The workings of free capital markets require that in order to overcome investors’ innate aversion to risk, seemingly riskier investments must offer the possibility of higher returns providing “risk premiums.” But when risk aversion is at cyclical lows, risk premiums needn’t be generous; people will invest anyway. Too many people trying to dine at the buffet simultaneously can lead to a disorderly process and skimpy portions. I recommend that you look twice at the cost of admission and – if you do decide to partake – proceed carefully.Horizon Kinetics' Q2 Conference Call Slides [H/T @chriswmayer] (LINK) [And Commentary HERE.]
Where Are the Dips? The Weird, Unsettling Rise of Global Stocks This Year (LINK)
Stock markets go up and down: It is a fact of life. Except in 2017.
Bill Gross' July 2017 Investment Outlook (LINK)Three major stock-market benchmarks in the U.S., Europe and Asia have avoided pullbacks this year, commonly defined as 5% declines from recent highs. Never in at least the past 30 years have all three indexes—the S&P 500, MSCI Europe and MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan—gone a calendar year without falling at some point by at least 5%.
It’s never too late to succeed: How this 60-year-old founder took her business from zero to $500 million in 6 years [H/T Matt] (LINK)
Related video: The RealReal's Julie Wainwright Had to Get Out of Town After Pets.comThe surest way to go broke in America today is to get sick. (LINK)
Related book: An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It BackGraham Allison: "Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?" | Talks at Google (LINK)
Why I Hate Adverbs - by Jason Zweig (LINK)
HBR IdeaCast podcast: Nike's Co-founder on Innovation, Culture, and Succession (LINK)
Related book: Shoe DogFreakonomics Radio (podcast): These Shoes Are Killing Me! (LINK)
The human foot is an evolutionary masterpiece, far more functional than we give it credit for. So why do we encase it in "a coffin" (as one foot scholar calls it) that stymies so much of its ability — and may create more problems than it solves?Revisionist History podcast: "The King of Tears" (LINK)
In this week's episode, I identify a musical divide in America - the sad song line. I wanted to know: why does half the country prefer rock n' roll music, while the other half prefers country? And what is it about some music that makes us so sad?
The questions begged for answers. So I tracked down the King of Tears himself, a man who has written more sad songs than almost anyone else, to find out.
The Man Who Blew The Door Off The Microbial World - by Ed Yong (LINK)