What we’re reading (11/21)
“U.S. Remains ‘Only Game In Town’ For Stock Investors” (Wall Street Journal). “Despite a bruising year for U.S. stocks, few investors are ready to call an end to the long run of American exceptionalism. Investors have poured more than $86 billion into U.S. equity mutual and exchange-traded funds in 2022, according to Morningstar Direct data through the end of October. That is on track to mark the second-highest sum since 2013, following last year’s inflows of $156 billion.”
“Markets Will Shift To A ‘Hope’ Phase Next Year, And Investors Would Be Wise Not To Miss It, Says Goldman Sachs” (MarketWatch). “‘We expect markets to transition into a ‘Hope’ phase of the next bull market at some point in 2023, but from a lower level,’ said a team led by Goldman’s chief global strategist Peter Oppenheimer, in a note to clients. ‘The initial rebound from the trough is likely to be strong, in common with the beginning of most cycles before transitioning into a ‘Post Modern Cycle’ with lower returns.’”
“Disney Blindsided Chapek With CEO Decision After Reaching Out To Iger On Friday” (CNBC). “The board’s outreach to Iger and discussion to replace Chapek came after the board married internal complaints about Chapek’s leadership with concerns following Disney’s most recent quarterly earnings report, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private. One of the executives to express a lack of confidence in Chapek was Christine McCarthy, Disney’s chief financial officer, two of the people said.”
“Crypto: New Asset, Old Problem” (Financial Times). “Given that FTX is an exchange, there was theoretically no reason (aside from bad judgment) why it shouldn’t have been holding enough to return 100 per cent of its clients’ money at any given time. But the crypto industry isn’t the only part of the financial sector that likes to hold as little capital against the risks of daily business as possible. While large banks in the US today hold about 13 per cent capital against assets (meaning loans) versus 8 per cent back in 2008, they are lobbying hard to have those capital requirements loosened.”
“Deal To Merge Two Publishing Giants Is On The Verge Of Collapse” (New York Times). “Penguin Random House’s deal to buy Simon & Schuster, a rival publisher, is close to collapsing after Simon & Schuster’s parent company decided to allow the purchase agreement to expire, according to a person familiar with the decision who spoke anonymously to discuss confidential deliberations.”
