Wrong Flag Flying: Wall Street Greets Spotify With Swiss Banner

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Wrong Flag Flying: Wall Street Greets Spotify With Swiss Banner

Wall Street was prepared for Spotify’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange this morning.
Analysts were ready with their reports. The tech media was closely watching Spotify’s unusual direct listing. Gene Simmons of Kiss appeared on CNBC, representing the skeptical artist position on the streaming economy.
The exchange itself, however, didn’t have things quite right. In a botched attempt at hospitality, the Big Board marked the occasion by flying the red and white flag of Switzerland outside its building at 11 Wall Street — but Spotify has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden.
The error was quickly corrected, with a blue and yellow Swedish flag taking the place of the Swiss banner. But by then it was too late — Scandinavian Twitter had captured the mix-up.

Extremt mycket lol på Wall Street när NYSE hissar en schweizisk flagga. $SPOT #sthlmtech pic.twitter.com/snA6P1i7OX
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Sven Carlsson (..

Hong Kong Journal: Why Laundromats Are the Hot New Place to Hang Out in Hong Kong

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Why Laundromats Are the Hot New Place to Hang Out in Hong Kong HONG KONG — On a bustling Hong Kong street lined with dried seafood stores, where baskets of sea cucumber vie for space with scallops and abalone, one shop stands out. Amid the pungent smells of dried fish and shrimp, the scents of brewed coffee and freshly laundered clothes come wafting out of the aptly named Coffee & Laundry.
The shop — half laundromat and half cafe — offers customers a variety of drinks and pastries along with 10 self-service washing machines and dryers.
Washing their own clothes at a laundromat is a new experience for Hong Kong residents. The first self-service laundromat is believed to have opened only in 2014. Since then, the number has taken off; more than 180 laundromats had appeared by the beginning of this year, according to one estimate.
Why this proliferation of laundromats? The reason is Hong Kong’s increasingly acute shortage of affordable housing. As prices keep soaring in what is already the..