12 Jun The Weekend Starts Here...
Photo by me
I’m finally starting to feel as though that light at the end of the tunnel might not be a train speeding towards me. A number of things have fallen into place in the last couple of weeks, not least that our landlords have been hard at work and have implemented every change I wanted to see in order to feel it was safe for the staff to work in the office again.
My only sticking point now is the issue of the staff travelling to and from work. Most have to use public transport and whilst we can introduce staggered working times to avoid busy periods, I believe that – at least for the foreseeable future – going back to work in the office will need to be voluntary rather than mandatory.
On with this week’s links…
In recent weeks the stock market has seemed to be oblivious to the ‘news on the ground’. Just a few days ago the S&P 500 was back where it was before the pandemic hit. But news this week from states such as Texas and Florida indicate the US is in danger of seeing a second wave, and much sooner than originally anticipated. And, wallop, the S&P 500 fell 6% yesterday putting it back into ‘correction territory’. Yet, historically, this is where the index sits roughly 20% of the time. How Often Do Stocks Fall? [ Michael Batnick 1 min read]
How do you analyse the world when everything feels broken? Humbly. [ Morgan Housel 3 min read]
There are some words and phrases which this pandemic has caused to be overused to the point of irritation (‘new normal’ is one which particularly grates with me). Unprecedented is certainly one of them [ Barry Ritholtz 3 min read]
When 511 Epidemiologists Expect to Fly, Hug and Do 18 Other Everyday Activities Again [5 min read]
“A whole new class of investors has begun investing. The question is whether this is an imminent sign of a market top or a welcome longer term development.” Red light, yellow light, green light [ Tadas Viskanta 2 min read]
I’ve been enjoying the second series of Michael Lewis’s podcast Against The Rules (if you missed season one that’s also definitely worth a listen)
He was also interviewed on Barry Ritholtz’s Masters in Business podcast [1 hour podcast]
An anti-racist reading list [3 min read]
What happens when you smash your own face in, in the middle of a pandemic? [ Tim Harford 3 min read]
An update from our farm here in France [27:28 video]
And finally. I have really struggled to know what to say about the anti-racism protests without seeming trite. I think the thing I am just starting to get an inkling of is the extent to which the colour of your skin can have such a huge impact on the day to day activities the majority of us take for granted, particularly for young, black men. This next piece is one of many I have read in the last couple of weeks, all of which shared a similar theme. Something which should be so simple, so ordinary a part of life. But isn’t. [ via Abnormal Returns 3 min read]
The sun has come out today, the first time this month I think, and the forecast is good for the next few days. It’s a lovely thought that we can, at last, enjoy a drink in the sunshine at our local bar again. It’s the simple pleasures…
Whatever you’re up to this weekend, I hope it’s a good one.
Carolyn