Perspective
Visual Capitalist – A World of Languages – Iman Ghosh 5/5
Worthy Insights / Opinion Pieces / Advice
A Wealth of Common Sense – Schrodinger’s Portfolio – Ben Carlson 4/29
Bloomberg – The Return of the Brick-and-Mortar Store – Conor Sen 5/1
Economist – In China’s cities, young people with rural ties are angry 5/3
Economist – Behind the teacher strikes that have roiled five states 5/3
Economist – Where will the next crisis occur? – Buttonwood 5/3
Mauldin Economics – Us vs. Them – Ian Bremmer 4/25
Markets / Economy
WSJ – Apple Allays iPhone Worries, Adds $100 Billion to Buyback Plans – Tripp Mickle 5/1
- I count $300 billion in total dividends since 2013…geez.
- If that wasn’t enough…
Real Estate
BI – Uber and Lyft are changing where rich people buy homes – Sarah Jacobs 5/3
- “A report released this week from MetLife Inc.’s asset-management business confirmed that the premium cost of apartments near public transit has begun to decline due to services such as Uber and Lyft.”
FT – Priced out of the American dream – Sam Fleming 5/2
Health / Medicine
Bloomberg Businessweek – Silicon Valley Wants to Cash In on Fasting – Tom Giles and Selina Wang 4/24
Automotive
FT – UK to ban most hybrid cars, including Prius, from 2040 – Peter Campbell and Jim Pickard 5/4
- Nothing formalized at this moment, just be aware of the direction of this effort.
- “Hybrid cars that rely on traditional engines, such as the Toyota Prius, would be banned by 2040 under clean-air plans being drawn up by the UK government that would outlaw up to 98% of the vehicles currently on the road.”
- “Three people involved in the decision-making process said the proposed rules would limit new car sales to those that can travel at least 50 miles using only electric power.”
- “The change would outlaw more than 98% of the vehicles currently sold in Britain and require manufacturers to switch to vehicles predominantly driven by batteries — though they might be able to have petrol engines for back-up or support.”
South America
FT – Venezuela’s oil decline reaches new depths – John Paul Rathbone 4/30
- “In addition to hyperinflation and a $70bn bond default that has cut off the country from fresh finance, the drop in oil production to 30-year lows has slashed government revenues, making it ever harder for Mr Maduro’s regime to import basic necessities and deploy the patronage he needs to maintain military and political support.”
- “Caracas has also alienated key allies such as Beijing. Chinese state banks, which extended over $60bn in oil-backed loans between 2007 and 2016, last year made no fresh loans. A two-year grace period on a remaining $19bn debt to China expired last week, Reuters reported, meaning that Venezuelan export revenues will fall further.”