A few charts worth discussing
“Margin debt is close to a 30-year high."
“Investors have generally crowded into the semiconductor and software sectors at the same rate. Today, semiconductor crowding is at the 99th percentile, while software is historically low. Semiconductors are in favour due to huge capex and demand for new chips, while investors fear that AI will disrupt existing software companies.”
“About 80% of returns this year can be attributed to the AI theme. This is driving one of the biggest momentum-led rallies we’ve ever seen.”
Other charts worth pointing out
U.S. equity volume by investor trading type
S&P 500 Index – return contribution and AI exposure breakdown
S&P 500 Index vs. financials
S&P 500 Index – performance of stocks by cash spending since 1992
U.S. construction spending by category
U.S. high yield credit spreads
U.S. 18-year-old population
Private client equity holdings as % of AUM
Private client cash holdings as % of AUM
U.S. asset allocation by generation
U.S. net wealth by generation
Ford Extends Rally as Energy Hype Drives Best Gain in Six Years
Ford Motor Co.’s stock surged again on enthusiasm for the automaker’s pivot toward energy storage, the latest sign that investors are eager to embrace companies that stand to benefit from power-hungry data centers.
The shares climbed as much as 10% Thursday in New York, pushing the two-day gain to 25%, the most intraday since March 2020. Wednesday’s gain turned Ford’s stock positive for the year.
Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley said Thursday that the automaker is already seeing strong demand for its energy storage batteries that will go into production late next year.
“We have seen tremendous interest from customers and we’re actually in the contracting phase for our early capacity as we speak with several customers,” Farley told shareholders at the company’s virtual annual meeting.
Ford is investing $2 billion to get into the energy storage business, which includes converting a factory in Kentucky from making batteries for electric vehicle to producing large energy cells for the storage business. US demand for grid batteries is expected to double by 2030 to more than 100 gigawatt-hours, according to Bloomberg NEF.
This week’s fun finds
Sea shanties actually help people work together better
A few years’ back, a viral trend overtook social media that nobody saw coming: ShantyTok. Seemingly overnight, TikTok and Instagram were inundated with posts celebrating the niche world of maritime sea shanties. The fad ostensibly began with the spread of Scottish singer Nathan Evans’ version of “Wellerman,” a New Zealand whaling shanty with historical roots stretching back well over a century.
As newcomers dove into a vast backcatalog of songs, many quickly highlighted just how catchy these tunes really are. But while early sea shanty composers didn’t envision ever reaching the top of the charts, they certainly wrote them to be earworms. The sea shanty is only one variant of a work song—rhythmic melodies designed to help laborers keep pace with one another during repetitive, often backbreaking jobs. Other types of work songs developed over generations among Appalachian coal miners, prison chain gangs, and British textile workers, just to name a few examples.
