My morning train WFH reads:
• States That Cut Unemployment Benefits Saw Limited Impact on Job Growth Half of U.S. states ended enhanced unemployment insurance payments early ahead of nationwide termination of benefits for millions of people (Wall Street Journal) see also Cutting Unemployment Benefits Does Not Increase Employment There are myriad underlying reasons driving this phenomenon — and if you understand these, you will understand a lot more about what is going on today. (The Big Picture)
• These are the most overvalued housing markets in the U.S. Of the 100 cities looked at in the study, 95 showed some level of overvalue. The rapid price appreciation should serve as a warning to buyers, say the study’s authors. If you plan to move soon, you could find yourself later selling property at a loss. (Fortune)
• The Next Big Investment Hub For Unicorns—And It’s Not China The United States leads the world in unicorns — privately held startups valued at more than $1 billion — with 154 new ones since last October, according to the American research firm CB Insights. China was a longtime favorite of unicorn hunters, but Covid-19, Chinese regulatory actions against its own tech giants and the sudden loss of civil rights in Hong Kong have given investors pause. So they are crowding into India, which is home to 58 unicorns today. For comparison, the United Kingdom has just 20. (Forbes)
• Not All Risk is Rewarded “Higher risk, higher reward.” This is one of the most repeated maxims in investing, and the basis of Modern Portfolio Theory. It’s also intuitive: riskier investments should be compensated with a higher return. But what should happen and what actually happens is not always one in the same… (Compound)
• The Disney Park Indicator continues to lag A visit to one of Disney’s resorts requires several recoveries, from the psychological to the economic, to take place. Consumers must not only have enough disposable income, but also be comfortable standing shoulder-to-shoulder in long indoor queues for rides such as Space Mountain. Once Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products segment returned to its 2019 revenue run-rate, the pandemic was truly over. Looking at the financials, it seems that is far from the case. (Financial Times)
• Cathie Wood sails ARK in new direction with passive ESG fund The ARK Transparency ETF disrupts Wood’s own model: it is passive rather than active and is the firm’s first strategy that could be called ESG. The fund tracks a bespoke index of about 100 firms that ARK deems to be the most transparent in the world, and screens out companies involved in alcohol, banking, chemicals, confectionery, fossil fuels, gambling, and tobacco. (City Wire)
• The Downtown Decade: U.S. Population Density Rose in the 2010s Outer suburbs still grew the fastest, but many downtowns and central districts also grew rapidly. (New York Times) but see Free Parking Is Killing Cities With the pandemic opening up streets, Donald Shoup and his followers say it’s time to stop subsidizing drivers at the expense of everyone else. (Businessweek)
• Give Her 50 Minutes. She’ll Play 18 Holes Under Par. Meet Lauren Cupp, who just set a world record in the high-paced sport of ‘Speedgolf’ (Wall Street Journal)
• Ryan Tedder: Classic songs are strangling new music “A large portion of the people that are streaming, they’ve never owned a CD, they may not listen to the radio, and when they hear David Bowie’s Life On Mars, they’re hearing it for the first time,” he says. “So the source of discovery is the last 70 years of music. It’s all brand new, right now. So you’re competing with every song that has ever come out.” (BBC)
• Seth Rogen Wants to Tell Your Story: The actor–author–ceramicist–weed entrepreneur adds podcaster to his repertoire. (Vulture)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Robert Hormats, Managing Director at Tiedemann Advisors. Previously, he spent 25 years at Goldman Sachs (International), rising to Vice Chairman. Hormats has served five U.S. presidential administrations, most recently as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment from 2009 through 2013.
The ‘EVERYTHING RALLY’
Source: @benbreitholtz
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