<Part 4 of 5> News and my thoughts from last week (18Aug25)
News and my thoughts from the past week (18Aug25)
Bank of America’s survey says that US stocks are overvalued. Do you agree?
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Large Cap Stocks are destroying Small Caps by the largest margin in history
Everything that ends up working in finance stems from patience and self-control. Everything that doesn’t work stems from instant gratification and FOMO. - Morgan Housel
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The monthly supply of new homes in the US surged to 9.8 months in June, the third-highest since 2008. This indicator measures how many months it would take to sell current builder inventory at the current sales pace. By comparison, the long-term median is 5.8 months. Since the 1960s, 5 of the 6 times builder supply reached this level, a recession followed. The only exception was 2022, when the economy narrowly avoided a recession. Homebuilders are struggling to sell inventory. - X user The Kobeissi Letter
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July PPI inflation rises to 3.3%, above expectations of 2.5%. Core PPI inflation rose to 3.7%, also above expectations of 2.9%. Month-over-month PPI inflation is now at its hottest since March 2022. The Fed remains in a very difficult spot here. - X user The Kobeissi Letter
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Building a new nuclear power plant typically takes 5-10 years from construction start to operation, per global data (median 6.3 years). In the US, recent examples like Vogtle Units 3-4 took ~10 years, plus 2-5 years for planning/licensing. Faster in China/South Korea (under 6 years). To counter rising CPI electricity, starting now could yield results by early 2030s, but regulations often extend timelines. - Grok
Texas data centers are projected to use 49 billion gallons of water this year, as the state faces a prolonged drought, per MorePerfectUnion. “Boycott American goods and stores” “Create home-grown versions of WhatsApp, YouTube etc.” Recent trends in India, as a response to Trump’s tariffs and other unfriendly actions.
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US Auto Insurance rates have increased by 94% over the last decade, far above the 35% increase in overall consumer prices. - Charlie Bilello
The US Dollar has devalued by a whopping 98.9% versus gold since 1971. The British Pound has lost 99.4% while the Euro would have lost 98.8% if existed since then.
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1 in 7 Americans report using Buy Now, Pay Later services like Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay to get groceries, per MorePerfectUnion.
Retail Traders now account for more than 20% of total equity options volume, the most in history - BarChart
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- HiTALK·2025-08-18TOPInteresting insights1Report