Axios Open in app View in browser PRESENTED BY OURCROWD Axios Closer By Hope King and Nathan Bomey ·Mar 23, 2022 It's Wednesday! We're taking a look at what's considered an essential food in Russia, plans to combat racial discrimination in home appraisals, record Wall Street bonuses, and some welcome news for Insta lovers.
🚨 Situational awareness: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed sending $400 debit cards to California car owners in response to high gas prices.
Today's newsletter, edited by Pete Gannon, is 689 words, a 2½-minute read. 🔔 The dashboard: The S&P closed down 1.2% Biggest gainer? Hess (+4.6%) a day after disclosing it scrapped its financial hedges that limited its access to high oil prices. Biggest decliner? Adobe (-9.3%) after cutting its fiscal year forecast last night, citing its sales halt in Russia and Belarus. 1 big thing: Targeting racism in appraisals Illustration of four different people's hands reaching to grab one suburban house. Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
The Biden administration is taking steps to combat racism in home appraisals — an issue viewed as a significant factor in the wealth gap between white people and Americans of color, Nathan writes.
Why it matters: Homeownership is essential to wealth accumulation for many Americans, but disparities in home appraisals often mean that people of color are starting at a disadvantage. Below-market home appraisals can hinder access to home loans, limit refinancing options and depress selling prices.
Driving the news: A task force formed by President Biden in June released an action plan Wednesday calling for several measures to thwart racism in the home valuation process, including:
Inserting a “nondiscrimination quality control standard” into algorithms generating appraisals.
Removing “unnecessary” barriers to becoming an appraiser, a profession that’s currently 97% white.
Context: Homes in majority Black neighborhoods are worth an average of 23% less than homes in neighborhoods with “very few or no Black residents” and similar home quality, according to a 2018 Brookings Institution study.
While bias in appraisals is one reason, other factors such as New Deal-era "redlining” and the fact that Black families are disproportionately denied mortgages also contribute to the homeownership gap between Black and white Americans. The big question: Will the appraisal industry embrace the plan issued by the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity?
What they're saying: "Transparency and accountability are important, but these goals should be balanced with maintaining industry independence and promoting entry into the profession," Jody Bishop, president of the Appraisal Institute, a professional association, said in a statement.
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2. Charted: Eye-popping bonuses Data: NYS Dept. of Labor’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages via NY State Comptroller; Chart: Axios Visuals Wall Street bonuses reached a record $257,500 last year in New York, new estimates show. Naturally, the news has us questioning our life choices, Hope writes.
Yes, but: The number of people employed in the industry last year (180,000) was 10% smaller than its peak in 2000.
And while the city and state continue to be the center of the American securities industry, the region’s total share of jobs has declined to 18% last year from 33% in 1990. Go deeper: Why big bonuses came back last year
Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story 3. What's happening ⛽️ U.S. gas demand is showing signs of a slowdown. (Bloomberg)
🛒 Walmart is suing BJ’s Wholesale for allegedly stealing its self-checkout technology. (CNBC) Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story A MESSAGE FROM OURCROWD Transforming still photos into lifelike animations with AI D-ID is revolutionizing the $50 billion video and synthetic media industry with its patented reenactment technology. D-ID has been used by major film studios, Fortune 500 companies and more to turn still photos into speaking, smiling videos. Explore D-ID’s investment potential. 4. Nestlé pulls KitKat and Nesquik from Russia Bars of original KitKat chocolate Photo: Jason Adlen/Bloomberg via Getty Images KitKat and Nesquik won’t be sold in Russia as parent company Nestlé tries to extract its business carefully from the country, Hope writes. Why it matters: Along with other consumer brands including PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble, the world’s biggest food and beverage company is having to navigate decisions around providing essential foods and supplies, and pulling many others that could yield more profit. Context: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky singled Nestlé out over the weekend for continuing to operate as hundreds of corporations have left. Nestlé had already been slowly shrinking its presence in Russia since the war between the two countries began — such as halting its advertising and shipments of other nonessential foods including Nespresso coffee capsules and San Pellegrino. Of note: The company said it would donate any profits from Russia to humanitarian relief organizations. Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story HQ Share Axios and earn rewards If you like this newsletter, your friends may, too! Refer your friends and get free Axios swag when they sign up. Be a good friend and share 5. Instagram shuffles the feed Instagram screenshot Screenshot: Instagram It's a glorious day for those who want a little more control over the algorithms. Instagram is finally giving us more ways to view posts in the app, Hope writes. Driving the news: Three types of views are now available so you can choose how you see posts: the traditional Home feed (what it is now), Following and Favorites. Both Following and Favorites display posts in reverse chronological order like the good ole days. Hope's a tip: Always train your algorithms every few weeks to mix up what you see so you don't live in an echo chamber. Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story 6. In memoriam: Madeleine Albright Madeleine Albright at a dinner reception at the Kaefer restaurant Photo: Johannes Simon/Getty Images "Few leaders have been so perfectly suited for the times in which they served." — Former President Bill Clinton, on the death of Madeleine Albright, a member of his Cabinet and the first woman to serve as secretary of state. Share on Facebook Tweet this Story Post to LinkedIn Email this Story A MESSAGE FROM OURCROWD Revolutionary software brings still photos to life Speaking, smiling videos are made out of still photos with D-ID’s groundbreaking technology. Using AI and deep learning, D-ID’s software is upending the $50 billion video and synthetic media industry, helping them win multimillion dollar contracts with major film studios and more. Invest now. HQ Like this email style and format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.
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