What we’re reading (9/29)
“Apple Downgrade Sparks Tech Sell-Off, Sending Alphabet And Microsoft To One-Year Lows” (CNBC). “Shares of large technology companies suffered heavy losses on Thursday, dragging down many other U.S. stocks along with them, after analysts at Bank of America lowered Apple’s stock rating. Tech stocks have been pushed down all year as investors have rotated out of growth and flocked to more defensive assets to deal with higher interest rates and to get ahead of a possible recession.”
“Porsche Takes Off In Trading Debut” (DealBook). “Shares in Porsche rose in their trading debut this morning, after the sports car maker priced its initial public offering at the top end of its expected range last night. The long-awaited offering was an increasingly rare bright spot for I.P.O.s, but it may not be enough to revive the moribund market on its own.”
“Pension Strategy Left Funds Vulnerable To Rate Increases” (Wall Street Journal). “‘A vicious cycle kicks in and pension funds are selling and selling,’ said Calum Mackenzie, an investment partner at pension-fund adviser Aon PLC. ‘What you start to see is a death spiral.’”
“UK Pensions Got Margin Calls” (Bloomberg). “This all makes total sense, in its way. But notice that you now have borrowed short-term money to buy volatile financial assets. The thing that was so good about pension funds — their structural long-termism, the fact that you can’t have a run on a pension fund: You’ve ruined that! Now, if interest rates go up (gilts go down), your bank will call you up and say ‘you used our money to buy assets, and the assets went down, so you need to give us some money back.’ And then you have to sell a bunch of your assets[.]”
“Inside Supersonic Plane That Will Get You From London To New York In 80 Minutes At Speeds Of 2,486 Mph” (The U.S. Sun). “The plane would travel at a speed of 2,486mph – twice as fast as Concorde. Measuring 328 feet long with a 168-foot wingspan, the aircraft is also nearly twice its size.”
