Daily Dozen | Forbes: Musk’s Personal Mouthpiece; A ‘Dystopian’ Metaverse At Work; Shein’s IPO Push

Student loan scammers stole about $5 billion from Americans this year. This is how the cannabis industry could legally begin interstate commerce. Plus, a Forbes investigation unpacks how Cash App became “king” for sex traffickers.

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In The News Today

• An independent monitor will be appointed to oversee the Trump Organization’s activities and financial statements, a New York judge ruled Thursday as the state’s Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit alleging fraud by former President Donald Trump and his company moves forward. The Trump Organization is also prohibited from transferring or disposing of material assets without giving advance notice to the court and James’ office.
• U.S.-based employers announced more than 33,800 job cuts in October—the most in a single month since February 2021—as executives increasingly fear an economic turndown headed into the fourth quarter. Tech firms led the reductions, announcing nearly 10,000 axed positions for a total of about 28,000 this year.

Top Take-Aways

Like media moguls before him, the world’s wealthiest person Elon Musk now owns a personal mouthpiece with Twitter. It may prove more potent at influencing public opinion than traditional news outlets, and some raise questions about the potential sway that foreign governments could have on what’s allowed on the platform as Musk seeks to operate his other businesses, like Tesla, internationally.

A federal ban on marijuana and several state laws make selling and transporting weed across state lines illegal. Here’s the road map for changing that.

Slack CEO and cofounder Stewart Butterfield saw his platform rise to new heights during the Covid-19 pandemic as companies embraced remote work. Butterfield, who landed on Forbes’ inaugural Future of Work 50 ranking, spoke with us about meeting overload, how a “dystopian” metaverse could impact workplaces, why product placement isn’t coming to his messaging app and more.

As Chinese fashion company Shein pushes for an international stock market listing, it has hired former Bear Stearns investment banker Donald Tang as executive vice chairman to help facilitate the play. It won’t be a light lift for Tang. The online fashion retailer known for its rock-bottom prices soared to a reported $100 billion valuation earlier this year, but faces scrutiny over claims of design theft, labor violations and its environmental toll—all while risking being caught in tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Scammers have capitalized on the buzz and confusion around student loan forgiveness, extracting roughly $5 billion from Americans as the Biden administration works to provide the relief. So far this year, about 700 million student loan-related robocalls have been made each month, according to call and text blocking app RoboKiller.

Some of the best-performing stock and bond markets share a dirty secret: they’ve dug their heels into economic ties to Russia and shoveled increasing amounts of coal into their energy grids.

Today’s Must-Read

Inside Paul Allen’s Billion-Dollar Art Auction

More than 150 masterpieces owned by the late Microsoft cofounder—including works by Botticelli, Cezanne, Seurat, Monet and Hockney—paint a portrait of the billionaire as a passionate collector. Next week they go on the block at Christie’s and will break a record for the most expensive sale of all time.

In Case You Missed It

For sex traffickers, Jack Dorsey’s Cash App is “king.” The Twitter and Block billionaire made the platform into a $700 million monster, and now police officers, nonprofit critics and current and former employees say it’s struggling to fight “rampant” criminality.

Tips You Can Trust

• The U.S. may be in for a “tripledemic” this winter as Covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (a.k.a. RSV) join forces. Here’s what RSV is and where it comes from, plus details on who can receive the available preventative treatment.
• As the Federal Reserve jacks up the overnight interest rate this week to a range of 3.75% to 4%, those with uninvested cash are in a good place to potentially position their money to earn a healthy yield. We dive into various strategies for boosting your cash yield, including investing in exchange-traded funds that have portfolios of short-term bonds.

Must-Watch Video

Inside King Charles III’s $25 Billion Real Estate Empire

When King Charles III acceded to the throne in September, the new British monarch assumed control of a $42 billion empire, much of it in real estate. His holdings include Buckingham Palace, which Forbes estimates is worth $4.9 billion, and a country residence in Gloucestershire that’s valued at $39 million. Those properties are part of a vast collection of at least seven palaces, 10 castles, 12 homes, 56 holiday cottages and 14 ancient ruins, per Forbes’ count, and the 73-year-old won’t have to pay any inheritance tax.

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