🍋 Bullish on Farms

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Good Morning! Retail giant and meme stock: Bed Bath & Beyond finally filed for bankruptcy yesterday, and a last-ditch effort ultimately couldn’t save the beloved home goods retailer. Anheuser-Busch's marketing director is taking a leave of absence after a controversial marketing campaign.

NBCUniversal's CEO stepped down after admitting to an inappropriate relationship in the workplace, and Elon Musk is betting on his driverless Tesla dream, willing to go zero-margin (aka investing all Tesla profits) in the short-term to make it a reality.

And investors are eagerly awaiting more earnings reports this week, with Amazon, Google, and Facebook headlining the week.

As promised, please find an updated list of Excel and PowerPoint shortcuts here.

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1. Story of the Day: Bullish on Farms

Chances are that idyllic farm you used to go to as a kid or drive by on the highway could now be private equity owned. Some of the world’s largest private equity funds have been quietly snapping up farmland, especially in California, over the past decade. Some experts say it’s leading to detrimental effects on the state's water supply and contributing to the ongoing drought crisis.

If you think about it from an investor landscape, it’s a solid idea on paper. Investors are betting that food cultivation is guaranteed to appreciate as the world becomes warmer and more populous. In fact, six major investors have increased their farmland under management to almost 120,000 acres since 2010, which is equivalent to a third of all the cropland in Connecticut.

Investors have bought more than 163 million acres of farmland globally over the past 20 years. However, these investments have come at a cost. In California alone, the depletion of groundwater has left local communities with less drinking water. The use of deep wells, which requires millions of dollars in investment, has only worsened the situation for many communities that cannot afford such expensive projects.

Takeaway: Private equity firms in 2023 are investing in a wide range of industries, from farmland to soccer teams. However, there are concerns about the ethical implications of investing in struggling areas, particularly when it comes to farmland. Watch out for increased oversight in this area to ensure that investments are made responsibly and with consideration for the local communities.

2. Markets Rundown

Stocks closed slightly higher as more earnings poured in.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) XPO ($XPO) +8% after the transportation company was upgraded by Citi and JPMorgan.

• (+) HCA Healthcare ($HCA) +4% after the healthcare company posted strong earnings.

• (–) WR Berkley ($WRB) -9% after the insurance company posted poor Q1 earnings.

Private Dealmaking

• Olympus Partners bought International Wire Group Holdings, a wire maker, for $900 million

• Distalmotion, a "Dexter" surgery robot manufacturer, raised $150 million

• Abdera Therapeutics, a radiopharmaceuticals developer, raised $142 million

• Weviate, an open-source vector database, raised $50 million

• BioVentrix, a developer of heart failure treatments, raised $48.5 million

• CropX, a farm management startup, raised $30 million

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3. Top Reads

• Americans escaping pricey cities bring inflation with them (WSJ)

• Young athletes are facing a financial literacy gap (YF)

• Price cuts becoming the new normal for EVs (Axios)

• Why Porsche, Mercedes, and GM are betting on silicon-anode batteries (CNBC)

• Is this the end of hustle culture? (BBC)

• The global economy’s slow-motion reset (Axios)

• A founder’s perspective on bootstrapping over raising VC (Forbes)

• Was SVB’s failure caused by a banking or tech crisis? (CNBC)

• People aren’t giving banks free money anymore (Axios)

• How much would you have if you invested in the S&P 500 a decade ago (CNBC)

4. Shortform Book of the Day: Wonder Boy

In 1998, at the age of 24, Tony Hsieh sold his first company to Microsoft for $265 million.

In 2009, at the age of 35, he sold his e-commerce company, Zappos, to Amazon for $1.2 billion.

In 2020, at the age of 46, he died.

Tony Hsieh revolutionized both the tech world and corporate culture. He was a business visionary. He was also a man in search of happiness. So why did it all go so wrong?

Tony Hsieh’s first successful venture was in middle school, selling personalized buttons. At Harvard, he made a profit compiling and selling study guides. From there, he went on to build the billion-dollar online shoe empire of Zappos.

At its peak, Zappos’s employee-friendly culture was so famous across the tech industry that it inspired copycats and earned a cult following.

Then Hsieh moved the Zappos headquarters to Las Vegas, where he personally funded a nine-figure campaign to revitalize the city’s historic downtown area.

But as Hsieh fell deeper into his struggles with mental health and drug addiction, the people making up his inner circle began changing from friends to enablers.

“The secret to his success? Making his employees happy.”

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5. Short Squeez Picks

• How do dealers spot fake Rolexes?

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• How ChatGPT is helping college professors, too

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6. Daily Visual: Largest US Grocers by Market Share

2022

_{Source: Axios}

7. Daily Acumen

Happiness is often considered a transient feeling as it is typically stimulated by a disparity in our circumstances.

When we experience a change for the better, we may feel a momentary sense of joy, but we tend to acclimate to the new situation rather quickly.

For example, even the second time Ernest Shackleton enjoyed a hot meal, took a warm bath, and had a good night's sleep during his expedition in Antarctica, it probably didn't feel nearly as exhilarating as the first time.

However, this realization need not be disheartening. Instead of striving for fleeting moments of happiness, individuals should aim to attain contentment, which is similar but more persistent in nature.

Contentment involves being satisfied with one's present circumstances, rather than constantly chasing after new experiences or material possessions that may only provide temporary pleasure.

By cultivating a sense of contentment, individuals can achieve a more stable and fulfilling sense of wellbeing that is less dependent on external factors.

8. Memes of the Day

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