Apple Gives the People What They Want

#GrowthStall

The company turns 10 today. Jack Dorsey thinks he can get it to 20 by facilitating social conversations around live video streams of everyday events, both big (like the Super Bowl) and small (like a puddle).

Today's Top Stories

Apple Unveils a Smaller iPhone

Remember the good ‘ole days when your iPhone fit comfortably in the palm of your hand? Wasn’t it glorious? Happy days are here again, for Apple has finally given the people what they want: a smaller iPhone. The event started off on a serious note, as CEO Tim Cook addressed the company’s fight with the FBI.

One More Big Reason You Can’t Buy a Home

It’s been eight years since the housing market crashed, but first-time home buyers still haven’t returned in significant numbers. There just aren’t enough starter homes available. If you’re in the market, take some inspiration from these Brooklyn interiors while you look.

That Time NYSE Floor Traders Tried to Prank the U.S. President

This week’s episode of Odd Lots explores the vast changes that have overtaken the business of trading in recent decades and visits a bygone era when 5,000 traders swaggered through the crowded floors of the NYSE. A time when they were unafraid to prank their bosses or, indeed, even the president of the United States.

Two Fed Officials Point to Possibility of April Rate Hike

Two Federal Reserve officials said interest-rate increases may be warranted as soon as the central bank’s meeting next month, citing solid readings on the U.S. economy despite headwinds from abroad.

Cuba Welcomes President Obama

The meeting in Havana won’t resolve major differences between the two countries, but it will serve as punctuation for Obama’s argument that U.S. policy toward Cuba for the last half century has failed, and only American engagement with the island and its government can change its trajectory. Worth noting, the thaw is going to be huge for America’s frozen chicken industry.

Boom

This Aerospace Company Wants to Bring Back Supersonic Civilian Travel Back

Once upon a time, there was a magical supersonic plane called “the Concorde.” Passengers sipped Champagne and scarfed down caviar in its cramped interior as they rocketed across the Atlantic at 1,300 miles an hour for a cost of as much as $20,000 round trip. The Concorde was retired in 2003, but now a new company thinks it can build a similarly speedy jet at a much more reasonable cost.