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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Cancer & Carcinogens
A turning point in cancer by Eric Topol (Substack)
Scientists have released an unprecedented series of breakthroughs related to cancer treatment, covering a wide range of therapies and types of cancer which could have huge impacts on overall mortality and quality of life. [Link]
FDA to Order Juul E-Cigarettes Off U.S. Market by Jennifer Maloney (WSJ)
E-cigarette leader Juul has been ordered off the US market after a two year review of data as part of an authorization process. Juul limited marketing and its flavor range in 2019, but its history of targeting teens will reportedly keep it off the market. [Link; paywall]
Supply Side
How Much Do Supply and Demand Drive Inflation? by Adam Hale Shapiro (FRBSF Economic Letters)
An analysis of PCE inflation suggesting that supply-side factors have been responsible for about 80% more inflation than demand-side factors (though those have also added substantially to overall PCE inflation. [Link]
The Supply-Side Damage Has Begun: The Dark Side Of Fed Tightening by Skanda Amarnath (Employ America)
The Fed’s tightening campaign has led to significant damage in housing markets already, and that damage is likely to lead to long-term damage to the supply side, making housing more expensive long-term. [Link]
Real Estate
Empty Wall Street Offices to Be Revived as Apartments by Rebecca Picciotto (WSJ)
A giant office tower at 55 Broad St is being renovated and converted into apartments as strong demand for rental units meets a slowdown in demand for central business district office. [Link; paywall]
Sky-High Housing Prices Look Back Down to Earth by Charlie Wells (Bloomberg)
After a staggering surge in home prices around the world, higher rates and eye-watering valuations are coming back to bite recent buyers. [Link; soft paywall]
Investing
JPMorgan Says Retail Investors Are Finally Bailing on Stocks by Lu Wang (Yahoo/Bloomberg)
After sticking with stocks all the way down, smaller investors may be starting to capitulate…just in time for stocks to rally, if the contrarian history of retail investors is any indication. [Link]
Facebook, Netflix and PayPal Are Value Stocks Now by Gunjan Banerji (WSJ)
Former high-flying tech names Meta (FB), Netflix (NFLX), and PayPal (PYPL) are all headed from growth to value per FTSE Russell methodologies which are updating the lists of stocks by style. [Link; paywall]
Ecology
World’s biggest bacteria discovered in Caribbean mangrove swamp by Clive Cookson (FT)
An absolutely enormous bacteria 50x as large as the previous record has been discovered in a mangrove swamp in Guadalupe; unlike virtually all other bacteria species, these are literally visible to the naked eye. [Link; paywall]
New Kings
Khabane Lame unseats Charli D’Amelio as top TikTok star with 142.8M fans by Andrew Court (NYP)
A former machine operator whose videos parody excesses of other creators has become the most-followed creator on TikTok. [Link; auto-playing video]
This Teen Has Already Broken Some of Usain Bolt’s Records. He’s Getting Faster. by Jeré Longman (NYT)
An 18-year old has become the fourth-fastest 200-meter runner in world history, and is a serious contender for the US championships this year. [Link; soft paywall]
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Have a great weekend!
