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The Cynic: October 6
The Cynic
October 06, 2025
In partnership with
BUSINESS
This Week’s Business News
Tariffs stepped on Vietnam’s shoe exports—and the U.S. orders shrank 27% in September.
Business Insider | Amazon CEO Andy Jassy
Customs data show Vietnam’s footwear shipments to the U.S. plunged year over year after new American tariffs kicked in, even as overall exports to the U.S. barely dipped thanks to pockets of strength elsewhere.
Factories now face an ugly menu: eat margin, move production, or pass costs to shoppers who already think laces should come with a payment plan.
If you see “limited edition” on sneakers this fall, it might just mean “limited supply chain.”
Shutdown Day 6: the government is closed, the bills aren’t, and layoffs are on the table.
REUTERS | Jeenah Moon
With Washington still deadlocked, the White House warned prolonged gridlock could trigger job cuts and continued data blackouts, which makes the Fed’s job feel like landing a plane with fogged windows.
Markets can handle bad news; what they hate is no news—and a silent jobs report is the loudest kind of silence.
Translation: if Congress wants less volatility, maybe turn the government back on and see what happens.
The IRS just got a CEO—yes, that’s a sentence we’re writing in 2025.
REUTERS | Hemanshi Kamani
Frank Bisignano was tapped to oversee IRS operations while continuing his Social Security Administration role, with a mandate to sharpen collections, privacy, and customer service.
Think “modernization at scale”: fewer paper jams, more digital everything, and a call center that doesn’t play Vivaldi until your 401(k) matures.
Somewhere a taxpayer just whispered, “If he can make hold times shorter, he can take my money faster.”
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REAL ESTATE
This Week’s Real Estate News
Americans say housing costs are crushing them—investors say, ‘so…is this a buying opportunity?’
AFP | Getty Images
A new housing poll finds affordability still the country’s favorite villain, with rents and mortgage payments elbowing out other expenses for top stressor status.
Yet a surprising slice of respondents (including small investors) remain open to real estate as an investment—provided the math works and rates don’t misbehave.
In other words: Main Street hates the monthly nut; Wall Street loves the long-run cash flow. Welcome to America.
If the mall’s not selling sweaters, maybe it should rent studios.
Courtesy of Zuri Gardens
Developers and cities are eyeing aging shopping centers as potential multifamily lifelines—big footprints, huge parking, and zoning that sometimes plays nice.
The catch is everything: infrastructure upgrades, NIMBYs, financing, and the delicate art of convincing people to live where Orange Julius once reigned.
Still, in a housing shortage, a mostly-empty mall is basically a “some-assembly-required” neighborhood.
Flip it or rent it? The spreadsheet says “it depends,” your patience says “probably rent.”
REUTERS | Sarah Meyssonnier
Head-to-head, renting out a renovated home often wins on lifetime returns—assuming decent cap rates, manageable upkeep, and a tolerance for 2 a.m. water heaters.
Flipping can deliver faster cash but is allergic to surprise costs, tax hits, and market mood swings.
Rule of thumb: if your calculator whimpers at closing costs and holding periods, it’s a flip; if it smiles at steady cash flow, it’s a rental.
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FUN
Riddle Me This
I’m borrowed more than I’m owned,
I rise when confidence is shown.
I move with rates, I shape your fate,
Yet vanish fast when you’re late.
What am I?
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ADVICE
This Week’s Business Advice
“If your company needs a new meeting to talk about the last meeting, you don’t need better strategy—you need better people.”
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