What we’re reading (1/10)
“Hedge Funds Get Ready For The ‘Donroe Doctrine’ Trade” (Wall Street Journal). “Call it the ‘Donroe trade.’ After the brazen capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, investors are racing to capitalize on President Trump’s ambitions to dominate the Western Hemisphere. Hedge funds and other investment firms, already boosted by a sharp rally in Venezuelan debt, are mapping out trips to Caracas to scope out on-the-ground opportunities. Some are investigating niche instruments, like arbitration claims and unpaid state debts.”
“Wall Street’s Start To 2026 Is Going Exactly According To Plan. Are Investors Too Confident?” (CNBC). “Not only is the S&P 500 up 1.7% but the tape has broadened just as nearly every play caller has been demanding, with the equal-weighted S&P ahead by almost twice as much. The insistent consensus call heading into the year for a reacceleration in the real economy — propelled by tax-based stimulus and an administration desperate to ‘run it hot’ — has quickly been reflected in market leadership.”
“More Bonds Are Teetering On The Brink Of Junk: Credit Weekly” (Bloomberg). “Beneath the calm surface of the US corporate bond market, there are worrying signs about companies that could lose their investment-grade status. The first full week of the year has been one of the busiest for US corporate debt sales on record, and risk premiums stayed low even amid heavy issuance. But the amount of bonds teetering on the brink of junk surged last year, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.”
“The Space War Will Be Won In Greenland” (UnHerd). “[O]ne factor remains underplayed. The United States is currently engaged in a fiercely contested space race with China, and, to a lesser extent, Russia. Space offers unlimited energy, unlimited resources, and unlimited internet connectivity — and the High North is crucial. This is because satellites that orbit from pole to pole must pass each pole with every orbit, which means that they fly over a given point in the High North far more often than a given point toward the Equator. As such, places like Svalbard are ideal locations for ground stations that keep in touch with constellations of satellites, be they commercial or military.”
“The Real Da Vinci Code” (Science). “Gonzalez-Juarbe’s swabs may have captured a biological clue. In a remarkable milestone in a decadelong odyssey, he and other members of the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project (LDVP), a global scientific collective, report in a paper posted today on bioRxiv that they have recovered DNA from Holy Child and other objects—and some may be from Leonardo himself.”
