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Sequoia Capital shared a timely, deeply pessimistic message about macro trends with their portfolio companies—in 2008. RIP Good Times was a classic, and it included a call-out to an even earlier memo, six weeks after the Nasdaq peaked in 2000, exhorting portfolio companies to raise money as fast as they could. The new memo is a whole lot less apocalyptic than RIP Good Times, emphasizing “turbulence” and “disruption,” even the nightmare scenario of “a few poor quarters.” If anything, this is more optimistic than consensus. The S&P is down 10.7%, the VIX is at 40, and Sequoia is asking companies to prepare for the possibility of a brief recession. [1]
Americans are consuming more yogurt, cheese and milk than they have in more than half a century. So why are the nation's dairy farms disappearing? [Bloomberg]
Astronauts aren't the superstars they used to be. But if our new era of space exploration ever does find its answer to Neil Armstrong, it might be someone with a well-curated Instagram account. [The Atlantic]
With no end in sight to a nationwide slowdown driven by the coronavirus, small businesses across China are facing an existential threat. [The Washington Post]
When a former Bridgewater Associates executive launched her own fund, LPs flocked to hand over their money. But a messier truth lies behind the hedge fund fairytale. [Institutional Investor]
Gambling gets a bad rap. There might be something to be said, though, for developing a familiarity with the fickle power of luck. [The New York Times]
Behind the scenes at Shell, where a titan of the fossil fuel industry is trying to determine a path toward profit in the age of climate change. [Intelligencer]
[1] © 2020 Byrne Hobart. All rights reserved.
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