2023 Week 9

TOPICS

• Labor Market
• Fed Rate
• Energy

Labor Market

OPINION - The results of the remote work experiment will continue to shape labor dynamics for the next decade

• (biancoresearch)
  • It’s a “post-pandemic economy!” Stopping and restarting the economy in 2020 caused big secular changes that will last for AT LEAST a generation. Headlining these changes is remote work,the biggest change to the labor market since we invented the eight hour day/5 day work week 150 years ago. Management/Labor relations have been permanently altered. To be clear, these changes are not better or worse, they are making it different. So is it difficult to read because we are waiting for the pre-pandemic economy to return? Or is it difficult to read because we know secular changes have taken place, and we’re trying to figure out what the new rules of the road?

Fed Rate

OBSERVATION - Short term gains vs. long term reward. Time to start buying equities

• (EconguyRosie)
  • Taking the “N” out of “TINA”!

Energy

OPINION - Coal is low tech and more accessible to emerging economies than natural gas. To reduce carbon, globally, we need to get everyone off coal but it will be a lengthy, expensive endevor.

• (BrianGitt)
  • “If we don’t understand why coal is so valuable, we have no hope of beating our addiction to it. Coal is cheap, reliable, & easy to store for indefinite periods. Replacement technologies that fail across these critical dimensions have no hope of decreasing global demand for coal.” - @DoombergT

OBSERVATION - China taking advantage of a steep Russian discount

• (PeterZeihan)
  • Great graphic. Note that it is total purchases for the full year (Germany’s we’re front loaded and are currently almost zero)