The day

Weird monopolies

Cheap funding creates monopolies. The robber barons of the US at the end of the 19th century understood this, and the private equity guys do today. The smaller the industry, the easier it is. You just buy out your competitors. What’s amazing is that it’s not just telcos, FAANGMAN, auditing firms. It’s makers of board games and jigsaw puzzles. I’m not kidding, take a look.

Global Green Initiatives

A trillion here, a trillion there and pretty soon we’re talking real money.

The labour market is the only one that matters

If only someone could create an ETF the price of which was tied to average wages …

Nordea have written another excellent piece of research. They point out that inflation expectations have rarely been higher.

Well, maybe the used car market too

This post explains that demand for second hand cars is so strong it’s really in danger of breaking the ability of car dealerships to function. It’s another example of inflation pressures building.

Oil production capped

It took a pandemic to persuade producers not to ramp up production on the first hint of a price increase. Maybe now they’ve got the message.

Wrap

Seems to have been a risk-off day.

• dollar up,
• equities down,
• commodities down, except gas, which seems always to move against oil,
• yields down (or mainly flat).

Big jump in personal incomes, but not much other news.

Twttr

The Woke religion is built on words that nobody can define. Diversity. Sustainable. Equity. Inclusion. Exploitation. They're powerful because they feel like they mean something. But try to define them, and you have to put in your own assumptions to get anything out

It's circular

— Bachman (@ElonBachman) April 30, 2021