menu_open Columnists
Sydney Lake

Sydney Lake

Fortune

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Roughly half of Gen Z workers say they don’t want to return to the office because it means they can’t binge-watch their favorite TV shows during work anymore

And about half say they’ve lied to their bosses about it.

tuesday 5

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon says customers are exhibiting ‘stressed behaviors’—and it’s already tanked the company’s valuation by $22 billion

The retailer’s stock dropped on the news that consumer confidence had hit a 12-year low.

26.03.2025 1

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Meet the March Madness millionaires: From Duke’s Cooper Flagg to Purdue’s Braden Smith, college athletes are raking in eight-figure NIL deals

Through NIL deals, college athletes can earn their own money from using their image.

26.03.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake

The Trump administration’s abrupt federal grant cuts have made their way to ‘Sesame Street’—and they risk ‘pulling the rug out from under children’

The iconic children’s show is partially funded by the government.

25.03.2025 30

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Millennial and Gen Z credit scores are the latest sign of the ‘vibecession.’ Their credit scores will keep going up, Open Lending, TransUnion report shows

This could be a good sign for borrowers since lenders have historically been “hesitant” to extend loans to thin-file or low-credit consumers.

23.03.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Nike’s founder, a Walmart heiress, and the owner of the Dallas Cowboys are among the billionaires bankrolling March Madness Sweet 16 schools

Some of America’s wealthiest have donated millions of dollars to the U.S. schools with the top-ranked basketball programs.

21.03.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake

How Nvidia’s billionaire CEO went from Denny’s dishwasher to leading a company with a $2.9 trillion market cap

“I’m still working on being a good CEO,” Jensen Huang said in an interview at his alma mater, Stanford University.

19.03.2025 2

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Match Group CEO admits dating apps feel too much like ‘a numbers game’ so he’s asking employees for ‘unvarnished feedback’ on how to improve Hinge and Tinder

Spencer Rascoff said too many people have a “false impression that we prioritize metrics over experience.”

14.03.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Warren Buffet’s advice for staying calm when stocks are falling comes from a 130-year-old poem: ‘Keep your head’

Investors have warned the U.S. economy is reaching “correction territory.”

12.03.2025 2

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Kohl’s had an even worse quarter than Wall Street expected with net sales plummeting nearly 10% in the aftermath of layoffs and store closures

One retail expert says Kohl’s problems stem from a “lack of identity and muddled strategy.”

11.03.2025 7

Fortune

Sydney Lake

For the first time ever, more than half of couples pick a lab-grown diamond for engagement rings

Couples appear to care more about gemstone size and price than sustainability.

11.03.2025 30

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Why jeweler Kendra Scott is winning affordable luxury and plans to open dozens of stores while others are downsizing

The company grew 20% year-over-year, CEO Tom Nolan told Fortune.

09.03.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Boomers are setting up a showdown with millennials, aging in place and plunking down hundreds of thousands on renovating their homes

Millennials need homes, but because of high home prices and mortgage rates, baby boomers have little reason to sell.

09.03.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest point this year while markets are ‘spooked’ on economic growth and a sour consumer sentiment report

Mortgage applications have already increased as more buyers enter the market.

06.03.2025 3

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Home sellers are ‘waking up to reality’ and are slashing prices to combat stubbornly high mortgage rates

Realtor.com’s chief economist predicts “further price softening” for the spring.

03.03.2025 3

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Citigroup’s $81 trillion mistake is a warning ‘that operational risk is still a ticking time bomb in banking,’ expert says

It took three employees and several hours for Citigroup to realize it credited a customer account with $81 trillion instead of $280.

28.02.2025 2

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Red Lobster’s 36-year-old CEO started as a Goldman Sachs intern. He reveals 3 bold moves he’s cooking up for the seafood chain’s comeback

Damola Adamolekun reveals his blueprint for garlic-butter crab and good music in Red Lobster’s second wave.

27.02.2025 30

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Home Depot exec says Americans may soon embrace sky-high mortgage rates as ‘the new normal’ and invest in housing anyway

Historic mortgage rates show today’s rates are more "normal" than they were just a few decades ago.

26.02.2025 5

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Steve Jobs didn’t take Warren Buffett’s financial advice to buy back Apple stock, and it says a lot about his leadership style

Warren Buffett gave Steve Jobs four options of what to do with his cash pile.

24.02.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Amazon clinches creative control of the James Bond franchise in a skyfall deal

James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli will remain co-owners of the franchise.

21.02.2025 7

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Nordstrom hires the ‘Michael Jordan of personal styling,’ Catherine Bloom, as its first director of luxury styling

Nordstrom will transform its Melrose Place location in Los Angeles into the “Catherine Bloom for Nordstrom” storefront.

20.02.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Gen Z is afraid of talking on the phone, so one college launched a class to help the younger generation overcome its telephobia

Gen Z’s fear of talking on the phone is taking a toll on business.

19.02.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Ken Griffin says he is ‘so appreciative’ of Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts but slammed Trump’s tariffs, saying they’re ‘what you do in the death throes of a nation’

The Citadel CEO said Trump’s tariffs will have “a permanent and adverse effect.”

13.02.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Mark Zuckerberg warned employees to prepare for an ‘intense year.’ He just laid off 3,600 workers—including some who claim they got glowing reviews

Ex-Meta employees have said they weren’t low performers, yet were laid off anyway.

11.02.2025 5

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Elf Beauty’s CEO blames the company’s lowered fiscal outlook on people being too distracted by the TikTok ban and wildfires

Social conversions were down 20% in January, CEO Tarang Amin said.

08.02.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Max Levchin says it’s cathartic to help laid-off staff pack up their boxes: ‘You can play this from the comfort of your office or in the middle of the floor that’s crying’

“Go be with the people. It'll feel better in the end, and they will feel better in the end," the PayPal cofounder said.

08.02.2025 8

Fortune

Sydney Lake

The company behind Shaq’s Super Bowl party says it solved the industry’s ‘dirty secret’ and will make $15 million from 3 events

Medium Rare hosts Shaq’s Fun House, Guy’s Flavortown Tailgate, and SI The Party, expecting tens of thousands of fans this weekend.

07.02.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Waffle House is forcing an egg surcharge on customers to combat raising prices from the avian flu and tariffs

All Waffle House locations have added a surcharge for every egg sold.

05.02.2025 50

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Trump’s tariff war has turned into an egg war at Costco

Trump’s tariffs on imported goods and the avian flu is fueling an egg-buying frenzy at Costco.

04.02.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Kohl’s is slashing its corporate workforce as it scrambles to make up for mistakes like carrying less inventory and shrinking its fine-jewelry business

Less than 200 people were affected by the layoffs, but the company has also had dozens of store closures in the past year.

31.01.2025 30

Fortune

Sydney Lake

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault came up with a new way to describe layoffs: being ‘promoted outwards’

The luxury goods CEO likens layoffs at Tiffany’s to those at Meta.

29.01.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Half of wealthy Gen Zers and millennials admit to ‘digital shoplifting,’ rationalizing it with inflation and influencer hacks

Customers are duping merchants into issuing refunds even if they receive and keep their products.

29.01.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Spirit Airlines quietly updated its passenger rules, disallowing customers from wearing see-through or ‘lewd’ clothing and ‘offensive’ body art

Spirit Airlines’ policy update sparks debate about whether airlines can dictate what passengers wear on flights.

24.01.2025 6

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Cathie Wood says she won’t buy the Trump memecoin because it ‘isn’t going to have any utility’

The ARK Invest CEO has "pretty much stayed away from the memecoins."

23.01.2025 6

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway takes a sip of the crypto ‘rat poison’ he once said he would never go near

Berkshire Hathaway invests in a crypto-linked Brazilian bank.

22.01.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

A California couple is suing JetBlue for $1 million, alleging a block of ice the size of a watermelon fell from a plane and crashed into their bedroom

The civil lawsuit, filed Jan. 9, 2025, alleges the ice ball came from JetBlue flight 2715, which was flying over their home at that exact moment.

22.01.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

The dating app exodus: 4 reasons Gen Z and millennials are rebelling against Hinge, Tinder, and Bumble

Bumble's founder is back in as CEO to try to save the failing brand. Meanwhile Gen Z and millennials are looking for real connections amid a dating...

20.01.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

TikTok influencers threaten to not pay their taxes if the app gets banned

Tax experts warn TikTokers it’s ‘not legal’ to avoid paying their taxes.

17.01.2025 4

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Walgreens replaced its refrigerator doors with digitized ad-laden glass. It might become a $200 million debacle

In December, Cooler Screens shut down access to hundreds of the digitized fridge doors, which Walgreens claims affected sales.

17.01.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

54-year-old woman who led an $8 million beauty product shoplifting ring sentenced to 5 years in prison

Michelle Mack paid more than seven people to steal beauty products and then sell them on Amazon.

16.01.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle call for Meta to reverse its decision on fact-checking, which they say was fueled by ‘ego or profit’

The Royal couple has a history of being mistreated by misinformation in the media.

14.01.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Experts say Los Angeles rental prices will ‘inevitably’ spike post-wildfires

The LA housing crisis was dire before, but now hundreds of thousands of people are displaced.

11.01.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Baby boomers’ favorite credit card Amex is now the ‘lifestyle’ card of choice for Gen Zers

Gen Z can’t resist a good deal—even if it’ll cost them.

10.01.2025 7

Fortune

Sydney Lake

All the Hollywood stars who have lost their homes or had to evacuate due to the California wildfires

Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal, and James Woods all lost their homes.

09.01.2025 10

Fortune

Sydney Lake

‘The American Dream is still very much alive,’ Fannie Mae CEO insists—and she has essential advice for first-time homebuyers

“Did my parents dream of having a home? Was that home what changed the trajectory of our life? Absolutely,” said Fannie Mae CEO Priscilla Almodovar.

09.01.2025 8

Fortune

Sydney Lake

‘Fake it until you make it’: Millennials are obsessed with looking rich, Wells Fargo study shows

Nearly 60% of millennials feel it’s important to seem financially successful to others.

09.01.2025 70

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Mark Zuckerberg wore one of the rarest watches in the world, worth $900,000, while announcing the end of fact-checking at Meta

Greubel Forsey only makes two or three of the Hand Made 1 each year, which takes around 6,000 hours to construct.

09.01.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake

A Waymo customer says he thought he was being pranked when his self-driving cab lost control and drove in circles endlessly

A video shows Waymo’s customer service was unable to do much to stop the erratic self-driving behavior.

08.01.2025 30

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Klarna CEO says he feels ‘gloomy’ because AI is developing so quickly it’ll soon be able to do his entire job

“My work to me is a super important part of who I am,” Sebastian Siemiatowski said.

06.01.2025 6

Fortune

Sydney Lake

Job recruiters are carrot-and-sticking candidates with work-from-home perks to get people to sign on at lower salaries

One employee benefits expert said this trend could lead to a second Great Resignation.

05.01.2025 20

Fortune

Sydney Lake