Can a Song Start a Revolution?

Welcome to This Week’s Leyendecker View

As more and more artificial intelligence is entering into the world, more and more emotional intelligence must enter into leadership.
– Amit Ray

THE BIG THINK

Last week, in a compromise on what to watch, I was fortunate to view Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, a documentary on former “it girl,” Hedy Lamarr. It wasn’t my first choice, but I was going along to get along. It turns out, I learned a lot about the fascinating Hedy and her interesting connection to today’s world.

Hedy was an Austrian beauty who shocked Europe in 1933 by appearing naked—at age 19, no less—in her first film, Ecstasy. When Hitler started taking over Europe, Hedy found her way to Hollywood. Over the course of her life, Hedy was married six times, once to a wealthy Texas oil man. She even lived in this house in Houston for a while. 

Besides being a glamorous actress, Hedy also had an insatiable curiosity, was an ardent US patriot during World War II, and was also an inventor. Believe it or not, but we probably need to thank Hedy for today’s massive telecommunications revolution. She and a partner got a patent for the concept of frequency hopping, an essential foundation of today’s telecom infrastructure.

A lot of the documentary’s narrative follows the press stories on Hedy over the years, but a good amount of the story comes from a long telephone interview Hedy gave to a young Forbes writer, after she had become a recluse. At the end of that interview, Hedy suggested:

“People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish alternative motives. Do good anyway.

The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and you’ll be kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you got anyway.”

One of the quotes might have originally come from Mother Theresa, but no matter. Hedy was happy to pass on the thought. I guess the moral of the story is that sometimes, maybe often, compromise itself can teach us something, as well provide us with worthwhile inspiration. 

THE ECONOMIC VIEW

Job growth is moderating
Job openings keep falling
Consumer confidence drops big
Peak shipping season underwhelms
Best Buy’s sales are falling
Dollar stores are flashing warning sign
The poor are using debt to buy food
Credit card delinquency rates are rising
Is the post-covid spending boom over?

US budget deficit keeps exploding
Which might keep rates higher for longer.

THE INFLATION BOGEYMAN

There are numerous reasons
Inflation may be sticky for longer
The PCE index actually rose last month
Gasoline prices are rising again
A copper price explosion may be coming
Aluminum prices look set to rise, too
Europe’s inflation remains high

Home insurance today is so expensive.
More people are choosing not to buy it

YOY inflation, 2019 to today
Will we all follow China into deflation?

THE LABOR VIEW

Job openings at two-year low
Will that make the Fed happy?

UAW authorizes strike
After higher auto worker wages come higher auto prices.
Americans support for unions grows

Remote workers
Feel disconnected from thir company’s mission

MEANWHILE IN EUROPE

Europe’s fading democracy
The bureaucrats have taken over.

UK’s net-zero goals at risk.
Their private power grid can’t handle it

European economy is stumbling
What happens if energy prices spike again?
German chancellor rejects stimulus ideas
As his finance chief navigates a rising far right

GLOBAL

India is ready to propel growth.
It all starts with infrastructure investments

Gabon military takes over after election
Is Zimbabwe next?
France won’t recognize Niger coup
African instability continues.

Foxconn founder runs for Taiwan’s president
He wants a better dialog with China

PLAYING WITH FIRE

Ukraine is going after Russian targets
In Russia, no less.
Now they’ve pierced the Russian front line

The G7 is committed to Ukraine
“For as long as it takes,” says Canada’s Trudeau.

Ukraine won’t be pushing out Russia soon
What happens when winter sets in?
Ukraine’s F-16 training starts this fall

GEOPOLITICS IN FLUX

Xi dominates BRICS summit
As he tries to assemble a G7 rival
But is BRICS nothing more than group therapy?

Saudi Arabia wants nuclear energy.
And considers China as its developer
Maybe because Saudi Arabia is building their refineries

Japan needs to grow its defense industry
Suggests their security chief.
As they boost their defense budget

FINANCE

Deal of the century.
UBS makes giant profits after CSFB deal

Best high-yield savings accounts
Right now.

Vanguard backs off ESG
BlackRock backtracks on ESG and climate
Another meme bites the dust.

Regional banks stuck in no man’s land
The Fed wants them better capitalized
Consolidation is likely coming.

REAL ESTATE

Overall home sales fall in July
But new home builders are doing well
No one wants to give up that cheap mortgage

New California “green city” investor unmasked
He’s an ex-Goldman trader.
Locals are not on board

TECHNOLOGY

Startups are hitting the funding wall
The venture spigot continues to dry up.

Chromebooks are languishing in schools
Are they portending the future of e-waste?

The new US chip renaissance
Is not going so well

Apple may shift to 3D printing
This could be a big shift in manufacturing.

THE CHAT ON AI

Anything you can do
AI can do better

There’s an AI for that
Comprehensive list of what it can be used for.

Could AI replace therapists?
Would you take life advice from a computer?
AI is coming to healthcare
Hmmm…what could go wrong here?
This, for starters

THE NEXT NORMAL

Meet Oliver Anthony, the man behind the song
Can a song start a revolution?

The Pope praises great Russian empire
Forcing the Vatican backtrack
The Pope has a conflict with American Catholics
Is there trouble in the Vatican?

A single dose of magic mushrooms
Can ease major depression.

THE WAR ON CARBON

Shell backs away from a climate promise
The goals were unobtainable.

More countries taking in LNG imports
EU sets record for LNG imports from Russia
Demand for gas remains high.
Russia set to become global LNG powerhouse
He who has natural resources has power.

Norway has highest per-capita EV ownership
Yet they keep expanding oil and gas production

THE NEW ENERGY TRANSITION

The cost of wind and solar is going up
Can they renegotiate their power agreements?

The ocean floor could be key to renewables
Are we ready to destroy oceans?

Finland power prices drop 75%
After they turned on a nuclear plant.

THE EV DREAM

China dominates EV batteries
Buy an EV, support dictators and child labor.

The EVs suburbia needs
May just be a golf cart

The Tesla of busses goes bankrupt
Do they need more government subsidies?

THE CHINA SYNDROME

More trouble for China.
Households would rather save than spend

The US sanctioned Chinese telecom, Huawei. 
And they may be skirting those sanctions

Ahead of export curbs
China imports record amount of chip equipment

THE WASHING-TONE

New labor department overtime pay plan
Could increase pay for about 3.6MM people

US commerce secretary visits China
Is it too little, too late to save this relationship?

Medicare is negotiating drug prices
You think they’ll really get cheaper?
Here’s the priciest drugs Medicare pays for
We spend double that of comparable countries

MAKING A BETTER YOU

Got access to a pool?
Here’s a full-body pool workout

Want to make your brain work better?
Seven steps to increase neuroplasticity

Want to manage stress better?
Take a daily, quiet walk

HOW ABOUT A BREAK

Used coffee grounds
Can make concrete stronger

Why we need bigfoot
Even if it doesn’t exist.

The history of the paper airplane
Nostalgia, for sure.

FOR WHEN VACATION TIME RETURNS

Oh, man! We missed La Tomatina
Who doesn’t like a good food fight?

10 favorite walking trips
Bucket list hikes across the globe.

Ever heard of the city of Vilnius?
It’s only a cool, 700-year-old place

SONG OF THE WEEK

“Blue Mesas”
By Leon Bridges.
Lyrics are poetry, ya know.

CASTING AROUND THE PODS

“Toxic achievement” culture is fueling youth depression—and for what?
Megyn Kelly sits down with Never Enough author.

VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

Hedy Lamarr’s first film, Ecstasy.
From start to finish on YouTube.

The last Lennon-McCartney interview
Freely speaking their minds in 1968.

Liam Neeson in Retribution trailer.
Another revenge thriller from an AARP actor.

FROM THE HEADHUNTER’S KITCHEN

Meals for Labor Day Weekend:
Tomato basil salad
Tuscan grilled veal chop
Mushroom gravy
Roasted carrots over lemon honey yogurt
Roasted fingerling potatoes
Key lime pie

5 dishes before summer ends
Cook ’em up soon!

THE RANDOMS

US construction spending for factories is booming, but we may not have enough skilled manufacturing workers. Can we train people working in coffee shops and restaurants to work in a factory? Will they even want to?

Given that so many mortgages are at low-interest-rate levels and today’s home equity rates are 8%+, it seems unlikely that homeowners will use home equity loans to boost their consumption.

Home prices haven’t fallen as interest rates have risen. Does this mean house prices will not increase when interest rates start falling? 

Recent studies suggest that marijuana use could increase mental health issues for young people, yet the Department of Health and Human Services is now suggesting moving it to a lower-risk category. This is the government we pay for.

With trillion dollar plus budget deficits projected for years to come, it seems surprising that no politician is talking about budget cuts or raising taxes. Oh yeah, I forgot, no one gets elected by selling “sacrifice.”

By the way, our federal budget deficit has obviously exploded since 1980, while our top marginal tax rates since 1986 have been around the lowest in a century. Just sayin’.

Take notice, people: Even the historically liberal Europeans are rapidly shifting toward more conservative thinking. And farmers are leading the charge.

Pay too much attention to the news, and you may end up with a mental health problem.

The end of summer reminds me of a little saying I have: Sometimes you have to lose your mind just to keep your sanity.

Don’t be afraid to break away from routine. It often helps the mind think more clearly. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Are We in a Polycrisis?
August 25, 2023

10 Rules for a Good Life
August 18, 2023