May 24th – Shock and Awe

What I’m Reading

Shock and Awe:  Amazon has put 10m square feet of warehouse space on the market (it could reportedly go up to 30m sf) as the ecommerce giant deals with excess supply brought online during the pandemic. However, a deeper look tells a different story.  The 10m sf is the equivalent of roughly 5% of the amount Amazon added during the pandemic and some of the subleases offered are 1-2 years, leaving Amazon with flexibility as growth returns.  Bloomberg

Bloated: Private companies are looking rather overvalued right now given what is going on in public markets.  Howard Lindzon 

Race Against Time: As China’s population rapidly ages its racing to build a pension system capable of providing for its ballooning numbers of elderly.  18.9% of China’s population are over 60 today and that number will soar to 30% by 2035.  Caixin Global  I’m not sure which is more surprising – that I linked something from a Chinese state media source or that they published something this honest about how dire their demographic situation is.

Mix it Up: Live-work-play environments that integrate residential, office and retail could help limit the impact of lower office utilization rates on surrounding businesses.  Globe Street

End of an Era: Conventional wisdom is that supply chains are beginning to return to normal as COVID winds down.  However, the world has changed and factors ranging from war and geopolitical instability, to aging demographics and ESG goals driving energy costs higher mean that we may never return to ‘normal.’ FreightWaves 

Chart of the Day

The mortgage rate shock is increasing recession risk.

Image

Source: The Daily Shot

WTF

This Story Has it All: A man was arrested during a traffic stop when police found an alligator in his truck along with two firearms and two syringes loaded with methamphetamine because Florida. Click Orlando

Mething Around: A man who was pulled over for speeding leaving a Cracker Barrel restaurant had meth in his sock and a pipe in his pocket because Florida.  Leesburg News

Basis Points – A candid look at the economy, real estate, and other things sometimes related. 

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