What we’re reading (12/4)
“Don’t Put Your Eggs in One Basket. That Investing Principle Still Holds.” (New York Times). “There’s no shortage of reports from asset management firms arguing that hedge funds and private equity funds need to be added into the intelligent investor’s mix. And you can also delve into futures and options that can limit your losses, at a cost. Once you’ve started down this route, why not go further afield? Cryptocurrency: People in the industry claim that it’s an asset class and should be represented in your portfolio. I’ve not seen solid evidence that any of these things are needed as core investments.”
“Who Got A Lot Richer And Who Didn’t During The Pandemic” (Wall Street Journal). “The pandemic made Americans richer across every racial, ethnic and income group—though not equally. Home values shot up, and with fewer opportunities to spend money during lockdowns, many people paid down debt and boosted savings. Between 2019 and 2021, the median household’s net worth increased 30% to $166,900, according to a report out Monday from Pew Research Center.”
“Unknown Traders Appear To Have Anticipated October 7 Hamas Attack, Research Finds” (CNN Business). “Bets against the value of Israeli companies spiked in the days before the October 7th Hamas attacks, suggesting some traders may have had advance knowledge of the looming terror attack and profited off it, according to new research released Monday…Those bets against the value of the MSCI Israel Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) in the days before the October 7 attack ‘far exceeded’ the short selling activity that took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2014 Israel-Gaza war and the 2008 global financial crisis, the paper finds.”
“Bill Gates: How I Invest My Money In A Warming World” (New York Times). “We’re not doomed, nor do we have all the solutions. What we do have is human ingenuity, our greatest asset. But to overcome climate change, we need rich individuals, companies and countries to step up to ensure green technologies are affordable for everyone, everywhere — including less wealthy countries that are large emitters, like China, India and Brazil.”
“William Rehnquist Proposed To Sandra Day O’Connor. She Said No.” (Washington Post). “Decades before they would serve together on the Supreme Court, William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O’Connor were engaged in a different type of courtship. The two grew close while attending Stanford Law School — they regularly shared notes and eventually became a couple. Although Sandra Day, as she was known then, eventually broke up with Rehnquist and married a different Stanford Law classmate, John O’Connor, an author revealed to NPR in 2018 that she first turned down a marriage proposal from Rehnquist, the future chief justice, in the early 1950s.”
