Hey, it’s November! (How did that happen?) My mid-week morning train WFH reads:
• The pandemic has broken a closely followed survey of sentiment: Americans’ opinions about the state of the economy have diverged from reality: Americans are gloomy about the state of the economy. Since the covid-19 pandemic began, consumer sentiment has been in the doldrums, hitting its lowest level ever in June 2022. Such negativity has prompted claims that the country is suffering a “vibecession”—although the market appears healthy, good vibes are lacking (Economist)
• Auto execs are coming clean: EVs aren’t working: At earnings this week, several auto execs pulled back on EV targets. Dealers have been warning of slowing EV demand for months. “This is a pretty brutal space,” Mercedes-Benz’s CFO said this week. (Business Insider) see also EV or Hybrid? What the Next Decade Holds: We are currently in the midst of another massive technological shift, a transition from internal combustion engines (ICE) to electric vehicles (EV). My personal experiences with EVs have been great – they are wicked fast, with gobs of torque, delivered in a linear fashion. Total cost of ownership is much lower. (The Big Picture)
• The Crash Callers Won’t Save You: The market has been in a bear market (down 20% or worse) nearly 17% of the time. That’s more than double the amount of time we’ve spent at new all-time highs over the past 75 years or so. In fact, the average drawdown from all-time highs for the S&P since 1950 is close to 10%. (A Wealth of Common Sense)
• Higher Bond Yields Could End the Fed’s Historic Rate Rises: Some economists say the rise in yields’ term premium is worth two or three Fed rate hikes (Wall Street Journal)
• Chains are using theft to mask other issues, report says. Retailers say theft is exploding, and some data from retailers along with numerous videos of violent store robberies and looting seem to support the claim. But some retail analysts and researchers, bolstered by local crime statistics, say stores may be over-stating the extent and impact of theft. Why? It’s a useful deflection, camouflaging weak demand, mismanagement and other issues denting business right now. And it forces lawmakers to respond. (CNN)
• An Epidemic of Unhappiness Is Consuming Young Americans. It Could Hobble the Economy: Young Americans are plagued by an epidemic of unhappiness, according to anecdotal evidence and social science research. The origins aren’t clear, although the Covid pandemic didn’t help. (Barron’s) but see The Hero Gen Z Needs: Snoopy can’t help but feel overwhelmed in a tumultuous world. Sound familiar? (The Atlantic)
• The Junk Is Winning: TikTok’s experiment in shopping has quickly become another place to hawk products. (The Atlantic)
• Why the new COVID shot is a game-changer (and why the term ‘booster’ is obsolete) The latest vaccine formula is available in local pharmacies now. Experts say it will be like the annual flu shot: one and done. (National Geographic)
• Octopus Intelligence Is Unlike Anything We Know: Could such a different neurology really evolve purely by natural selection acting on random mutations? (Mind Matters)
• Henry Winkler is working through some things: The actor discusses his memoir, ‘Being Henry: The Fonz … and Beyond,’ an excavation of his challenges, pain and neuroses. (Washington Post)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business this week with Michael Carmen, who is the Co-Head of Private Markets at Wellington Management. He manages a diversified portfolio of late-stage growth equity in technology, consumer, health care, and financial services sectors. Wellington is one of the world’s top 20 asset managers, was founded in 1933, and runs $1.2 trillion in client assets.
Roe v. Wade Is Gone, but Abortions Are on the Rise
Source: Wall Street Journal
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