Bankers may soon be looking at five days a week in the office. Plus: previewing the U.S. jobs report, crypto's upcoming 'Merge,' and more

Welcome to?This Week in Finance, your weekly digest of the top news, conversations, and voices trending among financial professionals on LinkedIn. Click 'Subscribe' to be notified of each edition. This week:

Fed to fight inflation to the finish

Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell said the central bank will continue to fight the hottest inflation in decades “until the job is done.” Speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell smashed expectations that the central bank would relent in raising its key interest rate at the fastest pace since the 1990s in a bid to slow an annual 8.5% increase in consumer prices. While conceding that tightening policy could hurt the exceptionally strong job market, he said the consequences of allowing faster inflation expectations to take root would be worse. ?? Here's what people are saying.

• Data suggests stall, not recession: Traditionally, two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction signal a recession, but an "unusually large" discrepancy between U.S. GDP and another measure of economic output, gross domestic income (GDI), may suggest a stall — not a recession.
• Hiring rebounds in August: LinkedIn data: Hiring in the U.S. jumped 6.5% in August, the first monthly increase since April, LinkedIn’s Workforce Report shows. The Labor Department — set to release its employment report for August tomorrow — said new jobless claims declined for the third week.

Goldman, JPMorgan not backing down on RTO

Goldman Sachs will no longer require most employees to wear masks or be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a memo obtained by The Wall Street Journal. The investment bank is also dropping testing requirements, citing "significantly less risk of severe illness." CEO David Solomon has been a vocal critic of remote work, calling it "an aberration that we are going to correct as quickly as possible."

And JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon wants workers back in the bank's headquarters full-time, The New York Post reports. While the company officially allows a hybrid schedule, insiders tell the Post that Dimon expects to see employees five days a week and those who work from home could be more vulnerable to cuts. JPMorgan is a major real estate investor in Manhattan, and it's building a $3 billion, 70-story headquarters on Park Avenue for up to 15,000 employees.

Dimon compared remote work to "management by Hollywood Squares" during a recent call with clients, saying it "slows down honesty and decision making." Being in the office also bolsters workforce diversity and apprenticeship, he said.

• See what people are saying are about Goldman's and JPMorgan's moves.

Fed-up junior bankers exit Goldman

Goldman Sachs has been hit with a wave of departures, sources tell Business Insider and The New York Post. Both outlets report that a half-dozen junior bankers left the investment bank's health-care desk in the past week, citing frustration with lower-than-expected bonuses and a pressure-cooker environment. At least five more associates left the same desk in recent months, Insider writes. Goldman's bonuses were high in 2021 thanks to record dealmaking, but this year the bank is said to be looking to cut costs as the pace of transactions slows significantly. ?? Here's what people are saying.

• Does banking culture need to change?: Jamie Fiore Higgins climbed the career ladder in investment banking to become a managing director at Goldman Sachs — and in hindsight, it wasn't a great experience. In an excerpt from her book "Bully Market," Higgins shares on LinkedIn what a day in the life for her was like, including cringeworthy interactions with a vile manager. "We were all pieces on his chess board," she recounts. "He loved to pit us against one another, and play with our lives and livelihood."

Oil down over 20% in three months

Oil prices have dropped by over 20% in three months, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude capping below $89 per barrel in August. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, warned that OPEC+ may be forced to cut oil production due to the “extreme” volatility in the market, with primarily state-owned Aramco posting record quarterly profits after a spike in oil prices driven by the Russia-Ukraine war. Meanwhile, fuel prices in the United Arab Emirates, among the top oil producers, fell by 13% in August and were slashed further for this month. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Crypto's urge to 'Merge'

Following eight years of debate, the Ethereum blockchain is about to get an energy-efficient upgrade known as "the Merge." The new tech infrastructure, set to be unveiled in mid-September, will shift Ethereum from an energy-intensive proof-of-work mechanism to a proof-of-stake model that would reduce the network's energy consumption by more than 99%. It's also expected to eventually bring down fees required to transact in Ether. Some investors have expressed concerns about potential security risks during and after the upgrade, and a separate faction is trying to resist it altogether. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Private equity can cost health services

Private equity investment in nursing homes has exploded over the past two decades, from $5 billion to $100 billion, but the entry of buyout firms hasn’t been good for residents. The New Yorker magazine highlights the example of St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged in Virginia, where for-profit investors cut staff and ultimately laid the path to a deadly COVID-19 outbreak. President Joe Biden has called for an investigation of private equity investment in nursing homes, which has been linked to worse outcomes. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Amazon taking M&A tack to health care

Amazon’s move to shutter health startup Amazon Care could signal a shift in its health-care strategy. The retail giant’s recent acquisition of One Medical and talk of its interest in Signify Health indicate Amazon is more interested in buying existing health-care operators than building new ones from scratch, writes CNBC. This buy-over-build playbook could ease the behemoth’s entry into telemedicine and other health services — considered some of the most difficult markets to disrupt. ?? Here's what people are saying.

With?Cate Chapman,?Jake Perez,?Saundra Latham, Dana Moukhallati, Beth Kutscher, and Ruiqi Chen.

What's your take on the week's news and other developments impacting you or your business? Join the conversation in the comments below.