Buy The Dip: The return of the FTAV NYC pub quiz
Plus some links, naturally
No lengthy discourse this week, just an announcement that FT Alphaville's pub quiz is returning to New York on April 9 after an eight year hiatus. Huzzah!
For those not familiar with these events, the FTAV pub quizzes are a stupidly difficult test of financial and economic trivia. If you get over half the questions right the chances are that you’ll win the whole thing.
And what prizes the victors can expect! At least one of fame, fortune, immaculate health and a beautiful champions’ mug to impress your coworkers. Having one in the office pantry is the ultimate power flex at a time when CFAs, MBAs and PhDs are tablestakes.
So if you think you’ve got what it takes then check out the sign-up details here and come along to Houston Hall on April 9. I’ll be there and would love to meet as many of you in person as possible.
Oh and we’re hoping to snag some special guests. At our last NYC one we had Paul Volcker host a round on bank regs and signed printouts of the Volcker Rule for the winners, which will be hard to top. We’ll try though, so let me know if you are or know someone who would be a cool special host (I’m looking at you, Jay).
Here’s what Alphaville got up to this last week:
📈 When’s a flapjack not a flapjack? Fair warning: reading this is a serious time commitment, but it’s worth it.
📈 Two paths for profits. JPMorgan says companies’ pricing decisions will be ‘key’ for the economic outlook.
📈 A new fauxcession record. The inversion will continue until morale deteriorates.
📈 What comes after Nvidia in the AI rally? If it’s not the crash, that is.
📈 Scottish Mortgage’s hot new investment: itself. Redefining the future once again.
📈 We should fear a sticky inflation mess. Unfortunately, services inflation may be here to stay.
📈 How to play active management on easy mode. Enjoy the benefits of being small and imperfectly formed.
📈 Will the Douglas IPO be a dog or a darling? (my money is on dog)
📈 What the Kate Middleton story tells us about bitcoin. Our daring experiment to see what happens when you put both Middleton and bitcoin in a headline.
📈 Wait . . . what did Palantir’s CEO just say about short sellers? Lol. “We will lead their coke dealers to their homes after they can’t pay their bills”
📈 Doug Cifu has let FT Alphaville down. But thank [expletive] for Michael O’Leary.
📈 Britain’s gilty conscience. The inflation battle may be almost over, but the fiscal war has just begun.
📈 Structured products and the ‘broken Vix’ discourse. CBOE vs BIS.
📈 Reddit is casting aside community spirit in search of financial maturity. A conservative directed-share program on its IPO risks leaving the Redditor army feeling left out.
📈 Show this chart to people who blame passive investing for rising stock market concentration. Tech, it’s all about tech (and rates).
📈 Gift cards: the crypto off-ramp no one is watching. A grift that keeps on giving.
📈 The interlocking dimensions of stock market concentration. Exploring Goldman’s note on the top-heavy markets.
📈 Towards a theory of co-headship. A detailed taxonomy of management company rationales for this weird Wall Street anomaly.