Introducing Books from the WC

(yes, those are my initials, and yes, I know what they mean, but I’m owning it)

Check out Books from the WC

Curated from among hundreds of books I've read over the last several decades, these are the best.

Most are non-fiction, but you'll also find works of fiction sprinkled in. They tell an important story, give essential historical context, or present a compelling or necessary vision of the future.

They're all books that will make you a better investor, give you essential context for our world, and possibly help you become a better human.

You can view them all here.

Here’s a closer look at one recommendation. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson.

I actually found reading this book exceptionally hard work, but perhaps that's because I slogged through it while deployed with NATO during the Libyan uprising. Nonetheless, the vision of the future presented here, specifically around AI as a tutor for our children, is compelling and thought-provoking.

If you enjoy it, I encourage you to check out ​Snow Crash as well. It looks at what might happen if America (and the world) split up into corporate city-states.

Which isn't, like, an impossible outcome.

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📰 Market Headlines

  • Markets bounced back, with the S&P 500 crossing 5,000 again. Iran and Israel appear to have skipped starting WW3, and this week is crammed full of big earnings data.

    • The S&P 500 rose 1.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied nearly 1%.

    • 180 S&P 500 companies, representing over 40% of the index's market cap, are set to report Q1 results this week. [Ed: I told you it was a big week]

  • The historic criminal trial of Donald Trump began in New York. He appeared to fall asleep again.

  • Tesla stock tumbled over 3% after big price cuts in the US, China, and Europe.

  • Britain’s FTSE index notched an all-time high.

🕶️ Market Vibes

🎰 Market Forecasts and Futures

Forecasts via ​Kalshi​, the prediction market.

😱 Fear and Greed Index

You know last week was bad when notching up to a 38 feels like big progress.

🎤 What you said last time

When you’re ticking below Tesla, something’s wrong. Is this all down to Gemini?

📈 Trends you need to know

Google has beaten estimates four quarters in a row (after missing four times on the bounce).

🧠 What do you think?

💬 Have your say

Why all the hate (above) for Google?

📊 Stocks

Get $20 free shares at ​public.com​ using code ALTSCO.

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Winners and losers

Earnings, upgrades, and acquisitions

  • Verizon lost fewer-than-expected wireless subscribers (🎉) and beat estimates for quarterly profit. Shares fell 3.3% anyway.

  • Zions Bancorporation's adjusted EPS beat the consensus estimate, boosting shares by 4%.

  • SAP reported Q1 cloud revenue up 24%. Shares rose 1.37% on the news.

  • Albertsons beat estimates, but revenue missed the consensus estimate, dropping shares 0.59%.

  • Truist Financial's stock rose 3.42% after reporting a 13% rise in digital transactions compared to last year.

  • Bank of Hawaii missed revenue estimates; shares were flat.

  • Nucor posted revenue of $8.14 billion beating expectations. Shares didn’t budge.

Market movers

  • US President Biden unveiled $7 billion in grants for residential solar projects in his Earth Day message.

  • Meta started licensing its Quest headset OS to Lenovo, Asus, and others in a bid to be the "Microsoft of headsets."

  • Kroger and Albertsons announced plans to sell 166 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers while seeking approval for their $25 billion merger.

  • Express Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US and plans to close over 100 stores.

  • Layoffs:

    • Elon Musk originally wanted to give Tesla the Twitter treatment and cut its workforce by 20%, double the announced 10% cuts.

    • Adient is moving jobs out of Europe, expecting $125 million in restructuring charges.

    • Nike is cutting 740 jobs at its Oregon HQ, expecting to save $2 billion annually.

Ideas, trends, and analysis

🌍 Global Perspectives

  • 🇮🇹 Italy's 2023 budget deficit soared to 7.4% of GDP, more than double the EU average.

  • 🇲🇻 🇨🇳 🇮🇳 A pro-China party won a landslide victory in the Maldives parliamentary elections.

  • 🇵🇭 🇺🇸 Nearly 17,000 Filipino and American troops kicked off joint combat drills in the Philippines, including maritime exercises in the South China Sea.

  • 🇩🇪 🇨🇳 Germany arrested three people suspected of giving technology to China to strengthen its navy.

  • 🇮🇱 🇵🇸 Israeli troops stormed back into eastern Khan Younis in a surprise raid.

📊 Crypto

🧠 Errata

📺 What to Watch Today

Africa is jumping on the Beluga Caviar train, angering China.

That’s all for today. Did I miss anything? Smash the reply button to let me know.

Cheers,

Wyatt

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