What we’re reading (10/8)
“Wharton’s Jeremy Siegel Says Today’s Biggest Threat Isn’t Inflation — It’s Recession” (CNBC). “The U.S. Federal Reserve has been raising rates too quickly, and recession risks will be ‘extremely’ high if it continues to do so, said Jeremy Siegel, professor emeritus of finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.”
“Bill Gross Sides With Pimco Bond Bulls In Seeing Yields Peaking” (Bloomberg). “Bill Gross and his former colleagues at Pacific Investment Management Co. can agree on at least one thing: bonds are attractive now. Why? Because the market is now pricing in the Federal Reserve’s key borrowing costs will peak at 4.5%. That’s too high, according to Gross, the co-founder of Pimco who was ousted from the bond powerhouse in 2014.”
“Low-Price Grocers Like Aldi Are Winning As Consumers Trade Down” (CNN Business). “Aldi, which requires a 25-cent deposit to use grocery carts, sells mostly store brands and doesn’t waste time on elaborate displays, might not be for everyone. But more than one million new households shopped at Aldi in the year through September, helping rack up double-digit sales growth in that period. Foot traffic across most of its 2,200 US stores jumped about 10.5% year over year, according to Placer.ai — even as grocery sector visits were about flat.”
“Howard Schultz’s Fight To Stop A Starbucks Barista Uprising” (Washington Post). “Howard Schultz, the billionaire founder of Starbucks, stood alone beside the auditorium stage at the company’s global headquarters. The room was packed with 200 of his top executives, all waiting for him to speak. But first Schultz wanted them to hear from their employees across the country. The lights dimmed and their recorded voices filled the room. ‘My last three shifts I’ve cried,’ said one barista. ‘We’re stressed out at work. We’re stressed out at home,’ said another.”
“Alleged Fraudster Who Managed To Evade The Cops For All Of Five Days Certainly Doesn’t Sound Like A Special Forces Veteran” (Dealbreaker). “While allegedly drumming up some $35 million in at least five separate but occasionally interrelated alleged scams, Justin Costello allegedly told his alleged victims a great many things: That he was a Harvard M.B.A. That he worked for 14 years on the Street. That he was a hedge-fund billionaire. That he would totally take care of that client’s tax bill. That one company he led had $1.6 billion in its care and 10 acquisition deals in hand, and that another was worth 9,000% more than it really was. That he was a decorated Special Forces veteran.”
