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Corporate credit bond markets: To BBB or not to BBB? (Link)

"Some of the most levered BBBs are those associated with recent M&A transactions that expect to rely on continued M&A synergies and debt pay down to maintain their investment grade ratings. These bonds could be especially vulnerable during an economic slowdown that pressures cash flows and forces them to make tough choices to remain investment grade. 2018 YTD downgrades (from higher to lower ratings within investment grade) are outpacing upgrades by 2x according to J.P. Morgan, even amid healthy economic GDP/earnings growth."

BBBe careful (Link)

Order a Whopper sandwich for a penny at McDonald's with the Burger King app (Link) 

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F.A.O Schwarz piano is back but with a different tune  $(Link)

"To modernize the brand, the New York store will feature “Instagrammable moments” and soldiers’ uniforms designed by the supermodel Gigi Hadid. Other than its new flagship store in New York’s Rockefeller Center, many of the other locations will be owned and operated by other companies, while F.A.O. will collect franchising fees. The company wants its employees to bring a sense of “theater” when interacting with customers. Prospective hires, including cashiers and employees in charge of IT, had to audition for their jobs on stage at an Upper West Side theater earlier this fall."

China helping build panopticon $(Link)

"The company’s success is a marker for China’s race to build digital panopticons to keep watch over its 1.4 billion residents, with direct government support and fewer of the privacy concerns that tend to drive the debate around this kind of next-level surveillance."

Luxury consumption:

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Should America be run by Trader Joes? (Link)

"The quirky little grocery chain with California roots and German ownership has a lot to teach all of us about choice architecture, efficiency, frugality, collaboration and team spirit".

Canada is one pipeline away from having excess capacity for crude:

Friday humour:

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OSC study reveals generation gap when it comes to optimism about retirement (Link)

"Key findings include that Canadians aged 18-34 are the most likely to believe their standard of living will increase in retirement, despite being the least likely to have started saving for retirement of any age group; seven per cent of Canadian adults currently own cannabis investments, with 1 in 4 cannabis investors spending $10,000 or more on their investments; and most Canadian adults with parents aged 45 or older say their parents have not talked to them about how they would like their finances managed if they were no longer able to do so."

Oil

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Panera Bread co-founder has stepped down as CEO and is dedicating his time to fight something he believes is ruining modern capitalism: short-term behavior  $(Link)

"He has been travelling the country, giving speeches and talking to business leaders and policymakers about the urgent need to return to the tradition of investing for the future. Some people are starting to listen. Tech titans including Reid Hoffman and Marc Andreessen have financially backed the creation of a new investment framework called the Long-Term Stock Exchange, which would give shareholders greater influence over a company the longer they hold shares. 'We all believe the system is bigger than us, and we can’t fix it, but, if we don’t take control of that system, it’s misserving us in powerful ways.”

Asia is dominating industrial robot adoption  (Link)

Sandro, our self-proclaimed Chief Culture Officer and Sayuri, our Chief Compliance Officer celebrate their 10th year anniversary at EdgePoint with Scaramouche cake

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Today's links:

Inside the pricey war to influence your Instagram feed (Link) 

Foreign direct investment restrictiveness in G7 countries:

 Mini ice age:

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Today's links:

Four things Leonardo da Vinci can teach us about investing (Link)

Welcome to the golden age of grocery shopping (Link)

As interest rates increase, the number of zombie companies is on the rise. These companies have interest payments that exceed their operating profits (Link)