10 Monday AM Reads

My flying home from California reads:

• America’s Biggest Export Could Use a Massive Rebrand. One market stands above all else in this regard and that is the market for US Treasuries, which currently totals about $30 trillion and dwarfs pretty much every other thing out there. (Bloomberg)

• Trump and Powell on Collision Course Without Easy Escape: The president wants interest rates cut, but his trade war has the Fed chair boxed in. (Wall Street Journal) but see Amazon Is Better Prepared for the Trade War Than Investors Think: The company’s size and global reach give it muscles to flex even in a sour economy (Wall Street Journal)

• Bonds Are a Good Bet Again. Where to Find Yields of 6% or More. From junk bonds to munis to mortgage securities, yields are elevated and prices depressed. Ten funds to consider. (Barron’s)

•  What is the Optimal Portfolio Rebalancing Strategy? This white paper arms financial advisors and planners with insights about how different rebalancing strategies, in combination with bullish or bearish market conditions, can affect portfolio performance and risk. (Y Charts)

• Nvidia: The AI chip giant caught between US and China. The California-based company will require licenses to export its H20 AI chip to China, a move which the US Commerce Department said was designed to safeguard “national and economic security”. Nvidia said federal officials had told them the requirement will be in force for the “indefinite future”. But why is the company so pivotal in the race for AI supremacy between the US and China? (BBC)

• US houses are shrinking as inflation pushes ‘McMansions’ out of reach: Even in Texas, the American dream of home ownership is being downsized because of an affordability crisis. (Financial Times) see also Stubbornly High Mortgage Rates Thwart the Crucial Home-Selling Season: Mortgage rates stayed flat while stock-market volatility and recession fears threaten the housing market (Wall Street Journal)

• What Recourse Does the Supreme Court Actually Have? As the Trump administration talks itself into refusing to comply with judicial orders, federal judges are moving closer to deploying the most powerful tool they have: contempt of court. (The Atlantic)

• An Advance in Brain Research That Was Once Considered Impossible: Scientists achieved “a milestone” by charting the activity and structure of 200,000 cells in a mouse brain and their 523 million connections. (New York Times)

• Former Pentagon official warns department’s dysfunction could topple Hegseth: “The last month has been a full-blown meltdown at the Pentagon,” John Ullyot, the former top Defense Department spokesperson. (Politico)

• Richard Kind Is Still Waiting for His Big Break: Amazingly prolific and beloved by Hollywood royalty, the actor has a self-image that belies his status and achievements. “I just work,” he said. (New York Times)

Be sure to check out our Masters in Business this week with Martin Escobari of, General Atlantic, where he is Chairman, and head of the Global Growth Equity Investment Committee, and Managing Director. Before joining General Atlantic in 2012, Martín was Co-Founder and CFO of Submarino.com, a leading Brazilian online retailer that went public on the Bovespa and was sold to Lojas Americanas in 2006. He was recently appointed to the Harvard Management Company Board.

European travellers cancel US visits as Trump’s policies threaten tourism

Source: Financial Times

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