Hey guys!
After over a week on the other side of the country, I’ve returned! My next post will be tomorrow, (June 6th) but for now, enjoy this next post from Ragavan!
Ragavan’s work starts now!
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Hi, this is Ragavan! I am the new columnist for Reed’s newsletter. My hobbies are playing the violin, investing, and spreading unbiased news to everyone I know! I am delighted and grateful that Reed has given me a chance to do what I love!
Sorry for not posting for the past couple of days, it was finals week. I will try my best to post more often in the upcoming summer! Thank you so much.
Local - California
Mayors and Boosters
San Jose, the nation’s 10th largest city, has its mayoral election on the 7th of June, and candidates only have two more days left to make their “final push”. Fighting for the San Jose seat are: “Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, San Jose council members Matt Mahan, Dev Davis, Raul Peralez, retired San Jose police officer Jim Spence, and students Travis Hill and Marshall Woodmansee.” The current San Jose mayor is Sam Liccardo. The election is quite different from the normal presidential elections in America. If one candidate gets more than 50% of the votes in the primary (7 June), that candidate will be given the seat. If no candidates get 50% of the votes, the top two vote-getters will host a run-off in the general election (8 November).
California & Covid
California is becoming a red-hot zone for COVID transmissions, and it doesn’t seem to be getting better any time soon, based on the last wave. Have you noticed that COVID infected rates are higher for boosted (3 vaccinations) than the vaccinated (2 vaccinations) people? Is there a problem with boosters? Definitely not, experts say (Erika Pan, California State epidemiologist). A key reason why boosted people are more infected is that the data doesn't distinguish when the given person had the extra shot because boosters’ antibodies tend to fade away after 4 months (Pfizer and Moderna). Another key reason is that people who got boosters tend to be in older, and poorer health. The unvaccinated’s rate of infection is definitely higher than vaccinated or boosted, as data shows (California State).
Hi, from now on, I will be recommending one ETF (exchange-traded fund, with a bundle of stocks) per newsletter.
Economy
Kindles and Job Cuts
Amazon will begin to pull out Kindles from China starting Thursday, the latest pullback by the US from the confining Chinese market. Amazon claims that “[the Kindle pullback] was adjusting the strategic focus of its operations and that its other business lines in China would continue.” China has become the Amazon Kindle’s largest global market and accounts for more than 40% of its trading volume. Amazon has a big operating plant and device-making centers in Shanghai and all throughout Western China.
Elon’s Backtrack
Tesla CEO, Elon Musk earlier this week claimed that he “felt super bad for the job market” and wanted to cut 10% of Tesla’s employees. However, he backtracked today by claiming that the “number of salaried staff” should be changed. Generally, lots of companies today are hiring nonstop, because of inflation. If workers get more money, they can spend more, too. This reduces inflation, as I have said in my earlier article. Some say that higher pay for workers could increase inflation as well, “who might demand higher wages.” However, to find the “sweet spot,” the supply of workers needs to be in sync with the supply of jobs as well. We, however, have no clue of when that will happen, and how long that will take.
Sources: The Mercury News, Google Finance, Reuters Business, and the Skimm
Very informative!! Thank you.
Good luck with finals!