Archive
Home prices still don't make sense... People started moving out of cities and buying homes at record pace in late 2020. Roughly 18 months later, the housing market still hasn't settled down. Despite a huge increase in construction, homebuilders still can't keep up with demand. Prices are rocketing higher. And here's another crazy stat from […]
- Z
Nobody wants to hear that gross domestic product ('GDP') is shrinking... Normally, the statement "the economy contracted this quarter" generates a lot of buzz, including several days of headlines and a pullback in the stock market. There is a symbolic danger to a contraction beyond the headline shock, as it means the economy is only […]
How sharing a meal leads to understanding others' opinions... There's a common understanding across different religions including Islam, Christianity, and Judaism that "breaking bread" with someone means making meaningful connections over a meal. It's a widespread notion that bread is a sign of life. Some of the most important meetings in history have taken place […]
Roku is making one last play to stay relevant in the streaming wars... When movie theaters suffered immensely during the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, home streaming services of all stripes picked up the slack. Even before 2020, the streaming market was already saturated in what has been called the "streaming wars." With so many competitors in […]
- ROKU
In the midst of the pandemic, many wondered if Uber (UBER) could survive... During the height of the coronavirus, no one was going anywhere or using Uber's ride-share service. Meanwhile, the company's food delivery service Uber Eats was substandard against competitors GrubHub and DoorDash (DASH), and it was still hemorrhaging money. Yet, in its recently […]
- UBER
Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) was the place to go for clothing in the early 2000s... From the late 1990s until the mid-2000s, the company was a staple at American malls. With shirtless male models standing outside stores along with dim lighting and thumping music inside creating a club-like atmosphere, shopping at Abercrombie was an experience. […]
- ANF
The latest economic concern is consumer spending patterns... When the coronavirus pandemic first spiked in the U.S., the country saw its fastest and most material contraction in a generation. With folks staying home, fear of a complete spending shutdown had economists worried about a deep, long-lasting recession. The government quickly put those fears to rest […]
- JPM
While many investors were visiting Omaha, I went whitewater rafting in North Carolina... Last week was many investors' annual pilgrimage to Omaha, Nebraska that culminated in Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, two of the greatest investors in history, conducting Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK-B) annual shareholders meeting. Meanwhile, I was on an executive retreat in North Carolina. […]
The crisis in Ukraine revived coal demand... As the world has gradually shifted to greener energy sources, coal has taken a backseat. For a few years, everyone was referring to the world's dirtiest power source, coal, as a power source of the past. However, the war in Ukraine has forced many western countries to rethink […]
- ARCH
The music industry is a cutthroat arms race... From vinyl and 8-tracks to CDs and Napster, the 20th century saw huge disruptions in music distribution... and the 21st century is showing no signs of slowing down. Each time a music format takes the world by storm, it's quickly thrown aside for the next in the […]
- AAPL
- AMZN
- BLK
- SPOT