Week InReview
Friday | Aug 12, 2022
Save your brain.
Illustration: Super Freak | Financial Times | ft.com
If you’re feeling drained at the end of a demanding day at the office, it could be you’ve been thinking too much. Researchers have found that too much use of the gray matter can lead to mental fatigue, making it harder to make decisions.

— Bloomberg Pursuits | Wellness
let's recap...
Stocks in Asia are set for a mixed start following a jump in Treasury yields amid ongoing uncertainty about how far the Federal Reserve must jack up interest rates to ensure high inflation keeps cooling. Futures pointed to catch-up gains in Japan when it reopens after a holiday but more muted starts for Australia and Hong Kong. US contracts fluctuated after stocks wiped out gains on speculation the rally that followed softer inflation data went too far. (Bloomberg Markets | Aug 11)

Softer than expected U.S. inflation data buoyed investors’ faith that twin rebounds in stocks and bonds will persist in a year of deep losses for both asset classes. Bear markets in both have maximized losses in portfolios this year as rate hikes from the Federal Reserve sapped appetite for risk, and some investors have met recent rebounds in stocks and bonds with skepticism. (Reuters | Aug 11) see also Fed officials say more rate hikes needed, despite slowing inflation (Reuters | Aug 11)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday proposed a rule to improve the quality of disclosures it receives from large hedge funds about their investment strategies and leverage. The rule, which was proposed in conjunction with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), is part of a broader regulatory effort to increase transparency of private funds amid worries the industry is a growing source of systemic risk. (Reuters | Aug 10)

Public pension plans lost a median 7.9% in the year ended June 30, according to Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service data released Tuesday, their worst annual performance since 2009 and a fresh sign of the chronic financial stress facing governments and retirement savers. Much of the damage occurred in April, May and June, when global markets came under intense pressure driven by concerns about inflation, high stock valuations and a broad retreat from speculative investments including cryptocurrencies. (The Wall Street Journal | Aug 9)

Investors are watching closely for hairline cracks in the US consumer loan market as lower-income borrowers feel the squeeze of high prices and rising interest rates. US household debt levels have skyrocketed this year as Americans borrow more to pay for increasingly expensive homes and cars. Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that US households held a record-breaking $16tn in debt as of the second quarter of this year, an increase of roughly $2tn since before the pandemic. (Financial Times | Aug 9)
the cyber cafe
CISA Director Jen Easterly. Photo: Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images
One year later, CISA Director Jen Easterly has big plans for her agency's private sector work
Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Jen Easterly says one of its most robust public-private partnerships is building ways to help critical infrastructure operators get ahead of cyberattacks, rather than respond. The congressionally mandated Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) inside CISA has spurred new excitement among private tech and cybersecurity companies who previously weren’t keen on working with the federal government on cybersecurity issues.
— Axios

Top cybersecurity products unveiled at Black Hat 2022
Zero trust security management, extended detection and response (XDR), and a host of other threat and vulnerability management offerings were among the top products and services launched at Black Hat USA 2022 this week in Las Vegas. Here are some of the most interesting new products launched at Black Hat USA 2022, including zero trust, extended detection and response (XDR), and a host of other threat and vulnerability management offerings.
— CSO

Tech, cyber companies launch security standard to monitor hacking attempts
A group of 18 tech and cyber companies said Wednesday they are building a common data standard for sharing cybersecurity information. Their challenges are bound to get worse as the federal government, the SEC and other agencies make incident reporting mandates more complicated. (See this story and this one.)
binge reading disorder
November 1926: Pedestrian and vehicle traffic at the corner of 7th Street and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles. Photo: Los Angeles Times
When cities treated cars as dangerous intruders
Today it is a commonplace that the automobile represents freedom. But to many Americans in the 1920s, the car and its driver were tyrants that deprived others of their freedom. A Kansas City safety expert reported that when police tried to keep them out of the roadway, “pedestrians, many of them women” would “demand that police stand aside.”
— MIT Press

These factors outperform when the dollar appreciates
The last three times this has happened, large-cap and quality stocks have beaten the broader market. If history is any indication, stable large-cap companies will generate the most outsized returns as the U.S. dollar becomes more expensive.

The big business of burying carbon
Port Arthur, Texas is home to the largest petroleum refinery in North America, now owned by the state oil company of Saudi Arabia. The area emits more carbon dioxide from large facilities every year than metropolitan Los Angeles but has a population 3 percent the size. The porous rock beneath the Gulf Coast launched the petroleum age. Now entrepreneurs want to turn it into a gigantic sponge for storing CO2.
— Wired
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