My “Its Christmas Eve already?” early morning reads:
• Prediction Markets Will Make the Stock Market Obsolete. Yes or No? As prediction markets surge, Wall Street is grappling with an uncomfortable question: Is there any distinction left between investing and gambling? (Barron’s)
• Inside the Invitation-Only Stock Market for the Wealthy: The buzziest private companies are being sold to a select few as the universe of stocks everyone else can invest in shrinks rapidly. (Wall Street Journal) but see also Once Wall Street’s High Flyer, Private Equity Loses Its Luster: As funds deliver mediocre returns and sheds investors, the industry is struggling to unload 31,000 investments, an increase over this time last year. (New York Times)
• Inside America’s Costco economy: A retailer once built around broad middle-class value is now powered overwhelmingly by its most affluent, most loyal, most economically insulated members. (Quartz)
• Rivian unveils ambitious plan to take on autonomous driving: The EV maker, known for its electric trucks and SUVs, is racing to catch up to rivals with help from AI. (Washington Post)
• Mortgage Rates Are Falling but Owners Still Won’t Sell: Nearly 30 million households, or 54% of primary mortgage-holders, have mortgage rates at or below 4%. (Wall Street Journal)
• Who Finishes First in Life? Often, Late Bloomers (or the advantage of being a generalist): A new study suggests that the people who reach the pinnacle of their fields typically dabbled in multiple disciplines when they were young. (New York Times)
• A 6-year research project found a surprisingly simple route to happiness: Results of a study out of Cornell suggest a happiness hack that can lead you toward a life of purpose. (Washington Post)
• The real reason this polarizing food made its sweet San Francisco comeback: How the Bay Area helped make them cool. (SF Gate)
• More Than 50 U.S. Lawmakers Are Retiring Next Year. Why? Plus, Charlie Kirk supporters get behind JD Vance in the 2028 presidential race, and CBS News pulls a ‘60 Minutes’ segment. (Wall Street Journal)
• The 10 Best Movies of 2025: The standout films that helped cinema survive another turbulent year (The Atlantic) see also The Best Albums of 2025: This year’s most interesting artists invented their own grammar and tunneled in idiosyncratic directions. (The Atlantic)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this past weekend with Patient Capital‘s Samantha McLemore, Live from the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. Previously, she co-ran the Miller Opportunity Trust with famed investor Bill Miller.
Residential moves enterting or leaving each state
Source: Axios
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