Prices soar as U.S. inflation hits a 30-year high. Plus: Musical chairs at the Fed, an electric IPO, greenwashing spotlight, and more

Welcome back to This Week in Finance, your weekly roundup of the conversations trending among financial professionals on LinkedIn. Publishing note: Following this edition, This Week in Finance will be on hiatus until February. Remain subscribed to continue receiving it then. This week:

Prices soar; inflation hits 30-year high

U.S. inflation hit a?three-decade high?in October, fueled by strong consumer demand and shortages of goods amid a snarled supply chain. The consumer price index shot up 6.2% from a year earlier — the biggest increase since 1990, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Meanwhile, the price of gas,?per The Wall Street Journal, rose almost 50% from the same month a year ago. Adding to the acceleration in price increases last month was a 4.8% bump in energy prices. ?? Here's what people are saying.

• Consumer outlook dims on inflation: Consumer confidence cratered earlier this month, as concerns grew around inflation and its impact on personal finances. The University Michigan’s survey showed Americans were the most pessimistic about prospects for the economy in a decade. The overall confidence gauge fell to 66.8 in early November from 71.7 in October, missing economists’ expectations for a bump up to 72.5.

Fed to get reshuffle of its own

The resignation of Federal Reserve Governor Randal Quarles, effective next month, has handed the Biden administration an opportunity to?reshape leadership at the U.S. central bank. Quarles, a Trump appointee, served as vice chair of supervision; together with the imminent expiration of terms held by Chair Jay Powell and Vice Chair Richard Clarida, the resignation opens key posts. Biden has met with Powell and Lael Brainard — the only sitting governor appointed by a Democrat, who is considered a contender for all three leadership positions. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Wall Street hikes pay for job hoppers

Wall Street is experiencing a reshuffle, and firms are offering attractive packages, including eight-figure salaries, to lure new talent. Amid a reckoning with long working hours, Wall Street giants are proposing "more flexible lifestyles" to prospective hires in addition to higher pay,?notes Bloomberg. And with many firms drawing from the same candidate pool while also trying to retain staff, "one thing banks have less room to do is rely on their prestige." Instead, one recruiting expert says workers care more about attaining work-life balance. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Biggest U.S. IPO in years

Electric-vehicle startup Rivian raised $11.9 billion in the?largest IPO dating back to Alibaba's in 2014. Shares in the California-based company — which is backed by Ford and Amazon — far eclipsed their $78 offer price, which had valued the business at about $77 billion on a fully diluted basis,?Bloomberg reports. While until recently it had no revenue, believers have?compared Rivian to Tesla; it plans to launch three models by the end of the year, including an electric delivery truck for Amazon. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Finance faces greenwashing scrutiny

As the COP26 conference comes to an end, the finance sector's work is just beginning. Regulators around the world are starting to "turn the screw" on financial firms — from investment managers to banks to insurers — that are engaging in greenwashing, or false claims that they're pursuing climate-friendly actions. Lawyers say they're experiencing a burst of queries from firms that are?treating the crackdown as a wake-up call. It's in the industry's interest to figure out how to approach this properly: At stake is an "avalanche" of?capital now seeking sustainable investments, the Financial Times writes, citing data showing sustainable fund flows in the first nine months of this year were already 30% higher than in all of 2020. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Corporate giants are going to pieces

Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, and Toshiba announced plans to break up their businesses this week, and CNN reports?their moves are part of a growing trend, particularly in pharmaceuticals and tech. The companies' reasons vary. One investment strategist says?conglomerates may see it as a "break it down to build it back up" business opportunity. But one analyst?tells The Associated Press?J&J's decision to separate its consumer division could limit "future consumer product litigation," even though J&J says the move is "separate and distinct" from lawsuits over health risks of its talc-based baby powder. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Millennials go DIY on investing

Rich millennials are?striking out on their own?when it comes to investing — using do-it-yourself digital platforms to pick stocks and seeking higher returns from riskier assets, including crypto and tech startups, not usually on offer from financial advisers and wealth-management units. Almost two-thirds of Americans under 45 with a net worth of half a million dollars or more are what the Federal Reserve calls self-directed in their investing style, up from 57% a decade ago. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Musk offloads $5B of Tesla stock

After?taking to Twitter to ask?whether he should sell 10% of his stock, Elon Musk sold about $5 billion in Tesla shares, according to regulatory filings. While Musk has been reluctant to dispose of Tesla shares in the past, he has done so to pay taxes,?reports The Wall Street Journal. Musk, the world's richest person, is paid in stock awards by Tesla. His?Twitter poll?resulted in a drop in the stock price. To fulfill his Twitter pledge of offloading 10% of his holding,?Musk needs to sell 12.5 million additional shares, valued at about $13 billion. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Robinhood discloses data breach

Robinhood?revealed?that it experienced a data breach earlier this month resulting in leaked personal information of?about seven million users. Of them, five million had their email addresses accessed and two million had their full names exposed. The trading app, which has nearly 19 million users, said the breach was a result of a hacker "impersonating an authorized party to a customer-support employee on the phone,"?reports The Wall Street Journal. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Satoshi Nakamoto revealed?

Will the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, be revealed in a trial in Florida? The family of a deceased man, Dave Kleiman, is claiming that he and his former business partner, Craig Wright,?created the cryptocurrency, asking for half of their common fortune: 1 million bitcoins. Away from the verdict of the trial, the identity of Nakamoto can only be revealed with the private key behind the wallet where the creator of Bitcoin has stored their holdings, the crypto community argues. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Blackstone hits 100K vet hires

This Veterans Day, Blackstone has announced it met its goal of hiring?100,000 U.S. military veterans, spouses, and caregivers?across its portfolio companies. The world’s biggest private-equity firm initially committed to hiring 50,000 vets eight years ago, in response to news that veteran suicides were averaging 22 a day. Blackstone worked with the federal government to build a system?connecting vets with job opportunities at the firm?and will now fold the program into a larger one aimed at expanding its job applicant pipeline. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Lessons from a $1.4T fund manager

What does the leader of one of the world's biggest funds look for when hiring??Nicolai Tangen, CEO of the $1.4 trillion Norwegian sovereign-wealth fund,?recently sat down with LinkedIn News?to discuss his career journey, his goals for the behemoth capital pool, his advice for a career in finance, and more. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Is the climate pact a 'good compromise'?

The United Nations climate secretary says ending COP26 with no deal would have been "the worst possible result," and she called the outcome "a good compromise." Media outlets around the world aren't fully convinced, with?mixed reviews?ranging from relief that an?overtime deal?was brokered to a headline in a Scottish newspaper predicting "we are still?on the road to hell." U.S. climate envoy John Kerry acknowledges that the pact, which included?last-minute language change?to a "phase down" of coal, is "imperfect." But Kerry added that the COP26 summit "was not the finish line." ?? Here's what people are saying.

• One path for climate finance: Could investing in nature catch on among retail investors? As governments feel the heat to take decisive action on climate, investors show increasing appetite for ESG investments. Debt-for-nature swaps or recovery bonds could be ways to attract capital looking to combine a financial return with a good cause. Belize recently issued a “blue bond” with proceeds directed to ocean conservation, while Ecuador is looking to raise funds for its Galapagos nature reserve.

With?Cate Chapman, Gianna Prudente,?Riva Gold, Jake Perez, Jessica Hartogs,?Lynn Chouman, and?Pieter Cranenbroek.

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