What we’re reading (11/14)
“Will Shortages Lead To Gluts?” (Charles Schwab). “A surplus of goods and materials seems a long way off at the present. Supply shortages, lifting inflation and slowing production, endured all year as strong demand outstripped supply and have been worsened by supply chain logjams. Yet, history shows us that shortages often lead to gluts. Should a supply glut emerge in 2022, it may lead to a fall in inflation as excess inventory prompts price cuts.”
“Workers Quit Jobs In Record Numbers As Consumer Sentiment Hits 10-Year Low” (CNBC). “Consumer confidence hit a 10-year low in November as inflation climbed to the highest levels since the early 1990s, complicating efforts from policymakers to sell the case that the current surge of price increases is temporary. The plunge in sentiment happened as workers quitting their jobs hit a fresh record in a labor market that has nearly three million more positions available than there are people looking or jobs.”
“GE And The Belief In Management Magic” (Wall Street Journal). “GE’s dissolution…points to another reality of corporate life and death. Often, failure—as Ernest Hemingway wrote in ‘The Sun Also Rises’—happens two ways: ‘gradually and then suddenly.’ GE’s corporate culture prided itself on elevating management to a kind of science. The dissolution of the company, however, points to a reality many executives don’t like to admit: Management matters a lot, but it doesn’t matter as much as you think (especially if you are management). Economic and business cycles are often more important to a company than what its managers do.”
“Top Tiger Global Dealmaker John Curtius Has A Stark Warning For Startup Employees About Their Stock Pay” (Insider). “In the red-hot venture-capital market, startups have been valued more highly than ever before. That's led some investors to wonder whether valuations have gone overboard…at greatest risk may be employees who join a startup that later has a drop in valuation, according to one of Tiger Global Management's top dealmakers. ‘There is a bit of frothiness in the market, and not all companies are being appropriately valued today,’ John Curtius, who leads the firm's software investments, said this week at Afore Capital's Pre-Seed Summit.”
“Business Schools Respond To A Flood Of Interest In E.S.G.” (DealBook). “A decade ago, the hottest M.B.A. courses typically covered topics such as game theory, valuing securities and negotiating mergers. Today, some of the most popular classes are about climate finance, impact investing and social entrepreneurship.”
