1) Trending down: The number of executive administrative assistants in the US. Between 2000 and 2021, the count dropped 63% from 1.37m to 508k. By 2031, the number is expected to drop another 20% to 404.4k.
2) The price tag on New York City’s 1.5-mile Second Avenue Subway extension to East Harlem is now expected to be $7.7B, up $800m from previous estimates, making it one of the most expensive per-mile railroad expansions in human history.
3) So far, the biggest movie of 2023 is 71-year-old Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou’s Full River Red, with the blockbuster raking in $670.3m so far in China. This week, it’s coming to 150 theaters in the US and Canada.
4) It’s rough out there. Per estimates from Redfin, US sales of luxury homes in the three months ending Jan. 31 were down 44.6% YoY, and non-luxury sales were down 37.5%. In Miami, luxury sales dropped 68.7%.
5) Instant Pot’s pop: Sales of the kitchen gadget reached a steaming-hot $758m in 2020, but cooled 50% to $344m in 2022. Instant Brands now has ~1.9k+ employees after cutting 15% of its staff.
