65 - Big Ten is Getting Even Bigger

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• Nutrition for your Athletic Goals

• Genius or Good Luck

• KD Sweepstakes Vol. III

• USC & UCLA -> Big Ten

• Good Ole Days

Nutrition for your Athletic Goals

Many people are concerned about consuming too many calories and, consequently, gaining body weight. However, having a weight-centric approach to health can often lead to shortchanging other important healthy habits, including your physical activity levels. Focusing on restricting overall caloric intake, rather than emphasizing a nutrient-dense, balanced diet, can ultimately limit exercise output. 

Arguably, everyone should have individual exercise goals. Physical activity is a cornerstone of longevity and improved quality of life, and moving your body daily is a habit that helps to support the health goals that most people are interested in attaining, including a long, disease-free life. A dietary pattern that supplies adequate nutrition is what fuels athletic performance.

As your exercise output increases, your body’s nutrient demands also increase. Adequately fueling your body will allow you to push the bounds of your athletic performance and, consequently, improve your health. Underfueling will result in feeling strained during your workouts, being fatigued throughout the day, and increasing your likelihood of becoming sick or injured.

Continue reading at The Dietitian’s Perspective. 

Genius or Good Luck?

This is the first time since the 1970s that Americans have experienced dramatic inflation, and people are beginning to question the credibility of the central bankers put in charge of maintaining its stability.

In 1971, the United States left the gold standard. The value of the dollar went from being tied to gold to being backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. The ’70s were a period of stagflation—no growth, hence stagnation. With rising prices, inflation. To fight inflation, the Fed chief, Paul Volker, raised rates rapidly and sent the economy into a deep recession. 

Since then, inflation hadn’t been an issue, but was it because of the central banks or other economic conditions? In an article by John Authers in Bloomberg Businessweek, he proposes that the forces of globalization and a growing working-age demographic kept labor costs and correspondingly inflation down. 

But as we exit the pandemic, many companies have decided to nationalize their supply chains to avoid future disruptions. Also, the birth rate in the developing world has been decreasing for years, which means there is more demand for workers than supply, which generally is good for wage growth, but to a point.

Coming out of the pandemic Central Banks have been wrong and inconsistent. Many of them thought that inflation would be transitory, so instead of raising rates to slow down business activity, they left them unchanged. This led companies to borrow money like it was growing on trees, which correspondingly led to asset bubbles in stocks, cryptos, and housing. This also spurred governments to borrow exorbitant amounts of money, defending the action because the interest rates were low.

It is clear that inflation is not transitory, potentially entrenched, and central banks don’t have many good options. End inflation by dramatically raising interest rates to bring the economy to a halt and cause high levels of unemployment. Or gradually raise rates and inflation destroy the buying power of wages. 

Hopefully, this background information helps you better understand the current macroeconomic situation the U.S. and the world are in. There could be waves, or it could be smooth sailing, nobody knows what will happen, but that doesn’t stop talking heads from speculating about it 24 hours a day.

KD Sweepstakes Vol. III

Kevin Durant has requested a trade from the Nets. Durant wants out less than 24 hours after Kyrie Irving decides he wants to stay in Brooklyn. Durant listed the Phoneix Suns and Miami Heat as his preferred destinations. Durant doesn’t have too much leverage in this situation because he is still under contract with Brooklyn for the next four years. Still, NBA players have garnered so much power over the owners this past decade that it would be a surprise if the Nets decided not to honor Durant’s request.

He is an all-time great player, but this will be his fourth NBA franchise, leaving the Brooklyn Nets in the play-in purgatory. They can’t tank because they don’t own any of their first-round picks for the next five years, so they will be retooling this roster on the fly.

USC & UCLA -> Big Ten

Both LA teams will join the Big Ten conference in 2024. This is a seismic shift in NCAA sports, a modern-day manifest destiny.

Big loss for the Pac-12. The conference has already not made the College Football Playoff since 2017, and it has been 17 years since a Pac-12 team won a national championship (USC in 2004 - Reggie Bush mixtape).

Expect this to lead to much more conference shifting. Have to think this inevitably leads to one or two Super League-style conferences with all the powerhouse programs.

For more sports content for your 4th of July BBQs, check out this week’s Week to Week Notes.

Good Ole Days

 The first half of the year is behind us, and what a year it has been on Wall Street. It was the worst start to a year in over 50 years. But I think it serves an amazing lesson for me and all investors.