My morning train WFH reads:
• Prime Day is a scam: In reality, Amazon deploys deceptive tactics to exaggerate its markdowns and create a false sense of urgency. Featured items are often available at similar or lower prices at other times. (Popular Information)
• Elon Musk Is Running Out of Road in China: As Tesla falls behind the local competitors it helped create, the billionaire’s rupture with Trump is limiting his value to Beijing. (Wall Street Journal) see also The Tesla Brain Drain: The future of the struggling car company rests on Elon Musk more than ever before. (The Atlantic)
• A new twist on an old bet with Buffett: A new wager of the century? A few weeks ago though, I thought of another bet that has equal — or greater — importance than the first. What’s the bet you ask? Private equity versus the S&P 500. (FT Alphaville)
• The United States of Relentless Optimism: Why I’m still investing in America. (OptimistiCallie)
• First-Time Home Buyers Are MIA. Landlords Are the Winners. America’s renter population has hit a record because fewer people can afford to get on the housing ladder. (Wall Street Journal)
• ‘Essential isn’t a strong enough word’: Loss of foreign workers begins to bite US economy: Trump’s immigration policy is taking a toll on more than farms. (Politico)
• On Mexico’s Caribbean Coast, There’s Lobster for the Tourists and Microplastics for Everyone Else: The fishermen of Puerto Morelos complain of pirates who fish off-season with total impunity, while their small catches are contaminated by the abundant microplastics in the sea. (Wired)
• Feel like Congress doesn’t care what you want? You’re right. Once in office, politicians have little motivation to obey the will of their constituents. (Washington Post)
• I’m not ignoring your message – I’m overwhelmed by the tyranny of being reachable: In today’s culture, responsiveness is a proxy for care. But being in constant rotation, always logging into another version of myself? I’m tired. (The Guardian) see also This iPhone Feature Makes It Much Harder for Thieves to Ruin Your Life: The feature, called Stolen Device Protection, makes it a lot more difficult for thieves to gain access to your most private information. You should turn it on right away. (Wirecutter)
• Robot Riot at Wimbledon! Does Tennis Need to Rethink Its Tech Obsession? The rollout of all-electronic line calling on grass courts has been plagued by blunders—and questions about the direction of the sport. (Wall Street Journal)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business next week with Richard Bernstein, founder of RBA. The firm focuses on Macro trends, and manages (or advises on) $15.7B AUM. Previously, he was Chief Investment Strategist at Merrill Lynch from 1988-2009. Bernstein was named to Institutional Investor’s “All-America Research Team” 18X, and inducted into the Institutional Investor “Hall of Fame.”
The Weird and Lovely Surge of US Productivity Growth
Source: Conversable Economist
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