my morning train WFH wrote:

• Bill Browder warns Westerners not to take money from Russian oligarchs.they should have heard. 100+ Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds Forced to Freeze Sanctioned Funds – But What’s Next? (corporate investor)

• Stock Market History as a Rorschach Test. From 2009 to 2021, the S&P 500 rose 15.8% annually. However, look at the earnings numbers – they are up 22.0% annually. Outperformed the market! (a wealth of common sense) see also Rorschach Test EconomicsTo be single and right or single and wrong in the full range of the crowd is a paradoxical stage in which all beliefs are in evidence. The data supports just about any opinion you choose to hold. I liken these periods to Rorschach tests because you can find anything you might be inclined to see. (big picture)

• Welcome back to the office. Isn’t this fun? Tech companies really want their employees to be happy about returning — or at least less annoyed. So they offer concerts, food trucks and other perks. (New York Times)

• death of gas station Gas stations will have to adapt or risk going out of business as electric vehicles hit the road. (recode)

• This Cheeseburger Explains Your Bigger Grocery Bill U.S. consumers are seeing food prices rise at the fastest pace in decades. Disruption in supply chains, labor shortages and climate challenges (plus the conflict in Ukraine) are to blame. (politics)

• How Chris Dixon’s Crypto Rabbit Hole Made Him the World’s Top Venture Capitalist. Coinbase is just the crown jewel of a portfolio that makes Dixon, 50, the new No. 1 on our annual Midas list of top tech traders. Other big Dixon deals: Decentralized cryptocurrency exchange Uniswap ($10 billion fully diluted valuation, accounting for coins not in circulation), Avalanche, an open-source blockchain ($62 billion), and NBA Top Shot creator Dapper Labs ($7.6 billion). (Forbes)

• Disney vs. DeSantis: How the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ War Threatens the Empire of Florida’s Mouse House Disney is used to quietly getting what it wants. But escalating culture wars and a state-aspiring governor are changing the game. (grid) see also political blackmail Since 1967, the state of Florida has granted Disney an unusual autonomy in the area surrounding Walt Disney World. Within this zone, companies can provide emergency services and even be taxed. Whether Disney should have those powers is an open question. But DeSantis and other politicians threatened to repeal the Reedy Creek Improvement Act of 1967 after belatedly opposing their efforts to stigmatize LGBTQ students in Florida schools. (Hot news)

• How Japan built a city where your kids can go out and run errands Netflix shows are getting old! Offers a glimpse into another reality. (slate)

• Will the Ukraine War Change Europe’s View on Nuclear? The war is prompting countries such as Belgium to delay nuclear phase-out to reduce dependence on Russia, but for countries such as Germany, Russian missile strikes on nuclear power plants have reaffirmed security concerns. (energy monitor)

• Looking for a model octopus A Massachusetts lab that doesn’t die after laying eggs may finally have found an eight-armed cephalopod that could serve as a model organism and aid in scientific research. (New York Times)

Be sure to check out our Master of Business interview this weekend with Luana Lopez LauraCo-founder Karsh, has been approved by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as an Authorized Designated Contract Market (DCM). Kalshi operates a federally regulated exchange that allows investors to trade directly on the expected outcome of future events.

Where inflation rose and cooled the most in March

source: Wall Street Journal

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