January 26: Sunday Funday #37
Articles, streams and books that caught our attention this week
Articles 📰
How We Recover From Minor Injuries Is Changing
This simple at-home treatment is as commonplace as an apple a day. But newer studies suggest that this old-school protocol might delay healing. Instead, doctors and physical therapists are turning to approaches that focus on controlled movement, gentle exercise to gradually return to full activity and allowing the body to move through its natural healing process.
How My Trip to Quit Sugar Became a Journey Into Hell
Chemosensory researchers tend to believe that sugar fancying is a trait common to omnivorous animals because, until the recent invention of artificial sweeteners, sweetness signaled the presence of calories… advances in the science of food preservation, and the establishment of a global supply chain, and Amazon’s subscribe-and-save option for Strawberry Sensation Fruit Roll-Ups with Tongue Tattoos on Every Roll, have created a consequence unprecedented in the natural world. For many modern humans, Breslin says, “the tree simply never stops fruiting.”
Year after year, Americans add “fitness” to their list of New Year’s resolutions, and 2025 is no different. Exercising more was the most popular resolution made by Americans this year, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Health & Fitness Association (HFA). They’ve shown up in force. At 24 Hour Fitness, one of the largest gym chains in the U.S., foot traffic in January has already exceeded forecasts. For gyms, it’s a windfall. For fitness buffs, it’s a nightmare.
Most supplements aren’t worth your money. This one is.
I keep hearing about so many different supplements on social media. Which one do you most often recommend to your patients? In most cases, the supposed benefits of supplements popularized on social media aren’t backed by strong data. But there is one supplement that robust studies have consistently shown may lower our cholesterol, dampen glucose spikes, help us stay full longer, and even aid in treating constipation and diarrhea — all while serving our microbiome a sweet, sweet feast: psyllium husk.
CNN hit with 6% staff cut as network sets a plan for a digital future
The plans for reinvention include the development of a direct-to-consumer CNN streaming product that won’t require a pay TV subscription. “It’s the early days, but we’ve already established that there’s immense demand for it not just in America but around the world…
After Dan Snyder’s exit, the NFL at last has a relevant D.C. team again
That has been on display before, during and since a group headed by private equity investor Josh Harris purchased the Commanders from Daniel Snyder for $6.05 billion in July 2023. Harris’s group, which includes other prominent investors with roots in the D.C. area and long-standing affection for the team, installed new leadership that made over a franchise that is now a victory from the Super Bowl. Before that could happen, Harris and his colleagues endured a chaotic process that included last-minute crossroads decisions.
Just how many ads are there on ad-supported streaming apps, really?
The big streaming platforms are all boosting the price of their ad-free subscriptions, trying to get as many people over to an ad-supported tier, which has a greater potential revenue per user despite the lower monthly fees… I decided to gather some data and see exactly how many ads are being crammed into the typical program, and how much time they’re taking up during the viewing session.
You can finally press ‘reset’ on your Instagram feed. Here’s why you should.
Instagram has released a long-promised “reset” button to U.S. users that clears the algorithms it uses to recommend you photos and videos. TikTok offers a reset button, too. And with a little bit more effort, you can also force YouTube to start fresh with how it recommends what videos to play next. It means you now have the power to say goodbye to endless recycled dance moves, polarizing Trump posts, extreme fitness challenges, dramatic pet voice-overs, fruit-cutting tutorials, face-altering filters or whatever other else has taken over your feed like a zombie.
Egg Prices Are High. They Will Likely Go Higher.
Avian influenza has led to a shortage of eggs and wholesale prices that are through the roof. Consumers can expect to feel the pain for a while.
Recipe: dhal with citrus slaw is your hearty, healthy January saviour
Citrus, spice and all things nice in a vegetarian recipe from Joe Woodhouse
What We’re Streaming 📺📲
The Reading List 📖📚
For decades, thousands of people have gathered in Omaha, Nebraska for the Berkshire Hathaway AGM, and quizzed Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger on everything from the psychology of successful investors to the future of Coca-Cola and Apple. But unless you attended, for decades you only had access to what people remembered and reported back from Omaha.
In 2018, Berkshire released the archives of the annual meetings going back to 1994. Alex Morris―an equities analyst and financial writer at the TSOH Investment Research Service―watched hundreds of hours of video from these annual meetings (as well as the six AGMs held since 2018), covering more than 1,700 questions asked by shareholders over the past 31 years. He then gathered, organized and edited the most interesting material into a comprehensive and accessible form.
Buffett and Munger Unscripted is the result.
Don’t be a stranger
Thanks for reading and if you have a suggestion for an article or book we should read, or a stream we should catch, email us at info@tematicaresearch.com. The same email works if you want to know more about our thematic and targeted exposure models listed below.
The Strategies Behind Our Thematic Models
Aging of the Population - Capturing the demographic wave of the aging population and the changing demands it brings with it.
Artificial Intelligence – Software, chips, and related companies that facilitate the collection and analysis of large data sets and autonomous generation of solutions given non-machine language prompts.
Cash Strapped Consumer - Companies poised to benefit as consumers stretch the disposable spending dollars they do have.
CHIPs Act – Capturing the reshoring of the US semiconductor industry and the $52.7 billion poised to be spent on semiconductor manufacturing.
Cloud Computing – Companies that provide hardware and services that enhance the cloud computing experience for users, such as co-location, security, and edge computing.
Core Holdings – Companies that reflect economic activity and are large enough to not get pushed around by day-to-day market trends. Low-beta, large-cap names able to better withstand economic turmoil.
Cybersecurity - Companies that focus on protecting against the penetration of digital networks and the theft, ransom, corruption or destruction of data.
Data Privacy & Digital Identity - Companies providing the tools and services that verify authorized users and safeguard personal data privacy.
Digital Infrastructure & Connectivity -The buildout and upgrading of our Networks, Data Storage Facilities, and Equipment.
Digital Lifestyle - The companies behind our increasingly connected lives.
Digital Payments - This model focuses on companies benefitting from the accelerating structural adoption of digital payments and financial technology (FinTech).
EPS Diplomats - Profitable large capitalization companies proven to produce above-average EPS growth and provide investors with the benefit of multiple expansion.
EV Transition - Capturing the transition to EVs and related infrastructure from combustion engine vehicles.
Guilty Pleasure – Companies that produce/provide food and drink products that consumers tend to enjoy regardless of the economic environment and potential long-term health hazards associated with excessive consumption.
Homebuilding & Materials – Ranging from homebuilders to key building product companies that serve the housing market, this model looks to capture the rising demand for housing, one that should benefit as the Fed returns monetary policy to more normalized levels.
Luxury Buying Boom - Tapping into aspirational buying and affluent buyers amid rising global wealth.
Market Hedge Model – This basket of daily reset swap-based broad market inverse ETFs protects in the face of market pullbacks, overbought market technicals, and other drivers of market volatility.
Nuclear Energy & Uranium – Companies that either build and maintain nuclear power plants or are involved in the production of uranium.
Rebuilding America - Turning the focused spending on rebuilding US infrastructure into revenue and profits.
Safety & Security – Targeted exposure to companies that provide goods and services primarily to the Defense and security sectors of the economy.
Space Economy – Companies that focus on the launch and operation of satellite networks.
The Strategies Behind Our Dividend Income Models
Monthly Dividend Model – Pretty much what the name says – this model invests in companies that pay monthly dividends to shareholders.
ETF Dividend Model – High-yielding ETFs that provide a range of exposures from domestic equities, international equities, emerging market equities, MLPS, and REITs.
ETF Enhanced Dividend Model – A group of high-yielding ETFs that utilize options to enhance yield through collecting option income.
Don’t be a stranger
Thanks for reading and if you have a suggestion for an article or book we should read, or a stream we should catch, email us at info@tematicaresearch.com. The same email works if you want to know more about our thematic and targeted exposure models listed above.