What we’re reading (7/14)
“Robert Putnam Knows Why You’re Lonely” (New York Times). “I think we’re in a really important turning point in American history. What I wrote in ‘Bowling Alone’ is even more relevant now. Because what we’ve seen over the last 25 years is a deepening and intensifying of that trend. We’ve become more socially isolated, and we can see it in every facet in our lives.”
“‘Dollarization’ In Argentina Isn't A Policy Choice, It’s A Market Condition” (RealClear Markets). “With money that’s actually used by producers, the simple, unspoken truth is that its circulation is production determined. Where there’s production there’s always “money” facilitating the movement of production as though placed there by an invisible hand. And where production is slight, there’s very little money as a reflection of scant production.”
“What If The A.I. Boosters Are Wrong?” (DealBook). “[MIT economist Daron] Acemoglu concluded that A.I. would contribute only “modest” improvement to worker productivity, and that it would add no more than 1 percent to U.S. economic output over the next decade. That pales in comparison to estimates by Goldman Sachs economists, who predicted last year that generative A.I. could raise global G.D.P. by 7 percent over the same period.”
“Pork Producer Smithfield Plans U.S. Stock Listing” (Wall Street Journal). “The Chinese parent of Smithfield Foods says it plans to take the pork company public in the U.S. WH Group, the world’s largest pork-producing company by sales, said Sunday it plans to float Smithfield’s business in the U.S. and Mexico on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.”
“Global Markets Ramp Up The ‘Trump Trade’ After Rally Attack” (Yahoo! Finance). “The series of wagers — based on anticipation that the Republican’s return to the White House would usher in tax cuts, higher tariffs and looser regulations — had already been gaining ground since President Joe Biden’s poor performance in last month’s debate imperiled his re-election campaign. But the trades were expected to take deeper hold, with Trump galvanizing supporters and drawing sympathy by exhibiting defiant resilience after being shot in the ear on stage at a Pennsylvania rally.”
