Topley’s Top 10 – August 27, 2021

1.SPACS Alive and Well? $100B Worth of SPACS Announced in July…439 Total SPACS Looking for Targets

NY Times-Dealbook

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/21/business/dealbook/spac-market-future.html


2.Sample of How Much Bitcoin Market has Matured….$2Billion in option contracts expiring today

Bitcoin Eyes 200-Day Moving Average Support as $2B Options Expiration Nears

The max pain price for Friday’s bitcoin options expiry is $44,000.

By Omkar Godbole

A total of 42,500 option contracts worth roughly $2 billion are set to expire on Friday, according to data provided by Skew. The dominant crypto options exchange Deribit will settle the majority of open interest at 8:00 UTC.

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2021/08/26/bitcoin-eyes-200-day-moving-average-support-as-2b-options-expiration-nears/


3.AGG-Bond Index Rallying to Near Highs…Fixed Income Sees Biggest Inflows in 7 Weeks

AGG Bond Aggregate ETF…1 point below Covid highs.

©1999-2021 StockCharts.com All Rights Reserved

www.stockcharts.com

Reuters-Investors plough money into bonds, stick with stocks-BofA

LONDON, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Fixed income funds enjoyed their biggest inflows in seven weeks with investors piling into investment grade debt and U.S. Treasuries in the past week, BofA said on Friday.

Bond funds took in $13.3 billion with investment grade bond funds enjoying $8.8 bln of inflows and U.S. Treasuries pulling in $2.5 billion in the week to Wednesday — their largest intake in five weeks, BofA said, citing EPFR data.

Equities saw inflows of $12.6 billion with U.S. stocks benefiting from a third straight week of inflows, at $6.2 billion.

Investors added cash to equities during a period that saw markets gyrate over speculation about when the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin tapering and concerns for economic growth amid the rapid spread of the Delta COVID-19 variant.

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Precious metal funds suffered their largest outflows, at $1.4 billion, since March.

Reporting by Karin Strohecker Editing by Tommy Wilkes

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://www.reuters.com/business/global-markets-flows-urgent-2021-08-27/


4.ETF Trading Volume…Almost Doubles During Volatile Market Periods.

State Street

https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/bny-mellon-investment-management-global/


5.Private Equity Boom Alive in Europe

From Dave Lutz at Jones Trading.TAKEOVER– Europe’s private equity firms are snapping up U.S. companies at the fastest pace since the financial crisis and taking on more staff on the ground as they seek to expand their reach across the Atlantic – The region’s buyout funds have been involved in more than $83 billion of U.S. deals announced so far this year, buoyed by large acquisitions by Sweden’s EQT AB and France’s PAI Partners among others. That’s helped fuel a hiring spree by those investors and a number of their peers that are chasing post-Covid opportunities beyond their own backyards.

European private equity is looking to the world’s largest economy as it rebounds from the pandemic and dealmaking surges, putting them on track for their busiest year in the country since 2007.  European-based private equity funds raised $172 billion last year, more than 60% higher than the amount in 2019, according to Preqin data. So far this year, they’ve amassed about $120 billion, already surpassing the total for the whole of 2019.


6.Seven Day Moving Average NFTs.

Irrelevant Investor Blog

Remember back in February when a group of investors cobbled together $208,000 for a LeBron James moment. What seemed like an astronomical dollar amount just a few months ago seems quaint compared to some of the numbers we see today.

The Irrelevant Investor I Don’t F*ckn Get It by Michael Batnick
https://theirrelevantinvestor.com/2021/08/23/i-dont-fckn-get-it/


7.The Death of American Starter Home

  • In 2002, more than half of new homes sold for under $200,000.
  • In July 2021, less than 2% did, while nearly half sold for over $400,000.
  • Homeownership has become increasingly unaffordable for the American middle class, and it’s getting worse.

One mind-blowing chart shows the death of the American starter home over the last 2 decades-Kiersz 

Oxford Economics’ chief US economist, Gregory Daco, highlighted a chart created by economics blogger Bill McBride showing the distribution of new homes by price range going back to 2002.

That chart, using data from the Census bureau’s monthly report on new home sales and prices in the US released on Tuesday, shows that while over half of new homes sold in 2002 were priced at under $200,000, only about 2% fell in that range in July 2021. Meanwhile, the share of new homes selling for over $400,000 has steadily risen, with nearly half falling in that bracket last month:

It’s worth noting that the above figures are not adjusted for inflation. Going by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI inflation calculator, $200,000 in January 2002 would be worth about $308,000 in July 2021. Still, the average price of a new home in the US has roughly doubled over that period, well outstripping general inflation.

The skew between relatively inexpensive houses and highly priced homes has gotten even worse over the last year amid a wild pandemic-fueled housing market. In February 2020, the month before COVID-19 began spreading widely in the US, 11% of new homes sold for under $200,000, while about a third were over $400,000.

That same month, Insider’s Hillary Hoffower reported that housing experts were crying out for more starter homes, as the record-low mortgage rates made housing theoretically more affordable than ever before, but housing prices consistently outpaced wage growth in metro areas.

In the 18 months since, the US has shown signs of a nascent housing bubble. Nationally, prices have been spiking higher, and homes are selling more quickly than they have in years, suggesting a slew of buyers snapping up houses almost as soon as they’re listed.

This month, one California homeseller described the current market to Insider’s Ben Winck as being “like a game show” in its chaotic, frenzied speed.

Even renters are facing a price crunch, with rents spiking faster than they have in 16 years, according to real estate data firm CoreLogic.

It’s no secret that Americans have long faced a housing affordability crisis that has only gotten worse in the last year. But as the chart shows above, it’s almost impossible to find a relatively cheap home to buy, and many would-be first-time homebuyers will likely struggle to find that starter home of their dreams.

Andy Kierz-Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-prices-death-of-starter-home-american-dream-affordability-2021-8


8.Shipping firm Maersk spends £1bn on ‘carbon neutral’ container ships

Eight new vessels able to run on methanol fuel could help save more than 1m tonnes of carbon emissions a year

Maersk’s new vessels will be will be 10-15% more expensive than traditional bunker fuel container ships. Photograph: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images

Jillian Ambrose

The world’s biggest shipping company is investing $1.4bn (£1bn) to speed up its switch to carbon neutral operations, ordering eight container vessels that can be fuelled by green methanol as well as traditional bunker fuel .

The Danish shipping business Maersk said the investment in new vessels would help to ship goods from companies including H&M Group and Unilever, while saving more than 1m tonnes of carbon emissions a year by replacing older fossil fuel-driven ships.

The vessel order, placed with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries, is the single largest step taken so far to decarbonise the global shipping industry, which is responsible for almost 3% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The shipping industry has been relatively slow to react to calls to reduce fossil fuel use, in part because cleaner alternatives have been in short supply and are more expensive.

Søren Skou, the Maersk chief executive, said: “The time to act is now, if we are to solve shipping’s climate challenge.

“This order proves that carbon neutral solutions are available today across container vessel segments and that Maersk stands committed to the growing number of our customers who look to decarbonise their supply chains.

“Further, this is a firm signal to fuel producers that sizeable market demand for the green fuels of the future is emerging at speed.”

The eight vessels, which will each have capacity for 16,000 containers, are expected to be delivered by early 2024. They will be 10-15% more expensive than bunker fuel container ships, each costing $175m.

The Danish company aims to only order new vessels that can use carbon neutral fuel as it seeks to deliver net zero emissions by 2050.

Maersk said more than half of its 200 largest customers – including Amazon, Disney and Microsoft – had set or were in the process of setting targets to cut emissions in their supply chains.

Maersk plans to run the vessels on green methanol, rather than fossil fuels, as soon as possible but admitted this would be challenging because it would require a significant increase in the production of “proper carbon neutral methanol”.

The company set out plans last week to produce green fuel for its first vessel to operate on carbon neutral methanol alongside REintegrate, a subsidiary of the Danish renewable energy company European Energy.

The Danish facility is expected to produce about 10,000 tonnes of carbon neutral e-methanol, using green hydrogen combined with carbon emissions captured from burning bioenergy such as biomass.

Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, the chief executive of Maersk’s fleet and strategic brands, said the green methanol partnership could “become a blueprint for how to scale green fuel production” and “decarbonise our customers’ supply chains”.

The new additions to Maersk’s fleet are “the ideal large vessel type to enable sustainable, global trade on the high seas in the coming decades”, she said, and “will offer our customers unique access to carbon neutral transport on the high seas while balancing their needs for competitive slot costs and flexible operations”.

Leyla Ertur, the head of sustainability at H&M Group, said Maersk’s investment in large vessels operating on green methanol was “an important innovative step supporting the retailer’s climate goals” to become climate neutral by 2030 and climate positive by 2040.

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Shipping firm Maersk spends £1bn on ‘carbon neutral’ container ships | Shipping industry | The Guardian


9.Airbnb Opens Doors to Afghan Refugees

Morning Brew

What about the US? Congress added 8,000 “special immigrant visas” intended for Afghan nationals who work for the US government, and the Biden administration told humanitarian groups to prepare for as many as 50,000 Afghan refugees who aren’t eligible for that visa to enter the US under a new designation called “humanitarian parole.”

Looking ahead…President Biden confirmed yesterday that the airlift will probably end on the Taliban-imposed deadline of August 31, despite allies urging him to extend it beyond that date. – JW


https://www.morningbrew.com/daily


10.7 Types of Rest That Will Fix What Sleep Doesn’t

I talk a lot about biohacking your sleep. Sleep is a foundational part of performance, and upgrading your sleepis one of the best ways to improve your performance across the board. 

As important as sleep is, there’s another part of recovery that’s easy to overlook: rest. 

While rest is different from sleep, it’s just as essential if you want to perform at your best. I recently did a Bulletproof Radio interview with Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, a biochemist and one of the leading experts on how the human body recovers. 

One of Dr. Saundra’s main messages is that there’s a big difference between rest and sleep, and incorporating rest into your life can help you recover faster and be more effective in everything you do. 

Here are 7 types of rest that will fix what sleep doesn’t, and how you can use each one to become a more resilient human. 

1. Mental Rest

According to Dr. Saundra, mental rest is the most essential type of rest. 

In the modern world, your brain deals with more stimuli than ever before –– work, news, email, social media, entertainment, and so on. You’ll become a lot more effective if you give your mind an occasional break. 

There are a few ways to decrease mental stress:

  • Get organized. Structure your week enough that you know exactly what you’re doing each day. That way you don’t expend mental energy wondering what to do or trying to figure out what comes next in your schedule. 
  • Meditate. Meditation gives your mind a break from external stimuli and acts as a sort of mental reset. If you’ve never tried it before, a simple guide to meditation will help you get you started. You don’t need any special equipment, and five minutes a day is enough to make a big difference. 
  • Take a vacation. Even if it’s only a long weekend, getting away from work for a few days will decrease your mental stress, and you’ll actually be more productive in the long run.

Biohacking is all about performing at your best, and a big part of that is being able to sustain high performance over time. Make space in your schedule for mental rest; it’ll prevent you from burning out at work and you’ll be more effective long-term. 

2. Emotional Rest

There’s a good chance that you have a persona that you portray to the world, and it puts a certain level of stress on you to keep it up. 

That’s why it is vital to have one or two people that you can truly be yourself with, or to make time for solitude so you can put down your persona for a while. 

Here are a few good ways to decrease emotional stress:

  • Therapy. Talking to someone who isn’t close to you can actually help more than talking to close friends. There’s no risk of ruining a relationship so you don’t have to put up any kind of facade. Whether it’s with a psychologist, psychiatrist, coach, or someone else you trust, therapy is a good way to be completely honest emotionally, which will provide a sense of relief and help you sort out how you really feel about things in your life. 
  • Time with close friends. Make time to be around the people who know you best. If you can be yourself with them, you’ll come away emotionally recharged. 
  • Time alone. You can also schedule some solitude into your life. Time alone gives you a chance to disconnect from others’ expectations and sort through your emotions. It acts like a sort of emotional reset. Take a weekend away to meditate, journal, and spend time with your thoughts and nobody else’s. 

3. Social Rest

There’s a saying: “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” 

Humans are social creatures, and the people in your life have massive influence on how you think, feel, and act. For example, a landmark 2007 study found that obesity spreads through social ties, meaning if you have friends who are obese (or even if your friends have friends who are obese), you’re significantly more likely to become obese yourself[*]. 

As a brief example, if you have friends who suggest you order pizza and beer every weekend, you’re probably going to eat pizza and drink beer. If you have friends who suggest waking up early and going to the gym, you’re probably going to join them at the gym. 

Surround yourself with people who share your ambitions and interests, and minimize exposure to those who don’t. You’ll feel less socially drained and you’ll be more likely to achieve your goals. 

4. Sensory Rest

Constant sensory stimulation –– like always being on your phone or under artificial light –– taxes your nervous system and can leave you both physically and mentally exhausted. 

Use these hacks to get your body back in touch with its natural rhythms:

  • TrueDark glasses. Protect your brain from junk artificial light with blue-blocking glasses. They’ll help to minimize the sensory strain that comes from electronic devices like your phone and computer. They’ll also help you sleep better –– they block blue light, which inhibits melatonin and damages your sleep quality[*]. 
  • Meditation. Meditation helps with sensory rest, too. Sit quietly, close your eyes, and try a simple meditation practice for a few minutes a day. It’ll help your brain recharge. 
  • Sensory deprivation tanks. For a full reset, try a sensory deprivation tank (also called a “float tank”). These tanks contain water that’s exactly your body temperature, no light, and no sound. When you float in the water, you lose all sensory input and are left with a sense of floating through empty space. Float tanks are a powerful way to disconnect from the constant (and often overwhelming) sensory exposure of the modern world. 

5. Creative Rest

If you’re creative –– an artist, writer, entrepreneur, and so on –– you may feel pressure to create all the time. 

That pressure can stop creativity in its tracks. If you find you’re obsessing over trying to get a good idea and nothing is coming to you, give yourself a creative break. 

  • Time in nature. Being around natural beauty is deeply relaxing. It also stimulates creativity: a study found that when people spent a few days camping in nature, they became 50% more creative[*]. Take a few days to be in nature without pressuring yourself to create or come up with new ideas. It’s when you allow your mind to wander that good ideas will come to you.

6. Spiritual Rest

Spiritual rest is important because it brings a sense of belonging to your life. It makes you feel like you are a small part of something much bigger than you can imagine. Spiritual rest helps you never feel alone even when you do not have people around you, and it brings a sense of calmness and reason.

Dr. Saundra suggests taking up a meditation practice. You may also consider psychedelics (if they’re legal where you live, of course). 

7. Physical Rest

When you hear the word “rest,” this is probably what you think of. 

Physical rest means taking time to let your body recover, whether it’s from a hard workout or from the demands of a busy life. 

Here are a few ways to get more physical rest:

  • Hack your sleep. Your body and brain do most of their recovery during deep sleep. Learn to sleep deeper with a few simple sleep hacks. You’ll wake up feeling strong and you’ll notice a big difference in your physical and mental performance. 
  • Stretch and do mobility training. Nobody likes to hear it, but stretching and mobility are essential for physical recovery. Keep your muscles loose and your posture aligned; you’ll be much more effective for it (and you’ll be able to go much harder in the gym). Listen to my Bulletproof Radio interview with Kelly Starrett for details about how to hack your mobility. 
  • Drink more water. When it comes to recovery, staying hydrated makes a bigger difference than you might think. Your muscles are 76% water, and staying hydrated improves muscle strength, functional power, recovery, and more[*]. Keep a water bottle with you and drink it throughout the day. It’ll help with recovery more than you’d expect. 

How Do You Want to Improve Your Recovery?

Recovery is about more than just physical rest. Incorporating multiple types of recovery into your life will help you become a stronger, smarter, more effective human, especially long-term. 

To learn more about what types of recovery will help you the most, check out Dr. Saundra’s Rest Quiz and listen to our conversation on Bulletproof Radio.

https://daveasprey.com/types-of-rest-to-fix-what-sleep-doesnt/