Friday morning news drop and videos of the week
Bacon prices reach all-time high in Canada As grocery prices continue to rise, the price of bacon in Canada reached an all-time high last month, according to data from Statistics Canada. (CTV News)
Are Rising Interest Rates Bad For Tech Stocks? Interest rates fell from 6.5% in the early-2000s to just over 3% a few short years later. In that time tech stocks got crushed, crashing 80%. From the summer of 2016 through the winter of 2018, interest rates more than doubled from 1.4% to 3.2%. Tech stocks rose around 60% over this time frame. Sometimes they move together. Sometimes they move in opposite directions. Sometimes they simply march to their own drummer. (A Wealth of Common Sense)
Meet Ramzi Musallam, Wall Street’s Top-Secret Billionaire Investor Musallam produced his track record by focusing on technology companies that operate in sectors dominated by the United States’ federal government, particularly defense, health care and education. America’s $6.8 trillion worth of annual spending and sweeping regulatory power give it unparalleled sway in these markets. While many buyout firms try to avoid investing in areas affected by government interference, Musallam’s strategy hinges on understanding what the most influential player in the global economy will do next. (Forbes)
Climate Change Is the New Dot-Com Bubble: There are good VCs being venturesome with their capital. There are funds that are investing in green things. There isn’t one carbon market; there isn’t one set of standards to follow; there are dozens of options, which means there isn’t really anything at all. The free market has plenty of grandiose ideas about how to fix our broken planet. There’s just one problem: We can’t afford another bust. (Wired)
Half of unvaccinated workers say they’d rather quit than get a shot – but real-world data suggest few are following through But while it is easy and cost-free to tell a pollster you’ll quit your job, actually doing so when it means losing a paycheck you and your family may depend upon is another matter. And based on a sample of companies that already have vaccine mandates in place, the actual number who do resign rather than get the vaccine is much smaller than the survey data suggest. (The Conversation)
When the Doctor Has to Make the Toughest Decision It hasn’t felt like all these people arrive and you choose between them. It’s this horrific situation where a lot of patients are not getting regular care. You’re being denied the type of care that would be most recommended. That’s what we call a “standard of care,” what would typically be given to you. And there can be more risk with missing out on that care, more chance that you won’t survive. We’ve seen that during surges, even survival from COVID has been lower in stressed hospitals. (Slate)
The problem with corporate “values” Despite the language of essentialism around them, though, corporate values don’t always track with company behavior. Some of this is due to a lack of specificity and accountability in their rollout — you can’t expect people to change their behavior if they don’t know why or how — but the primary reason is that, despite lip-service to the contrary, the long-term vision that values require is not rewarded. US corporate governance norms are based on the shareholder value model, which enshrines maximizing shareholder profits as a company’s raison d’être. When values are at odds with a company’s bottom line, all too often they won’t win out. (Vox)
Why Britain and France Hate Each Other: The two countries are more similar than is often acknowledged. Not only in terms of population, wealth, imperial past, global reach, and democratic tradition, but the deeper stuff too: the sense of exceptionalism, fear of decline, instinct for national independence, desire for respect, and angst over the growing power of others, whether that be the United States, Germany, or China. London and Paris may have chosen different strategies—and there is nothing to say that both are equally meritorious—but the parallels between these two nations are obvious. (The Atlantic)
Cold War, Hot Mess After decades of mismanaging its nuclear waste, the US Department of Energy wrestles with its toxic legacy. (VQR)
Why Is Every Young Person in America Watching ‘The Sopranos’? The show’s depiction of contemporary America as relentlessly banal and hollow is plainly at the core of the current interest in the show, which coincides with an era of crisis across just about every major institution in American life. “The Sopranos” has a persistent focus on the spiritual and moral vacuum at the center of this country, and is oddly prescient about its coming troubles: the opioid epidemic, the crisis of meritocracy, teenage depression and suicide, fights over the meaning of American history. The show’s new audience is also seeing something different in it: a parable about a country in terminal decline. (New York Times)
Videos of the Week
20 Years Pushing the Limits of Freeride MTB | Red Bull Rampage History 20 years, 14 events, 9 winners. Who would have thought 20 years ago, that Red Bull Rampage could have brought freeride MTB this far!? The inaugural Red Bull Rampage was held in 2001. Twenty years and nine different winners later, we celebrate the event’s 20th anniversary by looking back at some of the biggest moments.
Brandon Semenuk Crowned Champion! | Full Winning Run | Red Bull Rampage 2019
Queens Of Gnar: They came, they saw, they slayed. Audi Nines 2021 was proud to welcome a new group of riders into the family and to witness these women pushing mountain biking to new heights. From teenagers to veterans, the moment they rolled into the course, it was clear that Audi Nines is exactly where they belong. Riders: Veronique Sandler, Joey Gough, Kathi Kuypers, Caroline Buchanan, Casey Brown, Robin Goomes, Patricia Druwen, Alma Wiggberg, and Gemma Corbera.
Love The Process - Max Langille Love The Process, a tale of trusting yourself and what you’ll become. This film by Dylan Siggers gives a cinematic mix that’s meant to draw you into Max Langille’s process of completing a video part and dialling in tricks for competition.
Locked In Barcelona: We've got some jaw dropping riding for you in this one via Max and Igor Bespaliy, Sergei Nogaev, and Kirill Shatalov. After flying out to Barcelona for what was originally meant to be a two week trip, the guys ended up being trapped there because of the COVID situation. You could get stuck in a lot of worse places I guess! Either way, the guys got some incredible footage out there and sure did make the most of their trip.
Mami Tezuka's "Sorceress" Bloodwizard Part: Classic vert moves with a style all her own, Blood Wizard's sorceress flies through pools, parks, and remote pipes. Those tweaked-out Smiths would make Mike proud.
Tyson Bowerbank's "Passing Time" Almost Part Bowerbank bangs out impossibles and spine-bending rewinds, putting together a part full of surprises. That last line is HEAVY.
VANS EU "Incompiuto" Video Sicily’s mob left behind massive concrete complexes, so Pfanner, Doobie and the Vans Euro crew took a trip out to feast on the remains.
The Spirit Of The Thing: Style titans Phil Casabon and Sammy Carlson stomp foot on Mt. Hood’s volcanic ground to capture, with the hand of Hotlaps and his wizard staff, 'The Spirit of the Thing.'