My Two-for-Tuesday morning train reads:
• Traders Bet This Bull Market Is Just Getting Started: There has been a flurry of trading tied to continued advances in everything from AI stocks to smaller, economically sensitive companies and regional banks. Euphoria sweeps the market for stock options. (Wall Street Journal) see also Where Stock Market Is Headed After Wild First Half: Five Charts: Nasdaq 100 Index on track for best first half to a year ever Strong gains through June historically bode well for the year. (Bloomberg)
• The Curious Incident of Elevated Profit Margins: Why have U.S. profit margins remained elevated for the last 10 or so years compared to history? Expectations for a return to normal profit margins have not panned out. I blame fiscal deficits as the culprit. (GMO)
• Jerome Powell and the Grateful Dead: The band’s songs may provide guidance to the Federal Reserve chairman. (Wall Street Journal) see also Jagger & Richards Wealth Management: For more than half a century the Stones have written and performed songs that provide sage investment advice for their fans. It should come as no surprise that so many of the songs Jagger wrote with Keith Richard are filled with sophisticated, cunning and in many instances prophetic financial advice. (The Big Picture)
• Superforecasting with AI promises the best of all future worlds: Technology is the answer; now what was the question? (FT Alphaville)
• Do Private Investments Belong in a Diversified Portfolio? In contrast to most securities, which are typically traded on an exchange and valued according to rules established by the SEC, private investments involve lending money to an endeavor for a dedicated period of time with the hope of (but no guarantee of) enticing future cash flows. (Morningstar) see also Yes, There Are Alternatives to Stocks: At the moment, money market funds and many bonds are not only less risky, but at current interest rates, they are compelling. (New York Times)
• Saluting the Father of Modern Finance: Harry Markowitz’s legacy burns bright. (FI)
• Beware of the Ultimate Golden Handcuffs: Cheaper Housing: Employers are stepping in to help as owning and renting homes becomes ever more expensive. Are such benefits too good to refuse? (Bloomberg) see also Home Listings Plummet as High Mortgage Rates Tie Owners Down: Active listings fell 7% in May, according to brokerage Redfin Homeowners choose to stay put to keep cheaper mortgages. (Bloomberg)
• Dobbs Turned Abortion Into A Huge Liability For Republicans: Support for abortion rights is higher than it’s been in decades. (FiveThirtyEight)
• When My Kids Are My Age: The Wonderful World of the 2050s: For context, when my mom got back from maternity leave, there were roughly 30,000 hosts on the internet, and the only reason she knew it was a thing at all was that she worked for a large telco. Most people had no idea what was coming then, and even those who knew it was happening had no idea how it would work its way into every aspect of our lives. (Not Boring) see also Why High-Powered People Are Working in Their 80s: They joke that retirement is boring, but some acknowledge a deeper fear of becoming irrelevant if they quit. (Wall Street Journal)
• Our definitive ranking of modern movie Batmen, from Michael Keaton to Robert Pattinson: ‘The Flash’ has helped cement the legacies of Keaton and Ben Affleck. Here’s how they stack up against the others. (Washington Post)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business this week with Peter Borish, founding partner at Tudor Investments, where he was Director of Research for 10 years working directly with Paul Tudor Jones. He has also been Chairman and CEO of Computer Trading Corp, and Chief Strategist for quant fund at Quad Group. Borish is also a founding trustee of the Robin Hood Foundation, formed with Paul Tudor Jones in 1988.
U.S. Stock Market Gains & Losses By the Numbers
Source: A Wealth of Common Sense
