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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Labor Markets
Here’s where Tesla’s recently laid-off talent is going by Fred Lambert (electrek)
Workers who have been laid off or otherwise departed Tesla recently has headed to other tech firms, with Rivian, Apple, and Lucid Motors among the biggest recruiters. [Link]
Netherlands Poised to Make Work-From-Home a Legal Right by Lucy Papachristou (WSJ)
Dutch legislation will force employers to consider remote work requests and provide a covered reason denying their request. [Link; paywall]
Food
Learning to Love an Induction Stove by Hannah Goldfield (NYer)
While gas remains a favored cooktop for chefs, home cooks are likely to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect their family’s air quality, and reduce cook time. [Link; soft paywall]
Rising prices curb consumers’ taste for chocolate by Maytaal Angel and Jessica DiNapoli (Reuters)
Sweet treats are an easy item to give up for many consumers, especially when high prices for chocolate mean choco-holics are paying out the nose for their fix. [Link]
In Portugal, Taking a Dive Into Sardines by Lily Puckett (NYT)
A look into the very old and very big business of fish canning, an industry dominated by women that is having a moment thanks to foodies’ search for intense and widely available flavors. [Link; soft paywall]
China
Chinese Homebuyers Across 22 Cities Refuse to Pay Mortgages (Bloomberg)
With apartment development timelines dragging out in part due to builders’ financial challenges, owners already on the hook for payments are starting to boycott their loans in protest. [Link; soft paywall]
China Is Stealing Taiwan’s Sand by Elisabeth Braw (FP)
Taiwanese islands close to the mainland regularly see thousands of dredgers and support vehicles trespass with the goal of removing sand for use in a huge range of applications from land reclamation to concrete or glass manufacturing. [Link]
Subscriptions
Instagram now lets creators publish feed posts just for their subscribers by Chris Welch (The Verge)
Content on Instagram can now be pushed exclusively to paid subscribers, following in the steps of Twitter and adding to a similar feature for Stories. [Link]
Netflix Changes Tack With Marketing Spree for $200 Million Film by Lucas Shaw (BNN Bloomberg)
Instead of just letting users discover a new movie, Netflix is actively marketing its new blockbuster (featuring Ryan Gosling) in a bid to re-start subscriber growth and maintain its position within the streaming wars. [Link]
BMW starts selling heated seat subscriptions for $18 a month by James Vincent (The Verge)
The German auto manufacturer is testing a feature that would allow users to pay full freight for heated seats up front or pay less in monthly installments…all to access a feature that comes built into the car but can be turned on or off with software. [Link]
Market Innovation
‘The market is just dead’: Investors steer clear of 20-year Treasuries by Kate Duguid and Colby Smith (FT)
Since being reintroduced in 2020, the 20y Treasury bond has found very little interest from investors as low liquidity and weak real money interest have made it attractive to nobody. [Link; paywall]
Lumber Futures Are Getting a Makeover by Ryan Dezember (WSJ)
In a bid to expand volumes, the CME is reducing the size of its lumber future by 75%, changed the delivery point, and broadened eligible species to allow for more participation on both sides of the contract. [Link; paywall]
Approval
Most Democrats Don’t Want Biden in 2024, New Poll Shows by Shane Goldmacher (NYT)
With President Biden deep underwater in broad polling, a majority of Democrats would prefer someone else in a primary challenge; that said, a failure to renominate a sitting President would be a major shocker in the longer-term history of the US two-party system. [Link; soft paywall]
Too Much of A Good Thing
A new ‘miracle’ weight-loss drug really works — raising huge questions by Hannah Kuchler (FT)
Last year the FDA approved a weight loss drug that led to patients losing 15% of their body weight on average. Its history and approval are controversial: patients will likely need to take it long term at a monthly list price of $1,350. [Link; paywall]
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Have a great weekend!
