Bumpy ride.

Asian equity futures point to a mixed opening after US stocks closed higher in a volatile session as investors await inflation data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate-hike campaign. Contracts for share benchmarks in Australia and Japan pointed to modest gains while those for Hong Kong signaled further declines. Oil snapped its longest losing streak since December. Japanese markets will be under the spotlight today, with price data due that’s expected to show core inflation above 4%. That comes as the government’s nominee to be the next central bank governor, Kazuo Ueda, faces his first grilling in parliament.

The crypto industry is still reeling from a bruising year of plunging prices and a crisis of confidence that led to the collapse of some of the sector’s biggest players. Photo: FT montage | Bloomberg

Down day.

Stocks in Asia headed for declines after US equities fell for a second day and Treasury yields climbed as investors began to adjust for the prospect of higher interest rates. Equity futures in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong declined after the S&P 500 fell 0.9%, reversing gains of nearly 1%. Lyft shares tumbled around 30% in after-hours trading following an earnings outlook that significantly missed analysts’ estimates, while in the regular session Tesla extended a rally that has more than doubled the carmaker’s stock price this year.

How fun are you?

For some, there’s nothing less fun than company-sponsored “fun” with co-workers.

It’s no longer just a happy hour here and a holiday party there. In the hybrid era, when bosses feel compelled to make up for the reduction of daily chitchat, the quarterly all-hands meeting now comes with a team-building trip to the go-kart track, brewery or ballgame.

Then there’s the new avalanche of off-sites, multiday tests of togetherness in which you might be expected to hash out a new sales strategy one minute and the next brave the hotel pool with Speedo Steve and other colleagues, perhaps in a swimsuit of your own. 

— The Wall Street Journal