Perspective

Economist – America’s flat-Earth movement appears to be growing 11/28

“I am constantly forced to remind myself that while we may one day hope to conquer ignorance, there will never be a cure for stupid.” – Barry Ritholtz

WSJ – Daily Shot: Moody’s – US States that challenged the Clean Power Plan 12/5

WSJ – Daily Shot: Natixis Investment Management – Global Portfolio Risks 12/7

Worthy Insights / Opinion Pieces / Advice

FT – Lawsuit shows China losing patience with Venezuela – Jonathan Wheatley 12/6

“Subsidiary of state-owned Sinopec files case against PDVSA over unpaid debt.”

FT – US tax reform will benefit shareholders more than workers – Michael Moritz 12/5

“During the past year the nation’s 20 largest technology companies have gained $900bn in value in a favorable business climate. As a group, at the end of September, they had about $90bn more cash than they did one year earlier — the bulk being accumulated at Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Oracle, Qualcomm and Priceline. “
“But the increase in their cash balances tells less than half the story. There is nothing to suggest in the rest of the data that, if their taxes were cut, they would build more factories, hire more employees or buy more equipment. Quite the contrary.”
“Crunch through the data, available through sources such as Bloomberg, and you will gain some remarkable insights on the financials of the giants of the tech sector. Through the first nine months of 2017 these 20 companies paid just over $27bn in taxes. At the same time, they invested almost $55bn in what the accountants label ‘capital expenditures’ — buildings and equipment. But the real message lies elsewhere.”
“They generated so much cash that, over and above increasing the cash they held on their balance sheets, they distributed almost $39bn in dividends to shareholders and spent almost $52bn on stock buybacks. That is about $190bn of cash, dividends and stock buybacks compared to $55bn of investment in the sort of areas that might result in more jobs and increased productivity. Even Intel, which operates in the semiconductor industry — an activity which sucks up more cash than internet and software businesses — spent $7.1bn on dividends and stock buybacks during the first three quarters compared to $7.7bn on capital expenditures.”
“If someone makes the argument that the corporate tax cuts are likely to change the spending habits of start-ups or emerging companies, forget about it. Investors from around the world are standing in line waiting to invest in young companies, which have all the cash they need. In addition, since most of these companies are losing money, tax payments are irrelevant.”

WP – The world produces more than 3.5 million tons of waste a day – and that figure is growing – Kadir van Lohuizen 11/21