What we’re reading (5/14)
“Investors Are Nervous—And That Could Support Stocks” (Wall Street Journal). “Turmoil in the banking sector has dragged fund managers’ enthusiasm for stocks to a 2023 ebb, according to Bank of America’s most recent monthly survey. The stress adds to worries including lingering inflation, higher interest rates and a slowing economy that have driven them to cut their stockholdings to their lowest levels relative to bonds since 2009.”
“The Greatest Wealth Transfer In History Is Here, With Familiar (Rich) Winners” (New York Times). “In 1989, total family wealth in the United States was about $38 trillion, adjusted for inflation. By 2022, that wealth had more than tripled, reaching $140 trillion. Of the $84 trillion projected to be passed down from older Americans to millennial and Gen X heirs through 2045, $16 trillion will be transferred within the next decade.”
“How Germany’s Hydrogen Boom Stalled” (Der Spiegel). “Welcome to the sobering hydrogen reality. While Germany hopes that it will soon be able to run basement gas heating systems on hydrogen, steel manufacturers are converting their production to the green gas at a cost of billions and energy companies are planning new power plants that will generate electricity from hydrogen, almost everything needed to make the climate-neutral dreams a reality in the near future is still lacking. The environmentally friendly hydrogen is missing, as are the pipeline networks to carry it across the country, not to mention reliable business models.”
“The Real Reasons Stores Such As Walmart And Starbucks Are Closing In Big Cities” (CNN Business). “Nordstrom. Walmart. Whole Foods. Starbucks. CVS. These big chains and others have closed stores in major US cities recently, raising alarm about the future of retail in some of the country’s most prominent downtowns and business districts.”
“Why China Doesn’t Have A Property Tax” (New York Times). “In China, where the government owns the land, localities almost never tax homeowners to support services like schools. Cities rely instead on selling long-term leases to real estate developers. Revenue from these land sales has plunged in the past year.”
