What we’re reading (1/9)
“Gargantuan 'Big Tech' Investment Discredits 'Monopoly' Alarmism” (RealClear Markets). “There’s no such thing as monopoly in the technology sector, or for that matter any sector defined by intense dynamism. Precisely because the potential for outsize investment returns for disrupters in dynamic sectors is so enormous, stasis is tantamount to obsolescence.”
“Even Warren Buffett Couldn’t Keep Beating The Market Without Fail. Here’s Why.” (MarketWatch). “It’s important to focus on this investment lesson because hardly anyone else is doing so. Most of the articles memorializing Buffett’s phenomenal career have instead highlighted how much money you would have made if you had been lucky enough to invest in Berkshire Hathaway when Buffett started in the mid-1960s. While your cumulative (unannualized) return since then would be in the millions of percent, reporting that huge number does not help you become a better investor. Pointing this out isn’t a criticism of Buffett’s incredible abilities. But it’s important to stress that an investor as successful as Buffett will eventually attract so much money from others that even he will find it difficult to repeat his prior successes.”
“Wait, Tesla Is A Value Stock? Welcome To The Wacky World Of Factor ETFs” (Wall Street Journal). “When you crack open several funds that sound the same, you can find very different investments inside. That’s one of the most subtle, but important, lessons of 2025. As exchange-traded funds have become the default choice for millions of investors, it’s vital to understand that you can’t know what you’re going to get unless you take the time to look inside first. To see what I mean, consider factor ETFs, also called smart-beta funds. What’s a “factor”? It’s a set of characteristics, shared by large numbers of companies, that shape risk and return—for example, value or momentum. Academic research has shown that many factors have outperformed the overall market over the long run.”
“Trump Calls For One-Year Cap On Credit Card Rates At 10%” (Bloomberg). “President Donald Trump on Friday called for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10%, effective Jan. 20, without specifying details. ‘Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be ‘ripped off’ by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%, and even more, which festered unimpeded during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration. AFFORDABILITY!’ he wrote on social media.”
“Trump Posted Unpublished Jobs Data Early On Social Media” (Bloomberg). “President Donald Trump posted a chart on social media Thursday evening that included figures in the yet-to-be released December employment report. The chart, which showed the private sector added 654,000 jobs ‘since January,’ matched figures that were not publicly published until 8:30 a.m. in Washington on Friday. It was posted on Truth Social about 12 hours before the data was set to be released.”
