What we’re reading (11/1)
“NVIDIA And Sherwin-Williams Set To Join Dow Jones Industrial Average; Vistra To Join Dow Jones Utility Average” (S&P Global). “NVIDIA Corp. (NASD:NVDA) will replace Intel Corp. (NASD:INTC), and The Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE:SHW) will replace Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The index changes were initiated to ensure a more representative exposure to the semiconductors industry and the materials sector respectively. The DJIA is a price weighted index, and thus persistently lower priced stocks have a minimal impact on the index. Dow Inc. is also the smallest company in the DJIA as measured by company market capitalization.”
“Big Tech Workers Got Too Used To Perks. The Pampering Is Over.” (Business Insider). “Cost-cutting, huge layoffs, and the use of AI have put tech employers in a more powerful position. Hiring has also slowed, with tech job postings about 30% below pre-pandemic levels, the job site Indeed said. That, in turn, means employers can provide fewer perks.”
“Corporations Face Reversal Of Fortune As 2025 Tax Debate Heats Up” (Politico). “Corporations were among the biggest winners when Republicans pushed through sweeping tax cuts in 2017, getting a whopping 14-percentage point cut in their tax rate. But with lawmakers facing intense pressure to extend trillions in tax cuts next year that mostly benefit individual Americans, both Republicans and Democrats see corporations as a potential piggy bank to cover the huge hit to the budget.”
“A Luxury Giant, A Reclusive Heir And The Case Of The Missing $13 Billion” (Wall Street Journal). “Puech, who is 81 years old and doesn’t have any children, is in the newspapers due to a stunning claim he made last year: He said he was out of money. As for his stake in Hermès, the luxury giant controlled by his family, he said he didn’t own the shares anymore, and he didn’t know who did. It’s a mystery tale that could only unfold among the ultrawealthy, in the opulent settings of Italian palazzos and sprawling chalets in the Alps. At stake are 6 million shares in an iconic luxury brand famed for its colorful silk scarves and Birkin and Kelly handbags cherished by socialites. A massive inheritance that was once earmarked for philanthropy now could be lost forever.”
“Monkeys Will Never Type Shakespeare, Study Finds” (BBC). “Two Australian mathematicians have called into question an old adage, that if given an infinite amount of time, a monkey pressing keys on a typewriter would eventually write the complete works of William Shakespeare. Known as the "infinite monkey theorem", the thought-experiment has long been used to explain the principles of probability and randomness. However, a new peer-reviewed study led by Sydney-based researchers Stephen Woodcock and Jay Falletta has found that the time it would take for a typing monkey to replicate Shakespeare's plays, sonnets and poems would be longer than the lifespan of our universe.”
