"Cushing inventories near operational minimum, risking supply disruptions and crude quality issues" we're about to be in a completely new world of hurt
— Stephen Petrey (@stephen.nyc) 2026-06-05T19:01:27.441Z
Category: Economics
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I have heard much about the so called K-shaped economy without much of an explainer until today. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
Whatever happened to the Gospel of Wealth?
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Professor Galloway’s money plan for his kids
This is a virus that ails America. Hoarding money. There needs to be a movement in America that once you hit your number you just start giving it away now. […] This is the challenge, and this is the good problem. But you want to give them enough money such that they can do anything, but not enough money such that they can’t do nothing.
Professor Scott Galloway on the Pivot PodcastLove this mentality. Life is so rich Scott! For those who are curious, here’s the full video for larger context:
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The Coronavirus is causing the world’s largest work-from-home experiment
The Coronavirus is essentially a flu-like respiratory-illness. Here’s what we know so far:
- It’s contagious like SARS, and about 2x more infectious than the seasonal flu.
- So far, the fatality rate is less than 3%. There’s already been more fatalities than the last SARS outbreak in China. Keeping that number low is going to have to be a global effort. Young children and the elderly are at a higher-risk of respiratory issues.
- The period for symptoms to fully appear is roughly 2-weeks. This is what makes this virus especially difficult to detect and prevent. The virus can easily spread from person to person prior to showing any symptoms.
- The virus has already spread across multiple borders. Primarily mainland China has the most confirmed cases. Russia, Unites States, United Kingdom, Thailand, Turkey, Japan, Australia and have had infected travelers confirmed.
- The WHO has declared the Coronavirus a global health emergency which should catalyze superpowers to work to contain the spread of the infectious virus.
- To prevent further spread of the disease, many Chinese companies are asking their corporate workforce to work-from home:
Tiko Mamuchashvili, a senior event planner at the Hyatt hotel in Beijing who was supposed to return to work on Friday, was initially told her vacation would be extended until Feb. 3. Then she received a notification to work from home for two additional days. A few days later, the directive was extended until Feb. 10. She has to notify her department each morning about her whereabouts and report whether she is running a temperature.
“Usually going back to work from holidays feels a little weird, but working from home this time with such short notice feels even more unusual,” she said. With hotel event cancellations rolling in on a daily basis, “basically, all I can do is answer emails,” she said.
Wuhan’s concerted effort to fight the spread of this virus abroad and within its border is remarkable. But, other metropolitan areas like Hong Kong are not getting the same countermeasures. Reportedly there’s been 15 confirmed cases in Hong Kong. Hopefully others can and will emulate Wuhan’s work-from-home experiment and their hyper-mobilized efforts to quarantine, treat and contain the spread:
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Skateboarders Are Saving Your City
It’s fun. It’s cathartic. It’s great for team-building, self-esteem, your mental health and frequently, a decent workout. I’m talking of course about skateboarding. It has even passively impacted other areas of life previously unbeknownst to the common urban dweller. There’s so many beautiful urban spaces in cities like like Tokyo, New York City, Dallas, Berlin, Los Angeles and I could go on and on for days. Simply put, the best cities to skate in, are also the best cities to live in — CityLab reports:
After-school skate programs in Colorado and Dayton, Ohio, are proving to be therapeutic for young people with challenges such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Skateboarding’s informal, non-competitive nature normalizes failure—skaters practice a trick hundreds of times, building resilience and perseverance. In Dayton, which has seen the worst effects of the U.S. opioid crisis, these programs can disrupt the toxic peer groups that can lead to substance misuse, and establish good role models instead.
Cities that aren’t the most walkable (look at you L.A.) gets a bad rapport, but the citizens certainly know how to assemble and appeal. There’s a lot to learn from Los Angeles. The same ethos that keeps Los Angeles locked into an ever-evolving urban jungle, is also the engine that keeps urban development in check. Upsetting that balance can mean the difference between a highway dividing a neighborhood, or a brand new bus station. Skateboarding can teach us a lot about DIY and teamwork. The skateboarding communities positive and often progressive ethos could be adopted in communities as a model for fighting for inclusivity and preservation of neighborhoods:
Academics Sharon Dickinson and Chris Giamarino have critically reviewed the tactics skateboarders use to protect the spaces they practice in from being shut down or redeveloped, to understand why some campaigns have been successful while others have failed. DIY or guerrilla regeneration can be applied, alongside more conventional approaches. In Los Angeles, for example, skaters succeeded by appealing to municipal priorities relating to creativity and entrepreneurialism, and presenting their use of the space as convivial and inclusive.
Next time you see a (laughably impossible to enforce) no skateboarding sign in a public square, know you’re in a good place.
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Why Netflix Cancels So Many Shows
You ever wonder why bombshell shows like Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, The Get Down or any of the other shows get cancelled after 2 or 3 seasons? Charlie Ridgely at comicbook.com writes:
To put it plainly: New shows are cheaper. When a series launches, everyone involved gets paid a certain amount of money. After two seasons of that series being considered a success and being enjoyed by fans, it’s usually time for new contracts with a pay bump for those involved. Sounds fair, right?
Well, for Netflix, the costs of those raises aren’t exactly worth the return of the show’s traffic. The third season of a series will see dedicated fans tuning in, but likely doesn’t have the same return as a new show that everyone can start from the beginning.
To put it another way — Netflix doesn’t care about current subscribers. They have pivoted their efforts to growth. New shows attract new subscribers.
Like trimming a growing sapling, Netflix is surgically kicking off new shows, and canceling them a la carte. Which really sucks. But the alternative is pilot-producing which can be even more costly, can ruin careers, and often never makes it to public airing.
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Kroger Buys Home Chef
Home Chef is the third-largest meal-kit delivery network, behind Blue Apron and HelloFresh. Apparently, Kroger has acquired Home Chef for $200 million. It’s an interesting move from Kroger, considering it is constantly playing catch-up with Amazon. Amazon continues to crush competition as it trenches and digs itself a moat around its businesses.
From homechef.com While I’m happy to see Kroger acquiring top-quality talent and technology, I’m left disappointed. I think meal-kits are a fad, unprofitable, and produce a lot of waste. When Kroger should be focusing on reducing food waste, they are instead attempting to boost profits from a fad. This will be a short-term gain for Kroger.
Other grocers such as Albertsons, Target, Trader Joes and even Amazon have hyper-local and metropolitan grocery delivery networks in place. Some are more impressive than others, but I think this is the space that Kroger should be focusing their efforts.
A screenshot of Target’s same-day delivery offerings Meal-kits are expensive, and the average consumer will not see a long-term cost-benefit. I think a lot of investors are beginning to understand that too.
It’s grocery delivery, not meal-kits that is the real magic — which is totally lost on a bunch of grocers today. Mastering the delivery of groceries is going to be a crown jewel achievement, and sadly Amazon is leading the way. Although, I have to give credit where credit is due — Kroger has partnered with Instacart in the past. Let’s just hope that relationship doesn’t sour. I believe Instacart is ripe for acquisition. If Kroger isn’t first to acquire Instacart, Amazon will. Which is appropriate considering Instacart was founded by ex-Amazon employees. Kroger should’ve ponied up the cash for Instacart instead of Home Chef. Kroger nets $122 billion a year, so they surely have the revenue and capital to afford a company of that magnitude.
All of that being said, it’s good to see grocers getting skin in the game and finally taking risks. The only real innovation grocers have had in the past century was barcodes and weekly ads — and weekly ads haven’t had a profound ROI as customers continue to change their shopping habits to online-first, IRL-second.
