WFH is crushing Middle America

On the agenda:

• Work from home is crushing Midwestern downtowns.
• How the Brown economist Emily Oster became a messiah to the upper middle class.
• In a poll, less than half of Microsoft employees said they’d stay if they got another offer.
• Insider’s annual list of the most innovative chief marketing officers.

What’s going on at Goldman?

Late last week, there were headlines about another big departure, the prospect of a large write-down, and questions about CEO David Solomon’s future. They followed reports that Goldman Sachs is at war with itself and details about Solomon’s luxury-real-estate side hustle.

Insider’s Dakin Campbell has reported extensively on Solomon’s use of the private jet, which has left bank insiders grumbling. Many, many high-profile partners have left (you can see our running list here), while some remaining partners have discussed complaining about Solomon to the board.

And then there was the botched capital raise for Silicon Valley Bank, which was later seized by regulators. US authorities are now investigating Goldman’s work for the California bank in the run-up to its failure.

All in all, not a lot of uplifting news.

Middle America’s ‘doom loop’

Experts say that if these once shining midcentury metropolises have any hope of reversing this downward spiral, leaders need to get serious about improving amenities and boosting quality of life.

Or else things could get even worse and these cities could risk falling into the “urban doom loop.”

The catastrophe threatening Middle America.

Insider’s annual list presents 25 top marketers who are confronting these big challenges, based on over 70 nominations. It features CMOs from Morgan Stanley, Mattel, and Mastercard.

The full list.

Also read:

• Welcome to CMO Insider — the place for marketing leaders to share, commiserate, and convene.
• Six ways marketing is evolving with current trends and thriving, according to CMOs at Cannes Lions.
• We’re seeking nominations for Insider’s CMOs to Watch in 2023

Yet the antipathy Oster inspires is just as strong, with some epidemiologists, physicians, and public-health experts bristling at an economist encroaching on their turf. But none of this is slowing Oster down — if anything, she’s just getting bigger.

Read our full story here.

One screenshot of an internal discussion suggests just 47% of employees polled in May said they’d would stay in that scenario — down significantly from 70% in November.

This came after Microsoft also announced in May that it would not give out raises this year and would reduce bonus and stock awards. And now all signs point to failing morale.

Go inside the tech giant here.

Also read:

• Leaked internal Microsoft poll shows fewer employees have confidence in leadership and gave the worst score to a question about whether working there is a ‘good deal’
• Microsoft’s cloud boss faces tough questions about pay and low morale, leaked messages show

— Elon Musk, who tweeted the possibility of a fight with Mark Zuckerberg. The Meta founder took to Instagram to request a location for the bout. Now the betting odds are rolling in over who’s favored to win.

Titan submersible, Disney, & more

• Why and how the Titan submersible might have imploded.
• Some Disney insiders are questioning the company’s appetite for “rebellious innovation” after layoffs.
• A war between two hedge-fund founders spilled out into the open in an alarming filing.
• Toronto and Geneva were listed among 11 of the world’s most livable cities.
• Inside your company’s struggle over whether to pay for hot new weight-loss drugs.
• You’re more likely to live the American dream in Germany, Denmark, or Australia.
• Scammers are using ChatGPT to infiltrate online games for a quick cash grab.
• Take a look at the actors playing Ken Griffin and Steve Cohen in the upcoming GameStop movie “Dumb Money.”

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