🍋 47 Million Quitters

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Good morning! Inflation has made its way to Starbucks who keeps pumping prices on menu items. Taking a leaf out of Fed's book, CEO Kevin Johnson said they've already taken "pricing actions," and expect more to come this year. Now would be a good time to make coffee at home if you want to be a millionaire by 17. Tom Brady officially announced his retirement with a 10-slide Instagram post and somehow still managed to not mention the Patriots, a place where he might have spent 90% of his career. The homeless gang is evolving. Trace "Million Dollar" Jones, a homeless hustler in Beverly Hills ran a $500k credit card scam to buy luxury bags and shoes from Gucci and Fendi. Be on the lookout for his prison NFT release, which should make him another $5 million.

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1. Story of the Day: 47 Million Quitters

Another day, another record-breaking quit report. 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs in Dec '21, closing out a year where 47.4 million workers left their jobs in search of greener pastures. 

To put the number into context, 42.1 million people quit in 2019, considered the tightest labor market on record. 

People are quitting low-paying jobs for higher-paying jobs and great jobs for even better jobs. People are quitting jobs to start their own businesses. Some are also quitting because they don't actually need the money – according to the Indeed Hiring Lab, 20.9% of unemployed workers say that having an employed spouse has kept them from urgently seeking work.

As the Great Resignation keeps getting greater, employers are taking action. They are offering signing bonuses, higher salaries and remote work options. Wages are rising but inflation is rising even faster. Wages rose an average of 4.7% from a year prior compared to inflation of 7%.

Interestingly, 4.6 million roles remain unfilled. 6.3 million people were hired into new jobs, out of a total of 10.9 million job openings. There were 58 unemployed workers for every 100 job openings. Why? Some workers have been unable to join the workforce due to health concerns associated with the virus. Others are willing to stay unemployed in search of better roles.

Short Squeez Takeaway: The pandemic and great resignation have made people less loyal to companies and more loyal to the $$$ they can earn from their jobs. Gone are the days you could only get a job in the city you live in. Remote roles mean that getting a job in any city and country is fair game. We won't be surprised if the quit rate keeps mooning in the coming years.

Source: CNBC

2. Markets Rundown

Markets had their best three-day rally since 2020 thanks to investor hope that the Fed's fight on inflation won't hurt companies and growth.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) UPS ($UPS) +14% thanks to good fourth quarter results beating expected EPS, revenue, and a dividend increase.

• (+) Exxon Mobil ($XOM) +6% driven by a beat on EPS and their paying down $9 billion of debt.

• (–) AT&T ($T) -4% after announcing they will cut dividends in half and spin off WarnerMedia in a $43 billion merger with Discovery.

3. Top Reads

• One abstract concept to another: Metaverse the new cloud (OM)

• Real estate TikTok's next frontier... Marinas? (WSJ)

• Psychedelic focused ETFs legal before the underlying (ETF)

• Facebook to Meta transition not perfectly smooth (NYT)

• What will happen to the future of America? (NPR)

• Asset class roundup (CS)

• Young people are increasingly overwhelmed at work (CNBC)

• The death of growth stocks (Validea)

• Suburban sprawl is weighing on the US economy (CNBC)

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4. Book of the Day: Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day

Shetty grew up in a family where you could become one of three things—a doctor, a lawyer, or a failure. His family was convinced he had chosen option three: instead of attending his college graduation ceremony, he headed to India to become a monk, to meditate every day for four to eight hours, and devote his life to helping others. After three years, one of his teachers told him that he would have more impact on the world if he left the monk’s path to share his experience and wisdom with others. Heavily in debt, and with no recognizable skills on his résumé, he moved back home in north London with his parents.

Shetty reconnected with old school friends—many working for some of the world’s largest corporations—who were experiencing tremendous stress, pressure, and unhappiness, and they invited Shetty to coach them on well-being, purpose, and mindfulness. Since then, Shetty has become one of the world’s most popular influencers. In 2017, he was named in the Forbes magazine 30-under-30 for being a game-changer in the world of media. In 2018, he had the #1 video on Facebook with over 360 million views. His social media following totals over 38 million, he has produced over 400 viral videos which have amassed more than 8 billion views, and his podcast, On Purpose, is consistently ranked the world’s #1 Health and Wellness podcast.

In this inspiring, empowering book, Shetty draws on his time as a monk to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Combining ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, Think Like a Monk reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us. He transforms abstract lessons into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, improve relationships, and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Shetty proves that everyone can—and should—think like a monk.

“Salt is so humble that when something goes wrong, it takes the blame, and when everything goes right, it doesn’t take credit.”

5. Short Squeez Picks

• If you too think time in the market outweighs timing the market, this finance app is for you*

• Liquid alts showing promise in rocky market

• Tim Ferriss interviews master economist

6. Daily Visual: Hang Up and Hang Out

Average minutes per day spent by US adult users on social media networks, 2022

Source: Insider Intelligence

7. Daily Acumen: Think About Your Wealth Like Your Children

Your wealth is like your children — the primary link between your present and the future. You should try to think about it in the same way. You want your children to have freedom but you also want them to be good people who can take care of themselves. You don’t want to blow it, because you don’t get a second chance. When you invest, it’s not your wealth today, but it’s your future that you’re really managing.

8. Crypto Corner

• Skepticism in Bitcoin looms on rally

• NFTs are novel, and already evolving

• Silicon skyscrapers of New York lead Silicon Valley in Crypto-VC funding race

• Fire on OpenSea as $1B worth of ETH burned thanks to record high NFT transactions on the platform

• Crypto Mom says DeFi could be in trouble

• Russian citizens apparently have $200B worth of Bitcoin

9. Memes of the Day

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