The Future of Money

This was the year the job broke, the year we accepted a re-interpretation of its fundamental bargain and bought in to the push to get us to all work for ourselves rather than each other.

• By Kyle Chayka

Even Black Friday sales are falling as more people shift their retail habits to online. Physical stores still have advantages, but we're quickly finding ways to replace them with virtual substitutes.

• By Kyle Chayka

Some companies are moving away from the 1099 economy, recognizing that relying on temporary contract workers is bad for businesses, employees, and clients alike.

• By Kyle Chayka

Walmart and Best Buy’s Apple Pay alternative has already been hacked. Your mobile wallet could be next.

• By Kyle Chayka

The scariest thing about Halloween might be just how seriously we take it. For this week’s holiday, Americans of all ages will spend more than $5 billion on disposable costumes and bite-size candy.

• By Kyle Chayka

U.S. technology giants have constructed international offices in Dublin in order to take advantage of favorable tax policies that are now changing. But Ireland might have enough other draws to keep them there even when costs climb.

• By Kyle Chayka

A lot less. A survey of citizens from 50 countries found that the ideal ratio between CEO and unskilled worker pay would be 4.6:1. In the United States, it's a staggering 351:1.

• By Kyle Chayka

In the 1099 economy, we all work for commission, hoping to find enough opportunities to piece together a part-time salary on full-time work.

• By Kyle Chayka

With the recent introduction of Apple Pay, the Silicon Valley giant is promising to remake how we interact with money. Could iCoin be next?

• By Kyle Chayka

For women, becoming a parent means you can expect to earn even less over your lifetime—unless you’re Marissa Mayer.

• By Kyle Chayka

The ALS Association has raised nearly $100 million over the past month, 50 times what it raised in the same period last year. How will that money be spent, and how can non-profit executives make a windfall last?

• By Kyle Chayka

As BuzzFeed puts another $50 million investment to use, some legacy media companies might be feeling left out. But BuzzFeed isn’t taking on journalism. It’s an entertainment, rather than news, company, because it knows stories are more compelling than scoops.

• By Kyle Chayka

Despite advances in technology, we’re remarkably good at creating new forms of consumption, which lead to new work, and, in turn, new social hierarchies.

• By Kyle Chayka

You’re so loyal to Starbucks—and the company knows it—that your daily serving of caffeine is already marked up beyond the reach of any fluctuations in supply.

• By Kyle Chayka

It’s easy enough to turn yourself into a virtual celebrity, complete with fame and mansions—but it will likely cost you.

• By Kyle Chayka

Normal wallets are simply too effective, no matter that the technology is millennia old.

• By Kyle Chayka

Public transportation passes are one of the most common forms of non-bank money that we interact with on a daily basis, but it’s easy—perhaps too easy—not to think of them as such, until something goes wrong.

• By Kyle Chayka

A tax on excess cash holdings—for corporations as well at high-net-worth individuals—could help spur development.

• By Kyle Chayka

You know the $21 billion mobile gaming industry you contributed to by purchasing the latest iteration of Angry Birds? Look to it for clues about how we’ll soon consume all digital content.

• By Kyle Chayka

Why haven't start-ups completely taken over the personal finance industry?

• By Kyle Chayka

The aphorism is so ingrained in us that, unable to trace back its history, we consider it a part of our collective subconscious, but a new class of company is pushing industrial attitudes aside in favor of a healthier work-life balance.

• By Kyle Chayka

Changing monetary policy in China reminds us that all national currencies are little more than constructions, open to manipulation and wild fluctuation.

• By Kyle Chayka

The price of this renewable energy source is now competitive with older, dirtier alternatives—and getting cheaper by the day.

• By Kyle Chayka

WhatsApp, Oculus, Instagram, Tumblr: These are just some of the technology companies recently valued at $1 billion or more. Whether we’re in a start-up bubble or not nobody can agree on, but one thing is certain: We have no idea what the future looks like, and an investment today could result in huge profits tomorrow.

• By Kyle Chayka