What we’re reading (1/26)
“Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager David Einhorn Said An Inflation-Induced Recession Is Imminent — Then The Fed Warned Prices Could Stay Higher For Longer” (Insider). “Star hedge fund manager David Einhorn said no matter what the Federal Reserve does, high-flying inflation will eventually induce a recession. The Greenlight Capital boss said Wednesday in an investor letter obtained by CNBC that his firm has already begun readying itself for an economic downturn as inflation soars to its highest in decades.”
“Drop Bitcoin As Legal Tender, IMF Urges El Salvador” (CNBC). “The International Monetary Fund is pushing El Salvador to ditch bitcoin as legal tender, according to a statement released on Tuesday. IMF directors ‘stressed that there are large risks associated with the use of bitcoin on financial stability, financial integrity, and consumer protection, as well as the associated fiscal contingent liabilities.’ The report, which was published after bilateral talks with El Salvador, went on to ‘urge’ authorities to narrow the scope of its bitcoin law by removing bitcoin’s status as legal money.”
“We Might Be In A Simulation. How Much Should That Worry Us?” (New York Times). “We may not be able to prove that we are in a simulation, but at the very least, it will be a possibility that we can’t rule out. But it could be more than that. [Philosopher David] Chalmers argues that if we’re in a simulation, there’d be no reason to think it’s the only simulation; in the same way that lots of different computers today are running Microsoft Excel, lots of different machines might be running an instance of the simulation. If that was the case, simulated worlds would vastly outnumber non-sim worlds — meaning that, just as a matter of statistics, it would be not just possible that our world is one of the many simulations but likely. Chalmers writes that ‘the chance we are sims is at least 25 percent or so.’”
“The Struggle Is Real For Zillow'“ (Wall Street Journal). “Agents seemed to pour money into Zillow’s platform over the last two years to take advantage of the scorching market…[t]he number of real-estate agents grew 7% in the U.S. last year compared with 2020, according to the National Association of Realtors, while Zillow’s research shows inventory fell almost 20% over that period to record lows. The combination has resulted in an unusually high ratio of real-estate agents to homes for sale. In red-hot Austin, Texas, CNN reported the ratio was eight-to-one as of May.”
“U.S. House Speaker Pelosi's Stock Trades Attract Growing Following Online” (Reuters). “Transaction reports are typically filed days after the actual purchases and sales, making it potentially difficult for traders aiming to mimic lawmakers' specific trades. ‘It's nonsense, it's very hard to replicate what other people are doing and gain some edge,’ said Sahak Manuelian, Managing Director of Trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.”
