Month: January 2024

It’s been a year since Meta was supposed to be dead according to the experts, whose viral videos and articles racked up millions of views proclaiming the end for Meta: How poorly those have aged. [1] Meta stock has since almost tripled from its 2022/2023 lows, making an all-time high at $400 as of writing… Continue reading Meta was supposed to be dead…the stock is up 300%

By Noah Smith: In particular, rent has now come down. A report by Realtor.com finds that median rents have fallen for 8 straight months now, caused in part by a boom in new apartment construction. (Yes, it turns out that YIMBYs are right and increasing supply makes housing more affordable.) This is some of the… Continue reading The Daily View, 1/28/2024: YIMBY-ism, Fast Food, Twitter, etc.

The past few years has seen a revolution in highly effective weight loss treatments, namely Semaglutide and Tirzepatide, which originally were used to treat diabetes but have been rebranded and repurposed to treat obesity under such brand names as Wegovy and Zepbound. They are often referred to as “GLP-1 drugs” for their mechanism of action… Continue reading The Wegovy Class Divide – Why It’s Not What You Think

2024 is off to a stronger start than even 2023. Everything is going exactly as predicted. It’s one thing to get the general direction right or one or two things, but not everything. Below, META and SVIX, the two I singled out at the start of the year as superstar performers, are up about 8%… Continue reading Market update for 2024: a huge start for the year, Bitcoin crashes, and optimism about Trump

This post went slightly viral: In America, a conscientious person with IQ of 92 can become a CDL driver, go to work for Walmart, make 100k+, buy one of the nicer houses in their hometown, and take an annual cruise. https://t.co/ERCmu3uUEw — VB Knives (@Empty_America) January 19, 2024 I think he and the parent tweet… Continue reading The daily view 1/22/2024: Vivek, IQ, Scolds, and Inactivity and Obesity

Huge reason Americans don't feel wealthy is that a large percent of national wealth is devoted to extreme automobiles. Which are now taken for granted and give no feeling of personal success. An 60-80K SUV or crewcab is just normal now. https://t.co/pCI7Z7R9jy — VB Knives (@Empty_America) January 20, 2024 It’s not the trucks. If Americans… Continue reading Blame Recurring Services for Americans Feeling Poorer

Mark Cuban and Elon Musk have recently gotten into a spat over DEI. Cuban, who recently sold a majority interest in the Dallas Mavericks but retained operational control of the team, countered Musk’s viewpoint with a series of tweets emphasizing the advantages of DEI programs. “Good businesses look where others don’t, to find the employees… Continue reading Mark Cuban–the left’s strongest weapon

Taleb and Gladwell had literary success in the early to mid 2000s arguing that outliers or the unpredictable are underestimated, which led people astray in the expectation of a new paradigm or the hope of easy riches by betting on tail events or underdogs, when in reality the big get bigger and more dominant–whether in… Continue reading On betting against change

Does anyone expect an outcome in which Trump does not sweep the whole thing? The only hope for the others is if Trump is somehow disqualified or dies. It’s similar to Biden in 2020, Romney in 2012, Obama/McCain in 2008, or Hillary in 2016 in which early on it was evident who was going to… Continue reading 2024 primaries: Ramaswamy gone, Trump still dominant

The WEF is today. The only reason I knew about it is because it was on Yahoo Finance and Taleb mentioned it on Twitter. This is supposed to be a huge event in which the greatest leaders and minds in business and government convene, yet zero anticipatory discussion or hype on social media leading up… Continue reading The WEF: mostly smoke and mirrors