What we’re reading (1/15)
“Core CPI Rises Less Than Forecast As Inflation Pressures Ease Slightly In December” (Yahoo! Finance). “New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics out Wednesday showed that a key inflation metric eased for the first time since July. On a ‘core’ basis, which strips out the more volatile costs of food and gas, the December Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed 0.2% over the prior month, a deceleration from November's 0.3% monthly gain. On an annual basis, prices rose 3.2%.”
“Wall Street’s Pre-Eminent Short Seller Is Calling It Quits” (Wall Street Journal). “‘I’ve spent most of the last eight years either in a fight or preparing for the next one,’ he [Nate Anderson] said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. Anderson said he felt that he and Hindenburg had accomplished what they had set out to do, showing it was possible to build a business from hunting fraud and other issues in public and private markets. He hopes to soon share resources and training materials so others can use Hindenburg’s tactics in their own investigations.”
“The King of the 21st Century Wears A Golden Crown” (Standard & Poor’s). “Once again, gold has taken the crown as the best-performing asset in the 21st century. From the turn of the century to year-end 2024, the S&P 500® recorded an annualized return of 7.7%, while the S&P GSCI Gold recorded 8.5% annually. While besting stocks for a quarter century, gold is still considered a safe-haven asset, especially during periods of economic uncertainty. However, 2024 highlighted how gold can also perform well during bull markets. The S&P GSCI Gold and S&P 500 posted supersized returns for the year, topping 26.6% and 25%, respectively.”
“What Happens When A Plastic City Burns” (The Atlantic). “In 2020, the Fire Safety Research Institute set two living rooms on fire, on purpose. Both were identical in size and full of furnishings in an identical arrangement. But in one room, almost everything was synthetic: a polyurethane-foam sofa covered in polyester fabric sat behind an engineered-wood coffee table, both set on a polyolefin carpet. The curtains were polyester, and a polyester throw blanket was draped on the couch. In the other room, a wood sofa with cotton cushions sat on a hardwood floor, along with a solid-wood coffee table. The curtains and throw blanket were cotton. In the natural-material room, the cotton couch appeared to light easily, and then maintained a steady flame where it was lit, releasing little smoke. After 26 minutes, the flames had spread to the other side of the couch, but the rest of the room was still intact, if smoky. Meanwhile, in the synthetic room, a thick dark smoke rose out of the flame on the polyester couch. At just under five minutes, a flash of orange flame consumed the whole room all at once.”
“Wooly Mammoth, Dodo Get Another Shot As Startup Raises $200 Million” (Bloomberg). “Colossal Biosciences, now valued at $10.2 billion, aims to produce a mammoth by 2028.”
