What we’re reading (3/12)
“Inflation Cooled To 2.8% In February, Lower Than Expected” (Wall Street Journal). “Inflation cooled last month, but the latest data may offer less comfort to U.S. businesses, consumers, and Federal Reserve policymakers than it otherwise would because tariffs are threatening to raise some prices in the months ahead.”
“The Curious Surge Of Productivity In U.S. Restaurants” (Austan Goolsbee, et al.). “We document that, after remaining almost constant for almost 30 years, real labor productivity at U.S. restaurants surged over 15% during the COVID pandemic. This surge has persisted even as many conditions have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Using mobile phone data tracking visits and spending at more than 100,000 individual limited service restaurants across the country, we explore the potential sources of the surge. It cannot be explained by economies of scale, expanding market power, or a direct result of COVID-sourced demand fluctuations. The restaurants’ productivity growth rates are strongly correlated, however, with reductions in the amount of time their customers spend in the establishments, particularly with a rising share of customers spending 10 minutes or less.”
“The Internet Is In Awe Of Warren Buffett’s Perfectly Timed Cash-Out” (Business Insider). “Warren Buffett has sparked a raft of comments and memes on social media after the legendary investor sold most of his massive Apple stake and built a record cash pile before the stock market tumbled earlier this week.”
“Dimon: ‘Uncertainty Is Not A Good Thing’” (Semafor). “‘I don’t think the average American consumer who wakes up in the morning and goes to work…changes what they’re going to do because they read about tariffs,’ Dimon said in an interview with Semafor’s Gina Chon at a Washington, D.C., summit on retirement hosted by BlackRock and the Bipartisan Policy Center. ‘But I do think companies might,” he said. “Uncertainty is not a good thing.’”
“Short-Term Pain For... Long-Term Malaise?” (Drezner’s World). “As Catherine Rampell notes in her latest column, Trump ‘has already positioned America to lose the 21st century, in three simple steps. 1) Alienate your friends. 2) Destroy your business environment. 3) Slaughter your golden goose (i.e., science and research).’”
