Labour Shortages, Global Economy, and China Invading Taiwan

Thursday morning articles

  • The best way to solve a labor shortage is with labor: In July we added a 1/2 million jobs on net, wages rose briskly and the unemployment rate fell to its 50-year low. That’s a sign of progress. (Stay-At-Home Macro)

  • The Market’s Peak Inflation Story Fights the Fed: There’s no sign the Fed will change its mind and agree that rates should come down again next year (Wall Street Journal)

  • The Fed Might Just Break the Global Economy: The real stress is in the energy-supply system to certain parts of the world, notably Europe. The U.S. real economy is not in crisis mode. There are some signs of a downturn in the real-estate market, but the real economy is not slowing as fast as the Fed would like. (Intelligencer)

  • Florida’s insurance market was already in crisis. Then came Hurricane Ian. Will taxpayers end up on the hook? Experts expect insurers will have to cover up to $40 billion in damages. (Grid)

  • There’s more upside than downside for long-term investors For long-term investors, time in the market matters more than timing the market. “It pays to remain invested and balanced precisely when it is most difficult to do so.” (TKer)

  • Is the Efficient Market Hypothesis True? A widespread assumption about the stock market is that it’s efficient. But is that strictly true? (U.S. News)

  • What Does an Office Mean? Two Architects Discuss: Technology has transformed the contours of our workspaces. The authors of a new book spanning 50 years of design history explain how. (CityLab)

  • An Epidemic of Delusions: When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People: Something is seriously wrong. An alarming number of citizens, in America and around the world, are embracing crazy, even dangerous ideas.” (Commonweal)

  • The Secret Microscope That Sparked a Scientific Revolution: How a Dutch fabric seller made the most powerful magnifying lens of his time—and of the next 150 years—and became the first person ever to see a microorganism. (Wired)

  • How We Would Know When China Is Preparing to Invade Taiwan: If war is Beijing’s plan, there would be reliable indications that it is coming. (Carnegie Endowment For International Peace)

  • Steve Cohen’s New Edge Is Hedge Fund Moneyball at Playoff-Bound Mets The billionaire investor has turned from high-stakes trading to professional baseball and is pressing his advantage by spending big to win. (Bloomberg)