10 Weekend Reads (plus Warren Buffett's portfolio)

Among this week's notable "Weekend Reads" are an interview with IMF head Christine LaGarde, an analysis courtesy of The Atlantic of the decline in the U.S. crime rate during the past 25 years and, last but not least, a definitive portrait of the real Donald Trump brought to you by the five people who know him best.  Politico brought them all together for a conversation.  Since it looks more and more likely with each passing primary that he may very well be the Republican nominee, this is an opportunity to cut through all the campaign PR and get the facts right from the source.  In addition to all the above, I would urge everyone to study the very revealing graphic at the bottom of the list showing, sector by sector, all of Warren Buffett's holdings.  To me at least, it came as quite a surprise that he was so lightly invested in financial firms and so heavily in railroads and manufacturing.   And, of course, the insurance industry, though the whole point of the graphic is to illustrate how he has been steadily cutting back on insurance and building up his manufacturing investments.   Thus, according to the Gospel according to Warren, U.S. manufacturing is coming back.  Start buying! Submitted for your consideration, as following his lead may not be unwise.

10 Weekend Reads

April 30, 2016 7:00am by Barry Ritholtz

The weekend is here! Pour yourself a mug of French Roast coffee, grab a comfy seat, and get ready for our longer form weekend reads:

• Uncanny Valley: I would say more, but I signed an NDA. (N+1)
• Trumpology: A Master Class. There are five people who’ve gone deeper on The Donald than anyone else alive. We brought them together for the definitive conversation about who he really is. (Politico)
• Q&A With Christine Lagarde: Finance’s Firefighter Wants to Be Its Architect (Bloomberg)
• Fixing the American Commute: We blame cars for transportation woes, but can new technology turn them into saviors? (Curbed)
• In an Age of Privilege, Not Everyone Is in the Same Boat: Companies are becoming adept at identifying wealthy customers and marketing to them, creating a money-based caste system. (NYTimes)
• A Leak Wounded This Company. Fighting the Feds Finished It Off (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)
• San Francisco’s long shadow The nation’s biggest housing winners and losers live only 80 miles apart (Washington Post)
• What Caused the Great Crime Decline in the U.S.? After decades of soaring levels of homicides and drug violence, the country’s crime rate plunged dramatically over the last 25 years. (The Atlantic)
• The Art of Larry Gagosian’s Empire (WSJ) but see also The Big Fake: Behind The Scenes Of Knoedler Gallery’s Downfall (Art News)
• Why you shouldn’t exercise to lose weight, explained with 60+ studies (Vox)

Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Kelly Coffey, CEO of JPM Private Bank, which manages more than $650 billion in assets.

Warren Buffett’s Long Road Back Into Manufacturing

Source: Bloomberg