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Happy Wednesday, N2K reader!

The subject of this week’s world-famous news haiku competition™ is “How to AI-Proof Your Job.” And I believe that you, yes, you, dear reader! — can craft an incredible haiku on the subject. Send me your entry — to our spiffy new email address, haiku at cheddar dot com — by noon ET Thursday for consideration by your Cheddar peers!

News You Need2Know

• The 'low momentum to no momentum' job market, acco …

• How Insomnia Cookies turned late-night cravings in …

• Turning refunds into resale with Rebel

• Gourmet Magazine is back. Ish.

• Wall Street execs warn Trump over Fed and credit c …

• Poll of the day: Are you pleased about the relaunc …

• Poll result: You’re pr-O-reo

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▼ 0.19% ) $DJI ( ▼ 0.8% ) $NDX ( ▼ 0.1% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$LNKD ( 0.0% )  $BKLC ( ▼ 0.19% )  $JPM ( ▼ 4.19% )  

The 'low momentum to no momentum' job market, according to LinkedIn

The U.S. labor market is showing signs of instability as 2026 gets underway, with new data suggesting a significant loss of momentum. Kory Kantenga at LinkedIn, offered a candid assessment: "Low momentum to no momentum. We do not have momentum entering 2026."

The slowdown is characterized by deeply skewed job growth. According to Kory, nearly all job additions came from just a couple of areas: "virtually all of them came from health care...and also education." This lack of broad-based growth is concerning, especially as "Overall hiring on LinkedIn is down 20% compared to pre-pandemic levels."

Kantenga defines the current state as hovering near "stall speed," a point where the economy is "not adding enough jobs anymore to keep the unemployment rate stable."

The effects of this low momentum are felt acutely by job seekers. Competition is up significantly, and the number of applications per job on LinkedIn has doubled since spring 2022. There's also a growing disconnect, highlighted by the "ghost jobs" phenomenon, where job postings remain resilient, but actual hiring lags far behind. Furthermore, much of the recent job growth has been "disproportionately part-time over the last two years," contributing to widespread frustration among even employed workers.

Sectors feeling the most pressure include professional services, technology, and manufacturing. Looking ahead, Kantenga suggests layoffs this year could signal a shift from a "low hire or low fire labor market" to something, let’s say…more challenging.

How Insomnia Cookies turned late-night cravings into a global business

From a cold night in a University of Pennsylvania dorm room, Insomnia Cookies was born. What started as a simple desire for what its CEO describes as "something sweet and warm and delicious delivered to me" has scaled into a global brand with over 360 locations.

Seth Berkowitz, the CEO in question, recalls the genesis of the idea: "I had a very simple thought that a warm, delicious product delivered to me through all hours of the night would be epic."

The early days were purely organic, with Berkowitz "running around campus, handing out cookies, handing out flyers." This grassroots beginning led to a key business lesson: the power of the college demographic. "If you're gonna start something in a college environment, speak to the student, right? They're gonna tell you so much of what you need to know."

Insomnia Cookies has maintained a company-owned model rather than opt for franchises to ensure quality and experience. Berkowitz notes, "Experience matters in every element...I wanna be able to control that and support that and innovate around it." As the company expands internationally, the focus remains on choice and indulgence, believing that the "warm cookie certainly extends borders."

Song of the Day: Iron & Wine, ‘In Your Ocean’

Here’s a nice song taken from the band’s upcoming eighth album, “Hen’s Teeth,” which will be released in February. It reminds me of the feeling of falling in love without necessarily meaning to — just like this newsletter!

Turning refunds into resale with Rebel

Returns are the "hidden side of e-commerce," a logistical nightmare that often results in perfectly usable items heading straight to the dump. "The sad truth is that for the most part, many, most returns are actually not even going back on shelves, they’re being returned and then they’re ending up in landfills," explains Emily Hosie, CEO and founder of Rebel, the largest returns re-commerce platform across North America. This is a massive issue, with a projected "$8.4 billion dollars worth of returns ending up in landfills" this year alone.

Rebel is tackling this environmental crisis head-on. As a certified B Corp, the company processes massive volumes of returns, grading and quality-checking them through its in-house "Rebel Intelligence" technology. What is deemed eligible for resale is sold on their platform for up to 70% off. Hosie notes, "AI is a huge part of our business model...We’re able to list products completely through AI. All of the items are priced with our AI."

So, I’m thinking AI is a big part of their business.

The company's mission is to offer a better solution to retailers: "Don’t throw your returns into landfill. Call a company like Rebel that is able to process those returns and generate new revenue back to you and save the planet at the same time." This offers consumers an ethical way to shop for high-demand items like strollers, car seats, and kitchen electrics, which are among the most frequently returned.

Gourmet Magazine is back. Ish.

After nearly two decades since its closure, Gourmet Magazine is making a bold comeback as an online newsletter — but it’s not under Condé Nast’s wing. The magazine’s trademark lapsed in 2021, allowing a group of five passionate food journalists and creatives, including writer Sam Dean and software engineer Nozlee Samadzadeh, to reclaim it. Their startup approach reflects a broader shift toward worker-owned media ventures like Hell Gate and Defector.

The new Gourmet, operating on the Ghost platform, aims to preserve the intellectual depth and culinary artistry of its predecessor. “Good writing is really cool,” said Samadzadeh, emphasizing the founders’ focus on long-form storytelling instead of popular video or podcast content. Recipes will target home chefs eager to dedicate time to crafting delicious meals. “It’s for people who really want to spend an afternoon in the kitchen,” explained Amiel Stanek, another co-founder.

Even with its grassroots approach — funded by personal savings and donations —legendary Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl supports the initiative. “Gourmet deserves to rise from the ashes,” she said, celebrating this new generation’s vision while jokingly warning, “You’re going to get sued.”

With subscriptions starting at $7 per month, the revived Gourmet promises an exciting chapter for culinary and literary enthusiasts alike.

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👎️ 

No!

Wall Street execs warn Trump over Fed and credit card policy

Tensions are rising between Wall Street and the Trump administration, as financial institutions push back against the president’s targeting of the Federal Reserve and the credit card industry. Trump’s call for a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, along with an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, has drawn sharp criticism from banking executives.

BNY Mellon $BKLC ( ▼ 0.19% ) CEO Robin Vince cautioned the administration against interfering with the Fed, warning that such actions could backfire. “Let’s not shake the foundation of the bond market and potentially do something that could cause interest rates to actually get pushed up, because somehow there’s lack of confidence in the Fed’s independence,” Vince said. Historically, Wall Street has strongly supported the Fed’s autonomy as a key pillar of economic stability.

On the credit card front, experts warn that capping interest rates would negatively impact consumers and businesses alike. JPMorgan Chase $JPM ( ▼ 4.19% ) CFO Jeffrey Barnum argued, “Actions like this will have the exact opposite consequence to what the administration wants…Instead of lowering the price of credit, it will simply reduce the supply of credit.”

Poll of the day: Are you pleased about the relaunch of Gourmet Magazine?

Poll result: You’re pr-O-reo

We asked: Which Oreos do you prefer?

You answered:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 The regular kind of Oreos made by Mondelez, on sale today for $4.49 for 12. (275)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ The alleged "blatant copies" on sale today at Aldi for $2.15 for 12. (162)

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Hydrox (~$6) is the one true sandwich cookie! All hail Hydrox! (103)

540 Votes via @beehiiv polls

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