The bizAutomattic is buying Pocket Casts. (engadget.com)Substack is diving deeper into the podcast business. (axios.com)Off-topicLarry Wilmore talks with Michael Pollan author of “This Is Your on Mind on Plants.” (theringer.com)Russ Roberts talks with Michael Easter author of “The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self.” (econtalk.org)A talk with Robert McKee author of the new book “Character: The Art of Role and Cast Design for Page, Stage, and Screen.” (longform.org)Brian Rafftery on how ‘Siskel and Ebert’ changed the culture. (theringer.com)CryptoHoward Lindzon talks with Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and CEO of the crypto currency exchange FTX. (howardlindzon.com)Ben Hunt and Rusty Guinn talk about a new way of thinking about cryptocurrencies. (epsilontheory.com)MemesThe WSJ team … [Read More...]

MarketsOptions trading is the tail wagging the dog in some stocks. (barrons.com)GMO is still bearish. (gmo.com)StrategyDon’t let low interest rates get you to amp up your risk profile. (whitecoatinvestor.com)There’s not a lot to get excited about in the liquid alternative fund space. (morningstar.com)CryptoWhy the big crypto exchanges are based overseas. (nytimes.com)Disruption is coming from so many directions for the global banking system. (ft.com)Companies David Streitfeld “Silicon Valley made the tools that allowed Americans, and the American economy, to survive the pandemic.” (nytimes.com)How The Daily Wire has built a big business on the back of Facebook ($FB). (npr.org)How to fail like Amazon ($AMZN). (josephcwells.com)FinanceWhy every barbecue company seems to be going public at the same time. (wsj.com)There … [Read More...]

Markets2021 hasn’t seen much volatility, but it’s no 2017. (priceactionlab.com)The trend toward cheap diversification has played out. What comes next? (ofdollarsanddata.com)InternationalFour arguments for overweighting international stocks. (humbledollar.com)Just how cheap are European stocks relative to the U.S.? (albertbridgecapital.com)CryptoBitcoin is way too volatile to be an inflation-hedge. (wsj.com)FinanceA Q&A with the co-founders of startup investing site Public. (protocol.com)Return to the office, or not, investment banks are going to be challenged recruiting. (bloomberg.com)Foreign VCs are learning some hard lessons in India. (economist.com)The sell-side keeps shrinking. (axios.com)StreamingHow Netflix ($NFLX) is different from its competitors. (thestreamable.com)There is a downside to running new releases on streaming services. (theatlantic.com)Netflix’s ($NFLX) ‘Drive to Survive’ has driven a surge of interest … [Read More...]

Book excerptsAn excerpt from “The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion” by Eliot Brown and Maureen Farrell. (wsj.com)An excerpt from Sarah Everts’ “The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration.” (thewalrus.ca)An excerpt from “How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes” by Melinda Wenner Moyer. (theatlantic.com)On growing a kid of the 1980’s: an excerpt from Danielle Henderson’s “The Ugly Cry: A Memoir.” (thecut.com)TechnologyHow Israel’s NSO cracked iPhone security. (washingtonpost.com)Whatever happened to IBM ($IBM) Watson? (nytimes.com)How to think about the metaverse. (matthewball.vc)LongreadsChobani is going public. Here is it’s origin story. (neckar.substack.com)The California dream is played out. What comes next? (theatlantic.com)On the future of CrossFit, post-pandemic. (newyorker.com)Climate change is tipping … [Read More...]

StrategyThe 60/40 portfolio is a choice. (behaviouralinvestment.com)Conviction helps you as an investor, up to a point. (blog.validea.com)Ben Johnson, “Low volatility does not mean no volatility, just less. Low-volatility stock funds are still stock funds.” (morningstar.com)CryptoThe cryptocurrency exchange FTX raised a big round of funding. (wsj.com)Pure Digital is backed by the big custodial banks. (ft.com)The company behind Zed Run raised a new round of capital. (axios.com)Technology Apple ($AAPL) has a problem: it generates too much cash. (theirrelevantinvestor.com)European companies look worse in comparison because of the FAANMG stoks. (albertbridgecapital.com)Slack is now a part of Salesforce ($CRM). (venturebeat.com)FinanceNasdaq is spinning out Nasdaq Private Market into a separate, stand-alone company. (axios.com)JP Morgan ($JPM) is no hurry to get … [Read More...]

Quant stuffHow the markets incorporate news. (theblindfoldedchimp.com)Just because a measure is quoted in the media doesn’t make it valid. (priceactionlab.com)A guide to the best websites for quants. (blog.quantinsti.com)ResearchThe problem with alpha: it doesn’t solve the big problems. (caia.org)On the relationship between the ‘Misery Index’ and future stock market returns. (alphaarchitect.com)Hedging inflation in practice is harder than it looks. (insights.factorresearch.com)Disclosure, in and of itself, is not necessarily a good thing. (aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com)A look at a highly influential market timing system more than a decade in. (lightfinance.blog)What percentage of seed-stage startups become unicorns? (angellist.com) [Read More...]

MarketsMeme stocks have led the market lower. (bloomberg.com)Market breadth is deteriorating. (sentimentrader.com)StrategyWe really don’t know the answers to the big market questions. (etf.com)On the benefits of reducing your news consumption. (klementoninvesting.substack.com)CryptoFrom a portfolio perspective, Ethereum is a volatile asset. (morningstar.com)Institutions are increasingly coming around to digital assets. (institutionalinvestor.com)AutosAuto insurance companies are seeing a pickup in claims. (wsj.com)Used car supplies are rebounding. (axios.com)AppleApple ($AAPL) is delaying it return to the office due to rising Covid cases. (engadget.com)Apple ($AAPL) is in the market for studio space. (wsj.com)Venture capital Andreessen Horowitz has invested in retail investing startup Titan. (techcrunch.com)VC-backed startups are buying other startups at a rapid clip. (news.crunchbase.com)OpenSea just raised a new round of … [Read More...]

MarketsThe Presidential election cycle has peaked. (crossingwallstreet.com)The Covid recession lasted two months, per the NBER. (wsj.com)Muni bondsNew Jersey bonds have outperformed. (bloomberg.com)Muni bonds have surged in 2021 due to fears over tax rates. (wsj.com)CryptoGrayscale is launching a fund focused on DeFi tokens. (coindesk.com)Bank of America ($BAC) is warming to Bitcoin. (axios.com)CompaniesZoom ($ZOOM) is buying Five9. (fortune.com)The plans for Intel ($INTC) 2.0. (mondaynote.com)Which malls are thriving post-pandemic. (axios.com)10 years of Snapchat. ($SNAP). (visualcapitalist.com)Venture capital2021 is minting unicorns at a record rate. (news.crunchbase.com)How the whole fundraising process changed during pandemic. (avc.com)Two and a half mistakes angel investors need to avoid including “sin of ego.’ (hunterwalk.com)A whole ecosystem has been built up around creators. (newyorker.com)FinanceBanks … [Read More...]

MarketsWhere markets stand more than half way through the year. (howardlindzon.com)Bitcoin mining is shifting back to the U.S. (cnbc.com)FinfluencersFinfluencers are all over TikTok. (markets.businessinsider.com)Don’t forget, finfluencers are not fiduciaries. (donnafreedman.com)CompaniesA Q&A with Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber ($UBER). (nytimes.com)Subscription fatigue is going to kick in at some point for streaming customers. (barrons.com)HousingCapital is flowing into startups looking to streamline the home buying process. (housingwire.com)How the newly public Blend Labs ($BLND) powers mortgage lending by banks. (thebasispoint.com)Venture capitalPet-related startups are raising venture capital at a rapid rate. (wired.com)Money is pouring into digital brands that sell on platforms like Amazon ($AMZN) and Shopify ($SHOP). (retaildive.com)FundsIf the yield on a bond fund looks too good, double … [Read More...]

Delta variantA good overview of the Delta variant and what we know. (unchartedterritories.tomaspueyo.com)The Delta variant is a good reason to get vaccinated even if you had Covid. (theconversation.com)VaccinesIsrael will begin offering third doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine this week to adults with serious pre-existing medical conditions. (ft.com)The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine generates much higher antibody levels than the Sinovac vaccine. (bloomberg.com)Fractional doses are the way forward for the world. (ft.com)UnvaccinatedCovid hot spots are popping up in low vaccination counties. (npr.org)The administration is trying all sorts of strategies to get vaccination rates up. (theatlantic.com)Health care workers are now treating a new wave of unvaccinated Covid patients. (newyorker.com)ICUs are filling with people in their 20s, 30s and 40s. … [Read More...]

EVsElectrify America is building out its charging network. (electrek.co)Comparing the new Ford ($F) F-150 Lightning and the GM ($GM) Hummer EV. (marketwatch.com)Why car companies are spending more on Formula E. (axios.com)AutosThe chip shortage is putting commercial vehicles in short supply. (wsj.com)Self-driving startup Aurora is going public via a SPAC. (reuters.com)The prior administration wanted to claim Toyota ($TM) was a security threat. (reason.com)Deer are a huge, and growing, hazard for drivers. (axios.com)EnergyHydrogen is a great source of energy. The problem is making it practical. (nytimes.com)California’s power grid runs, in part, on ample water supplies. (theverge.com)Renewable energy requires new transmission lines. (nytimes.com)WaterWhat managed retreat from rising sea levels looks like in practice. (theconversation.com)How the moon could make … [Read More...]

StrategyNewsletters are increasingly moving stocks. (diff.substack.com)A Q&A with Luke Burgis author of “Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life.” (mindsetvalue.substack.com)The downside with fractionalized collectibles. (ft.com)AutosWhat you need to know before buying a car today. (wsj.com)More signs the car market is crazy at the moment. (nytimes.com)The market for cars is unlikely to normalize for months. (slate.com)EntertainmentMovie theaters have reopened, but what does it mean to be a ‘movie’ any more? (nytimes.com)Other streaming services are growing but people aren’t cutting the Netflix ($NFLX) cord. (bloomberg.com)What does it take to get people into the movie theater? (latimes.com)CompaniesIntel’s ($INTC) ambitions have a high price tag. (wsj.com)A sign of the popularity of Apple ($AAPL) AirPods: fakes … [Read More...]

MarketsThe first half of 2021 in charts. (compoundadvisors.com)The case for a profits squeeze in 2022. (economist.com)The past year has been pretty, pretty good for stocks. (sentimentrader.com)StrategyWhat’s in your ‘too hard pile’? (morningstar.com)It’s easier to stay the course if you think of your stocks as a (small) part of ongoing businesses. (retirementfieldguide.com)CryptoThe creator of Dogecoin just put the crypto industry on blast. (marketwatch.com)How a former plastic surgeon with a sketchy background came to be at the enter of the crypto world. (ft.com)FinanceCompanies are negotiating shorter IPO lockups. (wsj.com)Direct lenders are increasingly pushing banks aside. (ft.com)Blackstone ($BX) is buying a stake in AIG’s life insurance business. (wsj.com)Venture capital The private markets are awash in cash. (theirrelevantinvestor.com)Revolut raised capital at a … [Read More...]

The FDAThe FDA has been lax in cracking down on dicey supplement peddlers. (menshealth.com)The reputation of the FDA has been falling for decades. (theatlantic.com)Cities Downtown central business districts were vulnerable even before Covid. (nytimes.com)More highways don’t make for better cities. (texasobserver.org)BusinessModerna ($MRNA) has pioneered mRNA vaccines. Can they turn their lead into an enduring business? (bloomberg.com)How the world of work has changed in the past year and a half. (politico.com)The story of Eastman Kodak is one of American disruption. (theatlantic.com)LongreadsCommunities have always been important in investing. Now they are out in the open and Wall Street is paying attention. (thereformedbroker.com)A lot of elite master’s degrees have an iffy payoff, especially if you borrow. (wsj.com)What you need to understand … [Read More...]

MarketsMarket breadth is waning. (theirrelevantinvestor.com)Bonds and equities are now positively correlated. (axios.com)StrategyMost financial blowups aren’t caused by dumb people. (collaborativefund.com)The downside of investing in high dividend stocks. (blog.validea.com)CryptoA look inside the big Miami Bitcoin conference. (rollingstone.com)AppleApple ($AAPL) may be getting into the ‘buy now, pay later’ space. (news.yahoo.com)Why Apple ($AAPL) should create a premium credit card business. (bloomberg.com)FacebookFacebook ($FB) is going pay creators to use their products. (nytimes.com)While Instagram has become Sky Mall. (debugger.medium.com)GlobalThree reasons Cuba is in economic crisis today. (noahpinion.substack.com)The U.S. is planning to evacuate Afghans who worked with the American military. (cnbc.com)HousingBidding wars for houses are cooling off. (thebasispoint.com)Americans are once again refinaning their mortgages. (cnbc.com)Lumber … [Read More...]

VolatilityHow to get long volatility without buying any options. (insights.factorresearch.com)What we know about volatility clustering. (breakingthemarket.com)ESGHow ESG investing has changed over time. (alphaarchitect.com)Why ESG investors should optimize their portfolios. (alphaarchitect.com)ResearchWhen looking at the data, remember the U.S. has been a historical outlier. (ofdollarsanddata.com)Some data in favor of private equity in a 60/40 portfolio. (institutionalinvestor.com)Another example of good returns accruing to early adopters. (klementoninvesting.substack.com)Research shows buying discretionary deletions from the S&P 500 can earn profits. (fortune.com)Is ‘active fee’ a better way to measure fund costs? (evidenceinvestor.com) [Read More...]