1.December Sector Performance…Defensive Lead
2.Performance Difference 2020-2021 Between Non-Profitable and Profitable Stocks.
From Irrelevant Investor Blog
https://theirrelevantinvestor.com/2021/12/20/animal-spirits-massive-etf-inflows/
3.Private Markets Surpass $10 Trillion…Tons of Dry Powder on Sidelines.
Some extra trillions in buying power
In 2021, private markets (mainly PE) have surpassed the $10tn threshold. In 2021, a substantial increase in allocated capital took place as dealmaking was difficult in 2020. The fundraising in 2021 also caused the dry powder to remain high despite large commitments. Most of the assets are managed by the private equity industry and other types of assets.
https://www.zerohedge.com/the-market-ear/frustrating
4.Biggest Spread in U.S. Outperformance vs. International Since….You Guessed IT……1999
Just to put things into perspective: US stocks beating rest of world by most in 2 decades. The S&P 500 has surged 25% YTD compared w/3% gain from the MSCI All-Country World ex-US Index, BBG has calculated.
Holger Zschaepitz
https://twitter.com/Schuldensuehner
5.$119,717,895,834,140
Bloomberg That’s the total value of global equity markets, which reached a record of $120 trillion and has doubled from the low point reached at the start of the pandemic in March 2019. The rise has been relentless.
By
Mark Gilbert and
Marcus Ashworth
6. Global oil consumption is expected to return to an average of 99.5 million barrels per day in 2022, about the same level it was at in 2019.
7.Methane Gas Breakdown.
Found at 1440 Digest Letter https://join1440.com
McKinsey The Year in Charts
8.Faster NFL Wide Receivers Doesn’t Mean Better
Five Thirty Eight Blog
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/faster-nfl-prospects-arent-always-better/
9.The U.S. city where 1-bedroom rents rose the most since 2020 isn’t in California or New York
“The issue of affordability issue has been mounting for decades.”
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Twenty/20
After a slowdown during the beginning of the pandemic, rent prices are bouncing back big time. The median monthly cost for a one-bedroom apartment rose 11.6% over the course of the year, according to Zumper’s 2021 National Rent Report, and some cities have risen well beyond that.
While most people may think one-bedrooms have surged most in expensive states like California or New York, they’re actually rising faster in Florida.
Here are the 10 U.S. cities where costs have jumped the most.
10. St. Petersburg, Florida
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,580
Year-over-year growth: 24.4%
9. Mesa, Arizona
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,210
Year-over-year growth: 24.7%
8. Boise, Idaho
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,410
Year-over-year growth: 24.8%
7. Henderson, Nevada
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,590
Year-over-year growth: 25.2%
6. Jacksonville, Florida
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,220
Year-over-year growth: 27.1%
5. Glendale, Arizona
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,200
Year-over-year growth: 27.7%
4. New York, New York
Median one-bedroom rent: $3,190
Year-over-year growth: 32.4%
3. Orlando, Florida
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,620
Year-over-year growth: 32.8%
2. Tampa, Florida
Median one-bedroom rent: $1,630
Year-over-year growth: 38.1%
1. Miami, Florida
Median one-bedroom rent: $2,280
Year-over-year growth: 38.29%
10.Some Stoic End of the Year Thoughts-Ryan Holiday
Here we are at the end of the year once again. It’s ironic to me that sandwiched at the completion of one year and the beginning of another, we have two vastly different rituals.
On the one hand, we have Christmas, which has for too many of us, become so materialistic and gluttonous. We expect gifts and good food and overindulge in both. On the other hand, we have the “New Year, New You” mentality which promotes ambitious new resolutions in which we commit to utterly change ourselves in the upcoming twelve months (or until we abandon these inconvenient goals).
It all seems to be all so misguided. In a way, one creates the problems that the other attempts to solve.
New Year’s resolutions can however be a useful way to reflect on your bad habits.
For example, one of my friends recently managed to give up smoking after first making the switch to vaping. This time last year, he bought an e-cigarette and some e-liquid from the Air Factory range and slowly but surely began to suppress his nicotine addiction. It’s no secret that vaping is claimed to be a safer alternative to regular cigarettes, so resolutions such as this can certainly have a positive impact on our lives and well being.
Furthermore, the Stoics provide good advice here, as always. These two thousand year old, pre-Christian philosophers offer us a clearer way to live–without the ups and downs and extra helpings of self-loathing.
Let’s look at three quick insights for the holiday season:
First, practice your “contemptuous expressions.” I know contempt seems like a weird emotion to bring to Christmas but stay with me. As you look out over the bountiful offering of Christmas–the presents, the food, the lights–remind yourself what this stuff really is: a bunch of stuff. As Marcus Aurelius once wrote, sounding like he was almost describing a Christmas dinner:
“Like seeing roasted meat and other dishes in front of you and suddenly realizing: This is a dead fish. A dead bird. A dead pig. Perceptions like that—latching onto things and piercing through them, so we see what they really are. That’s what we need to do all the time.”
What’s important are the people and the thoughts. Don’t let yourself get distracted from them.
Second, live in the present moment. That is, don’t obsess over what has happened in the past or lose yourself in visions of the future. Focus on what is right here, right in front of you. Make the most of it, and enjoy yourself. This moment could be all you have after all–it’s so much better to think that 2015 is not a guarantee and then to be grateful for all of it, then to have expectations and entitlements that go unfulfilled.
As Marcus Aurelius reminded himself:
“Don’t let your imagination be crushed by life as a whole. Don’t try to picture everything bad that could possibly happen. Stick with the situation at hand.”
What matters right now is right now. Enjoy it.
Third, if you are going to try to improve in the next year or you do have some regrets about the previous year, don’t just hope that this will happen. That’s not how it works. As Seneca wrote to a friend who’d asked for advice, you need to pick a person or a model to hold yourself against.
“Choose someone whose way of life as well as words, and whose very face as mirroring the character that lies behind it, have won your approval. Be always pointing him out to yourself either as your guardian or as your model. There is a need, in my view, for someone as a standard against which our characters can measure themselves. Without a ruler to do it against you won’t make crooked straight. ”
So, who will it be for you this year?
**
Stoicism is not something you “believe”, it’s something you do. It’s a practical philosophy. The more you work it, the more it will do for you. So why not start now? There isn’t a better time.
As a final parting thought, remember that we choose whether this was a good year or a bad year. We choose whether everything is good or bad. As Seneca said, “a good person dyes events with his own color…and turns whatever happens to his own benefit.”
This is the attitude for success and optimism in all situations. By controlling our perceptions, we create a reality in which every situation, no matter what it is, provides us with a positive, exposed benefit we can act on, if only we look for it.
With this in mind, I hope you enjoy the holidays and consider the Stoics when you can.
For more on Stoicism visit The Daily Stoic.
https://ryanholiday.net/some-stoic-end-of-the-year-thoughts/