A NOTE FROM FORTUNE

The Fortune Global 500, which ranks the world’s largest companies by revenue and collectively generates $41 trillion, equal to one-third of global GDP, has always served as a reliable barometer of the business world. For years now, the list has captured China’s rise and the Big Tech boom. It’s also illustrated the decline of companies and sectors as consumer behavior changes, technology evolves, and wars commence. This year, the long-term slide of one country was especially clear: Japan.

When Fortune released its first modern-day Global 500 in 1995, Japan’s Mitsubishi topped the list, beating out later No. 1s Walmart and Exxon. At $176 billion, “Mitsubishi’s revenues are bigger than those of AT&T, DuPont, Citicorp, and Procter & Gamble combined,” Fortune noted at the time. That same year, five other Japanese conglomerates ranked in the top 10, and Japan had 149 companies on the list altogether, second only to the U.S.’s 151. Collectively, those firms generated 37% of Global 500’s total revenue, more than any other market.

Fast-forward 28 years, and Japan’s presence on the list is a fraction of what it once was: 41 firms that account for 7% of all revenue. In a new piece for Fortune this week, associate editor Nicholas Gordon reports that the factors behind this trend—China’s ascent, a weak yen, and too few disruptive up-and-coming companies—are some of the same troubles plaguing Japan’s overall economy, which has expanded 5.3% in the past decade, far less than the U.S.’s 23% growth and mainland China’s 83%.

Japan did get good news this week: It reported an impressive 6% annualized rate of growth last quarter, buoyed by strong export data that reflects the price competitiveness of Japanese goods overseas. But domestic spending remains low, a worrying post-pandemic trend for the world’s third-largest economy.

You can read his full story here.

FINANCE

SoftBank-backed Better, which plans to go public next week, shrunk its staff by 91% in 18 months, and reported $880M in net losses last year

The company’s SPAC merger is expected next week.

Housing market outlook: Where to expect mortgage rates in 2024, according to 8 leading research firms

On Friday, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumped to 7.19%. But where will it go next?

As Goldman Sachs looks to sell its GreenSky lending unit, Apollo and a group led by Sixth Street emerge as leading bidders

Second round bids for GreenSky were due earlier this month, according to four banking and private equity sources.

TECH

At Elon University, sharing a name with the controversial billionaire is a joke that’s getting old

From school sweaters to dating sites, Elon Musk confusion has “completely taken over.”

More than 700,000 people use WeWork offices. What happens to them if the company shuts down? 

WeWork members are not traditional tenants with leases or subleases. That means they have far fewer rights and protections in the event that WeWork goes kaput.

CRYPTO

Grayscale is on the cusp of winning Bitcoin’s biggest prize—but Wall Street’s big dogs could snatch it away

Grayscale’s CEO has been planning a Bitcoin ETF for years—but now legal troubles and new interest from blue-chip companies mean a competitor could sew up the market.

How a crypto startup raised $81 million with no product, no customers, and just a pitch deck

Hardware companies often require large amounts of capital before they can even show off a prototype, infrastructure investors said.

SUCCESS

Most bosses regret how they mandated workers return to the office. They blamed it on not having enough data

Eighty percent of bosses told workplace software firm Envoy that they would have taken a starkly different approach to their return-to-office plans.

Stay-at-home dads are on the rise, but they’re not necessarily doing it to look after their kids

Around 2.1 million dads in America are choosing to stay at home with the kids instead of chase a career, up from 1.1 million in 1989.

PERSONAL FINANCE

Millennials are so worried about their finances that they’re falling into a depression

More than half of millennials say financial anxiety keeps them up at night.

LEADERSHIP

Offering employees pay cuts to stave off layoffs might be easier said than done

Reputational damage and low employee morale are a few things to consider.

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