My mid-week morning train WFH reads:
• Integrity faces a critical moment of peril: Prediction markets like Polymarket lack insider trading regulation, allowing traders to profit from non-public information about real-world events. Any person can now share coherent, well-constructed views that don’t reflect their true ideas or beliefs — or that they barely understand themselves. (Axios)
• How to solve any problem: Human beings began to solve the ultimate problem, the giga problem, the problem of all problems: They solved the problem of how problems are solved. High agency comes from Guess-Test-Correct loops: theorize solutions, validate with experiments, iterate on findings. (High Agency)
• The 401(k) milestones everyone should hit ASAP — and next steps to take once you pass them: A guide to key retirement savings targets at every age and what to do after you hit them. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• AI Kingpins Adopt Crypto’s Playbook in Bid to Get Allies Elected to Congress: As voters grow concerned over AI’s impact, a new industry-backed super PAC is helping candidates who favor a lighter regulatory touch. Tech leaders are forming AI-focused super PACs, mirroring the crypto industry’s successful 2024 strategy to influence congressional races. (Bloomberg)
• The Plural Of Housing Anecdotal Is Not Data, But It Can Be A Leading Indicator: Pending sales are faster but less reliable; closed sales are slower but confirmed. “New signed contracts” give the most current market view. Anecdotal insight: Pre-qualified local feedback, like the Fed’s Beige Book, signals shifts before official data. Anecdotes from real estate professionals can signal market shifts before the data catches up — but must be verified. (Housing Notes)
• The Bezzle and the Bull Market: A sharp essay on John Kenneth Galbraith’s concept of “the bezzle” — the gap between perceived and actual wealth that expands in every bull market and only becomes visible in the bust. (Novel Investor) see also Fraud Investigation is Believing Your Lying Eyes: The mechanics of how fraud investigations actually work — pattern recognition, gut instinct, and following the paper trail until the numbers stop making sense. (Bits About Money)
• Colbert Says CBS Pulled Guest Amid FCC Scrutiny, Posts Interview on YouTube Instead. CBS lawyers blocked a Democratic candidate interview over FCC equal-time concerns, so Colbert took it to YouTube. Instead, Stephen Colbert’s sit-down with the Texas State Representative currently running for Senate was posted to the late-night program’s YouTube page—the URL for which Colbert was not allowed to share on-air. The Streisand Effect for the Win! (Late Nighter)
• America and China at the Edge of Ruin: A last chance to step back from the brink. Foreign Affairs on how the two largest economies are sleepwalking toward a confrontation that neither can afford and both seem unable to avoid. (Foreign Affairs)
• Democrats spy rare opening in rural America: President Donald Trump’s unpopular tariff and health care decisions have created an opportunity for the Democratic Party to court a GOP-loyal bloc. (Washington Post) see also Republicans see a big opportunity in crowded Democratic primaries: In more than a half dozen swing districts, House Democrats have nomination contests that could prove harmful. (Politico)
• A No-Name Director to Everyone but His 38 Million Fans: The debut film from one of YouTube’s most popular creators is a box-office hit, thanks to his subscribers. YouTuber Markiplier self-financed and directed “Iron Lung,” earning $13 million opening week entirely outside Hollywood. (The Atlantic)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business last week with Heather & Doug Bonaparth, a married couple who work together and wrote a book on the financial challenges couples face: “Money Together: How to find fairness in your relationship and become an unstoppable financial team.” Our discussion sits somewhere in between financial planning and couples therapy, built around real stories that try to help couples find a healthier approach to money.
Happiness and life satisfaction in Europe consistently rank among the highest in the world
Source: @Isabel_Schnabel
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