1. Gold vs. Bitcoin
Excellent Full Read from State Street
2. Crypto 2021 Best Performers…Bitcoin Last
Irrelevant Investor Blog
https://theirrelevantinvestor.com/2021/12/24/how-to-learn-about-crypto/
3. Over 340 US startups became unicorns in a record-breaking 2021.
340+ companies with $1B valuation in U.S. 2021
4. Electric Vehicles are Good for Car Industry Jobs….10 Year Increase in Jobs.
Blomberg- I highlighted how electric vehicles are now 10% of global passenger vehicle sales, up from 0.002% at the start of 2010. It’s a dramatic ramp-up in sales, with major implications for the millions of people working for motor vehicle dealers and parts suppliers (2 million of whom are in the U.S. alone). By
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5. All ARKK Innovation Fund Outperformance Gone vs. QQQ
Zerohedge
https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/shed.png?itok=0RJnfYTr
6. Latest Covid Surge Topping End of 2020 Numbers
Barrons
7. Large Caps Beat Mid/Small Again 2021
WSJ-By Justin Baer
8. Botox sales erupt with younger patients
Bob Herman AXIOS
Jared Whalen/Axios
Botox sales have never been higher.
The big picture: The pandemic drastically reduced the number of people getting cosmetic skin treatments. But the rollout of the COVID vaccines and a larger, younger crowd willing to try Botox injections have led to swelling demand in dermatology offices and medical spas.
By the numbers: U.S. sales of Botox — just the cosmetic version that is used to smooth out face wrinkles and not the version that is used to treat conditions like migraines and neck spasms — surpassed $1 billion in the first nine months of 2021, compared with $600 million in the first nine months of 2020.
- The revenue jump stems from “brand investment and strong recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to financial filings from AbbVie, which bought the company that makes Botox in 2020.
- China is the second-biggest Botox market after the U.S., driving total international sales to $579 million in the first nine months of this year.
What they’re saying: “At this point, we’re not seeing [growth] driven by pent-up demand as much as just fundamental demand,” Carrie Strom, a senior vice president at AbbVie who oversees the company’s cosmetic drugs, said at an investment bank conference this month.
- Patients getting Botox are now younger on average. “And by younger I mean closer to 40 versus 50,” Strom said.
- Influencers promoting Botox and other cosmetic procedures on TikTok and Instagram and new Botox ads also have attracted and retained more people.
Follow the money: AbbVie charges $622 for a 100-unit vial of cosmetic Botox.
- Dermatologists and plastic surgeons then charge $15-$20 on average per unit — the forehead, glabella and crow’s feet each require a certain number of Botox units — with the average procedure costing $466.
- The huge demand is driving sales, but AbbVie suggested higher prices are coming because of the ubiquitous brand power and because inflation is giving the company cover: “We command a clear leadership position. And along with that comes premium pricing,” Strom said at the conference. “Our customers can also command that premium pricing when they’re treating their patients.”
What to watch: Whether the Omicron variant leads to more people deferring non-urgent care again.
9. Regions with Greatest Drops in Housing Affordability.
Marketwatch-This Sun Belt city has seen the U.S.’s sharpest decline in housing affordability over the past year By Jacob Passy
Affordability has dropped to the lowest level since 2008 nationwide, amid rising interest rates and home prices
Looking for an affordable housing market? You may not find it in the Sun Belt anymore.
Title insurance company First American FAF, -0.24% released the latest edition of its monthly Real House Price Index, which gauges housing affordability nationwide.
As opposed to other home-price indexes that only look at changes to nominal prices, First American’s index put home-price fluctuations in context alongside changes in interest rates and household income.
‘The challenge for home buyers in 2022 will mirror 2020 and 2021.’
— Mark Fleming, First American’s chief economist
The latest index showed that housing affordability had fallen to the lowest level since 2008 in October, largely due to a rise in mortgage rates.
Across the markets that First American studies, Phoenix experienced the greatest decline in housing affordability. Buying a home there is now nearly 34% less affordable than it would have been a year ago.
“Robust investor activity and strong net in-migration to Phoenix has fueled soaring demand for homes against a limited supply of homes for sale,” Mark Fleming, First American’s chief economist, wrote in the report.
Here are the five markets that witnessed the greatest decline in housing affordability over the past year, as of October:
- Phoenix (33.7%)
- Charlotte, N.C. (32.3%)
- Tampa, Fla. (30.9%)
- Jacksonville, Fla. (29.3%)
- Memphis, Tenn. (27.5%)
“Higher mortgage rates decrease affordability equally in each market as mortgage rates are generally similar across the country,” Fleming added. “However, household income growth and nominal house prices vary by market, creating the market-level variance in affordability.”
At the other end of the spectrum, the markets where housing affordability worsened the least were a mix of Midwestern locales (Milwaukee, Chicago and Minneapolis) and pricey coastal cities (Boston and Washington, D.C.).
Looking to 2022, buyers shouldn’t expect much relief when it comes to rising housing costs. Mortgage rates are expected to increase, though most economists expect them to remain below 4%. Yet a limited supply of homes for sale will ensure fierce competition and continued home-price growth.
“The challenge for home buyers in 2022 will mirror 2020 and 2021 — you can’t buy what’s not for sale even if you can afford to,” Fleming wrote.
10. 8 Signs to Immediately Recognize Someone With the Gift of Leadership
In ‘Servant Leadership in Action,’ best-selling author Raj Sisodia details the rare qualities of great leaders.
BY MARCEL SCHWANTES, FOUNDER AND CHIEF HUMAN OFFICER, LEADERSHIP FROM THE CORE@MARCELSCHWANTES
In Servant Leadership in Action, a collection of essays from 44 renowned servant leadership experts, Raj Sisodia, co-founder of the Conscious Capitalism movement and best-selling author, details the qualities of great leaders using the fitting acronym “Selfless”:
- Strength
- Enthusiasm
- Love
- Flexibility
- Long-term orientation
- Emotional intelligence
- Systems intelligence
- Spiritual intelligence
Sisodia says the Selfless approach to “conscious leadership” reflects a blend of mature masculine and mature feminine qualities. He writes, “Too many leaders today manifest only immature hypermasculine qualities such as domination, aggression, hypercompetitiveness, winning at all costs, etc. They view every leadership challenge through the lens of war — a mindset that is at best win-lose, and usually lose-lose.”
Without further ado, here’s how Sisodia defines each letter of the acronym.
Strength
The strength of conscious leaders is resolute and unshakable in standing up to those who get in the way of their convictions. They are confident without being arrogant, and “draw on the strengths of their teams without depleting the power of those teams.” Strength, writes Sisodia, is exercised as “power with, not power over, those they seek to lead.”
Enthusiasm
Because of their commitment to moral authority, integrity, and a higher purpose, conscious leaders generate great energy and enthusiasm, not to be confused with the social traits of extroverted and gregarious people. “When you’re aligned with your purpose, you can’t help but be enthusiastic,” writes Sisodia. “That is hard to fake if you don’t have it.”
Love
The opposite of love is fear, and when fear permeates an organization, it stifles creativity and innovation. Love here is actionable and noble: creating psychological safety, connecting with employees, and caring for their well-being, and not just managing their work performance.
Flexibility
Leaders must be agile, adaptable, open, and able to switch modes and make swift changes while taking into consideration all the moving parts of the business. Sisodia offers up a great metaphor: “Conscious leaders are like golfers with a full set of clubs; they know how to select and implement the right approach for each situation.”
Long-Term Orientation
This is leading with an eye toward the future, beyond your tenure with the company, and even beyond even your lifetime. Conscious leaders gauge success by what happens to their businesses after they’re long gone. They ensure that the business will continue to operate wth the high principles and purpose it was founded on, a century from now.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is a force to be reckoned with when it shows up with self-awareness (understanding oneself) and empathy (the ability to feel and understand what others are feeling) in day-to-day interactions and decision-making. Research, however, paints a different picture. “The higher the position in the organization, the lower the level of EQ, with the CEO typically having the lowest level,” writes Sisodia.
Systems Intelligence
Systems intelligence is thinking systemically about how each part of the business interrelates within the context of the larger organization. Conscious leaders “understand the roots of problems and how the problems relate to organizational design and culture,” writes Sisodia.
Spiritual Intelligence
This is the moral intelligence with which conscious leaders access their deeper meanings, values, purposes and higher motivations. It’s where the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, and right from left, comes from. It’s discerning at our core when things are beginning to go off track from our intended purpose. From this intelligence, we exercise our goodness, truth, beauty, and compassion.