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RE: WeWork Failed IPO is the Bubble Getting Pricked
I had no idea WeWork is doing an IPO or anything about their financials, but I'm surprised to hear that they're losing billions. I used to work in one before I left to work on Splinterlands and there's a bunch around me that all seem pretty full and while charging pretty high rates.
Yeah, it's pretty amazing that they have managed to lose so much money in one of the oldest businesses in the world.
First google result for "wework financials"
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/14/wework-releases-s-1-filing-for-ipo.html
It's corporate malfeasance on a grand scale.
You wonder, interest free money is an invitation to do anything you want to do. But its purpose is two sided. One is to spur spending, because why wouldn't you want money to exchange hands as quickly as possible?
The second is to help debt ridden companies maintain their balance sheets. 1% interest is 1% higher than 0. It's a cost to borrowing money. It's a burden to a company that doesn't make money.
It's also a damning sign that everyone working at weworks might lose their job.
Weworks has a tendency to pay their high level employees 30% above market rate (what I think is actually a fair rate to be honest).
Yes, you are right that Keynsian demand pump-priming works hand-in-glove with inflating away debts.
The major problem with this whole approach is that it trades the health of the currency and the overall economy for avoiding a crash right now. If real productivity grows fast enough to keep pace with the damage, then it can continue. And let's be honest, the powers that be have done a decent job of walking that fine line between the two over the past 80 years or so.
Now we have instantaneous communications, a very competitive global labor market, and currency choices though. Personally, I don't think they are going to be able to keep this game going too much longer. 7 or 8 billion people makes for a massive amount of momentum, but I think fiat currencies are in their last 20-30 years of life.
When the world switches to trustless alternatives like crypto, all of these games that are being played and the crazy behaviors they encourage will either disappear or be dramatically reduced.
I interviewed for a high level position there and got some of the low down on how they work. Essentially, they can't turn a profit because they keep spending money to aquire and fit out. There's a point where they are turning a dime on enough tables that it can cover basic costs, but rent is litterally too damn high (as well as all the freebies they give away).
So, they are turning to other forms of making money such as providing turn key services for creating a new space for enterprise level clients, gyms, schools etc. Litterally anything to diversify their income sources.
At the end of the day though, it's hard to imagine consistent profits from them unless they become a sort of architectural design build firm. One that is active in tenant fit out only that is. But at that price, their valuation is going to orders of magnitude lower than what they say they are worth now.