What we’re reading (5/20)
“Sports Grow From Private Equity Afterthought To Booming Market” (Sportico). “Most every major league—and that soon will likely include the NFL—allows private equity (PE) funds to own stakes in their teams, to the point institutional investors are almost ubiquitous: At least a dozen teams in the NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS have private equity among its ownership groups. The top European soccer leagues and Formula One, as well as growing leagues from women’s soccer to lacrosse to mixed martial arts, have heavy institutional ownership.”
“Microsoft Set To Unveil Its Vision For AI PCs At Build Developer Conference” (CNBC). “One area where Microsoft has a distinct advantage over others in the AI race is in its ownership of Windows, which gives the company a massive PC userbase. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in January that 2024 will mark the year when AI will become the ‘first-class part of every PC.’ The company already offers its Copilot chatbot assistant in the Bing search engine and, for a fee, in Office productivity software. Now, PC users will get to hear more about how AI will be embedded in Windows and what they can do with it on new AI PCs.”
“Our Man In East Setauket” (Institutional Investor). “The first half hour of the drive confirmed [Jim] Simons’ now famous chain-smoking habit, but otherwise it was a bit awkward. I made the mistake of telling him the names of former scientists who I knew worked at the firm. He flipped out a bit about revealing the identities of his staff in the article, and I thought he might have his driver turn the car around. Eventually, I agreed to use some but not all names.”
“Americans Are Down On The Economy (Again), With Inflation Topping Election Concerns” (The Washington Post). “Consumer sentiment, a gauge of Americans’ economic perceptions, is at a six-month low, according to a closely watched index by the University of Michigan. The measure notched its biggest drop since 2021, reflecting the persistent tug of inflation on household budgets and fueling fears that rising prices, unemployment and interest rates could all worsen in the coming months.”
“Mystery Of Mona Lisa’s Background May Have Been Solved” (The Art Newspaper). “A US geologist says she has cracked one of art history’s biggest mysteries—the location in which Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is set. Ann Pizzorusso, who says online that she has worked in ‘oil drilling and gem hunting’, believes that the hazy landscape behind the celebrated enigmatic sitter draws on the northern Italian city of Lecco.”
