My Two-for-Tuesday morning train WFH reads:
• With the Odds on Their Side, They Still Couldn’t Beat the Market: In 2022, conditions were heavily in stock pickers’ favor, but most trailed the market. This year looks worse. (New York Times)
• Scary economists and bad news: The news cycle has swung back to recession talk, even as inflation is coming down and unemployment is at a 50-year low. Ask people what they’ve heard about the economy, and they’ll tell you it’s bad. (Stay-At-Home Macro) see also Stop the gloom and doom. The economic recovery is strong. Americans remain deeply pessimistic about the economy: A large percentage mistakenly think we’re in a recession or will be hit by one this year. As the recovery progresses, there’s less and less justification for the drumbeat of negative hot takes and gloomy economic speculation from the media. The economic evidence paints a very different picture. (Washington Post)
• Rumours of China’s economic demise may be greatly exaggerated: From ‘miracle to malady’ — but how bad is it really? (Financial Times)
• 35 Ways Real People Are Using A.I. Right Now. “It’s like collaborating with an alien.” “Everything is becoming much easier.” “It feels like I’ve hired an intern.” “What used to take me around a half-hour to write now takes one minute.” “It’s enormous fun.” (New York Times) see also ChatGPT Can Decode Fed Speak, Predict Stock Moves From Headlines: First wave of research using AI chatbot in finance is arriving Fed staff find the tech can decipher dovish, hawkish language. (Bloomberg)
• How did solar power get cheap? Solar photovoltaics (PV) have become one of the cheapest sources of electricity. Lazard’s estimate of unsubsidized levelized cost of energy (LCOE), the average cost of electricity generated over a plant’s lifetime, has utility scale solar PV cheaper than anything except completely depreciated natural gas plants and wind in the very windiest locations. (Construction Physics)
• 2024 Ford Mustang chief engineer learned to drive on a Mustang GT stick, reveals future: While muscle cars fade into the sunset, America’s favorite pony is undergoing a technology transformation. At age 59 on Monday, the iconic Ford Mustang is making a play for younger buyers while keeping the current Mustang fans in the stable. (We’ll explain how shortly.) And all eyes are trained on Laurie Transou, chief engineer of the Mustang program. (Detroit Free Press) see also Only 10 Electric Vehicles Qualify for Full $7,500: US Tax Credit Eight EVs, two plug-in hybrids are in line for $7,500 perk; Tax credit will shrink or disappear for purchasers of most EVs (Bloomberg)
• Is Twitter finally dying? Say goodbye to the old Twitter and hello to the new normal: It’s been a year since Elon Musk initiated his takeover of Twitter. The six months since he actually took charge can only be characterized as chaotic, and quietly, in early April, Musk merged Twitter with a new shell company called X Corp. In other words, Twitter Inc. no longer exists. (Vox)
• The day the book banners lost in Pennsylvania’s culture wars: A right-wing move to keep a young-adult climate change novel out of a Kutztown middle school backfired in spectacular fashion. (Philadelphia Inquirer) but see Book Banners Are Now Trying to Close Public Libraries ‘VAST OVERREACH’ After a judge told a county to return 17 library books to shelves, local officials considered closing down the whole library system. (Daily Beast)
• Return of the Kings: Playoff basketball is back in Sacramento for the first time since 2006. This season’s run has delighted a long-suffering and devoted fan base, but the Kings aren’t satisfied. Says All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox: “We want to be championship contenders year in and year out.” (Ringer)
• If Tennessee’s Legislature Looks Broken, It’s Not Alone: State legislatures around the country — plagued by partisan division, uncompetitive races and gerrymandering — reflect the current pressures on democracy. (New York Times) see also Red states are trying to make their own rules. The Tennessee Expulsions Are Just the Beginning: Red states are trying to make their own rules. (The Atlantic)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business next week with Joe Baratta, Global Head of Private Equity at PE giant Blackstone. In the 2000s, he helped establish the firm’s private equity business in Europe. He sits on Blacktone’s Board of Directors and its Management Committee and serves on many of the firm’s investment committees.
Rents in the US fell 0.4% last month, marking the first year-over-year drop since the beginning of the pandemic
Source: Chartr
