Welcome to Bespoke Brunch Reads — a linkfest of the favorite things we read over the past week. The links are mostly market related, but there are some other interesting subjects covered as well. We hope you enjoy the food for thought as a supplement to the research we provide you during the week.

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Real Estate

What Happened to the Gilded Age Mansions of New York City? by Candace Taylor (WSJ)

The history of the midtown mansions which used to be a defining feature of life in Manhattan; they’ve long since disappeared under soaring buildings which now dominate the city. [Link; paywall]

Redfin Reports Demand Slips, Pushing More Sellers to Drop Asking Prices (Redfin/Business Wire)

A summary of leading indicators for home buying demand that have started to slow. Fewer searches, fewer tours, fewer mortgage applications, and higher rates are all illustrating a looming cooldown in the housing market. [Link]

How Remote Work is Shifting Population Growth Across the U.S. by Adam Ozimek (Economic Innovation Group)

An analysis of Census data that suggests remote work is driving population outflows from high-cost dense metros and towards suburbs, exurbs, and rural areas around the country. [Link]

Work

Sure, Work Makes Us Want to Swear. But Should You? by Rachel Feintzeig (WSJ)

It’s one thing to let fly with profanity at home, but returns to the office have meant habits developed during the pandemic may require a bit of adjustment now that there are coworkers in ear shot again. [Link; paywall]

Everything Costs More, and That’s Disrupting Retirement for Many by Harriet Torry (WSJ)

Inflation appears to be playing a role solving a problem that was much fretted over last year: workers are returning to the labor force to augment retirement income amidst high rising prices. [Link; paywall]

Starbucks is weighing better benefits for employees but says they could exclude union workers by Amelia Lucas (CNBC)

Already facing one complaint from the NLRB for union-busting, Starbucks is trying to fight further unionization by denying benefits to union shops and may run further afoul of labor regulations in the process. [Link]

Innovation

A McDonald’s distribution partner in Canada is testing an electric Volvo truck — take a closer look at the big rig EV by Brittany Chang and Mary Meisenzahl (Business Insider)

EV trucks are starting to hit the road in Canada as part of a test for Volvo’s new offerings. McDonalds is testing the trucks as part of its distribution network. [Link]

World’s Biggest Particle Collider to Restart in Bid to Extend Frontiers of Physics by Aylin Woodward and Janet Babin (WSJ)

The massive particle accelerator along the Swiss-French border has been shut down for three years, but new collisions will resume soon after a series of upgrades. [Link; paywall]

Emerging Markets

Unsafe at any price by Jay Newman (FTAV)

Concerns are mounting over the shift away from protective covenants are especially grave among the highly-indebted sovereign borrowers from emerging markets, where legal enforcement against sovereign actors is always more complicated than in the private sector. [Link; registration required]

U.S. and Chinese Bond Yields Converge, Reversing a Decadelong Pattern by Rebecca Feng (WSJ)

The once-large yield advantage for Chinese government bonds relative to those in the US has been erased, with a slowing Chinese economy and tightening Fed policy leading to a convergence between the two large markets. [Link; paywall]

Supply Chains

Building Resilient Supply Chains (Council of Economic Advisors)

A detailed report on the general nature of supply chains and steps that could be taken to make them more resilient, part of the CEA’s annual Economic Report of the President. [Link; 42 page PDF]

France

First round of 2022 French election in charts by Eir Nolsoe, Ella Hollowood, and Oli Elliot (FT)

A series of charts explaining the geographic, material, and educational differences between voters that supported Marine Le Pen and Emmanuelle Macron in France’s first round elections. [Link; soft paywall]

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Have a great weekend!