My end-of-week morning train beach reads:
• Howard Marks on Tariffs: Repealing the Laws of Economics: Tariffs are, primarily, an effort to cause goods to be made domestically even when equivalent foreign goods are cheaper or better (or both). Governments can make that happen by erecting barriers that keep foreign goods out or make them more expensive. That protects domestic industries and domestic workers, but at the expense of domestic consumers (and global welfare). That’s a tradeoff – the kind of thing free markets require and leaders who would mandate economic outcomes would prefer to ignore. (Oaktree Capital)
• More of Us Are Putting in Extra Hours After the Workday: Employees’ days are bleeding into the evening, new data show—thanks to a growing load of meetings, emails and, yes, actual work. (Wall Street Journal) see also Americans Are Side-Hustling Like We’re in a Recession: The two-job trend these days is about necessity, not pursuing a passion. (Wall Street Journal)
• All the Hollywood Action Is Happening Everywhere But Hollywood: As in New York and Silicon Valley, jobs in Los Angeles’s core industry are moving elsewhere in search of lower costs and incentives. (Wall Street Journal)
• The End of Sprawl: If it continues on this path, the Sun Belt might follow the trajectory of coastal cities. (Slate)
• The Florida Pension Fund Managers Who’ve Beaten the S&P 500 Over 50 Years: Bowen, Hanes & Co., which oversees the pensions of Tampa police and firefighters, outdid the index by an annualized 2 percentage points with the equity portion of its portfolio. (Bloomberg) see also MIB: Jay Bowen, Bowen, Hanes & Co.The firm has received national acclaim for its 43-year tenure as the sole manager of the City of Tampa Firefighters’ and Police Officers’ Pension Fund. (August 31, 2019). (The Big Picture)
• Road to Renewal: Investing in a New Era for Europe. We believe Europe’s ambitious fiscal and defense spending plans present new opportunities for active investors in an already alpha-rich environment. (Goldman Sachs)
• The Great Shift: Navigating the Global Energy Transition: As the world grapples with the urgent need to combat climate change, the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is accelerating, driven by technological advancements and governmental directives. This global shift promises not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also to create a more sustainable and resilient energy future. (Power)
• How Big Tech Captured the Army: Palantir and AI are inside the house. (The Bulwark) see also Western democracies are actually pretty good at war: The authoritarian advantage is hype. But China is the real deal. (Noahpinion)
• A Starter Pack for Aspiring Wine Lovers: Strip away the dry talk and you’ll find wine is just delicious fun. For those hesitant to know where to begin, these six bottles are a great introduction. (New York Times)
• Rugby in Vegas, the Tour de France in Scotland — why sports tourism is booming: Tourist boards are discovering the benefits of luring big-name sporting events from their traditional homes. Could the Ashes come to Sin City? (Financial Times)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Steve Laipply, Global Co-Head of Bond ETFs at BlackRock. Previously, he was Head of U.S. iShares Fixed Income Strategy and a member of BlackRock’s Systematic Fixed Income Product Strategy Team.
Where the summer’s first heat wave will soon drive record humidity and temperatures
Source: Washington Post
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