My morning train WFH reads:
• Trump’s ‘massive’ deal with Japan is giving US automakers heartburn: The preliminary agreement suggests there is a path forward to lowering the auto duties on other major trading partners, as well. (Politico)
• Investors See Few Alternatives to U.S. Treasuries. Could Europe Make One? As President Trump’s chaotic economic policies provoke questions about U.S. stability, a proposal for European countries to issue joint debt has drawn attention. (Dealbook)
• Third Point Is Not the Firm You Think It Is: Once famed for Dan Loeb’s blistering activist letters, Third Point is now quietly reshaping itself into more of a credit-driven manager. (Institutional Investor)
• The Stock Market’s Most Unserious Season Is Back and Dorkier Than Before: A new generation of meme stocks are soaring and falling again. (New York Times)
• Wall Street Is Rewriting the Rules of Bitcoin Trading. DeFi? Wall Street is seizing control of Bitcoin’s center of gravity, with the US financial system increasingly pricing and steering the world’s largest cryptocurrency. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, IBIT, has catalyzed an options market, with open interest in IBIT-linked options more than tripling this year to around $34 billion. (Bloomberg) See also Capitalism Devours Crypto … by blowing up and looting DeFi to enrich TradFi (System Change)
• The seven rules of stock market bubbles: A few universal truths about the b-word. The seven rules of stock market bubbles. (OptimistiCallie)
• The relationship recession is going global: A rise in the number of single people is becoming a key driver of falling birth rates. (Financial Times)
• It’s Not Too Late to Avert Dementia: After Age 60, US Study Shows: Lifestyle changes including exercise, a better diet, and more mental and social activity yielded significant protection within two years, according to a large clinical trial. Making such changes appeared to slow the cognitive aging clock, said Laura Baker, a professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University of Medicine and one of the study leaders. (Bloomberg)
• Earth is spinning faster, leading timekeepers to consider an unprecedented move. Earth is spinning faster this summer, leading astronomers to notice that some days have clocked in at slightly less than the standard 24 hours. (CNN)
• South Park’s Creators Are Now Billionaires: If you piss off South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, they will make you pay—both financially and satirically. On July 2, after Comedy Central delayed the Season 27 premiere of the show because Paramount, the network’s parent company, was locked in a contentious negotiation for its streaming rights—in the midst of months-long acquisition of Paramount by David Ellison’s Skydance Media—Parker and Stone issued a statement on X.com and let it rip: “This merger is a shit show,” the duo wrote, “and it’s fucking up South Park.” (Forbes)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Erik Hirsch, Co-CEO Hamiliton Lane, which manages or advises on $958 billion in client assets. Previously, he was an M&A banker at Brown Brothers Harriman, and a municipal financial consultant with Public Financial Management, specializing in asset securitization, strategic consulting and sport stadium financings.
Market-based inflation expectations over the next 5-10 years have risen to the highest levels in almost two years, at an implied 2.44%.
Source: @lisaabramowicz1
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