Thursday morning news drop
The Worst 6 Months Ever For Financial Markets. The period ending June 30, 2022 ranks in the worst 3% of all 6 month returns since 1926. The only 6 month performance numbers that were worse than what we just lived through occurred during the Great Depression, 1937 crash, WWII, 1970s bear market, bursting of the dot-com bubble and 2008 crash. (A Wealth of Common Sense)
How Wall Street Escaped the Crypto Meltdown As cryptocurrency prices plunged and funds failed, strict rules on risky assets helped Wall Street companies sidestep the worst. Retail investors weren’t as lucky. (New York Times)
Why This Crypto Crash Is Different There can be no return to the highly leveraged, fractionally reserved cryptocurrency system whose illusory riches are now giving way to real losses. (CoinDesk)
We’re Not Already In a Recession: We believe a recession is coming but the US is clearly not in one yet. In the first five months of the year, manufacturing production is up at a 6.6% annual rate, nonfarm payrolls are up at an average monthly pace of 488,000, and the unemployment rate has dropped to 3.6% from 3.9%. Meanwhile, in April, consumer spending and real personal income were at record highs. If this is a recession, we could use more recessions. (Real Clear Markets)
The Lost Glamour of the Department-Store Restaurant: Pot pies and fanciful desserts made shopping delicious. (Atlas Obscura)
Can Dual-Use Solar Panels Provide Power and Share Space With Crops? Companies like BlueWave are betting on it. But the technology has its critics. (New York Times)
America’s unique, enduring gun problem, explained: The factors that lead to tragedies like those in Highland Park, Tulsa and Uvalde are deeply ingrained in US politics, culture, and law. (Vox)
Can Mario Andretti Conquer F1… Again? He’s the last American to win the Formula 1 World Championship. That was 44 years ago. Now, as race fans in the U.S. catch the F1 bug for the first time, Mario Andretti and his son Michael are desperately trying to put the family name back on top of the sport. (GQ)