10 reading on Thursday morning

My morning reading on the train at WFH:

How much does it cost to sell a house?

Your realtor may be charging too much. Why should buyers and sellers pay for services they don't need and don't use? It's like having to pay a commission to a travel agent when you book your own airline tickets online. (USA Today)

Signs of a weakening labor market in five charts:

Data on job openings and worker departures can provide insight into the direction of hiring and the state of the economy. (Wall Street Journal) see. also Pay thousands of dollars to quit? Some employers say so. Some U.S. companies have to sign contracts that require a large "reimbursement fee" if an employee leaves. (New York Times)

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Spotify on the decline:

Spotify is the largest music streaming service in the world, but it rarely turns a profit and has just cut 17% of its workforce. His business model looks increasingly unreliable. (Wired)

Goods deflation has returned

It could accelerate inflation's return to the 2% level. Durable goods prices have fallen for five consecutive months. (Wall Street Journal)

The Association of American Retailers withdraws a key statement on "organized" retail crime:

The main lobbying group for U.S. retailers has withdrawn its claim that "organized retail crime" accounted for nearly half of all merchandise losses in warehouses in 2021 after discovering faulty data used for the analysis.

A spokesman for the National Retail Association said Tuesday that the organization removed the phrase from its report on organized retail crime released in April. It released the report in conjunction with private security firm K2 Integrity. (Reuters)

The Pentagon wants to identify substandard drugs. The FDA is getting in its way.

The drug safety regulator in the US is resisting independent trials, which are widely used in Europe. (Bloomberg)

A neuroscientist's tips for protecting your memory:

A new book by a renowned brain expert suggests there are some simple things we can do to prevent memory decline as we age. (New York Times)

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"There is nothing mystical about the idea that ideas change history. "

PINKER: Of course, there is the centrifugal force of tribalism, there are two forces that push in the opposite direction. One is the moral fact that it's rather awkward to claim that some lives are more valuable than others, especially when you come face to face with those others. The other is the pragmatic circumstance that our fate is increasingly tied to that of the rest of the planet. (Quillette)

Israel has not stopped using disproportionate force - a long-term tactic with a clear objective.

The strategy goes far beyond defeating an opponent: it seeks to destroy key infrastructure and economies while inflicting many civilian casualties. (The Guardian)

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The 2023 Person of the Year: Taylor Swift

Listening to Swift talk about it, in her New York apartment on a clear fall day, I am struck by the story's satisfaction. There are high risks at the start; there are details, vivid and palpable; there is a twist that turns events inside out; and there is a happy ending for the heroine. It only takes her about 30 seconds to tell it, but those 30 seconds contain an entire narrative world. (Time)

Don't forget to check out our Masters in Business page this week with Fidelity's Joel Tillinghast, who has managed the Fidelity Low Price Fund (and others) since 1989. Over its 32-year tenure, the fund has outperformed 100% of its peers and outperformed the benchmark Russell 2000 by 3.49% annually, and its performance has more than doubled that of the S& Index;

The shorts made about $80 billion in profits and lost a total of $900 billion over 10 years.

In cutting about 30% of names, the shorts made about $80 billion in profits and lost a total of $900 billion over 10 years.

Source: @quantian1

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