💼 Zero-hour workweek

…and cybercrime hits cell providers Endless lunch break (Chris Jung/Getty Images) [Sponsored by]( Last Week's Market Moves Dow Jones 39,170 (-1.00%) S&P 500 5,206 (-0.72%) Nasdaq 16,240 (-0.95%) Bitcoin $65,715 (-5.69%) Dow Jones 39,170 (-1.00%) S&P 500 5,206 (-0.72%) Nasdaq 16,240 (-0.95%) Bitcoin $65,715 (-5.69%) Hey Snackers, [Google](’s Incognito mode is finally going incognito (for real): following a lawsuit, Google agreed to [delete]( Incognito search data that many users thought was already private. Womp. Crude-oil prices and Treasury yields surged to their highest levels of the year yesterday. Stocks fell as investors worried that strong US manufacturing and jobs data could spell a slower rate-cut rollout (classic “good news = bad news”).   REDUNDANCIES [McKinsey offers employees a paid zero-hour workweek as consulting slows]( What do consultants even do?… Not much lately. McKinsey, the consulting giant and self-proclaimed “#1 CEO Factory,” is [reportedly]( giving hundreds of senior UK staffers the [option]( to forgo job duties and spend the next nine months finding another gig (all while still getting paid). A similar offer has been made to US managers. For many, it may seem like a dream scenario. But consultants — who often get paid to plan corporate layoffs — are now being cut themselves: - PowerlessPoint: McKinsey rivals like Deloitte, EY, Bain, and Boston Consulting Group have trimmed roles and offered buyouts as consulting demand sags. Some new recruits not yet assigned to projects say they spend their workdays bingeing Netflix. - Uno reverse: Consulting thrived during the pandemic as companies sought outside help to fix supply snags and figure out RTO. Tech’s mass layoffs (many orchestrated by consultants) also boosted consulting headcounts. - Chillin’ out: Before McKinsey’s 1.4K layoffs last year, the firm’s headcount had spiked ~70% to 47K in just five years. Now peers including [Accenture](, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC have laid off nearly 30K workers. Consulting may need a consultant… 86% of US clients plan to reduce their consulting budgets this year as companies cut costs (without consultants’ help). After the “year of efficiency,” consultants now seem to be more of a nice-to-have than a need. And high interest rates have slowed consultant-friendly markets like M&A. Still, the industry isn’t going under anytime soon: McKinsey generated a record $16B in revenue last year as companies brought on outsiders to advise on AI strategies. THE TAKEAWAY Always be preparing the pipeline… Even as the industry slows, consulting firms, which get paid to think long term, are still hiring fresh grads to avoid falling behind in the future. Some recent MBA holders have had start dates pushed back by more than a year, while firms pay them to sit tight (Deloitte pays some $2K/month to just wait). Signing bonuses around $30K provide even more incentive to stick out the slow periods.   SPONSORED BY INCOGNI Cut scammers off at the source Brokered…The most likely source of your personal data being littered across the web? Data brokers. They're using and selling your sensitive information — home address, social security number, phone number and more. The opt-out: [Incogni helps scrub this personal info from the web]( to decrease your risk of spam calls, ID theft, and other frauds and scams. Their experts deal with dozens of brokers on your behalf (saving you hundreds of hours a year) as they work with you to [keep your private info private](. Incogni sends you progress reports as they work — so you’ll have peace of mind to keep the data brokers at bay. You can try it with a 30-day money back guarantee. Bonus: Snackers can get an [exclusive 55% discount on Incogni’s annual plan]( — just use code SNACKS. SPONSORED BY INCOGNI Cut scammers off at the source Brokered…The most likely source of your personal data being littered across the web? Data brokers. They're using and selling your sensitive information — home address, social security number, phone number and more. The opt-out: [Incogni helps scrub this personal info from the web]( to decrease your risk of spam calls, ID theft, and other frauds and scams. Their experts deal with dozens of brokers on your behalf (saving you hundreds of hours a year) as they work with you to [keep your private info private](. Incogni sends you progress reports as they work — so you’ll have peace of mind to keep the data brokers at bay. You can try it with a 30-day money back guarantee. Bonus: Snackers can get an [exclusive 55% discount on Incogni’s annual plan]( — just use code SNACKS.   COMPROMISED [AT&T’s massive customer-data leak highlights the risks of “breach fatigue”]( Hard reset… [AT&T](’s investigating a major breach that exposed a trove of sensitive customer data on the dark web last month. The personal info of 70M+ current and former customers got leaked, including SSNs and addresses. This week, AT&T [reset]( the passcodes of 7.6M affected current customers and is offering some of them free credit monitoring. As Americans stay glued to their phones, cell service providers have become goldmines of personal data, and prime targets for cybercrime. Ask for forgiveness… not permission. Telecom biggies like AT&T and [T-Mobile]( can sell customer data to advertisers or vendors — but users are often opted into accepting this data-sharing by default. While telecom cos usually have robust security budgets, their practice of sharing data with third parties creates weak spots. Last year, AT&T told 9M customers that their data had been accessed in a breach involving one of its vendors. It’s not the only one: - High bill: Every US 5G provider had a security incident last year, with T-Mobile reporting two data breaches. In 2022, T-Mobile agreed to pay $500M to settle a class-action suit over a breach that exposed 76M+ customers’ records. - Small print: Many wireless customers can opt out of personal data tracking and sharing, but it’s often buried deep in account settings. THE TAKEAWAY Consumers have breach fatigue… Breaches happen so often now that users are largely unfazed by them (how many “password compromised” alerts have you gotten recently?). That leaves some companies unmotivated to invest in more security. Meanwhile, hackers are doubling down: the global cost of cybercrime is forecast to hit $24T by 2027, tripling from 2022.   What else we’re Snackin’ - [Teslow](: [Tesla](’s quarterly deliveries fell 8.5% on the year — the EV icon’s first annual decline since 2020’s pandemic disruptions. Meantime, Chinese rival [BYD](’s sales of fully electric cars accelerated 13%. - [Eggcel](: [Cal-Maine](, the US’s largest egg producer, sold a record # of eggs last quarter as consumers yolked up on the “affordable protein.” But revenue fell from last year’s highs on lower egg prices. - [Bigcoin](: [Bitcoin]( miners pulled in a record $2B in revenue last month, buoyed by BTC hitting an all-time high of $73K+. They’ll need it: the upcoming [halving]( is set to cut block rewards in half, slicing miners’ earnings. - [TheDonald](: [Trump Media]( shares fell 21% Monday after the former pres’s social-media co reported $58M in Q1 losses. The stock’s been on a wild ride since debuting on the Nasdaq last week. - [BustOut](: Adult playground [Dave & Buster’s]( said its profit slipped 7% last quarter. Still, the suburban happy-hour hang’s sales grew as the Skee-Ball bastion added 16 new locations.   Snack Fact Of the Day About 60% of today’s jobs didn’t exist in 1940 [Read more](   Wednesday - Initial jobless claims - Earnings expected from Blackberry and Levi Strauss - World Party Day Authors of this Snacks own bitcoin and shares of: Alphabet and Tesla   [Instagram]( [Twitter]( Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... 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