What we’re reading (10/28)
“Latest GDP Numbers Aren't Calming Recession Fears” (Reason). “Economic growth ticked up ever so slightly last quarter, but not by enough to console those worried about a looming recession. Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.6 percent during the third quarter of 2022, for an annualized growth rate of 2.6 percent, according to new numbers released by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). These numbers come after two quarters of shrinking GDP. The top-line growth rate was clouded by declining consumer spending on goods, falling investment in new single-family housing construction, and a declining savings rate.”
“Why Amazon’s Stock Price Is Tanking — And Why That Should Worry You” (Vox). “Words of caution from a top executive at one of the world’s most valuable companies and largest US employers, coupled with the weaker-than-expected holiday forecast, could be a sign that the worst days of the current economic slowdown are still ahead of us. And that should be worrying to anyone, whether they’re a fan of Amazon or a critic who doesn’t want the company to succeed.”
“Hershey’s Turnaround Story Isn’t Sweet. It’s Salty.” (Wall Street Journal). “Any stock that doubles in five years, outperforms tech giants over three years and beats more than 450 companies in the S&P 500 this year is clearly worth studying. And there is no better time to look at one of the biggest winners of a terrifying market than Halloween.”
“How Finance Enabled Civilization” (City Journal). “…another thing also that made Athens particularly special and that was its coinage. It had a tradition of tokenization, which again, that's a term we hear a lot today. The creation of tokens that can be used in a setting where you would exchange value and represent investment in a business enterprise and so forth. Well, the Athenians had silver very close to the city, and silver mines allowed them to make millions and millions of these beautiful coins that were symbols of the city, the head of Athena on the front, and an owl for wisdom on the back. Anyway, this tokenization was a way that united the tribes of people that were in Athens into a commitment to the city and a symbolization of their unity with the coinage. But it also was a way for them to measure out people's contribution to the city.”
“Yes, Greeland Is Melting, But…” (Bret Stephens, New York Times). “In the long run, we are likelier to make progress when we adopt partial solutions that work with the grain of human nature, not big ones that work against it. Sometimes those solutions will be legislative — at least when they nudge, rather than force, the private sector to move in the right direction. But more often they will come from the bottom up, in the form of innovations and practices tested in markets, adopted by consumers and continually refined by use. They may not be directly related to climate change but can nonetheless have a positive impact on it. And they probably won’t come in the form of One Big Idea but in thousands of little ones whose cumulative impacts add up.”
