New York Times (May 6)
When Warren Buffet unexpectedly announced his retirement at the end of 2025, “people in the crowd, many of whom were in tears, rose from their seats in a standing ovation for a singular figure in the business world.” The Oracle of Omaha, as he is known, “is often described as a symbol of American capitalism. In truth, he is an outlier. He is more the conscience of capitalism, willing to speak uncomfortable truths about the system’s ills while others remained silent.” A humble billionaire, Buffet “always comes across as a gentleman, and in an age of distrust he has become a trusted figure.” No doubt, another “of his biggest accomplishments” was “using his annual Berkshire letters and marathon Q&A sessions with shareholders to educate generations about business, investing and life itself.”
Tags: Berkshire, Buffet, Capitalism, Conscience, Educate, Gentleman, Humble, Oracle of Omaha, Outlier, Ovation, Q&A, Retirement, Shareholders, Tears, Trusted, U.S., Uncomfortable truths
Market Watch (May 5)
“Taiwan’s currency is exploding,” as are fears about the “$767 billion of foreign assets held by Taiwan’s life insurers.” In a “classic case of liability and asset mismatching,” Taiwan’s life insurers “have put their assets into U.S.-dollar-denominated bonds… without hedging the currency risk.” This has resulted in “what’s called a 19-sigma shock,” as the Taiwanese dollar strengthened dramatically, exceeding “the typical move by 19 standard deviations in a world where a 3-sigma event is…. much rarer than even 1 in a trillion.”
Tags: $767 billion, 19-sigma shock, Bonds, Currency, Currency risk, Dollar-denominated, Exploding, Fears, Foreign assets, Hedging, Liability, Life insurers, Mismatching, Taiwan
Washington Post (May 3)
Robert Monks, a pioneering champion of shareholder activism died at 91. His breakthrough was that“informed shareholders could use their proxy power to force management’s hand to clean up the industrial pollution.” And so he “set aside his corporate roles and, in a bold switch, helped restructure the rules of engagement in American capitalism.” The founder of Institutional Shareholder Services, “Mr. Monks is widely credited with devising how to harness shareholder activism for a greater voice on issues such as company board membership, strategic priorities and executive pay.”
The Economist (May 3)
“Relations between America and China are at a low ebb. Tariffs of well over 100% on both sides have severed trade. Each is striving to dominate 21st-century technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). A massive military build-up is under way. In the previous cold war such rivalries came to a head over flashpoints like the Berlin airlift and the Cuban missile crisis. Today American resolve is likely to be tested over Taiwan—and sooner than many think.”
Tags: AI, Berlin airlift, China, Cold war, Cuban missile crisis, Dominate, Flashpoints, Low ebb, Military build-up, Relations, Resolve, Rivalries, Severed trade, Tariffs, Technologies, Tested, U.S.
Business Insider (May 2)
“Investors are on edge as President Donald Trump’s ’America First’ policies seem only to diminish the appeal of US assets, but to famed economist Nouriel Roubini, the fears are overblown.” This may seem surprising for the economist known as ‘Doctor Doom,’ but he is also known a contrarian who now “sees US markets constraining Trump’s most aggressive policies, and ensuring a continuation of American exceptionalism.” He urges investors now to discount the nation’s key advantage: technological leadership.
Tags: Advantage, America first, Appeal, Assets, Contrarian, Diminish, Doctor Doom, Economist, Exceptionalism, Fears, On edge, Overblown, Roubini, Trump, U.S.
CNN (May 1)
“Another day, another piece of evidence that President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war with friends and foes is hurting the global economy. Today: Japan’s central bank cut its economic growth forecast for the country in half.” The Bank of Japan “lowered its expectations for 2025 gross domestic product growth to an anemic 0.5%, down from the previous projection of +1.1%, made in January.”
Tags: 0.5%, 2025, Anemic, BOJ, Economic growth, Escalating, Evidence, Expectations, Foes, Forecast, Friends, GDP, Global economy, Hurting, Japan, Trade war, Trump
Bloomberg (April 30)
“Donald Trump was elected on a pledge to fix all kinds of problems confronting the US economy, from stubborn inflation to a long-term decline in manufacturing jobs. He’s already declared that he’s off to the greatest start of a presidential term ever. The numbers don’t back him up.”
Tags: Decline, Economy, Elected, Greatest start, Inflation, Manufacturing jobs, Numbers, Pledge, Problems, Trump, U.S.
