Blum, Blum, Biden, Samantha Subin, Morgan Stanley, Keith Weiss, Weiss, — Samantha Subin, Canaccord, Maria Ripps, Steven Cahall, Price, Doug Anmuth, Morgan Stanley's Benjamin Swinburne, Jefferies, Ashley Helgans, Helgans, Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, Netflix, Friday's, Jefferies, Capital, Industry, Wolfe Research, Bank of America, of America, SCHW, Sunnova Energy, NOVA, Ulta Locations: Wells Fargo, China, Thursday's, Canada

☆ There’s a Bright Spot in New York Theater. It’s Not Where You Think.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At the same time, New York’s Off Broadway nonprofits, long essential seedbeds for many of the nation’s most acclaimed playwrights, are shedding staff, programming and even real estate. But there is an unexpected bright spot this season. Commercial Off Broadway, a small sector of New York’s theatrical economy and one that has for years been somewhere between difficult and dormant, is back in business. “Oh, Mary!,” a madcap comedy that imagines Mary Todd Lincoln as a daffy alcoholic, is selling out nightly at a 295-seat theater in the West Village, and is likely to transfer to Broadway this summer. Eddie Izzard’s solo “Hamlet” did well enough at a 199-seat theater in Greenwich Village that it relocated to a 349-seat house in the East Village, and next is planning runs in Chicago and London.

Persons: Mary !, Mary Todd Lincoln, Eddie Izzard’s, ” Organizations: Broadway Locations: West, Greenwich, East, Chicago, London

☆ Planning to Combine Business and Leisure Travel? You’re Not Alone.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-07 | by ( Amy Zipkin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“I take advantage, because I don’t know when I’m going to return,” Ms. Buchmann said of the decision to combine downtime with a business trip. As postpandemic work life has changed, and arrangements now include full-time office attendance as well as hybrid and remote work, so, too, has business travel. The phenomenon known as bleisure, or blended business and leisure travel, was initially embraced largely by digital nomads. But such combined travel is now also popular with people outside that group. Allied Market Research, a subsidiary of Allied Analytics, based in Portland, Ore., estimated that the bleisure travel market was $315.3 billion in 2022 and would reach $731.4 billion by 2032.

Persons: Melinda Buchmann, Josh, “, ” Ms, Buchmann Organizations: RevShoppe, Park, Lake Louise, Allied Market Research, Allied Locations: Florida, Banff , Alberta, Banff, Lake, Portland ,

☆ What to Know About This Crazily Crowded Broadway Spring Season
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Is Broadway facing a bonanza or a blood bath? For potential ticket buyers, there will be a dizzying array of options. In early April, about 38 shows should be running on Broadway (the exact number depends on unexpected closings or openings between now and then). “From a consumer point of view, we’re excited about the amount of choice there is on Broadway,” said Deeksha Gaur, the executive director of TDF, the nonprofit that runs the discount TKTS booths. But the density of late-season openings — 11 plays and musicals over a nine-day stretch in late April — has producers and investors worried about how those shows will find enough ticket buyers to survive.

Persons: —, ”, Deeksha Gaur, TDF Organizations: Broadway

☆ How Office Design Has to Change in a Postpandemic Workplace
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Andy Lantz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Over the past four years, a contentious conversation has played out in the world of design: What is the future of work, and what should it actually look like? The conversation, once a place of common ground, takes as self-evident our desire not to return to where we were before the pandemic, but to move forward in showcasing a new visual expression of what work can be.

☆ Year in Review 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Year in Review: 2023 How Office Design Has to Change in a Postpandemic WorkplaceHybrid work has transformed what many offices are hoping to accomplish. The way they look has to be transformed as well.

☆ Digital Payments Are Having a Jolly Holiday
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Telis Demos | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Buy now, pay later point-of-sale lending offered by Afterpay and others generated 42.5% more online spending on Cyber Monday this year than last year. Photo: Richard B. Levine/Zuma PressThis year’s Black Friday might not have been marked by stories of mobs of shoppers like in past years, but it made up for that drama digitally. In-store U.S. retail sales on Black Friday rose 1.1% over last year, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, and e-commerce sales were up 8.5%. That might help give a second wind to digital payments stocks whose shares have struggled at times in the postpandemic era.

Persons: Afterpay, Richard B, Levine Organizations: Mastercard SpendingPulse

☆ The Elusive Soft Landing Is Coming Into View
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( David Harrison | Jeffrey Sparshott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Over the three months through October, U.S. employers added an average of 204,000 jobs a month, a marked slowdown from earlier in the postpandemic period. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesThe U.S. economy is approaching what most economists had thought either unlikely or impossible: inflation returning to its prepandemic norm without a recession or even much economic weakness, a so-called soft landing. “What we are expecting now is a soft landing,” said Nancy Vanden Houten , lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “We expect the economy to weaken quite a bit but it does look like we’ll avoid an outright contraction” in gross domestic product.

Persons: Justin Sullivan, ”, Nancy Vanden Houten Organizations: Oxford Economics

Most Americans still have to commute every day. Jenn Ackerman for The New York TimesLike a majority of Americans, Ms. Hargreaves was unable to do her work at home. Source: American Community Survey Note: Average commute length for 2020 is not included. The average commute distance changed much less, an indication that commuters are driving faster — but also, more people are driving. “A lot of our choice riders, we're still working to influence them to re-choose transit,” Ms. Tucker said.

Persons: Torie Hargreaves, Jenn Ackerman, Hargreaves, Ms, That’s, Andrea Villanueva, Villanueva, The New York Times “, ” Christopher Wiese, Dr, Wiese, “ There’s, ”, Patricia Mokhtarian, John Goodwin, Rosalind Tucker, we're, Tucker, Aimee Lee, Lee Organizations: Atlanta Washington San, Mo . Chicago Minneapolis New, Mo . Chicago Minneapolis New York City Los Angeles Philadelphia Columbus Denver, The New York Times, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Nashville New York, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Nashville New York City Philadelphia San, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Nashville New York City Philadelphia San Francisco Seattle Washington Midnight, Georgia Institute of Technology, Census, New York City –, Philadelphia –, Angeles –, Francisco –, Boston –, Seattle –, Chicago –, Denver –, Kansas City –, Miami –, Houston –, Minneapolis –, Washington –, Austin –, Dallas –, Atlanta –, Charlotte –, Columbus –, Nashville –, Detroit –, BART, area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Labor Department, Atlanta Regional Commission, Lifeline, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Regional Transit Authority, % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Locations: Atlanta Washington San Francisco Boston Kansas City, Mo . Chicago Minneapolis, Mo . Chicago Minneapolis New York, Minneapolis, postpandemic, Atlanta, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Nashville New York City, Atlanta Austin Boston Charlotte Chicago Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Nashville New York City Philadelphia San Francisco Seattle, South Minneapolis, North Minneapolis, Boston, Chicago , Kansas City, San Francisco, Washington, New York, Francisco, area’s

☆ The 9 Most Over-the-Top Perks Companies Are Using to Bring Workers Back to the Office
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Perri Ormont Blumberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

STEP RIGHT UP If your office doesn’t feel like a carnival, you might be missing out on some increasingly common amenities. Illustration: Ari LiloanAS COMPANIES TRY to lure staff members back to the office postpandemic, they are using such perks to boost morale, create a unique corporate culture and even attract new talent, “it is almost like [they] are in a friendly competition to outdo each other in making the workplace an absolute paradise,” said Travis Lindemoen, the founder of recruiting and hiring platform Enjoy Mondays, based in Kansas City, Kan. “One company I worked for had an office slide that connected the different floors.”As long as the job market continues to look strong for workers, Lindemoen doesn’t see these perks going away. In fact, when negotiating for a job prospective employees shouldn’t be shy about inquiring about the perk menu, or asking if certain benefits could be added. Ahead, the most unconventional employee benefits we’ve found in offices across the world.

Persons: Ari Liloan, ”, Travis Lindemoen, Lindemoen, shouldn’t, we’ve Organizations: Ari Liloan AS Locations: Kansas City, Kan, “

☆ Amazon’s Profit Triples as Sales Show Resilience Leading Into Holidays
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Sebastian Herrera | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An Amazon same-day fulfillment facility in Richmond, Calif. Photo: Marissa Leshnov for The Wall Street JournalAmazon.com said profit tripled to nearly $10 billion from July to September as strong sales in its cloud-computing, advertising and retail units helped the company continue its rebound from postpandemic lows. Chief Executive Andy Jassy said the company would reap tens of billions of dollars in revenue in the next several years as customers turn to generative AI opportunities available within its cloud-computing business, known as Amazon Web Services, or AWS. Business customers are likely to be less cautious with their spending, he said.

Persons: Marissa Leshnov, Andy Jassy Organizations: Wall Street, Amazon Web Services, Business Locations: Richmond , Calif

☆ Kering Sales Miss Forecasts Amid Luxury Industry Slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Mauro Orru | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Gucci sales slipped 7% on a comparable scope and exchange rate basis to €2.22 billion in the third quarter. Photo: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg NewsKering posted sales below analysts’ expectations for the third quarter, becoming the latest fashion group to reel from a slowdown in the luxury-goods industry as the postpandemic boom fades. The owner of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent on Tuesday reported revenue of €4.46 billion ($4.76 billion) in the three months to the end of September, down 13% in reported terms and 9% on a comparable scope and exchange-rate basis. Analysts had forecast sales of €4.52 billion, according to FactSet.

Persons: Nathan Laine, Kering, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent Organizations: Bloomberg, Analysts

☆ New Normal or No Normal? How Economists Got It Wrong for 3 Years.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | More About Jeanna Smialek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Economists spent 2021 expecting inflation to prove “transitory.” They spent much of 2022 underestimating its staying power. And they spent early 2023 predicting that the Federal Reserve’s rate increases, meant to cure the inflation, would plunge the economy into a recession. The question is why experts so severely misjudged the pandemic and postpandemic economy — and what it means for policy and the outlook going forward. Economists generally expect growth to slow late this year and into early next, nudging unemployment higher and gradually weighing inflation down. But several said the economy had been so hard to predict since the pandemic that they had low confidence about future projections.

Organizations: Fed

☆ A Great Blazer ‘Makes You Stand Up Straight’: 4 Reasons Men Want Them Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Vincent Boucher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

JAMES LEE WALL, 40, was strolling through downtown Manhattan in September when a blazer stopped him in his tracks. “I was walking by that Italian men’s store, Boglioli—they had a camel-colored cashmere blazer in the window,” said the real-estate broker. “I stood there for five minutes thinking, ‘Man, I need to get that blazer.’” Though he hasn’t yet taken the plunge, he’s still thinking about the jacket. Throwing on [a blazer] adds that extra touch.”It’s an extra others want, too, said New York personal stylist Turner Allen, who caters to tech hotshots. In 2022 Brooks Brothers clocked a 44% year-over-year jump in blazer sales, according to a brand spokesperson.

Persons: JAMES LEE WALL, —, ”, “, Wall, Turner Allen, Brooks Brothers, Dag Granath, Saman Amel Locations: Manhattan, York, Stockholm, U.S

☆ How Will a Chinese Financial Crisis Impact the World? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Paul Krugman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The economic travails of the postpandemic years have led to intense intellectual and policy debates. One thing almost everyone agrees on, however, is that the post-Covid crisis bears very little resemblance to the global financial crisis of 2008. I’m not confident enough in my understanding of China to judge whether it will manage to contain its Minsky moment, the point at which everyone suddenly realizes that unsustainable debt is, in fact, unsustainable. In fact, I’m not sure if anyone — including Chinese officials — knows the answer to that question. Big as China’s economy is, America has remarkably little financial or trade exposure to China’s problems.

Persons: I’m, — Locations: China, United States, America

☆ The Future of Rap Is Female
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Niela Orr | Photographs Adrienne Raquel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +22 min

The Future of Rap Is Female As their male counterparts turn depressive and paranoid, it’s the women who are having all the fun. In the mid-’80s, the dynamics shifted slightly, when UTFO released “Roxanne, Roxanne,” a comical torch song dissing a woman who rejected the men’s advances. Like good sex, raunchy rap is only fun if all parties are completely enthusiastic, and this music provides necessary female perspectives to match what the men make. In Miami one weekend in late July, Rolling Loud, one of the biggest annual hip-hop festivals, made itself into a microcosm of the rap world. There’s a relentless gender pessimism in the air, too — on the street, on dating apps, in the Supreme Court and, of course, in rap music.

Persons: Sackler, Drake, Foley, Yung Miami, Wu, Da, Tupac Shakur, Nicki Minaj, Cardi, Megan Thee, there’s, ”, There’s Latto, Jung Kook, “, Diana ”, Boy’s, Red’s, Munch, Rodney Dangerfield, munch, ” MAIYA, “ We’re, Lil Baby, Flo Milli, —, ” Flo Milli, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire —, Debbie D, Lisa Lee, Mercedes Ladies, UTFO, Roxanne, Lolita Shanté Gooden, Gooden, ” FLO MILLI, Roxanne Shanté, Clover Hope, M.C, Brian Coleman, Lyte, Ruff Ryders, it’s, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, Kash Doll, SKODI LOLA BROOKE, Lil ’ Kim, “ I’m, I’m, ” That’s, Lolita Gooden, Greta Gerwig’s “ Barbie ”, James Harden, P.J, Tucker, KENTHEMAN “, I’ve, Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, Grace Jones, Benzino, blowin, ignorin ’, Berry hairdo, Grandmaster Flash, It’s, ” —, ” Leray, VETTE, CHANEL, ” Flo, Cartier, “ Lyte, Flo Organizations: YouTube, Girls, City Girls, Public, Down Productions, Wu -, Digital, City, Memphis, Brooklyn Locations: Miami, Wu - Tang, “, Bronx, Mobile , Ala, y’all

☆ Can Men Wear Baseball Caps to the Office? Our Poll Results May Surprise You
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Jamie Waters | Illustrations Paul Tuller | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Office dress-codes have skewed more casual postpandemic, but opinions on what constitutes too casual vary greatly—including between generations. To determine which laid-back items the public deems acceptable deskside, we hit up global research company Ipsos. Between June 30 and July 2, it surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,020 U.S. adults. And no, it’s not always a young vs. old face-off: Gen Zers can be stricter, and boomers less formal, than one might think. Here, the 411 on the most contentious items.

Persons: it’s

☆ Big Four Accounting Firms Pare Their Consultant Ranks in Postpandemic Reversal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-four-accounting-firms-pare-their-consultant-ranks-in-postpandemic-reversal-dc50f9da

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ Why Is British Inflation so High? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Paul Krugman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Broadly, the policy response to Covid and the initial effects of that response were similar across the advanced world. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which drove up food and energy prices worldwide, also made economies temporarily poorer. What this meant was that purchasing power was sustained even as economies’ abilities to supply goods and services temporarily fell. A burst of inflation was the natural consequence, and arguably a good thing, considering the alternatives. But at this point the initial shock of the pandemic has largely faded — and economic outcomes have started to diverge.

Organizations: European Union Locations: Ukraine, American, America, Britain

☆ No Job, No Marriage, No Kid: China’s Workers and the Curse of 35
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Li Yuan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Sean Liang turned 30, he started thinking of the Curse of 35 — the widespread belief in China that white-collar workers like him confront unavoidable job insecurity after they hit that age. In the eyes of employers, the Curse goes, they’re more expensive than new graduates and not as willing to work overtime. He has been unemployed for much of the past three years, partly because of the pandemic and China’s sagging economy. If the Curse of 35 is a legend, it’s one supported by some facts. That is a double whammy for workers in their mid-30s who are making big decisions about career, marriage and children.

Persons: Sean Liang, Liang, ” Locations: China

☆ Two of New York’s Most Famous Hotels Plan Their Postpandemic Comebacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Craig Karmin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/two-of-new-yorks-most-famous-hotels-plan-their-postpandemic-comebacks-708cd943

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ America’s Travel Resurgence Is Finally Here
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Justin Lahart | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/tourism-travel-spending-postpandemic-resurgence-is-finally-here-9500c914

☆ Contributions to College Savings Plans Pick Up as Inflation Eases
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Ann Carrns | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Contributions to 529 college savings programs fell late last year and early this year, according to industry data, as consumers saved less overall and battled high inflation. The state-sponsored savings accounts, named for a section of the tax code, can be used to pay for education expenses, primarily college costs. Still, that was an improvement over the fourth quarter of 2022, when net inflows were $1.5 billion. And those fourth-quarter inflows were significantly lower than the more than $4 billion in the same period of 2021. The drop in contributions was a result of not only reduced overall savings and high inflation but also the postpandemic reopening of the economy, which released pent-up demand for spending, Paul Curley, director of savings research at ISS, said in an email.

☆ As Consumers Pull Back Postpandemic, Troubled Retailers Lose a Lifeline
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Akiko Matsuda | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Will The U.S. Economy Pull Off a 'Soft Landing'? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Paul Krugman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +22 min

Will The U.S. Economy Pull Off a ‘Soft Landing’? The soft, the hard and the grayThere isn’t any standard definition of an economic soft landing. But what’s an acceptable inflation rate? On the other side, policymakers used to believe that an unemployment rate below 4 percent was basically unattainable without runaway inflation. Unless we have a really, really hard landing, the overall story of the postpandemic economy will be one of remarkable resilience.

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