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Comment by reuven | Hacker News Reader

I'm curious: If WeWork is found to be completely bad/rotten/fraudulent, then what happens?

I'm not saying that this is the case. But I'm wondering what sort of impact that would have on thousands of businesses that rent/use their offices, as well as the many buildings that depend on WeWork paying rent to stay afloat.

How much of an impact would this have on the global economy, or at least on the tech and/or real-estate sectors?

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To the extent that certain real estate sectors are being propped up by speculation in future office use, the collapse of WeWork could set off a broader collapse in certain real estate markets. Whether that radiates out to the broader economy depends on how heavily leveraged investors are, and whether they can restructure their debts. Interest rates are very low, which makes debt less painful than in earlier eras, but there is always the risk of a panic causing markets to lock up. If contagion were to begin, then it's up to the central banks to step in forcefully with additional QE, so as to end the panic. Of course, the governments could engage in fiscal stimulus, which would obviate the need for monetary stimulus, but in recent years the politics have been against that.

Very little. The market Cap isn’t very big. SoftBank and a few others lose some money. Some buildings will change hands. Less free beer at temp spaces.

How much of an impact would this have on the global economy

Is there any significant economic activity actually happening in WeWorks? Or is it all techbros doing nothing that really matters? Serious question.

Not much would be my guess. The businesses in the are not exactly the staples of industry and the economy. Would it suck? Yes of course. But it wouldn't make a ripple in the overall market IMHO.

The one thing it could do is bring additional scrutiny to other "unicorns" books as bring them down to more realistic valuations.

If it affects WeWork's ability to pay for maintenance and management personnel for their properties, then that would definitely hurt their tenants.

what makes you think fraud has occurred?

The content of the article?

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