U.S. labor market posts strong job gains, Asian tech IPOs take off, and Wall Street is finally dressing down: This Week in Finance

Welcome to This Week in Finance, your weekly roundup of the conversations trending among financial professionals on LinkedIn. Click Subscribe to be notified of each edition. This week:

More than 940K U.S. jobs added in July

Jobs growth?blew past expectations?in July, as the U.S. economy added 943,000 new payrolls — the most in almost a year. The unemployment rate also fell, to 5.4% from 5.9%. The Labor Department's report surveyed companies before the delta variant became rife, though, raising questions about the continued strength of the recovery from pandemic-induced shutdowns. The economy is still 5.7 million jobs short of where it stood before the virus hit in March 2020. ?? Here's what people are saying.

• How do we recover our workforce?: While U.S. labor force participation has been declining for four decades, the pandemic has accelerated the trend — pushing the proportion of working-age adults with jobs or seeking them to 61.6%. The reasons include demography, with many of the most experienced and willing workers retiring early amid disruptions from business shutdowns; faster automation because of a desire to socially distance; a resurgence in drug overdoses; and a lack of child care.
• Canadian economy adds 94K jobs: Canada's economy is edging closer to full recovery after adding 94,000 jobs last month. After another round of hiring, the unemployment rate fell to 7.5% from June's 7.8%. July's job creation was?driven by the private sector, with young Canadians filling a bulk of positions.
• IMF approves record allocation: Governors of the International Monetary Fund approved?a record $650 billion?allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR), the largest amount in the IMF's history, to help countries tackle the economic repercussions of the pandemic.

Supply chain problems snarl trade

Supply chain issues, along with a dramatic increase in the price of some commodities, have dogged many companies for months and the problem has no end in sight,?argues a recent Bloomberg Opinion column. A massive spike in demand and rapid changes to how people live and work have caused huge headaches for companies importing or creating everything from exercise bikes to semiconductors, forcing them to adapt or lose out on revenue. ?? Here's what people are saying.

• Asia factories face double challenges: Asian factories are?struggling with a double whammy?of COVID-19 restrictions as well as rising input costs. Manufacturing activity in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam?fell in July?due to lockdowns caused by the delta variant, according to surveys.

SEC backs Nasdaq diversity plan

Nasdaq has won approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to proceed with its plan to boost diversity on the boards of companies trading on the stock exchange. It's among the "most significant diversity requirements in the U.S." in recent years,?according to Bloomberg Law, requiring listed companies to have at least one female director and one who identifies as a racial minority or LGBTQ. Firms must meet the new diversity rules within four years. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Asian tech IPOs take off

Tech disruptors in Asia made a splash as they entered public markets on Friday. Indonesian unicorn Bukalapak?surged in Friday trading after its market debut. It is the Indonesia Stock Exchange's?largest initial public offering ever, after the e-commerce app raised 21.9 trillion rupiah ($1.5 billion) from investors. Also on Friday, shares in Korea's Kakao Bank?soared?as the digital bank went public, with its?market cap surpassing?that of traditional finance firms. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Asset managers power a startup boom

Traditional venture capitalists are feeling the squeeze as?"nontraditional" Silicon Valley investors, including hedge funds and mutual funds, move in and spark "explosive growth and increased competition"?in tech startup funding. The Wall Street Journal notes nontraditional investors increased share in the second quarter, taking part in 42% of deals and pushing funding rounds and valuations to new records.?Crunchbase notes?the market is so hot that "venture-backed startups are buying other startups at the fastest pace in at least a decade." ?? Here's what people are saying.

Biggest housing market boom in decades

From South Korea to New Zealand to Canada, nearly every major economy's housing market is feeling the effects of the pandemic, making way for the biggest price boom in two decades. According to?OECD data, out of the 40 countries analyzed, only three experience real-terms house price declines in the first three months of this year — the smallest share since 2000, per a?Financial Times?analysis. Economists credit the boom to low interest rates, larger banks of savings collected during lockdowns, and the yearning for space as work-from-home options gain in popularity. ?? Here's what people are saying.

• Behind the housing shortage: In reality, NPR reports, the crisis has been decades in the making, with demand now outstripping supply due to restrictive zoning laws, generational divides, and?shortages in homebuilding labor and materials.

Square looks outside the box with mega deal

Square reached a deal to buy Australia's?Afterpay for $29 billion as it looks to capitalize on a growing?buy-now, pay-later trend. The move marks the biggest acquisition to date for the digital-payments platform led by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, and should help it tap into consumer lending and younger customers who have moved away from traditional credit. Afterpay allows buyers to purchase products without fees or interest as long as they pay the installments on time, and Square plans to?integrate it?into its seller and Cash Apps. ?? Here's what people are saying.

JPM's Dimon on employing the formerly incarcerated

One in three?American adults?has some form of criminal record — about the same number of Americans with college degrees. In a recent?op-ed?for The New York Times, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says "financial, legal, and logistical roadblocks prevent those who have paid their debt to society from re-entering the workforce," leaving nearly half of formerly incarcerated people?unemployed?one year after leaving prison. ?? Here's what people are saying.

Wall Street is finally dressing down

As the army of white-collar workers returns to Wall Street, employees are sporting a surprising new uniform: casual attire. Bankers are trading suits and ties for sneakers and even jeans as bosses relax longstanding dress codes. It's a superficial change that hints at a larger cultural shift on Wall Street,?writes The New York Times, with big banks dressing down in a bid to appease weary workers and shed their stuffy reputations in the ongoing war for top talent. ?? Here's what people are saying.

With Cate Chapman,?Gianna Prudente, Lynn Chouman, Alexander Besant, Yunita Ong,?Kelli Nguyen,?Jake Perez, Carrington York, and?Riva Gold.

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