Bloomberg News reports on Meta's Threads app as a rival to Twitter. Armada ETF Advisors discusses real estate ETFs. Atomic Invest CEO highlights fintech advantages. Bloomberg Law Senior Reporter explores anti-woke brands. Drive to the Close with Smead Capital Management.
Read more
AI Summary
AI Chapters
Episode notes
auto_awesome
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
The rise of anti-woke brands has created an alternative market for conservative shoppers who feel mainstream brands no longer represent their values.
Short-term interest rates have the potential to impact asset prices, posing a challenge for risk assets like stocks if the risk-free return on short-term treasury bonds becomes more attractive.
Deep dives
The Impact of Anti-Woke Brands
Anti-woke brands have emerged as an alternative for consumers who feel that mainstream brands no longer represent their values. These brands market themselves as pro-America, pro-family, and pro-conservative, and push back against movements like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The rise of anti-woke brands has led to the creation of platforms like Public Square, which serves as an online shopping mall for these brands. While these brands have gained traction, their impact on the overall market remains to be seen.
The J. Powell Syndrome and the Stock Market
The stock market has shown resilience and continues to perform well despite macro themes suggesting potential challenges ahead. One such theme is the J. Powell Syndrome, which highlights the disconnect between a strong economy and the impact of short-term interest rates on asset markets. While short-term rates haven't affected the labor market or overall economic growth significantly, they have the potential to impact asset prices. This could pose a challenge for risk assets like stocks, especially if the risk-free return on short-term treasury bonds becomes more attractive.
Investing in Energy Stocks
Cole Smead, a top-performing portfolio manager, sees opportunities in the energy sector, particularly oil and gas companies in the US and Canada, as well as coal stocks in Australia and South Africa. Smead believes that the assumption of excess energy supply and the notion that the world is moving toward less energy consumption is flawed. He points out that the demand for energy is growing in emerging economies, and scarcity of energy could become a major issue in the future. Smead recommends looking for opportunities in smaller energy companies that offer attractive terms and strong free cash flow.
Investing in Home Builders
According to Smead's latest filings, the Smead Value Fund owns stakes in home builders such as DR Horton, NVR, and Lenar. Despite concerns about the impact of rising mortgage rates and credit market damage, Smead believes that scarcity of housing will continue to drive the demand for new homes. The strong rally in the housing market, even with high mortgage rates, suggests the resilience of the industry.
Bloomberg News Big Tech Team Leader Sarah Frier reports on the launch of Meta Platforms’s new app Threads, designed as a direct rival to Twitter. David Auerbach, Managing Director at Armada ETF Advisors, discusses his firm's new real estate exchange traded fund. David Dindi, CEO of Atomic Invest, explains why he thinks fintech and brokerage firms are better than traditional banks. Bloomberg Law Senior Reporter David Hood talks about how anti-woke brands are fueling a parallel market for conservative shoppers. And we Drive to the Close with Cole Smead, President and Portfolio Manager at Smead Capital Management. Hosts: Carol Massar and Madison Mills. Producer: Paul Brennan.