Money Is Moving Out of ESG

Welcome to This Week’s Leyendecker View

Comparison is the thief of joy.
– Theodore Roosevelt

THOUGHTS FROM DOUG

I don’t get the competition over EV range. It seems most efficient to make cheap EVs that are good commuter cars with limited battery needs (and therefore more affordable), and then leave long distances to mass transit. Wouldn’t this be more carbon productive?

Is the EV battery range competition good for the environment?

Cleantech investing is the new gold rush. And, as we’ve learned, all gold rushes eventually bust. But along the way, something productive tends to be gleaned from the experience.

What’s the risk of Western companies getting kicked out of China? The US Chamber of Commerce is worried about it. Western company leaders are also worried. China’s recent detention and new espionage law doesn’t help. Does anyone remember that in 2019 China introduced its latest industrial policy, Made in China 2025? Maybe Europe is starting to get the message.

Let’s get something straight. Humans will not save the planet. Why? Because the planet does not need saving. The planet is not going to self-destruct any time soon. The planet was here long before humans and will be here long after humans.  

Headlines and stories that talk about “saving the planet” or “destroying the planet” are actually destroying mental health. Isn’t it illegal to scream “fire” in a crowded theater? Why so? These kinds of headlines and stories are highly irresponsible. They are destroying people’s well-being. Where’s the outrage and concern about that?

The SVB collapse and ongoing banking crisis may be teaching us that the proper balance between a free market and regulation is always a moving target.

To many, the world seems out of control. But we only have a tiny experience of history.  Maybe chaos is really the norm and order the anomaly.

THE ECONOMIC VIEW

TSA chief expects record air travel summer
Auto sales are lookin’ good!
US shoppers stay resilient
We added 235,000 jobs in April
I thought the economy was weakening?

Fed raises rates as expected
But suggests a pause is next.
Time to lock in your savings rates?

Construction spending holds up
Manufacturing construction booms.
New home market heats up

A BANKING CRISIS???

Regional bank shares plummet
50% of people worried about their money
What stops this rolling crisis?
FDIC to hit big banks with fees

A 1980s banking crisis veteran
Is not happy with today’s situation

The great consolidation
We’ve lost 10,000 banks since the 1980s.

THE INFLATION BOGEYMAN

Why inflation seems sticky.
The story of a humble tire tells us

Auto insurance rates keep rising
When do they ever fall?

The oil price trajectory
Suggests inflation is headed lower

THE LABOR VIEW

Workers can’t learn fast enough
Says Ford CEO.

Over 50% of workers need retraining.
Here are the skills they need to learn

“Productivity theater” is a WFH trend
Gaming the online work systems.

Workers optimistic about wage raises

Companies are not on board.

MEANWHILE IN EUROPE

Germany reopens more mines
In search of minerals self-sufficiency.

Green backlash hits the EU
Farmers are gaining influence.

The EU ponders a new nature law
That may drive jobs out of the region.

GLOBAL

Where is forced labor in supply chains?
Canada wants to know.

WHO economists are gloomy
As globalization changes.

Giant shipper sees global slowdown
Maersk reports declining volumes.

LET’S VISIT JAPAN

The right way to eat sushi
With your pinky extended, right?

Cherry blossom musings
Wish I was there.

Japan’s beautiful old castles
Another good reason to visit.

PLAYING WITH FIRE

Wagner ready to leave Ukraine
The Russian situation gets messy.

The Russian economy is in trouble.
According to a pollution satellite

Russia can still get sensitive European tech
Through a spy network of thieves.

THE NEW COLD WAR

Millions of Russian crude barrels 
Are being shipped by an Indian company
But they still have to use dollar payments

Iran seizes second oil tanker
They’re getting cantankerous.

China’s loss
Is Mexico’s gain

THE FINANCE WORLD

A ChatGPT portfolio
Outperformed popular fund managers

Money is moving out of ESG investing
As conservative thinking grows.
But forestry and ag are looking good

US private equity exits
Have slowed to a trickle

THE TECH BUST

It’s time to start worrying
Over unicorn exits

Venture-backed exits
Fall to a decade low

Here comes the summer of down rounds
Valuations are falling fast.

TECHNOLOGY

The venture capital gold rush story
In three charts

The end of passwords
May be here soon.
Google accounts no longer need one

Big tech earnings are resilient
More to come with AI.

THE CHAT ON AI

IBM to pause hiring
AI to replace thousands of jobs.

Google AI guru resigns
And cautions the world about AI.
Some Stanford folks see little risk
While MIT folks see potential security disaster

More new chatbots are on the way.
Here comes Pi!

THE NEXT NORMAL

The English language is evolving.
Or is it being radically reinvented?

8th graders achieved a record!!!
Lowest scores ever on history and civics

Hand picking your kids’ DNA
May soon be doable

THE WAR ON CARBON

NY to ban gas in new buildings
Who needs new buildings with population decline?

A brazen plot cost Venezuela billions
This should be a movie!

Ukraine locks us into fossil fuel future
Says Greenpeace.

THE NEW ENERGY TRANSITION

Is it a lake or a battery?
A new kind of hydropower spreads.

Another new way to produce electricity
Is already here.

The VC cleantech boom.
Where the money is going

A LITHIUM GOLD RUSH

Chile to nationalize lithium mining
Government wants control.

China moves to nationalize lithium
How will this affect other automakers?

Lithium could be found
In abandoned oil fields

THE EV DREAM

EVs don’t meet suggested range
Car & Driver puts them to the test.

Canada’s Trudeau gives VW a hand out
And tells everyone else to pound sand.

Musk starts an EV price war.
Here’s his subtle strategy
Ford cuts EV Mustang price

THE CHINA SYNDROME

China trade deals seek to unseat the dollar
But can they be trusted?

BYD is China’s best-selling car company
Western automakers are losing out.

Hollywood is losing China
Propaganda replaces entertainment.

THE WASHING-TONE

Biden wants to remove solar panel tariffs.
Bipartisan Senators disagree

We may soon have another border crisis.
Biden sends troops to help out

SCOTUS to opine on bureaucrats
How much power can they wield?

MAKING A BETTER YOU

Sitting can be a superpower.
Here’s how to do it right

Secrets to a healthy breakfast
My favorite meal!

Clear and productive communication
Some great tips here!

HOW ABOUT A BREAK

Searching space for earth look-alikes
They’ve found six so far.

Countries that are worth a vacation
But get little attention from Americans.

Hemingway’s letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald
From the mind of genius?

SONG OF THE WEEK

“If You Could Read My Mind”
RIP, Gordon Lightfoot.
Lyrics are poetry, you know.

How about another…

“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
Lyrics
And the true story

CASTING AROUND THE PODS

The end of the world? Or the dawn of a new one?
Bari Weiss interviews OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

The Galactic Menagerie
If Wes Anderson made a Star Wars movie.
What if he made a horror movie?

Richard Nixon’s wisdom
What a big surprise!!!

Time travel in an ancient English rainforest
Who knew?

FROM THE HEADHUNTER’S KITCHEN

Why you should eat more bread
And do it right.

Great recipes learned from grandmas
Nothing but yummy.

Do you make homemade pizza?
What you need to know about mozzarella 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

There Is No Failure
April 28, 2023

America’s Astonishing Economic Record
April 21, 2023