Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Speaks

Welcome to This Week’s Leyendecker View

He who knows how to conserve is not afraid of the future because he has learned the lessons of the past.
– Giuseppe Prezzolini

THINKING OUT LOUD

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Speaks

Why think out loud this week when someone spoke out loud so eloquently and powerfully about the freedoms and ideals of the West that are worth fighting for, protecting and preserving.

Earlier this week, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accepted an award from the Atlantic Council Global Citizen Awards.

Her acceptance speech reminds us how wonderful a leader can actually be!

THE ECONOMIC VIEW

The art market is tanking
Peak luxury is behind us.

FedEx suggests manufacturing is waning
Is another 50-basis point cut coming?

Sports betting hits $220B
Everyone will be betting soon
When will Wall Street jump in?
Betting apps are getting toxic
Was legalizing sports gambling a mistake?

NYC OMG

Why is NYC such a mess?
City schools chancellor resigns
Their transit system needs $65.4B
Mayor’s chief counsel resigns
Ex-fire chiefs charged with bribery
And…
The mayor gets indicted
Tracking ALL the investigations
AOC says Mayor Adams should resign

INFLATION, DEFLATION, OR BOTH?

Consumer Price Index is tepid
Inflation looks defeated, but…

Restaurant portions getting smaller
Shrinkflation is on the menu.

There’s a looming US port strike
A little supply chain inflation, maybe?

Asia coffee crop is all wet
Cup of Joe to stay steep.

THE LABOR VIEW

The Indeed wage tracker
Says wages are starting to grow again
Boeing offers union workers a 30% raise

GM lays off big at Kansas plant
Auto woes getting worse?

Is the WFH era coming to an end?
Tech execs are over it

MEANWHILE IN EUROPE

Migrants are storming into Europe
How should/can they deal with them?

Eurozone economy faces contraction
Germany’s growth prospects downgraded
Where’s the catalyst for European growth?

EU bureaucrats want farmers to pay up
Bureaucrats have zero practical sense.

THE GLOBAL GAME

Global economy looks like the 1920s
Suggests ECB president.

Japan’s new PM backs an “Asian NATO”
To counter China.

Argentina’s Milei blasts the UN
He calls them socialists.

THE UKRAINE FIRE

Russia makes more nuclear threats
Talk to the hand, Putin!

Zelensky pleads with the US.
Increase pressure on Russia
Biden promises $8B more in aid

Ukraine hits more Russian depots
Russia targets Ukraine power grid
A war that won’t go away?

THE GAZA FIRE

Israeli strike decimates Hezbollah leadership
Israel rains hellfire down on Hezbollah
Killing top Hezbollah commander
Hezbollah fires missile at Tel Aviv
Israel prepares for Lebanon ground war
Has Hamas been defeated?

THE SLIPPERY SLOPE

China-linked hackers hit US infrastructure
Sure hope we have a response strategy.

China test fires ICBM
More China saber rattling.

Russia’s been violating Japan’s airspace
Japan is done with this.

FINANCE

When you see a story like this…
US equity markets have never been safer
…it might be time to run for the hills

Private equity has liquidity event problems.
Time to bring in operational experts

Investors are moving into nuclear equities
Is nuclear at the beginning of a boom?
Oracle wants nuclear to power new data center

REAL ESTATE

Office-to-residential conversions are happening.
But lots of buildings need to be knocked down

The rate cut is helpful.
But not for these real estate folks
Mortgage refinancings surge

The coolest city in the country
Shhh…Don’t tell anyone.

IS TECH A WRECK?

Google files Microsoft antitrust complaint
Is a big tech street fight coming?

Instead of calling it an iPhone
Should we be calling it an iCamera?
You probably don’t need an iPhone 16

Intel was once a chip champion
Now it’s a disaster.
After almost $20B in Fed subsidies
Will Qualcomm take them over?

THE CHAT ON AI

Another VC sees AI jobs doom.
AI will do 80% of work for 80% of jobs

The deep dark era of doubt has just started
How do we know anything is true?

Will AI be a bust?
Goldman analyst thinks so

OUR GOOD FRIEND, FAILURE

Pediatricians created a peanut allergy monster
Who can we trust these days?

Homeless population keeps growing
And we’re not in a recession, right?

Environmentalists finally admit it.
The green agenda punishes the poor most

THE NEXT NORMAL

Violent crime is down
Why might this be the case?

CA Governor Newsom signs bill.
No grocery store plastic bags in CA

Liberals are the new gun owners
Safety fears in liberal-run cities.

THE WAR ON CARBON

California sues Exxon for plastics deception
Maybe California doesn’t need gasoline.

America’s climate plan is faltering
Idealism ahead of practicality.

Ecuador faces a power crisis
Drought limits their hydro power.

THE ENERGY TRANSITION

Electricity that costs nothing
That’s a lie. Someone has to pay something.

Banana waste to energy
Increasing potential in banana regions.

Power prices go negative in Europe
Too many renewables, not enough storage.

THE EV DREAM—OR DELUSION

Swedish battery maker to cut jobs by 20%
Can the government hire them?

US considers ban on any Chinese or Russian EV software
Which would eliminate Chinese EVs from the US market.

China and EU can’t agree
On an EV tariff deal.

THE CHINA SYNDROME

China’s economy continues to slow
Time to export deflation to the world.
China assembles a stimulus bazooka

China tries to stimulate its economy.
With a rate cut and liquidity injection
They’re handing out cash to the poor

China’s digital ID program
Set up a mass surveillance system.
They even have an internet police team

THE WASHING-TONE

Biden drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Now we don’t have the money to refill it

US sues Visa
For monopolistic behavior.

FTC finds “vast surveillance”
Has been conducted by social media.
Self-regulation has been a failure

THE ELECTION DISTRACTION

Harris throws down $100B
Come on Trump, where’s the free $$$?

Will Musk decimate bureaucracies
If Trump gets elected?
Jamie Dimon likes the sound of it

MAKING A BETTER YOU

3 yoga poses
For better sleep.

Use these seven key steps
To increase your neuroplasticity.

Surviving the age of misinformation
Help, please help.

HOW ABOUT A BREAK

Interactive peak foliage map
Road trip time!

Can dogs understand your words?
Research suggests “yes”
AI will let us speak to animals

Donuts!
How the fried treat conquered the world

THE EXTRAORDINARY

The black hole with a cosmic wingspan
140 Milky Way galaxies wide!!!

Cat missing in Yellowstone
Finds his way home 800 miles away

Saved from extinction.
The New Zealand Māori language

MUSIC BOX

The 100 Ballads Project
Resurrecting 17th-century pop songs.

Mumford & Sons
“Awake My Soul”
Lyrics can be poetry, ya know.

Classic 80s and 90s rock
In case you need a fix.

CASTING AROUND THE PODS

Senator Rand Paul hasn’t endorsed Trump
Bari Weiss asks him why.

VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

Megalopolis trailer.
Coppola channels Kubrick.
“…baffling and plainly nuts—but worth it”

Small Things Like These trailer.
Cillian Murphy post Oppenheimer.

Transformers One trailer.
Not as silly as it looks

FROM THE HEADHUNTER’S KITCHEN

Want to learn to cook?
Here’s a good starting guide

Orecchiette with sausage and spinach
Easy peasy, yammy yummy!

How to make the perfect burger
Bring it!

THE RANDOMS

Is it any coincidence that the economy is weakening just enough for the Fed to pull off a 50-basis interest rate cut right before the election?

Is it just me, or does mainstream media always give the party affiliation when a Republican politician falls from grace, but party affiliation is conveniently omitted when a Democrat has fallen from grace? The media seems to be forgetting to mention that NYC’s mayor is a Democrat.

Who is ready to live in a world where everyone wears Meta’s new “smart” glasses? Not me.

To be clear, planet Earth does not need to be saved. Planet Earth was around billions of years before humans and will be around billions of years after. Now, about saving humans…

When the Fed cuts interest rates, it means the economy is weakening. Lower interest rates may help companies pay less for their debt, but a weakening economy means they could also experience lower sales. 

What we may have forgotten is that the lower interest rates experienced during the pandemic were combined with trillions of dollars of free money to businesses and individuals. This next lower-rate period will not come with all that extra free money.

China has announced monetary policy changes that hopefully will improve their economy. The other possible government stimulus China could use is fiscal stimulus, but unfortunately the regional governments are too chocked full of debt to use that tool.

Why does it feel like so many Americans care way more about their money and stuff than their communities?

What does the following statement make you think, or how does it make you feel?

First we feared God, then we revered God, then we respected God, then we questioned God, then we abandoned God, and now we believe we are God.

How much do we really know about love?

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

It’s Not My Fault
September 13, 2024

Is a Soft Landing Possible?
September 20, 2024