Wednesday morning news drop
The Inverted Yield Curve Omen There are few things investors fear more than an inverted yield curve (the relatively uncommon situation where short-term yields are higher than longer-term yields). Why? Because it tends to be a pretty good indicator of future economic weakness. (Compound)
America Must Choose Between Great Wealth or Democracy: Biden is now promoting a tax on the top 0.01% and billionaires are already fuming. It’s a start to what’ll be necessary to bring back a functioning democracy & middle class (Hartmann Report)
The Gatekeepers who open America to Shell Companies and Secret Corporations With scant oversight, registered agents have long been seen as a weak point in the U.S. financial system (Washington Post)
Economics: The Discipline That Refuses to Change. Behavioral economics upended the idea that humans act solely in their rational self-interest. So why do most undergrads barely learn anything about the field? (The Atlantic)
For mRNA, Covid Vaccines Are Just the Beginning With clinical vaccine trials for everything from HIV to Zika, messenger RNA could transform medicine—or widen health care inequalities. (Wired)
Economic inequality has deepened during the pandemic. That doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed The world is facing a surge in economic inequality accelerated by COVID-19 and exacerbated by the impact of the war in Ukraine. Governments need to initiate urgent change to tackle extreme poverty and narrow the gap between rich and poor, laying the foundations for a more equal and sustainable future. (World Economic Forum)
Wait, What if People Did Just Stay Home in Their Pajamas? New neighborhood businesses far from Midtown are thriving. Maybe it’s time to redefine what “comeback” means. (New York Times)
Incorrect Ideas About ‘Why We Work’ Warp Our Organizations … And Our Views of Human Nature In 2021, nearly 50 million people in the United States left their jobs voluntarily, a record for the two decades that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been collecting data. The shift in how we work over the past few years seems to have spurred us to start focusing more on why we work. It laid bare the disconnection between our aspirations for why we go to work and what we experience and do when we’re there. (Behavioral Scientist)
The Battery That Flies: A new aircraft being built in Vermont has no need for jet fuel. It can take off and land without a runway. Amazon and the Air Force are both betting on it. So who will be in the cockpit? (New York Times)
The Renewable-Energy Revolution Will Need Renewable Storage Can gravity, pressure, and other elemental forces save us from becoming a battery-powered civilization? (New Yorker)
The Best and Worst of Coachella 2022 From Megan Thee Stallion’s ruthless new diss track to Arcade Fire’s poignant return to Shania Twain’s surprise guest appearance, here are the most memorable moments from this year’s fest. (Pitchfork)
Victoria Housing Market Update After the long weekend it’s worth checking in how the market has been developing so far this month. A small shift has been evident since about mid last month, but if you’re expecting a rapid pullback that hasn’t materialized. Remember that the real estate market usually changes slowly outside of a major shock like the financial crisis or the introduction of the mortgage stress test a few years back. Rather than a sudden event, the market has come under gradually increasing pressure from worsening affordability and increasing rates. (House Hunt Victoria)
