What we’re reading (6/19)
“Tech-Stock Boom Pits AI Against The Fed” (Wall Street Journal). “Investors can’t agree on whether their recent run looks like the prelude to an eventual bust—like that of the dot-com era—or the start of a more durable rally. Hype around artificial intelligence has helped drive shares of technology companies to records this year. The rally has only intensified heading into the end of the quarter.”
“Norway Proposes 40% Gender Quota For Large And Mid-Size Unlisted Firms” (Reuters). “Large and mid-size private firms in Norway must have boards comprising at least 40% women, Norway's government proposed in a bill on Monday, in a further push to break the glass ceiling preventing women from reaching top positions. The Nordic country was the first in the world to introduce a 40% gender quota on the boards of listed companies, in 2005, kick-starting an international push to force companies to have more women on boards.”
“A Tiny Activist Takes On John Malone, Cerberus, And A Cable Giant” (Institutional Investor). “Behind a pizzeria in an alley off the main drag of a New Jersey suburb, a gruff, Lenin-quoting provocateur named Kevin Rendino is plotting an assault on corporate America. His boldfaced targets: cable czar John Malone of Liberty Media Corp., leveraged buyout mogul Steve Feinberg of Cerberus Capital Management, and Charter Communications, the second-largest U.S. cable company by subscribers. Each owns preferred stock in Comscore, an advertising analytics firm, and they have been sucking it dry, Rendino says. His fund, 180 Degree Capital Corp., owns 6 percent of Comscore’s common stock — and he is incensed.”
“Fully Grown - European Vacation!” (Economic Growth Blog). “For the United States I delineated between a relatively fast-growth 20th century and a slow-growth 21st century. GDP per capita in the US grew at about 2.25% per year in the 20th, and about 1% per year in the 21st. This slowdown appeared to predate the financial crisis, starting some time around the year 2000. Does this look the same for Europe? Basically, yes.”
“Mortgages: New Squeeze On Landlords Will Hit Renters Too” (BBC). “Landlords are making their lowest profits for 16 years as interest rates rise, leading some to look to leave the sector, estate agency Savills has said. Twelve consecutive increases in the Bank of England's base rate, matched by rising mortgage costs, were putting the squeeze on landlords' income, it said.”
