WSJ
p y
Losing Faith in
TheValue of College
What’s
News
Business & Finance
 Consumer sentiment
surged 29% since November,
the biggest two-month in-
crease since 1991, the Uni-
versity of Michigan said. A1
 Ford is slashing produc-
tion of its F-150 Lightning
electric pickup truck, adding
to a downshift for EVs. B9
 The S&P 500 rose to an
all-time high Friday as it
gained 1.2%. The Dow and
Nasdaq climbed 1.1% and
1.7%, respectively. B11
 Sports Illustrated an-
nounced major layoffs, ac-
cording to the publication’s
union, throwing the future of
the magazine into doubt. B9
 Sales of previously owned
homes in 2023 dropped to
the lowest level in 28 years,
after elevated mortgage
rates and a lack of homes for
sale shut out buyers. A3
 JetBlue and Spirit plan to
appeal a federal judge’s rul-
ing blocking the planned
merger of the airlines. B9
 Apple has agreed to let
third-party mobile wallet
and payment services in Eu-
rope use the technology be-
hind its Apple Pay app. B10
 Industrial & Commercial
Bank of China will pay about
$32 million to resolve inves-
tigations into alleged com-
pliance problems at the
bank’s New York branch. B11
World-Wide
 The majority of unaffili-
ated voters in New Hamp-
shire are planning to back
Nikki Haley in the state’s pri-
mary, polling suggests. A1
 Sen. Tim Scott endorsed
former President Trump, a
blow to Haley in her bid for
the Republican presidential
nomination. A4
 The Israeli-occupied West
Bank has become an in-
creasingly deadly front in a
Middle East conflict that has
spread beyond the war in
Gaza, with near-daily Israeli
raids into Palestinian vil-
lages and cities. A7
 Drones struck an oil refin-
ery in Russia’s south, as
Ukraine steps up attacks on
Russian territory. A9
 A New Mexico grand jury
has indicted Alec Baldwin on
a charge of involuntary man-
slaughter in the fatal “Rust”
movie shooting. A3
 Some Democratic law-
makers and affordable-hous-
ing advocates oppose the
Fed’s plan to make big banks
hold more capital. A2
 Japan landed a spacecraft
on the moon, becoming only
the fifth country to do so,
but a problem with its solar
panel could limit the data
the country can collect. A7
 A spike in attacks against
foreigners led the U.S. Em-
bassy in Colombia to issue an
alert this month urging cau-
tion for U.S. citizens meeting
people on dating apps. A9
NOONAN
This isn’t only a
Trump election A15
CONTENTS
Books....................... C7-12
Business& Finance B9-10
Food........................... D6-7
Gear & Gadgets D9-10
Heard on Street....B12
Markets...................... B11
s 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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REVIEW
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL WEEKEND
* * * * * * * * SATURDAY/SUNDAY, JANUARY 20 - 21, 2024 ~ VOL. CCLXXXIII NO. 16
Orthodox Christians Take Plunge of Faith
PAVEL MIKHEYEV/REUTERS
BAPTISM OF ICE: A man takes a dip in frigid water, symbolizing the baptism of Christ, during the Orthodox Christian feast
of the Epiphany in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Believers in Russia, Serbia and other areas also celebrated the holy day on Friday. In
Greece, Bulgaria and other countries, the Orthodox churches mark the Epiphany on Jan. 6.
New Hampshire Independents
Are Haley’s Last-Ditch Hope
ROCHESTER, N.H.—This
state’s independent voters tired
of extreme partisanship look
like Nikki Haley’s last hope for
breaking Donald Trump’s iron
grip on the Republican presi-
dential nomination.
Fed up with the former presi-
dent and unmoved by Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis, the majority
of unaffiliated voters here are
TV Ads
Recruiting
Plaintiffs
For Suits
Mushroom
BY ERIN MULVANEY
“If you or a loved one were
stationed at Camp Lejeune…”
Click
“If you used talcum or baby
powder…”
Click
“Have you been exposed to
chemical-based firefighting
foam…”
From one television chan-
nel to the next, plaintiffs’ law-
yers who specialize in mass
litigation are inundating the
airwaves, as well as digital
media, with ads seeking cli-
ents for personal-injury and
product-liability cases, an ad
boom that comes as court
dockets continue to grow.
Nearly 800,000 television
advertisements for mass litiga-
tion ran in 2023 at a cost of
more than $160 million, ac-
cording to X Ante, a firm that
specializes in research on mass
tort advertising. Ad spending
has been at historic highs in
recent years, showing surges
Obituaries................ A10 when particular cases gain
Opinion................ A13-15 steam. When lawsuits target-
Sports.......................... A12
Style & Fashion D2-3
ing Monsanto’s Roundup weed-
Travel............................. D4 killer were gaining momentum
U.S. News......... A2-4,6 in the courts in 2019, for exam-
World News........ A7-9 ple, overall industry ad spend-
ing reached nearly $300 mil-
> lion on television spots.
Some of the most frequently
run ads in 2023 sought plain-
tiffs who might have been ex-
posed to contaminated water
at the Camp Lejeune Marine
Please turn to page A6
By Eliza Collins,
Alex Leary
and Anthony DeBarros
planning to back the former
South Carolina governor in New
Hampshire’s primary on Tues-
day, polling suggests. Haley is
also expected to pull in some
Democrats-turned-indepen-
Higher Rates,
Fewer Sales
Existing-home purchases fell
to their lowest since 1995. A3
Annual existing-home sales
in the U.S. 2023
4.09M
6 million
5
28-year low
4 PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.—University
3 documentary filmmaker Jo Franklin over
2 ington, D.C.
1 alma mater, and requested her guest list for
0
1981 ’90 2000 ’10
Source: National Association of Realtors
For Many,
Midwest Is a
State of Mind
i i
Some in Montana,
Idaho think
they live there
BY BEN KESLING
AND JENNIFER LEVITZ
Lynn Shelmerdine passes
oil rigs and tumbleweed on
her way to work. Most men
she knows drive pickup trucks
and quite a few wear cowboy
hats. But she’s emphatic that
her part of Montana, despite
being in Mountain time, is the
Midwest rather than the Wild
West.
Please turn to page A10
p g ( ) j p
The
Romantic
Side of
Tech
OFF DUTY
WSJ.com HHHH $6.00
Americans
Feel More
Optimistic
About
Economy
Consumer sentiment
jumps in turnaround
from high inflation
and recession fears
BY GWYNN GUILFORD
AND AMARA OMEOKWE
Americans are rapidly be-
coming much more upbeat
about the economy.
Consumer sentiment
surged 29% since November,
the biggest two-month in-
crease since 1991, the Univer-
sity of Michigan said Friday,
adding to gauges showing im-
proving moods.
It’s a sharp turn after per-
sistently high inflation, the
lingering shock from the pan-
demic’s destruction and fears
that a recession was around
the corner had put a damper
on feelings about the economy
in recent years, despite solid
growth and consistent hiring.
Now Americans are bucking
up as inflation cools and the
Federal Reserve signals that
interest-rate increases are
likely behind us. Mortgage
rates are down sharply from
last year, and the S&P 500
rose to a record high Friday.
With the solid labor market
putting money in the bank ac-
dents who are skipping the party before Trump. But the counts of freely spending con-
Democratic primary because it challenge of beating Trump is sumers, recession fears for
won’t count toward that party’s immense given he won the Iowa 2024 are fading.
nomination or because they caucuses in record fashion and Consumer sentiment leapt
aren’t enthusiastic about re- leads most New Hampshire polls 13% in the first half of January
electing President Biden. by double digits. from December, the Michigan
Haley has gained ground on On Friday night, former pres- survey said, after a sharp rise
Trump in the state, polls show, Please turn to page A4 Please turn to page A2
by appealing to centrists and
conservatives who long for a Re-  Sen. Scott endorses Trump  S&P 500 climbs 1.2%, hits
publicanism that defined the in blow to Haley................ A4 record..................................... B11
Descent Into Delusion:
‘Millionaire’ Lived in a Garage
Jo Franklin’s family worried for years about her mental
stability, but pushing anyone into care is tough
BY JON KAMP hadn’t arrived at the Four Seasons, and the
credit card number she gave the hotel
wasn’t working. A person who identified as
of Florida officials went back and forth with Franklin’s assistant emailed to say Franklin
had broken her foot and couldn’t make it to
details for a planned gala in Franklin’s Washington. University workers phoned
honor at the Four Seasons Hotel in Wash- guests to say the gala was canceled.
The school’s esteemed graduate, once a
Franklin had pledged $2 million to her journalist and documentary filmmaker spe-
cializing in the Middle East, emerged as a
the party include the entire staff of the PBS troubled and gifted fabulist. The $2 million
NewsHour. A day before the gala, school of- gift was an illusion, one in a yearslong
ficials learned her seven-figure check had string of fantasies concocted by Franklin,
’20 bounced. They boarded their flight to Wash- who tumbled from a life of apparent success
ington, hoping to straighten everything out. to homelessness. For years, she persuaded
The next day, they found out Franklin Please turn to page A11
EXCHANGE Scientists Hate These
Netflix Documentaries
i BY AYLIN WOODWARD tiques published in scientific
journals, academic and profes-
Two recent Netflix docu- sional websites, YouTube vid-
mentaries have ignited a eos, and a letter to Netflix—
firestorm among members of argue the shows promote
the scientific community who theories that don’t represent a
have challenged the credibility scientific consensus and
of the work. shouldn’t be labeled as docu-
The popular shows are “Un- mentaries.
known: Cave of Bones,” which Netflix declined to com-
explores what could be the ment.
world’s oldest graveyard, and The conflict raises ques-
“Ancient Apocalypse,” about tions about the responsibility
an advanced civilization hy- media companies have for the
pothesized to have gone ex- content they commission and
GLOBAL ELITE tinct around the last ice age. distribute and about the influ-
The one week when a Each made the Netflix global ence that content has on the
top 10 list when they made public’s evolving understand-
Hilton Garden Inn their debuts in July 2023 and ing of science. Filmmakers
becomes the center November 2022, respectively. and stars of the shows defend
of the world B1 But many archaeologists the productions, saying the
and anthropologists—in cri- Please turn to page A8
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

A2 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * ******* THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

U.S. NEWS
U.S.WATCH
Fed Bank Plan Opposed by Unusual Alliance TEXAS
advocates and civil-rights and moderate-income commu- of policy research at financial- making banks hold more capi-
Grand Jury to Probe
Big banks are joined
groups said it could widen a nities,” he said this month. services firm BTIG. tal when they lend to renew- Uvalde Shooting
by Democratic racial homeownership gap by The industry says the pro- Heightened capital require- able-energy businesses will A Texas prosecutor has
lawmakers, some making it more expensive for posed rules don’t have much ments could make it harder jeopardize the effectiveness of convened a grand jury to in-
banks to offer mortgages to to do with the errors that and more expensive for con- green-energy tax credits. vestigate the Uvalde school
civil-rights groups lower-income and minority fueled last year’s bank failures sumers and small businesses Other moderate Democrats, shooting, multiple newspapers
borrowers. and has asked regulators to to get mortgages and other such as Virginia Sen. Mark reported Friday, as families of
BY ANDREW ACKERMAN Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D., re-propose the capital re- loans, banks and some law- Warner and Montana Sen. Jon the 19 children and two teach-
N.Y.) said she worries U.S. quirements. Bank executives makers say. Tester, have raised concerns, ers killed continued their calls
WAS H I N GT O N — E v e r y - banks would face stricter from around the world at the The Congressional Black too, such as whether the Fed for criminal charges against
body, it seems, is complaining rules than competitors over- World Economic Forum in Da- Caucus and groups such as the conducted sufficient analysis. officers involved in the hesi-
about the Federal Reserve’s seas. Fed officials have ac- vos, Switzerland, this week National Urban League and Barr has generally defended tant and haphazard police re-
plan to make big banks hold knowledged that the U.S. rules said they increasingly believe the NAACP raised concerns the economic analysis and sponse to the massacre.
more capital. would likely be tougher than their arguments will win. about the proposal’s treat- stressed the need for a more Uvalde County District At-
Not surprisingly, large those in other jurisdictions. Banks have spent more ment of certain mortgages for resilient banking system. torney Christina Mitchell told
banks have led the charge, and The rules implement the than a decade since the finan- riskier home buyers. Banks By the Fed’s reckoning, the the San Antonio Express-
Republicans who are frequent last in a series of steps global cial crisis showing relative would need more capital for changes could raise capital re- News that a grand jury would
critics of regulators have policymakers agreed on after deference to regulators. Now mortgages with higher ratios quirements by roughly 16% on review evidence related to
pushed to ditch the proposal. the 2008-09 financial crisis, big banks have signaled they of loan size to property value. average at roughly 36 banks the May 24, 2022, shooting
But they have been joined by making banks around the are considering legal action, The stricter mortgage stan- with more than $100 billion in at Robb Elementary School.
unlikely allies including a world hold additional capital something they rarely do. To dards “will have a devastating assets. Bigger increases are She didn’t disclose what the
broad cross-section of Demo- so they could weather down- help craft a legal strategy, the impact on our efforts to in- expected at U.S. megabanks grand jury will focus on, the
cratic lawmakers as well as af- turns. The latest proposal Bank Policy Institute, an in- crease homeownership in with big trading businesses. newspaper reported. During
fordable-housing advocates. aims to more explicitly and dustry group, has hired Eu- communities of color,” wrote Big banks say the average is the attack, police waited
The broad pushback could consistently guard against gene Scalia—a frequent the National Housing Confer- actually closer to 20%, and 25% more than an hour to con-
complicate regulators’ stated risks including cyberattacks. scourge of regulators and the ence, an affordable-housing for the biggest banks. Capital front and kill the gunman in
goal of boosting the system’s The Fed’s point person on son of late Supreme Court advocacy group, in a letter requirements at firms that op- what U.S. Attorney General
resilience after a spate of mid- the plan, Michael Barr, has Justice Antonin Scalia. signed by more than two erate businesses reliant on fee Merrick Garland on Thursday
size bank failures in 2023, say signaled he is open to “The banking industry dozen other groups. income, such as asset manage- called “a failure that should
analysts and banking officials. changes. At least some of never expected Congress to fix The Fed’s Barr has men- ment, could increase by more not have happened.”
Dozens of House and Sen- those sought by Democrats this proposal, but the pressure tioned the proposal’s treat- than 50%, according to the Mitchell didn’t respond to
ate Democrats recently signed could be achieved with rela- they’ve applied ensured that ment of mortgages as an area Bank Policy Institute and an- emailed questions and calls
formal letters protesting as- tively modest adjustments. the chorus clamoring for in which the Fed will weigh other industry group, the to her office Friday.
pects of the plan, floated in “We want to make sure that changes is loud enough to be reactions. American Bankers Association. —Associated Press
July. Members of the Congres- the rule supports a vibrant heard and heeded by the Fed,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D., —David Benoit
sional Black Caucus, housing economy that supports low- said Isaac Boltansky, director W.Va.) has said he worries contributed to this article. FLORIDA
Ex-GOP Leader
Cleared of Rape
Police cleared the ousted
chairman of the Florida Re-
publican Party of rape allega-
tions on Friday, but said they
have asked prosecutors to
charge him with illegally
video recording the sexual
encounter he had with a fe-
male acquaintance.
The Sarasota Police De-
partment said a review of a
cellphone video Christian
Ziegler made of the Oct. 2 en-
counter showed that it was
“likely consensual,” making it
impossible to charge him with
rape. However, police said the
woman told investigators that
she never consented to be
video recorded and was un-
aware it had occurred.
Ziegler, 40, previously ad-
mitted having sex with the
woman but insisted it was
consensual and blamed politi-
cal opponents for sensational-
izing the matter. Court records
JEENAH MOON/GETTY IMAGES

show that his wife, Bridget

Ziegler, told detectives the
three had engaged in sex once
more than a year ago. Police
said Bridget Ziegler backed
out of the planned encounter
but her husband went to the
A recent pickup in U.S. consumer sentiment was broad-based, spanning Americans of different ages, income, education and geography. accuser’s apartment alone.
Bridget Ziegler is a promi-

Americans Consumer sentiment index*

+13% in first half of

Share of consumers expecting
mortgage rates to go up or
down in next 12 months
Daily News Sentiment Index,
monthly average†
lier. That was driven in part by
a surge in the share of consum-
ers anticipating lower mort-
nent conservative who co-
founded the Moms for Liberty
organization and is also an

Feel Upbeat 100

January from
December 75% 0.4 RECESSION
gage rates in the next year.
Media coverage might be
rubbing off on consumers, too.
elected member of the Sara-
sota County school board.
—Associated Press

On Economy 90

50
0.2

0
The mood of economy-related
articles has rebounded since
November to the highest level
CALIFORNIA
Man Is Sentenced
80 since 2018, according to the
Continued from Page One San Francisco Fed’s Daily In 2018 Spa Blast
the prior month. The pickup Up -0.2 News Sentiment Index. Cover- A Southern California man
in sentiment was broad-based, 70 age had skewed much more was sentenced Friday to two
spanning consumers of differ- 25 Down -0.4
negatively in the past three concurrent life sentences,
ent age, income, education years relative to economic plus 30 years, for blowing up
and geography. 60 fundamentals, a Brookings In- his ex-girlfriend’s spa busi-
The recovery in sentiment -0.6 stitution analysis found. ness with a package bomb in
“is likely to provide some pos- One reason sentiment is 2018, killing her and seriously
itive momentum for the econ- 50 RECESSION lower than what economic injuring two others.
0 -0.8
omy,” said Joanne Hsu, the strength might imply is that Friday’s hearing concluded
2015 ’20 2015 ’20 2015 ’20
Michigan survey’s director. consumers are still digesting a case against Stephen Beal,
Despite the recent senti- *Index: 1Q 1966=100 †Higher values indicate more positive sentiment; lower values indicate more negative sentiment. the mid-2022 surge in inflation, 64, that was fraught with
ment gains, the measure is Sources: University of Michigan (consumer sentiment); Fannie Mae (mortgage rates); Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (daily news index) said Neale Mahoney, an econo- missteps for investigators and
still about 20% lower than be- mist at Stanford University. He prosecutors since the May 15,
fore the pandemic took hold little less, and therefore things according to the Conference nomic record. When he was in found that sentiment tends to 2018, bombing in Aliso Viejo.
in 2020 and nearer to levels will hopefully get better.” Board, a data provider. office, unemployment was also recover just half of consumers’ Ildiko Krajnyak, 48, was
consistent with an economy A better mood among Heading into an election, historically low and inflation initial negative reaction a year killed in the blast when she
just emerging from a down- Americans is good for growth Republicans have hammered tamer—before the sharp pan- after prices increase. opened a box with a home-
turn—not one that recorded since happier consumers are, President Biden on inflation demic recession. made bomb inside that Beal
surprisingly strong growth on balance, likely to keep and made economic issues Steady improvement in had slipped into the spa. Two
last year. spending—and that consump- central in their voter pitches. Americans’ views of their eco- Risks remain clients, a mother and daughter,
tion drives around two-thirds Meanwhile, the Biden admin- nomic prospects could bolster But there are still risks to were knocked off their feet.
of the U.S. economy. istration says its policies have Biden’s re-election chances, if the economy and Americans’ Beal’s federal public de-
Happier consumers Other gauges also show led to a robust labor market, it means his message is break- moods. fender didn’t respond to a re-
A drop in gasoline prices that Americans are at last cooling inflation, stronger do- ing through, said Jesse Fergu- While economists expect quest for comment.
has encouraged Emma St. emerging from their funk. The mestic supply chains and son, a Democratic strategist. the U.S. to dodge a recession —Associated Press
Onge, a college student from share of consumers in Decem- lower prescription-drug costs. “That doesn’t mean every- in 2024, they see growth slow-
Springfield, Mass., because it ber who expected to be finan- So far, the president ap- thing is great and everything ing sharply as the full impact MICHIGAN
means she gets to keep more cially better off a year later pears to be losing the argu- is fixed,” he said. “But people of the Fed’s interest-rate in-
of her money in her pocket, reached the highest level since ment, as polling shows Ameri- see a path where the next day creases strain the finances of
Charges Dropped
including what she earns from June 2021, according to a Fed- cans’ indigestion about the can be better than the last one, households and businesses. Against Ex-Officer
her part-time job on campus. eral Reserve Bank of New York economy is contributing to Bi- and that translates to some That could weigh on con- A manslaughter charge
“I feel like I can do more survey. A separate consumer- den’s low approval numbers. level of economic security.” sumers, particularly if unem- was dismissed against a for-
because my money goes far- confidence measure last Former President Donald ployment starts to rise, said mer Detroit police officer ac-
ther,” she said. “Hopefully month saw its biggest one- Trump, the Republican front- Jeremy Schwartz, senior U.S. cused of causing the death of
people will start to struggle a month gain since March 2021, runner, is touting his eco- Improving signs economist at Nomura, who a 71-year-old man by punch-
Several factors are lifting thinks a recession this year is ing him in the face and caus-
America’s economic spirits. more likely than not. ing him to fall to the ground,
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
(USPS 664-880) (Eastern Edition ISSN 0099-9660) CORRECTIONS  Unemployment is histori-
cally low, and hiring is still
Inflation might prove more
persistent and is subject to in-
prosecutors said.
District Court Judge Ken-
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Readers can alert The Wall Street Fannie Mae’s index of home- That makes it more expensive ing alley on Sept. 1, prosecu-
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GOT A TIP FOR US? SUBMIT IT AT WSJ.COM/TIPS by emailing wsjcontact@wsj.com or buying sentiment jumped 10% for Americans to finance tors have said.
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 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | A3

U.S. NEWS

Existing-Home Sales Slide to 28-Year Low

High mortgage rushed to take advantage of
easing borrowing costs. Then
rates, prices made rates began to rise again and
the supply of homes for sale
buying prohibitively
stalled at very low levels,
expensive last year keeping the market frozen.
Supply was so tight in part
BY NICOLE FRIEDMAN because many homeowners
with low mortgage rates chose
Home sales last year to stay put last year, deter-
dropped to the lowest level in mining it would be too expen-
nearly three decades, after el- sive to buy another house at a
evated mortgage rates and a higher interest rate.
lack of homes for sale shut out That lack of inventory
buyers. pushed home prices to record
Existing-home sales slid highs last year and made
19% in 2023 from the prior home purchases prohibitively
year to 4.09 million, the Na- expensive for many prospec-
tional Association of Realtors tive buyers.
said Friday. That total was Some economists say
lower than during the sub- home-buying activity is likely
prime crisis and the lowest to pick up in 2024. With the
full-year level since 1995. But Federal Reserve pivoting away
the housing market is showing from raising short-term inter-
some signs of life as mortgage est rates and considering
rates ease, and it’s possible when to cut, mortgage rates
that last year represented a have started to decline. The
bottom for sales activity. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
After two years of soaring averaged 6.6% this week, the
home sales that started during lowest level since May, ac-
the pandemic as people cording to Freddie Mac. Fan-
sought more space and new nie Mae recently forecast that
locations, the housing market this rate will move below 6%
skidded to a halt in mid-2022. by the end of the year.
Sales activity last year got People who postponed pur-
off to a better-than-expected chases last year due to the
start, when mortgage rates re- high rates may not be able to
treated and some buyers keep waiting. Millions of mil-
U.S. median existing-home price, change from a year earlier
30% RECESSION
20
10
0
-10
-20
2000 ’05
Note: December 2023 is preliminary.
Source: National Association of Realtors
lennials are in the typical first-
time home-buying age range.
“There’s so much latent de-
mand in the market,” said
Sam Khater, chief economist
at Freddie Mac. “You have a
lot of folks that are still trying
to get up on the first rung of
the housing ladder.”
Home-shopping activity has
already started to tick up,
real-estate agents say, as buy-
ers look to take advantage of
the lower rates. Mortgage
rates have dropped more than
a percentage point since Octo-
ber, when they rose to a 23-
December
+4.4%
’10 ’15 ’20
year high. Mortgage purchase
applications rose in the week
ended Jan. 12 to the highest
seasonally adjusted level since
July, according to the Mort-
gage Bankers Association.
If rates continue to fall,
more homeowners who want
to move but have feared pay-
ing a significantly higher
mortgage rate on their next
home may feel more comfort-
able listing their houses.
But the gap between the
borrowing rate they have now
and the rate they would pay
on a new loan remains signifi-
cant. That is likely to keep in-
ventory lower than normal
this year, economists say.
The lack of supply is keep-
ing prices high. At the current
sales pace, there was a 3.2-
month supply of homes on the
market at the end of December.
Four to six months of supply is
considered a balanced market.
Existing-home sales, which
make up most of the housing
market, fell 1% in December
from the prior month to a sea-
sonally adjusted annual rate of
3.78 million, the lowest
monthly rate since August
2010. December sales fell 6.2%
from a year earlier.
The national median exist-
ing-home price rose 4.4% in
December from a year earlier
to $382,600, NAR said.
Griffin and Jessica Fisher
started looking to buy their
first home outside of Atlanta
because rents in their area
were going up.
“I know the housing market
isn’t really great, but I can’t re-
ally say that rent is great ei-
ther,” Griffin Fisher said.
They bought a three-bed-
room townhouse last month in
Scottdale, Ga., for $315,000.
“We’re super happy,” he said.
The typical home sold in De-
cember was on the market for
29 days, up from 26 days a
year earlier, NAR said.
The share of first-time buy-
ers in the market was 29% in
December, down from 31% a
year earlier. About 29% of De-
cember existing-home sales
were purchased in cash, up
from 28% in the same month a
year ago, NAR said.
Shopping activity has in-
creased since the start of the
year, said Risa Corson, a real-
estate agent in Closter, N.J.
“We definitely have seen
renewed activity,” she said.
“People are feeling a little
more at ease, that the rates
have come down a little. But
there’s still some buyers that
are a little wary.”
The decline in rates has also
pushed up home-builder confi-
dence. Builders benefited in
2023 from the shortage of ex-
isting homes on the market. A
measure of U.S. home-builder
confidence rose in January for
the second consecutive month,
the National Association of
Home Builders said this week.
News Corp, owner of the
Journal, also operates Real-
tor.com under license from
NAR.
 Heard on the Street: Housing
is far from normal.......... B12

Baldwin Indicted Over Shooting on Movie

BY KATHERINE SAYRE pin on the spent casing would
have been different, he wrote.
A New Mexico grand jury “Although Alec Baldwin re-
has indicted Alec Baldwin on a peatedly denies pulling the
charge of involuntary man- trigger, given the tests, find-
slaughter in the fatal “Rust” ings and observations reported
movie shooting, months after here, the trigger had to be
CJ GUNTHER/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

prosecutors dropped the same pulled or depressed sufficiently

charge against the actor. to release the fully cocked or
The indictment was filed retracted hammer of the evi-
Friday in state district court dence revolver,” Haag wrote.
in Santa Fe, and alleges that The report includes images
Baldwin shot and killed cine- from video taken at the re-
matographer Halyna Hutchins hearsal showing Baldwin hold-
on the set of the Old West ing the revolver with his fin-
movie near Santa Fe in 2021. Alec Baldwin has said he didn’t know the gun had a live round. ger apparently on the trigger.
Charges against Baldwin Baldwin said he didn’t
had been dropped last April af- It has never been made clear and forensic analysis,” and know there was a live round in
ter his defense attorneys raised how live rounds—typically dropped the charges. the gun. “I would never point
the possibility that the gun banned from movie produc- A Federal Bureau of Inves- a gun at anyone and pull the
went off accidentally based on tions for safety—made it onto tigation analysis showed that trigger at them, never,” he told
the condition of the gun. the New Mexico set. Prosecu- Baldwin pulled the trigger of ABC News in December 2021.
Prosecutors secured a new tors have said there will likely the gun, according to the dis- Gutierrez-Reed, the film’s
analysis of the revolver and the never be a definitive answer to trict attorney’s office. The re- armorer, is also facing charges
fatal bullet by one of the na- that. Instead, prosecutors have volver broke during the FBI of involuntary manslaughter in
tion’s top experts who con- focused on building a legal case testing. Baldwin has insisted Hutchins’s death. Investigators
cluded that the gun didn’t go on who they believe could have he didn’t pull the trigger. have accused Gutierrez-Reed of
off by itself. Special prosecu- prevented the shooting: Bald- The special prosecutors failing in her duties to promote
tors Kari Morrissey and Jason win and the film’s armorer in dropped the charges, but con- gun safety and prevent reck-
Lewis didn’t respond to re- charge of weapons, Hannah tinued the investigation. lessness with weapons during
quests for comment. Gutierrez-Reed. They turned to Lucien the filming. Gutierrez-Reed has
Baldwin’s attorneys Luke Ni- The effort hasn’t been with- Haag, a longtime firearms ex- denied any wrongdoing.
kas and Alex Spiro said in a out missteps. pert based in Arizona, to ex- The high-profile case has
statement that “we look for- Baldwin was initially amine the pieces of the re- been mired in setbacks. Under
ward to our day in court.” charged in January 2023 by volver. In an Aug. 2 report, the original charges, prosecu-
The new indictment is the Santa Fe-area District Attor- Haag said parts of the gun tors later dropped a firearm
latest turn in a yearslong saga ney Mary Carmack-Altwies. were replaced to make it oper- enhancement that carried a
over who should be blamed for But she stepped away from ational again for his testing, mandatory five-year prison
the death of Hutchins, a rising the case and turned it over to during which the weapon term, reducing the maximum
star in the film industry. special prosecutors. That functioned properly. sentence for Baldwin and Gu-
Involuntary manslaughter in April, the special prosecutors Haag concluded that the gun tierrez-Reed to 18 months.
New Mexico has a sentence of said that new information re- didn’t go off accidentally. If it —Zusha Elinson
up to 18 months in prison. quired “further investigation had, the imprint from the firing contributed to this article.
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 p y
A4 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024
These Voters
Are Haley’s
Last Hope
Continued from Page One
idential candidate and U.S. Sen.
Tim Scott (R., S.C.) endorsed
Trump, in a setback to Haley.
Failure will likely crush the
hopes of those wanting a Trump
alternative. And even if Haley
performs well in New Hamp-
shire, Trump holds sizable leads
in the next round of early nomi-
nating states.
Four in 10 New Hampshire
voters are independents, part of
a growing share of Americans
who don’t belong to either
party. Gallup found an average
of 43% of U.S. adults identifying
as independent, according to
2023 surveys.
As both parties have pushed
toward their ideological edges,
many voters are abandoning
them. Some want to cherry pick
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p p
policies from both sides, with a
number of independents saying
they favor the left’s embrace of
abortion rights and the right’s
tough stance on immigration.
Others are sick of tribalism.
“It almost segregates you. It
becomes an identity,” Sam Avila,
31, of New Boston, said of be-
longing to one party or the
other. He migrated from Guate-
mala and decided to register as
an independent for his first
election, in which he is consid-
ering Haley. Avila, who is a
quality manager in manufactur-
ing, thinks Biden has gotten the
U.S. too involved in foreign con-
flict but also credits his at-
tempts to manage inflation.
The ranks of independents
first surged just before Presi-
dent Barack Obama took office
and grew during the Tea Party
movement. Young voters com-
ing of age in this era are more
likely to identify as independent
than their older peers, according
to Gallup.
There is evidence that many
unaffiliated voters aren’t as up
for grabs as the label suggests.
Gallup found that on average,
“This is cookware designed
from a chef’s point of view.”
- Chef Thomas Keller
hestanculinary.com
P W L C 10 11 12
most voters lean Democrat or
Republican, or consider them-
selves aligned with one party.
New Hampshire is among the
states that allow independent
voters to cast ballots in either
party’s primary. About 4,000
New Hampshire Democrats be-
came unaffiliated with a party
or switched to the GOP in the
last month before an October
deadline, according to the secre-
tary of state’s office.
Some 31% of New Hampshire
voters are Republicans, state
figures show. Trump had the
support of nearly two thirds of
all Republican primary voters,
while Haley had one quarter and
DeSantis had 8%, in a Saint
Anselm College poll released
this past week.
Republicans hold the major-
ity in the New Hampshire legis-
lature, but voters have also re-
elected an all-Democrat federal
congressional delegation, in-
cluding Sen. Maggie Hassan
who won in 2022 by 9 points.
The state’s motto is Live Free
or Die, and voters generally sup-
port a hands-off government ap-
proach. There are no state or lo-
H T G K R F A M 1 2 3 4 5 6
U.S. NEWS
Do you consider yourself
a Republican, a Democrat
or an independent?
50%
40
30
20
1990 2000
Source: Based on annual averages of Gallup
nationwide telephone survey interview data
cal sales taxes, and the state
income tax is levied only on in-
terest and dividends, according
to the nonprofit Tax Foundation.
Abortions are restricted at 24
weeks, and polling shows voters
across the ideological spectrum
don’t want it restricted further.
Interviews with dozens of in-
dependent voters found that
many want a candidate who will
govern from the center and see
Haley as the most likely to do
so. Most voted for either Biden
or Trump in 2020 but don’t
want a rematch.
“There’s a lot of drama in
politics these days. Nikki brings
a certain amount of profession-
alism, she brings integrity
back,” said Steven Easler, 53,
who works for a bank and lives
in Dover. “I think she can be a
uniter in a divided country.”
Independent voters are par-
ticularly concerned about the
91 criminal charges Trump
faces for matters including his
efforts to overturn his loss in
the 2020 election.
Some voters say they used
to identify as Republican but
left the party during the
South Carolina Senator
Throws Support to Trump
BY ELIZA COLLINS
AND AARON ZITNER
CONCORD, N.H.—U.S. Sen.
Tim Scott endorsed Donald
Trump, a blow to Nikki Haley
in her bid for the Republican
presidential nomination.
The South Carolina Republi-
can made the endorsement
Friday evening in a packed ho-
tel ballroom in New Hamp-
shire’s capital city. The move
comes days before the New
Hampshire primary, set for
Tuesday, in which Haley, the
former South Carolina gover-
nor, is attempting a long-shot
effort to overtake Trump.
In an interview with The
Wall Street Journal backstage
at the rally, Scott explained
his endorsement of the former
president by saying, “I think
about the success we had
working together.” He cited
legislation he worked on that
included opportunity zones, a
tax break meant to spur eco-
nomic growth in distressed
communities, that Trump
signed. Trump during his
speech praised Scott’s work
on the legislation.
As for Haley, who appointed
Scott to the Senate in 2012,
Scott said, “She was a good
governor, I think she has run a
strong campaign,” but said he
had compared the two candi-
dates and concluded Trump
would be more effective.
Scott declined to answer if
he would accept an invitation
to be Trump’s running mate.
“To go into any endorsements
asking what’s in it for me is
the wrong question.”
Haley declined to answer
shouted questions Friday
about the Scott endorsement
while exiting a diner in Am-
herst, N.H. She had spoken
with Scott to ask for his en-
dorsement in the days ahead
of his decision, as had Trump
and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Flor-
ida, according to a person fa-
miliar with the conversations.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris
Sununu, who has been cam-
paigning with Haley around
the state, said “nobody cares”
when asked by reporters
p g ( ) j p
7 8 9 O I X X ******** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Independent
Democrat
Clockwise from left: Nikki Haley with voter Steve Easler and
Republican his wife, Lisa, and their daughters at a rally in Rochester this
past week; Sam Avila with his wife, Hanna, and their
daughter praying before dinner at home in New Boston;
’10 ’20 Brian Harlow walking from his home in Concord to the New
Hampshire State House; and Gary and Brenda Goudreau at
their home in Chester.
ANN HERMES FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (4)
Trump era.
“It’s no longer the Republican
Party that I grew up with and
who live in Chester.
“She’s putting him above the
law,” said Brenda Goudreau.
that I knew—it’s the MAGA
party,” said Tim Hoehn, 61, re-
ferring to Trump’s Make Amer-
Gary Goudreau said he will
write in former New Jersey Gov.
Chris Christie, who left the race
ica Great Again slogan. The pub-
lisher of a pet magazine from
Grantham said he will vote for
before balloting. Brenda Gou-
dreau will vote in the Demo-
cratic primary and write in Bi-
Haley, though he will likely back den’s name even though her
Biden in November. vote won’t count toward the
Haley has tried to straddle nomination.
two lanes in how she handles Brian Harlow, 51, of Concord,
Trump. She has said she was voted for GOP presidential can-
proud to serve as United Na- didates John McCain and Mitt
tions ambassador in his admin- Romney then shifted to Hillary
istration and thought he was Clinton and Biden. He is open to
the right president at the time, Haley in the primary “because
but she has criticized him for she’s not a lunatic,” he said, and
adding trillions to the national won’t vote for Trump if he is the
debt and said his criminal GOP nominee.
charges are a distraction. Harlow said he thinks Demo-
At the same time, Haley has crats need to be tougher on im-
said she would pardon the for- migration and show more fiscal
mer president if he is found discipline but rejects what he
guilty and has said she would sees as antigay policies of the
support him if he was the nomi- GOP and “the book banning,” re-
nee even if he is convicted. ferring to efforts by some con-
That stance on Trump lost servative states to restrict books
her the ability to pick up vot- with sexual themes.
ers like Brenda Goudreau, 64, “I like the freedom,” Harlow
a teacher, and her husband, said, “of not having to be locked
Gary Goudreau, 66, a retiree, in.”
should it come, could give her a
boost in New Hampshire.
Scott’s endorsement gives
Trump the backing of all three
of the senior Republican offi-
ERIK S. LESSER/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
cials in South Carolina, where
the Feb. 24 primary has the
potential to provide a last
stand for any of Trump’s rivals
to stop his momentum. Trump
previously won the backing of
Sen. Lindsey Graham and Gov.
Henry McMaster.
Scott’s endorsement comes
as the primary race in New
Hampshire has turned more
antagonistic ahead of Tues-
day’s election, as Trump and
Haley have begun trading per-
MATT ROURKE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
sonal insults and increasingly
portraying the other as a los-
ing proposition for the party.
The race here has essen-
tially narrowed into a two-per-
son contest, with a third candi-
date, Ron DeSantis, limiting his
time in the state and focusing
Tim Scott’s endorsement of as much on South Carolina.
Donald Trump is a blow to The result in New Hampshire
Nikki Haley’s nomination bid. will give signal to whether Ha-
ley, after a third-place showing
about the endorsement, not- in Iowa, has the voter and do-
ing that Scott had dropped nor support to continue.
out of the race for the Repub- Haley has been roping to-
lican presidential nomination gether the names of President
because of a lack of support. Biden and his predecessor in
Scott’s endorsement is an- arguing that Americans were
other sign of the difficulty Ha- tired of both of them.
ley faces in a party that appears Asked on Friday why she
to be coalescing behind the for- hadn’t gone harder after
mer president. Trump scored a Trump earlier in the race, Ha-
dominating victory in Iowa’s ley said such a strategy didn’t
caucuses this month, defeating make sense while there was a
both Haley and DeSantis by large candidate field. “Now
about 30 percentage points. that it’s a two-person race,
Several GOP leaders who hadn’t we’re talking about the con-
yet endorsed him decided in re- trast,’’ she said. “Do you want
cent days to do so, including to go with an 80-year-old
Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), the president again, or do you
top rival to Trump in the 2016 want to go with someone
GOP primary contest. who’s going to fight and be a
The New York Times first new conservative leader?”
reported Scott’s plans. Trump’s strategy in New
The endorsement leaves Hampshire has been to assert
Chris Christie, the former New that Haley is too liberal to merit
Jersey governor, as the only support from conservatives
other significant candidate yet while at the same time his allies
to endorse a rival after drop- say she is too close to Trump to
ping out of this year’s primary merit support from the state’s
contest. Christie’s supporters plentiful independents, who can
have looked much like Ha- vote in the GOP primary.
ley’s—political centrists looking —Alex Leary
to turn the page from Trump— and John McCormick
and his endorsement of Haley, contributed to this article.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | A5

 p y p p p g ( ) j p

A6 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * ****** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

U.S. NEWS

Johnson Faces Deepening Rift in GOP Harvard

Defends
Discord over key
legislation comes as
Republican margin
Plagiarism
shrinks further Review
BY SIOBHAN HUGHES
AND LINDSAY WISE BY MELISSA KORN

WASHINGTON—The num- Harvard University shed

bers are getting even worse for new light on the plagiarism
House Speaker Mike Johnson. review it conducted of its for-
Since becoming speaker 87 mer president, defending its
days ago, the Louisiana Re- actions in an eight-page nar-
publican has passed three ma- rative submitted Friday in re-
jor pieces of legislation—on sponse to a congressional in-
defense policy and two on vestigation.
spending—by relying more on “We worked to address rel-
Democrats than members of evant questions in a timely,
his own party. In a vote fair, and diligent manner. We
Thursday to keep the govern- understand and acknowledge
TOM WILLIAMS/CQ ROLL CALL/ZUMA PRESS

ment open, even a member of that many viewed our efforts

Johnson’s own leadership as insufficiently transparent,
team, House GOP Conference raising questions regarding
Chair Elise Stefanik of New our process and standard of
York, voted against him. review,” the school told the
In that vote, Johnson nar- House Committee on Educa-
rowly avoided losing a major- tion and the Workforce, ac-
ity of his majority—with 107 cording to a copy of the mate-
Republicans voting yes and rial reviewed by The Wall
106 voting against—only be- Street Journal.
cause his allies managed to House Speaker Mike Johnson must contend with some Republicans who complain the party hasn’t scored enough legislative wins. Claudine Gay, a political sci-
persuade one Republican, Rep. entist who served as Harvard’s
Tim Walberg of Michigan, to The insurgent Republicans the party’s ultrathin majority. charging equipment and gov- concept is that Johnson could president until earlier this
change his vote to “yes” from aren’t giving an inch, viewing It was 222-213 for much of ernment settlements, is one do so knowing that he was month, was accused in late Oc-
“no” at the last minute. The record illegal crossings at the this Congress and now stands thing. The bigger issues are still reflecting the views of a tober of plagiarizing a number
bill passed 314-108 with al- border and a $34 trillion debt at 220-213 after the expulsion legislation providing full-year swath of the GOP conference. of passages in published aca-
most all Democrats on board. that exceeds the country’s of George Santos of New York funding for fiscal 2024 and for “The pain is inevitable, but demic articles over the course
“House leadership had to gross domestic product as ex- and the resignation of former Ukraine—two areas where the suffering is a choice,” said of decades. Additional allega-
scurry around to whip up the istential crises. Johnson, who Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Congress has the final say Rep. Patrick McHenry (R., tions were made in subsequent
votes to ensure a majority of was elected speaker in Octo- California. It will narrow fur- over operations that are core N.C.), who briefly served as in- weeks.
Republicans supported this ber in part because his col- ther to 219-213 with the de- to American governance and terim speaker last year and is The firestorm over her re-
terrible bill,” complained Rep. leagues saw him as inoffensive parture of Rep. Bill Johnson identity. If conservatives can retiring from Congress at the search ignited around the
Chip Roy (R., Texas) on the and unifying, has found him- (R., Ohio) this weekend. On flex their muscle in ways that end of this term. He said same time she was being criti-
House floor. self helming a ship with a mu- top of that, two GOP members trigger a government shut- Johnson needs to widen his cized for how she handled con-
GOP hard-liners are frus- tinous crew, with some mem- have been out for medical rea- down or cut off aid for Kyiv, circle of advisers, rather than cerns about antisemitism on
trated that Republicans ha- bers threatening to expand sons. their colleagues worry that letting the loudest members campus.
ven’t scored a major legisla- the scope of the obstruction- Johnson’s office didn’t re- the band of insurgents could dictate the party’s course. The House committee, be-
tive win on priorities like the ism if Johnson doesn’t spond to a request for com- cause potentially destabilizing Still, the loud voices are so fore which Gay testified in
border or cutting federal toughen up. ment Friday. He has repeat- change. potent that they have begun early December on the anti-
spending since taking control “If you don’t need our votes edly reminded his conference Republicans from the to drag House leadership in semitism issue, launched an
of the House in the 2022 elec- for the significant pieces of that the Republicans have a party’s governing wing argue their direction. Stefanik voted investigation into how the
tions. Their GOP colleagues legislation that impacts the tiny majority, limiting his op- that Johnson, who is person- against the measure extending school was addressing anti-
point out that with a Demo- country that funds the gov- tions. “I only have the control ally an ardent fiscal and social government funding into semitism, as well as the pla-
cratic-led White House and ernment,” said House Free- of one chamber,” he said this conservative, should listen March out of concern about a giarism allegations.
Senate, they should accept dom Caucus Chair Bob Good past week on Fox News. “And more to other voices in the surge in illegal crossings from The narrative submitted
some compromises on border (R., Va.), “you shouldn’t pre- we have the smallest majority House GOP conference—in- Canada in her own district, Friday was accompanied by
and spending that are within sume that you’ve got our in U.S. history, quite literally cluding the military hawks according to a spokeswoman. other documents responsive
reach rather than block them. votes for the meaningless this week, with people out and members of the appropri- A group of conservatives had to the committee’s request, a
“Have these tactics resulted messaging bills that are dead sick.” ations committee who are tried to attach a border-secu- school spokesman said.
in better, more conservative on arrival in the Senate.” Blocking Johnson from starting to speak up more rity bill to the interim spend- Gay has said she made mis-
outcomes?” said Rep. Garret The willingness of many passing Republican-written loudly. The result might still ing bill, but the House takes regarding citations in
Graves (R., La.). “The answer Republicans to buck Johnson’s measures, as they did earlier be passing legislation with speaker’s office rejected that past papers but stands by her
is ‘no.’ ” leadership is exacerbated by this month on electric-vehicle Democratic support, but the plan. research.

TV Ads for Top targets of mass tort TV ads, 2012–23

Asbestos or mesothelioma
$654 million

Mass Torts Camp Lejeune water contamination

158

Mushroom Glyphosate*

Xarelto
140

Continued from Page One
base in North Carolina over a
period of about 30 years.
Other lawsuits drawing fre-
quent advertising offered po-
tential payouts to people who
used talc products from John-
son & Johnson or were ex-
posed to firefighting foam
that allegedly contained chem-
icals that cause cancer and
other illnesses. Roundup liti-
gation ads remain prevalent,
as Monsanto, now owned by
the German conglomerate
Bayer, continues to defend
cases around the U.S.
Mass tort cases are typically
a pooled set of individual law-
suits, funneled into a single
court, where a large number of
plaintiffs allege they were in-
jured in a similar way. A judge
is then designated to decide
common issues across the law-
suits, such as whether a partic-
ular product was dangerous or
defective. Then individual
cases proceed based on ques-
tions of how specific plaintiffs
used the product and what
harms they may have suffered.
122
Talcum powder
121
Hernia mesh
105
Pradaxa
93
Inferior vena cava filters
86
HIV TDF† drugs
79
Diabetes or weight-loss drugs *Roundup weed killer
†Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
76 Source: X Ante
In some cases, investors velopment. A judge ruled in
such as private-equity firms December that the materials
or hedge funds are providing weren’t admissible, a death
$20 million to $100 million in blow for the cases.
loans to single law firms, with After a handful of lawsuits
prospective returns as much were filed against Novo Nor-
as 20% for riskier litigation, disk from plaintiffs alleging
said Michael McDonald, a serious side effects from tak-
partner with Morning Invest- ing Ozempic, Wegovy and Ry-
ments, a financial-advisory belsus, drugs used to treat di-
firm. abetes or obesity, a first wave
“In almost all the mass tort of ads soon followed. The
cases, you can find big law company denies the allega-
firms that have taken it, or if tions and plans to defend
they haven’t, they’ve consid- against the claims vigorously,
ered it,” a spokeswoman
McDonald said said.

$160M
Aside from television ads, of third-party The Camp
plaintiffs’ firms are increas- litigation fund- Lejeune cases
ingly looking to social media ing. “This is a that currently
and digital advertising, accord- space that is drive the ad
ing to the U.S. Chamber of under the ra- Cost of nearly market are in
Commerce. The group esti- dar, but there some ways un-
mated that the 10 biggest digi- are a lot of big
800,000 TV ads usual because
tal legal advertisers spent more players in it. for mass litigation the deep-pock-
than $106 million in 2023. Some of the that ran in 2023 eted defendant
The ad boom in some sense biggest private- is the federal
reflects the growth of civil equity firms government.
cases in the federal system. In are dipping The claims cen-
2023, the number of federal their toes in the area.” ter on allegations that con-
civil cases increased 24% from In the midst of the height- taminated water on the base
the year prior, with some of ened investment interest, a between 1953 and 1987 led to
the growth coming from mass significant number of ads are serious illnesses, including
litigation, according to recent running for early-stage law- miscarriages, cancer and Par-
federal court data. suits that haven’t cleared pre- kinson’s disease. Congress
The spending also comes as liminary legal hurdles that can passed a law in 2022 to facili-
third-party investors have prove challenging for some tate paying out claims. The
shown increasing interest in cases. Congressional Budget Office
The world’s most extraordinary funding mass litigation, in the
hope of taking a profitable
In one example, lawsuits has estimated that total pay-
against acetaminophen manu- outs could be as much as $21
wildlife are relying on us to survive. share of the winnings. Typi-
cally, plaintiffs’ firms aren’t
facturers saw an infusion in billion.
spending on ads ahead of a More than 157,000 adminis-
Thank you for becoming a friend. paid until litigation resolves, ruling regarding which scien- trative claims and almost
and only the biggest firms can tific materials the plaintiffs 1,500 lawsuits have been filed,
handle the overhead. The pay- could present in court to sup- according to recent court doc-
off can be big, with firms tak- port their claims that taking uments. The first trials stem-
ing between 30% and 40% of a the pain reliever during preg- ming from the lawsuits are ex-
final settlement or verdict. nancy was risky for fetal de- pected to begin this year.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | A7

Israel Is Intensifying Its Raids in the West Bank
BY SUNE ENGEL RASMUSSEN
AND OMAR ABDEL-BAQUI
RAMALLAH, West Bank—
The Israeli-occupied West
Bank has become a deadly
front in a Middle East conflict
that has spread beyond the
war in Gaza, with near-daily
Israeli raids into Palestinian
villages and cities which Israel
says are aimed at uprooting
growing militant activity.
Early Friday, Israeli secu-
rity forces ended a two-day
raid in Tulkarem, a West Bank
city straddling the wall sepa-
rating Palestinian communi-
ties and Israel that hasn’t
been a hotbed of militancy in
recent years, leaving at least
eight Palestinians dead.
The raids, which lasted 45
hours, occurred in the city and
its two refugee camps, Tulka-
rem and Nour Shams, where
residents said Israeli forces
destroyed homes and damaged
infrastructure. The Israeli mil-
itary said it destroyed 400 ex-
plosives and five bomb facto-
ries and detained 37 people.
Since Israel launched its re-
sponse to the deadly Hamas-
led Oct. 7 attack, 357 Palestin-
ians have been killed across
the West Bank, including East
Jerusalem, said the United Na-
tions. Five Israelis have been
killed in the West Bank during
the same period, the U.N. said.
Israeli security officials re-
fer to the West Bank as a third
front in the war, after Gaza
and the country’s northern
border with Lebanon, where
Israeli forces clash routinely
with Hezbollah fighters and
WORLD NEWS
Palestinian militants.
In Gaza, more than 24,600
Palestinians have been killed
in the Israeli offensive since
Oct. 7, according to health au-
thorities in the enclave.
Jordan on Friday accused
Israel of deliberately attacking
one of its field hospitals in
Khan Younis, Gaza. The attack,
which occurred Wednesday,
injured a Jordanian officer
and a Palestinian patient, and
caused substantial damage to
the hospital, the army said.
The Israeli military didn’t re-
spond to a request for comment.
President Biden spoke with
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu on Friday. The White
House said they discussed free-
ing hostages, Israel’s shift to
more-targeted operations in
Gaza and enabling more human-
itarian aid to reach the area.
The call came a day after the
Israeli leader signaled that his
government wouldn’t restart a
process leading to Palestinian
statehood, rebuffing the Biden
administration, which has said
Israel won’t be safe until there
is a two-state solution.
National Security Council
spokesman John Kirby said
Friday’s call was pre-sched-
uled and not in response to
Netanyahu’s comments, and
said that Biden had “reiterated
his strong belief” in the possi-
bility of a two-state solution.
Israel’s crackdown in the
West Bank presents a security
conundrum. Militants in the
West Bank are fewer than in
Gaza and not as well armed.
Hamas has a more tenuous foot-
hold there. But Israel says it is
seeing a higher level of militant
activity in the area, and that its
strikes are aimed at both
thwarting attacks and sending
a message that it will respond
forcefully to such assaults. Some
analysts, however, say the crack-
down risks having the opposite
effect by stoking militancy.
“Civilians are being killed in
these raids, which seems to be
inviting more people to join mil-
itant groups rather than the op-
posite,” said Khalil Shikaki, di-
rector of the Palestinian Center
for Policy and Survey Research,
a Ramallah-based think tank.
Shalom Ben Hanan, a for-
mer senior Israeli intelligence
official, said that the level of
militancy in the West Bank is
at its highest level since the
second intifada, which ran
from 2000 to 2005, with hun-
dreds of intelligence alerts
about likely attacks from the
West Bank every day. Many of
these attempted attacks are
thwarted by Israel, he said.
In the past week, Israeli po-
lice arrested two Palestinians
from the West Bank for alleg-
edly ramming cars into pedestri-
ans in central Israel, killing one
woman and injuring at least 18
others. On Wednesday, the army
said it killed militants in Nablus
in the West Bank who it said
planned to carry out a large-
scale attack. The claim couldn’t
be independently verified.
During clashes in Tulkarem,
Palestinians threw pipe bombs
and Israeli forces conducted
airstrikes. The Israeli military
said it killed eight militants.
The U.N. said at least two of
those killed were children.

Conflict in the Mideast Disrupts Migration Across Region Mexico, Chile

Seek ICC Probe
MEXICO CITY—Mexico
and Chile asked the Inter-
national Criminal Court
to investigate whether
crimes were committed
by Hamas in its Oct. 7 at-
tack on Israel or by the
Israeli government in its
military response.
Mexico’s Foreign Min-
istry said the move was
prompted by concern
over the escalation of vi-
olence, particularly
against civilian targets.
Israel’s Embassy in
Mexico said it regrets the
move by Mexico and Chile,
and that it maintains its
legitimate right to self-de-
fense in accordance with
international law. The Pal-
estinian Authority wel-
comed the request.
—José de Córdoba
LUKE DRAY/GETTY IMAGES

Watch a Video
Scan this code
for a video on
Israel’s increase
in raids in the
RESPITE: Migrants rest in Godoria, Djibouti. Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea have imperiled the route for people heading from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia. West Bank.

WORLD WATCH
KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERS

WINSTON WONDERLAND
GOLCONDA DIAMOND
People celebrate in Sagamihara, a city south of Tokyo, while viewing Japan’s moon landing.

JAPAN NORTH KOREA HAITI

Fifth Country to
Land on Moon
Japan landed a spacecraft
on the moon Friday, becom-
ing only the fifth country to
do so, but a problem with its
solar panel could limit the
data the country can collect.
The craft will only have
power for a few hours be-
cause its solar panel isn’t
working and it’s running on
batteries, said Hitoshi Kuni-
naka, the director general of
Japan’s Institute of Space
and Astronautical Science.
After the battery runs out,
the probe may start working
again when the solar panel
catches sunlight at another
point in the moon’s roughly
monthlong orbit.
Still, Japanese officials
said the landing was an im-
portant moment for the
country in the multinational
race to land devices on the
moon.
—Alyssa Lukpat
Nuclear-Capable
Drone Tested
North Korea said Friday it
has tested a nuclear-capable
underwater attack drone in
response to a combined naval
exercise by South Korea, the
U.S. and Japan this month, as
it continues to blame its ri-
vals for raising tensions in
the region.
The test of the drone, pur-
portedly designed to destroy
naval vessels and ports, came
days after North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un declared
he is scrapping his country’s
longstanding goal of a peace-
ful reunification with South
Korea and that his country
will rewrite its constitution to
define South Korea as its
most hostile foreign adver-
sary.
Tensions have risen to
their highest point in years,
with Kim accelerating his
weapons testing.
—Associated Press
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It said the nuns are from the
Congregation of the Sisters
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It wasn’t immediately
known who was responsible
for Friday’s kidnappings, al-
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—Associated Press
 p y
A8 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024
China’s New Youth-Jobless Rate Is Met With Skepticism
CFOTO/NURPHOTO/ZUMA PRESS
Students spoke with an employer representative at a college job fair in Fuyang, China, last month.
BY STELLA YIFAN XIE
AND JASON DOUGLAS
HONG KONG—After going
dark for months, China has re-
leased a revised youth-unem-
ployment rate. Spoiler alert:
It’s lower.
Chinese officials said they
adjusted the way they calculate
the rate to arrive at a more ac-
curate figure, but economists
are skeptical it will do much to
dispel the gloom hanging over
the economy. And some say
they are still scratching their
heads over how China came up
with the new figure.
On Wednesday, China re-
Is It Science
Or Science
Fiction?
Continued from Page One
established research commu-
nity is too wedded to the peer-
review framework as a means
of communicating science.
It wasn’t about making a
“peer-reviewed journal of a
film,” said Mark Mannucci, di-
rector and producer of “Cave
of Bones.” “There’s a tone that
I hope we were able to imbue
this film with, where these
scientists are really asking
questions, as opposed to mak-
ing statements that sound like
they’ve nailed it.”
British journalist and au-
thor Graham Hancock, who
hosted “Ancient Apocalypse,”
said the series tells a story he
passionately believes in. “At
the end of the day, the public
is the final arbiter,” Hancock
said. “Fortunately, the public
seems to have liked this series
very much indeed.”
Viewers watched episodes
of “Ancient Apocalypse” for
almost 36 million hours be-
tween January and June of
last year, according to a Net-
p p
leased a youth unemployment
rate of 14.9% for December, a
drop from the rate of more
than 20% in June that spawned
headlines about record-high
youth unemployment as the
economy struggled to regain
its footing last year. Chinese
officials suggested they arrived
at the number by changing the
way they incorporate students
in their calculations.
Economists said a revised
youth-jobless rate for one
month likely wouldn’t suffi-
ciently reassure the public
about improved job-market con-
ditions or erase longstanding
doubts about the accuracy of
flix engagement report re-
leased in December. Figures
for “Cave of Bones” haven’t
yet been released.
Netflix has nearly 250 mil-
lion paid memberships in
more than 190 countries. The
extent of that reach, scientists
say, should compel the com-
pany to ensure the veracity of
material it markets as docu-
mentaries.
“Organizations like Netflix
have an editorial responsibil-
ity,” said John Hoopes, a Uni-
versity of Kansas archaeolo-
gist.
But the definition of docu-
mentary has become more
flexible, said Marcia Rock, di-
rector of news and documen-
tary at New York University’s
Arthur L. Carter Journalism
Institute.
“Nonfiction on television
has the same challenges as
fiction on television,” she said.
“You need tension and a story
arc.” Rock, who wasn’t in-
volved with the show, said
“Ancient Apocalypse” makes it
clear that Hancock’s theories
don’t align with the estab-
lished consensus. That is suf-
ficient, she added.
“Ancient Apocalypse” ex-
plores whether an advanced
civilization coexisted with
hunter-gatherers across the
globe before going mostly ex-
tinct around 12,000 years ago.
WORLD NEWS
the country’s official statistics.
“Adjusting how they calcu-
late the figures at this moment
may even exacerbate the pub-
lic’s distrust in official data,”
said Dan Wang, chief econo-
mist at Hang Seng Bank China.
The release of the new fig-
ure comes as Chinese leaders
have sought to rally the nation
in recent weeks to view the
economy more positively. Ear-
lier this month, a senior Com-
munist Party official urged the
country’s propaganda chiefs to
“promote the bright prospects
of China’s economy,” echoing a
message from a party confer-
ence that Chinese leader Xi Jin-
This civilization, the show
contends, was responsible for
the knowledge that enabled
the spread of agriculture and
the construction of ancient ar-
chitectural wonders, rather
than the indigenous people ar-
chaeologists generally credit
for the developments.
In the show, Hancock sug-
gests this lost civilization en-
abled the construction of pyr-
amids in Mexico and
Indonesia, stone temples in
Micronesia and Malta, and
raised mounds in the southern
U.S., among other structures.
Established archaeological
dates based on techniques like
radiocarbon dating indicate
structures Hancock links to an
advanced civilization were
built thousands of years after
he says that civilization went
extinct. Hoopes, University of
Maine archaeologist Daniel
Sandweiss and many other re-
searchers say there is no ma-
terial evidence that a civiliza-
tion like the one Hancock
describes ever existed.
“We can find hunter-gath-
erer camps that are 12,000
years old,” said Charles Ewen,
a professor of anthropology at
East Carolina University.
“They’re hard to find, but
we’ve got lots of them. And yet
we can’t find any direct evi-
dence of this past civilization.”
Hancock said archaeolo-
gists haven’t fully explored all
areas for evidence of this ad-
vanced civilization’s existence.
Upon the show’s release,
Sandweiss, the president of
the Society for American Ar-
chaeology, wrote to Netflix on
behalf of the group’s more
than 5,500 members and
called for the streaming plat-
form and the show’s produc-
tion company to describe “An-
cient Apocalypse” as science
fiction.
Hancock published a rebut-
tal to the letter on his per-
sonal website. Netflix and the
production company, ITN Pro-
ductions, didn’t respond to the
letter, according to Sandweiss.
ITN Productions didn’t re-
spond to The Wall Street
Journal’s requests for com-
ment.
In “Cave of Bones,” pa-
leoanthropologist Lee Berger
maintains that extinct human
relatives named Homo
naledi—with a brain the size
of an ape’s—buried their dead
in shallow graves in a subter-
ranean cave system in South
Africa called Rising Star,
where they also carved sym-
bolic wall art by the light of
ancient torches.
Anthropologists typically
ascribe such behaviors only to
modern humans and our ex-
tinct Neanderthal cousins,
who had brains about three
times as big as those of Homo
naledi. Evidence of burials and
meaningful art in smaller-
brained relatives would upend
longstanding views of what it
means to be human.
“There is no doubt when
you look at it from here,”
Berger, a National Geographic
Explorer in Residence with an
ping presided over last month.
China’s National Bureau of
Statistics said the calculation of
the youth unemployment rate
now excludes nearly 62 million
students between 16 and 24
years old studying full-time on
campuses. This, the bureau
said, is in an effort to focus on
those with “actual demand for
jobs,” such as those who have
finished school or those who
are studying part-time.
The NBS didn’t provide full
details of its new methodol-
ogy or how it compares with
the old one. One key puzzle is
that the NBS previously indi-
cated it didn’t count most stu-
dents anyway.
Before it stopped publish-
ing the old data, the agency
said in June there were about
96 million people in the 16 to
24 age group in total, but only
33 million either working or
looking for a job, leaving some
63 million outside the labor
force definition.
Another problem for econo-
mists is that the NBS hasn’t
recalculated past youth unem-
ployment rates, as is common
when statistical authorities
rewrite their rules. It only has
published one month of data.
Economists say the upshot
is that it will be hard to figure
out if youth unemployment in
China is getting better or
worse, and why, until there is
greater clarity on who is being
counted as unemployed, and
until there is a longer series
for them to scrutinize.
“There’s quite a bit of
appointment at Wits University
in Johannesburg, says in the
film when examining what he
says is a Homo naledi grave.
Cardiff University archaeol-
ogist Flint Dibble, who pub-
lished a critique of “Cave of
Bones” on YouTube, and other
scientists told the Journal
that Berger and his team ha-
ven’t presented enough evi-
dence to sup-
port that the
burials he dis-
cusses in the The stars of
film were in- both Netflix
tentionally dug.
Previous shows chafe at
geological stud-
ies have shown
the scientists’
the sediment criticisms.
inside Rising
Star is subject
to erosion,
drainage, and what experts
call slumping, or downhill
movement.
Paul Pettitt, a professor of
Paleolithic archaeology at
Durham University in the U.K.
who published a commentary
examining claims regarding
Homo naledi’s funerary activi-
ties, said such processes could
have moved the bodies around
inside the system’s many
chambers, and buried them.
Berger also says in the film
that what appear to be en-
gravings on one of the cave
walls, including crisscross pat-
terns and geometric shapes,
meaningfully mark the en-
trance and exit of a passage.
The act of engraving inten-
tional designs with stone tools
is widely considered by pa-
leoanthropologists to be a ma-
jor cognitive step in human
evolution.
The features on the wall,
which resemble symbolic art
made thousands of years later
by Neanderthals and Homo sa-
piens, haven’t been dated by
Berger and his colleagues and
might not have been made by
Homo naledi, according to
Andy Herries, a professor of
paleoanthropology at La Trobe
‘Cave of Bones’ star Lee Berger, top, at the entrance of the Rising Star cave system in South
Africa. ‘Ancient Apocalypse’ host Graham Hancock with old world maps on the show.
p g
* *****
murk,” said Duncan Wrigley,
chief China economist at Pan-
theon Macroeconomics in Lon-
don. “They haven’t given
enough info to really assess it.”
Excluding full-time stu-
dents from unemployment
rolls altogether is unusual.
Other countries, including the
U.S. and European nations,
treat full-time students much
the same as anyone else.
Statistical standards on
how to measure joblessness
and other labor-market indi-
cators are set by the Interna-
tional Labor Organization, a
United Nations agency based
in Geneva. A spokeswoman for
the agency said that excluding
students from the measure of
unemployment isn’t in line
with ILO standards, though
she added the ILO doesn’t
have enough information to
Urban youth unemployment rate in China
20%
15
10
5
0
2022
Note: Data was not published from July to November. The latest survey for December
used a new methodology that excludes students. Urban youth includes people ages 16–24.
Source: China’s National Bureau of Statistics
University in Melbourne, Aus-
tralia.
Questions about Berger’s
Homo naledi research arose
before the release of “Cave of
Bones,” when his group shared
their findings about the spe-
cies’ mortuary practices and
art in a trio of preprint papers
in June. Typically, scientific
studies are subject to rigorous
scrutiny by out-
side experts in
the field before
publication. The
findings re-
ceived signifi-
cant media at-
t e n t i o n ,
including in the
Journal.
The stars of
both Netflix
shows chafe at
the criticisms from the scien-
tific community.
“What I see happening now
is people are angry that we’re
actually publishing hypotheses
for almost the first time in the
history of this field,” Berger
said, adding that his team be-
lieves they are putting for-
ward the best hypotheses
about Homo naledi’s behavior
based on the evidence they
( ) j p
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
make a complete evaluation of
how the changes affect China’s
labor-market data.
China’s statistics bureau
didn’t respond to a request for
comment.
Setting aside the fog sur-
rounding China’s new figure,
some economists see few
signs elsewhere that point to
a stronger labor market.
The country is wrestling
with persistent deflationary
pressure, which weakens over-
all demand and tends to lead
to higher unemployment. New
investment by private firms,
which supply about 80% of
jobs in cities, shrank last year.
“Without a major improve-
ment in companies’ profitabil-
ity, China’s job-market condi-
tion may stay soft in the near
term,” said Larry Hu, chief
China economist at Macquarie.
Dec. 2023
14.9%
’23
have.
“Cave of Bones” executive
producer Jon Bardin said he
and Mannucci, the film’s di-
rector, sought to showcase the
anthropologists’ experiences
and the excitement of the dis-
covery process.
“We can’t say something on
screen that is factually incor-
rect,” Bardin said. “That’s dif-
ferent than pushing every-
thing through the scientific
method.”
Bardin is head of documen-
tary and nonfiction at Story
Syndicate, the production
company from which Netflix
commissioned “Cave of
Bones.” The Journal and Story
Syndicate were partners in
producing a documentary
about GameStop.
The lesson for researchers
who want to hold platforms
like Netflix to a higher scien-
tific standard, Pettitt said, is
that they must start a serious
conversation with the people
who commission and produce
these shows.
Ewen, the East Carolina
University anthropologist,
agreed. “How we win people
over is by being better at tell-
ing our stories.”
LUCA SOLA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
NETFLIX
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * NY / NE Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | A9

WORLD NEWS

Ukraine Boosts Attacks

On Russian Territory
Gangs in Colombia Target
BY MATTHEW LUXMOORE

Drones struck an oil refin-

ery in Russia’s south on Friday,
as Ukraine steps up attacks on
Russian territory to try to
wear down its war machine.
Footage posted to social
media showed emergency ser-
vices dousing fire engulfing
four oil reservoirs at a facility
operated by state oil company
Rosneft in the Bryansk area
near the border with Ukraine.
Aleksandr Bogomaz, the
governor of Bryansk region,
said the fire broke out after the
facility was hit by munitions
Russia’s Defense Ministry said
another was downed near St.
Petersburg. A Ukrainian attack
on the border region of Bel-
gorod recently killed 22 peo-
ple, Moscow said.
Ukraine has sought to use
drone attacks on Russian facil-
ities to interdict Moscow
weapons supplies to the front
lines and complicate the deliv-
ery of fuel used to keep equip-
ment running.
Ukrainian forces also claim
to have taken down at least
seven Russian planes in the past
month. In recent months they
have destroyed or damaged sev-
Americans Looking for Love
U.S. Embassy warns
tourists after eight
men died in Medellín
within two months
BY KEJAL VYAS
BOGOTÁ, Colombia—Minne-
sota comedian Tou Ger Xiong
had fallen in love with the ex-
pat lifestyle in the vibrant Co-
lombian city of Medellín: Stock
trading by day, fine dining and

XIONG FAMILY (2)

from a Ukrainian drone downed eral warships and vessels
by Russian air defenses. He said docked in Crimea, the southern
no casualties were reported. Ukrainian peninsula that is oc-
The latest attack, for which cupied by Moscow and used as
Kyiv hasn’t officially claimed a base from which to launch
responsibility, missile attacks
comes as the on Ukraine.
war in Ukraine In doing so,
grinds on into Strikes aim to Ukraine hasn’t
its third year disrupt fuel, only weakened
with neither Russia’s formi-
side close to equipment dable air force
achieving a but has shifted
breakthrough.
shipments to the balance of
After the fail- weaken military. power in the
ure of a major Black Sea, deal-
Ukrainian coun- ing a blow to
teroffensive Russia’s Black
over the summer aimed at Sea Fleet and forcing Moscow
ousting Russian forces from to relocate parts of its navy far-
its territory, Kyiv has sought ther from Ukrainian cities that
to degrade Moscow’s military have been pounded by missiles
with precision blows. launched from Russian ships.
Ukraine’s Western backers But the successful attacks
have barred the use of weap- by Ukraine come at a vulnera-
ons they provide against Rus- ble moment for the nation,
sian territory, meaning that with U.S. and European Union
Kyiv uses domestically pro- aid packages stalled. More-
duced long-range aerial drones. over, Russia has increased pro-
Ukrainian forces are proving duction of missiles and drones
increasingly adept at hitting as it continues to reorient its
high-value Russian targets in a economy to serve the war.
strike campaign that is playing In a recent interview with
out in the air, on land and at Ukrainian media, Vadym Skib-
sea, and relying on a growing itsky, the deputy chief of
domestic industry producing Ukrainian military intelligence,
drones and missiles that can hit said Russia is focusing its lat-
targets hundreds of miles away. est attacks on damaging Ukrai-
Russian authorities re- nian military facilities. Russia
ported regular drone attacks can produce up to 130 strate-
by Ukraine in recent weeks. gic missiles a month, he said.
On Thursday, Moscow Mayor Russia’s aerial bombard-
Sergei Sobyanin said the city’s ments with missiles and drones
air defenses downed a drone also are pressuring Ukraine’s
targeting the Russian capital. stocks of air-defense missiles.
dance clubs by night.
He was one of a rising
number of foreign nationals
who began flocking to the
country after the pandemic,
some on new digital-nomad
visas introduced to help spur
a growing startup scene.
But hours after prosecutors
say he went on a Dec. 10 date,
he was calling family and
friends back home to wire him
$2,000, telling them he had
been kidnapped and held for
ransom. The next day, police
found Xiong’s body with sev-
eral stab wounds and bruises
after being tossed off a 260-
foot cliff near a stream in a
wooded area of a city re-
nowned for its eternal-spring
climate and rolling green hills.
“It’s surreal that in a place
so beautiful, my brother died,”
Xiong’s older brother, Eh Xiong,
said in a phone interview from
Minneapolis.
Xiong is one of at least eight
Americans who died in Colom-
bia’s second-largest city in No-
vember and December amid
dozens of cases involving male
tourists who were held captive
and robbed, often after meet-
ing women on dating apps, Me-
dellín officials said. The deaths,
and a spike in attacks against
foreigners, led the U.S. Em-
bassy in Colombia to issue an
alert this month urging caution
for U.S. citizens meeting people
through dating platforms.
The warnings are a stain for
Medellín officials who have
spent decades cleaning up the
city’s image, from 1990s mur-
der capital under cocaine king-
pin Pablo Escobar to tourist
hot spot with a flourishing
nightlife. Homicides are down
97% in three decades. But some
criminals are targeting for-
eigners, many of whom flock to
the city looking for drug-fueled
parties and sex workers, and
are reluctant to report crimes,
said U.S. and Medellín officials.
The attacks come amid a
robust rebound in tourism to
Medellín, which residents, city
authorities and expats blame
for gentrification and a higher
cost of living. The number of
apartments listed on rental
apps has nearly doubled to
7,000 in the last four years,
according to data aggregator
AllTheRooms.com. Rent has
nearly tripled in the affluent
El Poblado district, where
Xiong stayed and where many
of the crimes occurred. It is
popular with foreigners who
the city wants to attract to
transform Medellín into a re-
mote tech-workers’ paradise.
In some of the deaths, which
the U.S. Embassy deemed sus-
picious, American men were
found dead in their hotel rooms
or apartments after outings
with local women. In other at-
tacks, thugs robbed and killed
them on the street while they
were on dates, say police re-
ports. Others are believed to
have died from mixing heavy
drinking and mind-altering
drugs that gangs slip into
drinks to incapacitate victims.
Social-media sites and inter-
net travel message boards are
rife with people encouraging
middle-aged American men to
indulge in the libertine dating
scene in Colombia’s major cities,
where prostitution is legal.
The attorney general’s office
said it arrested about 50 people
in 2023 for allegedly working
with criminal groups that tar-
geted foreigners in Medellín. In
September, prosecutors ar-
rested 14 members of one al-
leged crime syndicate that in-
cluded underage girls used to
create fake social-media pro-
files to attract victims, all of
whom were men between the
ages of 27 and 60. They were
accused of robbing money and
jewelry worth nearly $100,000
during a 10-month period.
Eh Xiong visits the ravine
where his brother’s body was
found to perform a Hmong
ritual. Tou Ger Xiong, above,
was found with stab wounds
after a date on Dec. 10.
Xiong’s family said he
never spoke about using dat-
ing apps but told some of his
brothers about a girl he met
in Medellín in July on one of
several trips to Colombia.
“He would tell me, ‘You
have to come down with me,’ ”
Eh Xiong said, recalling their
last Thanksgiving, when his
brother showed photos of
friends in Medellín. But Xiong
didn’t tell his family who he
was meeting on Dec. 10.
On Thursday, prosecutors
arrested two men, a woman
and a 17-year-old in Xiong’s
kidnapping and murder. Colom-
bian investigators say the 50-
year-old set out to an apart-
ment to meet a woman he
connected with on social me-
dia. He was tied up and beaten
before being forced to call loved
ones to send money to a PayPal
account. A total of $3,140 was
quickly sent, prosecutors said.
“I couldn’t believe someone
would try to hurt him,” said
Eh Xiong, describing his shock
when he learned his brother
was being held for ransom.
—Jenny Carolina Gonzalez
contributed to this article.

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A10 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

OBITUARIES
GUSTAVO CISNEROS | 1945—2023

Venezuelan Built a Multinational Empire

BY JOSÉ DE CÓRDOBA and Albertina Cisneros. His
AND CHRIS KORNELIS father and uncle, Cuban im- Art collector
migrants to Venezuela, ran Cisneros and his wife,
In 2004, Jimmy Carter Cisneros Group, a conglom- Patricia Phelps de Cis-
brokered a meeting between erate with interests in every- neros, were noted art
his friend Gustavo Cisneros thing from transportation to collectors. Glenn D.
and Venezuelan President the Pepsi-Cola bottling Lowry, director of the
Hugo Chávez at Fort Tiuna, rights in Venezuela and one Museum of Modern Art,
a military base in Caracas. of the nation’s largest TV said theirs was “one of
The negative coverage of networks, Venevisión. He at- the foremost collections
Chávez coming out of Venev- tended Suffield Academy in of Latin American art.”
isión, Cisneros’s TV network, Suffield, Conn., and in 1968 Adriana Cisneros, the
had made him a primary tar- received a bachelor’s degree couple’s daughter and
get of the president. But in business administration now the chief executive
soon after the meeting, from Babson College in of Cisneros Group, said
Venevisión dropped a critical Wellesley, Mass. the collection was
SLIM AARONS/GETTY IMAGES

news show and softened its He became president and driven by her mother’s
coverage of the regime. chief executive of Cisneros eye and her parents’ de-
“We stopped putting salt Group in 1970 after his fa- sire to correct what
and pepper on the news,” ther had a stroke. He they saw as a common
Cisneros told The Wall ramped up production of assumption that Latin
Street Journal three years Venevisión’s telenovelas and American culture was
later. “It was a matter of began export- derivative.
survival.” ing them, as In addition to his
Cisneros, who died in New well as the wife and daughter Adri-
York on Dec. 29 at the age of Miss Venezu- ana, Cisneros’s survivors
78, used business skills, ela pageant— include a son, Guillermo,
close ties to Venezuela’s a major event another daughter, Caro-
presidents and his control of and point of lina, 10 grandchildren, his

ORLANDO UGUETO/EL NACIONAL/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Venevisión to turn his fam- pride in a sisters Marion and Ana Cis-
ily’s company, Cisneros country mad neros, and his brother, Ri-
RAMON LEPAGE/BLOOMBERG NEWS

Group, into one of the most about beauty cardo Cisneros.

important conglomerates in pageants— Adriana Cisneros said her
Latin America. In the pro- around Latin father traveled a lot as she
cess, he became one of the America, and her siblings were grow-
most powerful private citi- where they ing up, but on school breaks
zens in the country. became hits, he would take them on
Exporting Venevisión’s helping to guided trips through Vene-
popular telenovelas and the create the zuela, where they spent time
Miss Venezuela pageant, Cis- foundation with indigenous communi-
neros was one of Latin for a business empire. Gustavo Cisneros in ties. While it would have
America’s first entrepreneurs In 1992, the company and his helicopter, above; been easy to base the family
to create a multinational its partners took control of shooting with his wife out of a more-affluent coun-
business empire with inter- Univision. In 1995, Cisneros in 1990, top right; and try where he did business,
ests in media, advertising, and Hughes Electronics in- receiving Jimmy Adriana said it was impor-
real estate and beyond. For a troduced DirecTV Latin Carter in 2003, right. tant to her parents that the
time, he was one of the prin- America. Both were later family was raised in Venezu-
cipal owners of Univision, sold. Under Cisneros, the unsuccessfully tried to over- state-owned oil company, Chávez, and concentrated on ela.
the leading Spanish language company’s other interests throw the government, which he purged afterward. the entertainment part of “They didn’t want us to
broadcaster in the U.S., and included Spalding, the sport- Pérez, then in his second With the country’s oppo- the business, telenovelas and forget that we were actually
DirecTV Latin America, a sat- ing-equipment company. The presidential term, escaped a sition parties discredited, beauty pageants. Venezuelan and Latin Ameri-
ellite-television provider. But company also switched sides siege of the presidential pal- Venezuela’s media, especially can,” she said.
in Venezuela, where Chávez from bottling Pepsi to Coke. ace by rebels and made his its private television sta- After Chávez cemented
could refuse to renew broad- In pre-Chávez Venezuela, way in a Toyota with three tions, which Chávez labeled The power broker his hold on power, Cisneros
cast licenses of stations criti- presidential candidates aides to the Venevisión tele- the “Four Horsemen of the Seeing that with Chávez moved his family to New
cal of his regime, Cis- learned electoral results at vision studios, where he Apocalypse,” became the the possibilities for growth York and lived mostly there,
neros was faced with a Venevisión studios, and win- went on the air with a heart of the opposition in Venezuela were slim, Cis- in the Dominican Republic
decision: Play by the new ners gave their first inter- speech that rallied loyal movement as hundreds of neros accelerated the hunt and Madrid, making rare vis-
rules or not play at all. views to Venevisión, said troops and ended the coup, thousands of protesters took for business opportunities its to Venezuela. Meanwhile,
Many in the Venezuelan Andrés Cañizález, who stud- Rangel said. to the street. Cisneros was abroad, which he had started he moved Cisneros Group’s
opposition saw Cisneros’s ies the relations between But in 1998, when Chávez at the forefront of some decades before. headquarters to Coral Ga-
move as a surrender from a media and politics at Cara- ran for president after serv- marches. Naím, the former minister bles, Fla.
man who had spent his ca- cas’s Universidad Católica ing a brief stint in prison, “Gustavo Cisneros was of trade and industry, said In an opinion column in
reer cozying up to govern- Andrés Bello. As owner of Cisneros, seeing that the public enemy No. 1 for Cisneros was one of the first the Financial Times in 2014,
ment power. But Moisés Venevisión, Cisneros wielded charismatic cashiered officer Chávez,” said Jennifer Mc- Latin American businessmen after dozens of protesters
Naím, a former minister influence. He was a friend to was set to win big, opened Coy, who at the time was in with international ambitions were killed in Venezuela,
of trade and industry in Ca- presidents of Venezuela’s up Venevisión’s studios to charge of the Carter Center’s who figured out that it was Cisneros pleaded for both
racas, argues that Cisneros two main political parties, him, and even lent him his mission to Venezuela, which important to cultivate close sides to meet on the com-
had little choice. and had contacts in Wash- plane to use in his cam- was attempting to mediate a relationships with officials mon ground that is “their
“In order to be allowed by ington and the region. paign, said Cañizález, who solution to the country’s cri- in Washington—including love of Venezuela and the
the government to operate, “He was Mr. Venezuela,” was then a reporter covering sis. The Chávez government presidents like George H.W. desire to build a better fu-
if you’re a media company, said Beatrice Rangel, who the election. targeted Cisneros’s rural Bush and Carter, whom he ture.” He described that fu-
you cannot be a critic of the was President Carlos Andrés The honeymoon didn’t ranches, his staff and their hosted on fishing trips. ture, in part, as “a country
government,” said Naím, Pérez’s chief of staff, and last long. The former mili- families, McCoy said. Cisneros used homes in where all opinions count,
now a distinguished fellow then worked as vice president tary man took a hard left After the 2004 meeting, both Caracas and in the Do- where human rights support
at the Carnegie Endowment for strategy for Cisneros. turn, proclaiming his love Cisneros reached a prag- minican Republic, where he democratic rule and where
for International Peace in for Castro’s Cuba and alien- matic accommodation with had a home in the luxury re- minority rights and long-
Washington. ating most of the country’s Chávez. While Cisneros sort of La Romana, to enter- term stability are nurtured.”
Gustavo Alfredo Cisneros A Toyota escape middle class. An attempted didn’t turn Venevisión into a tain visitors that included
Rendiles was born in Cara- In 1992, when Chávez, coup in 2002 failed. Chávez mouthpiece for the regime, Zubin Mehta, Henry Kissin- More stories at
cas on June 1, 1945, to Diego then a lieutenant colonel, also survived a strike by the he stopped criticizing ger and David Rockefeller. WSJ.com/obituaries

FROM PAGE ONE

In Memoriam
For more information:
wsj.com/inmemoriam

Sherrill Smith Taylor church and charity and helping found one
of the largest specialty sales agencies in
the US.
A Midwest doesn’t sit well with some of
Shelmerdine’s neighbors.
Over at the Richland
and Ohio.
Derided by some as flyover
country—with little more than
plored distinct regional per-
sonalities in America. The
study, published in 2013, de-
She married Bob Taylor in 1956, a col-
orful and dynamic native of South Georgia.
Bob and Sherry were deeply committed to
each other and had a beautiful marriage
State County Fair & Rodeo, also in
Sidney, fairgrounds manager
Pam Shelmidine has a similar
cornfields and cow pastures—
the Midwest is a diverse re-
gion with major cities, mighty
scribed a swath radiating out
from the traditional Midwest
as the “Friendly & Conven-
that lasted for 65 years. Together they
founded BBI (Burdette Beckmann, Inc),
which started in their home and is now
Of Mind last name to Shelmerdine but
a far different take on the re-
gional identity. “Ten miles
rivers and thousands of miles
of coastline around the Great
Lakes. It gave the world Mark
tional region.”
Some think this plays into
people wanting to align with
national with 10 offices across the country. from here it’s the Midwest, Twain, Bob Dylan, Warren Buf- the Midwest.
She reluctantly joined as Controller and Continued from Page One but by God, we’re in the fett, Betty White, Chuck Berry “The Midwest is kind of an
helped the struggling company survive
and eventually thrive. While working hard It’s “family, family, family West,” she says. “I think the and Joel and Ethan Coen. Its island of sanity in place of vit-
with the family business she was always and I think that’s what Mid- line is drawn at the Dakotas.” eastern half has long been as- riol and rancor,” says Jon
a faithful servant of God and dedicated western people are—family Shelmidine, 56, says the sociated with manufacturing, Lauck, president of the Mid-
member of Sheridan Hills Baptist Church.
She served on the board there, Chaired comes first and working hard “volume of ranches to farms” while the north and west are western History Association,
the school board, and taught Sunday and providing for your fam- puts her town in the Western part of the Great Plains that who helped commission the
school for more than 20 years. One of her ily,” says Shelmerdine, a 60- camp. “There’s legit cowboys drew settlers west. It has been survey and unabashededly ad-
proudest accomplishments was her early
support and participation in the original year-old retired teacher who here,” she adds, “not just known for a stoic take on life. mires places that are flat,
formation of Sheridan House, which to runs Elks Lodge #1782 in Sid- somebody wearing a hat and “The place alternately is grow corn and echo with
HOLLYWOOD, FLA. - Sherrill Smith
this day helps thousands of children and ney, Mont., a small oil and ag- boots.” praised and damned, yet it is phrases like “youbetcha!”
families. ricultural city about 10 miles Shelmer- generally ac- “In this era of social-media
Taylor, age 89, passed away peacefully on Sherrill strongly believed in doing the
January 13, 2023. She was born on a small right thing and made that clear (many from the North Dakota border. dine—from the knowledged to crankiness,” he adds, “it’s nice
farm in Funston Georgia to George Hudson times) to her two equally strong-willed “Meat and potatoes…county Elks Lodge— be the cultural to deal with decent people
and Ella Smith.
She grew up in the Great Depression
children. She also believed in the power of fairs and we definitely have thinks the West ‘The Midwest is core of the na- who are nice to one another
generosity. She was completely commit-
and learned valuable and powerful lessons
that shaped her life and the lives of her
ted to the Biblical principles of tithing and lots of casseroles—we call starts around kind of an island tion. It is the and have a sense of civic
did so faithfully even when the family was them a hot dish,” she says. Billings, about ‘heartland,’ the pride.”
children through the adversity and chal-
lenges they faced and overcame through
not prospering. She laid down practices Don’t forget marshmallows in four hours of sanity in home of the av- The survey asked more than
that continue to inform the family
salads. “You got a church pot- away by car, erage or ‘mid- 11,000 respondents in 22
hard work and a consistent willingness
to help others. Sherrill was the youngest
business today and which have impacted
many lives. luck, you’re gonna get that.” where the land-
place of vitriol dle’ American,” states questions including, “Do
of four children, and a late addition to the
family. She had two older brothers, Ross
She loved her family deeply and
enjoyed literally anything that was an
Everyone knows places scape turns and rancor.’ cultural geogra- you live in the Midwest?” and
and Hubert, and a sister Eunice. All three such as Ohio and Minnesota more mountain- pher James “Are you a Midwesterner?”
opportunity to spend time with them. She
predeceased her. is survived by her children Robin Taylor are solidly in the Midwest. But ous. But even Shortridge re- Reaction to the results
She had an amazing journey through Fleming (Symons) and her husband Philip a recent poll finds that the there, 45% of ported in a ranged from head-scratching
life from family farm to big city which and Robert Taylor and his wife Elizabeth,
included: Midwest is more a state of respondents said they reside 1984 study. to feelings of betrayal.
her grandchildren Shelby Miller, Wilson
A) A Honeymoon Eve loan to a desti- Symons, and Brantley Taylor, and her great mind than just a place you can in the Midwest, surprising re- In contrast to chill Califor- “One in four Idahoans
tute relative about to lose their business grandchildren Smith and Wesley Miller. point to on a map. searchers—as well as John nians and high-strung New thinks they live in the Mid-
which meant their honeymoon was cash A Celebration of Life will be held on
low and fueled by food gifts from friends People from Colorado Brewer, president of the Bill- Yorkers, Midwesterners tend west. Who ARE you people?”
January 17, 2024. Donations in lieu of (42%), Oklahoma (66%) and ings Chamber of Commerce. to be seen as friendlier and screamed a headline in the
and family. flowers can be made to Sheridan House
B) Moving to Atlanta where her first and/or Habitat for Humanity Broward. even Wyoming (54%) think “Let’s work on that,” he says, more traditional. “Will it play Idaho Statesman.
child, Robin was born. Their websites are: sheridanhouse.org and they live in the Midwest, ac- incredulous that locals might in Peoria” is synonymous with Kristin Vincent, president
C) Relocating to beautiful Savannah habitatbroward.org.
where number two, Robert was delivered. cording to data from Emerson not see themselves as West- asking whether an idea will fly of the Rotary Club of Twin
Arrangements are entrusted to the
D) An abrupt move to the wildly differ- KRAEER - FAIRCHILD FUNERAL HOME, College Polling and the Middle ern. with mainstream U.S. Then Falls, who says she lives in the
ent culture of South Florida where her first Fort Lauderdale, Florida. www.KraeerFair- West Review, a journal pub- The term “Midwest” gener- there is “Midwest Nice” and West, has a theory: “We’ve
two neighbors were convicted criminals... child.com.
E) Raising two children, supporting lished by the University of Ne- ally applies to 12 states the its affable, passive-aggressive had tons of people from Cali-
braska Press. Nearly a third of U.S. Census Bureau includes in cousin, “Minnesota Nice.” In fornia move here. So maybe
Kentuckians and a little over a the North Central region: fact, a study by University of they’re thinking they’re in the
WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS quarter of Arkansans say the North Dakota, South Dakota, Cambridge researchers and Midwest now since they came
MEMORIAMS (800) 366-3975
wsj.com/classifieds
same. More than 30% of Mon-
tanans say they live in the
Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Ne-
braska, Illinois, Indiana, Min-
others of more than 1.5 million
people, using social media,
over one state.”
—Joe Barrett
© 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Midwest, something that nesota, Wisconsin, Michigan survey and other data, ex- contributed to this article.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | A11

FROM PAGE ONE

She Told
Tall Tales
Of Triumph
Continued from Page One
many around her that she was
living the high life. Her family
knew better.
“She is very ill and we need
to have her put into a medical
treatment facility of some
type before she harms other
people and herself,” her youn-
ger brother, George Franklin,
wrote to family members days
after they learned of the 2014
gala fiasco. Jo Franklin was 68
years old at the time and es-
tranged from her daughter
and siblings.
In the years that followed,
Franklin sometimes spent
nights in a South Florida hotel
parking garage. She was ar-
rested a few times, once for
allegedly stealing $11.98 worth
of wine.
Franklin also befriended a
group of regulars at a local
Starbucks who were im-
pressed with her professional
background and insights. “She
was on point when it came to
the political world, what’s go-
ing on in the world,” said Ste-
phen Sussman, a Starbucks Clockwise from top, childhood photos of siblings Jo Franklin and George Franklin; George
friend. Franklin made a point Franklin at home in Atlanta; Jo Franklin in a promotional headshot taken years ago.
of her success. She mentioned
having a driver and a home on
affluent Jupiter Island, Fla.
She said she stayed at a local
hotel only to be closer to her
job, which included working
with government officials re-
garding the Saudis.
Over time, Franklin’s
friends noticed that she wore
the same clothes. Her sandals
had holes. She said she didn’t
carry a cellphone because the
Saudis were tracking her.

DAVID WALTER BANKS FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (2)

Lost in a surge of mental
illness cases and a record-high
homeless population are a
growing number of Ameri-
cans who can’t fully care for
themselves but aren’t easily
diverted into treatment, either
on their own or involuntarily.
Masses of homeless people
around the U.S. have fueled
aggressive efforts to push
more of the mentally ill into
care.
Franklin’s family worried
for years about her mental
stability and, like many oth-
ers, were frustrated because
they saw no easy path to get-
ting her help. They didn’t
know if she had ever been di-
agnosed or treated.
“My hope is just there was
a way, even if she didn’t want
it, to be forced to sit down
with a mental health profes-
sional and figure out, ‘What is
there to do here?’ ” said
Franklin’s 38-year-old son,
Hugh Trout, who last saw his
mother nearly a decade ago.
George Franklin said his
sister “wasn’t ever going to
admit she had a problem.” He
and the Starbucks friends had
a plan to get Jo Franklin off
the streets. It, too, involved a
tall tale.
This account of Jo Frank-
lin’s life is based on public re-
cords, emails and interviews
with family, friends, former
colleagues and associates fa-
miliar with her professional
highs as well as her steep,
slow-motion fall.
‘Always talking’
Josephine Anne Franklin
was born in Chicago on July
31, 1946, and graduated from
the University of Florida in
1968. She married a surgeon
and had two children, Ashley
Trout in 1981 and Hugh Trout
four years later.
Franklin’s résumé included
work as a producer for the
MacNeil/Lehrer Report on
PBS. She later made documen-
taries for PBS on Saudi Arabia
and the Middle East.
Her 1989 documentary
“Days of Rage: The Young Pal-
estinians,” aired on PBS and
drew barbs from critics who
saw a pro-Palestinian slant
and lack of Israeli viewpoints.
She said at the time that she
wanted to showcase a rarely
seen perspective.
Franklin spent the early
part of the 1990s writing a
novel, “The Wing of the Fal-
con,” billed as a love story and
thriller set during the Persian
Gulf War. The self-published
novel sold poorly after its
1995 release, said Alan Gad-
ney, whose company Franklin
hired to produce and market
the book, which Franklin had
Franklin moved to Califor-
nia, and split from her hus-
band. In 1996, a judge in their
divorce case noted that Frank-
lin had little taxable income
from 1990 through 1992. Yet
she leased a Jaguar XJ6, the
judge said, and had more than
$150,000 in debt.
He denied Franklin’s ali-
mony request and awarded
custody of her two children to
Franklin’s ex-husband who
lived in Washington.
Franklin’s family believed
she became lost in her fanta-
sies around the time of her di-
vorce. Her daughter, Ashley
Trout, who was sent to spend
summers with her mother in
California as a teenager, said
Franklin lived beyond her
means. Ashley said they had a
combative relationship and
that she often challenged her
mother about lying and over-
spending.
When confronted, “she
would just monologue for 30
minutes,” said Ashley, now 42.
Her brother, Hugh, said,
“When anyone started to tam-
per with that fantasyland, it
would get very, very dark.”
In 2004, Ashley was taken
to the hospital after a rock-
climbing fall in Japan. Frank-
lin called the hospital and said
she was flying there on Colin
Powell’s jet. “I get my mom on
the phone and I tell her, listen,
here’s the deal, there’s no jet,”
Ashley said.
She also issued an ultima-
tum. If her mother couldn’t
give up the fantastical claim,
she would never again speak
to her. Franklin insisted it was
true. “I don’t think she had
the ability to stop lying,” Ash-
ley said.
Sunshine state
Norman Portillo, the Uni-
versity of Florida fundraiser
who worked to secure the $2
million pledge from Franklin,
said he met with her in 2009.
They stayed in touch and, in
2013, she agreed to fund the
“Josephine A. Franklin Chair
in Islam and Politics.”
The failed donation left
university officials holding on
to a leatherbound copy of the
gift agreement, a framed let-
dens, a city in South Florida.
She had an iPad to read news,
watch movies and email
friends with Wi-Fi from hotels
and restaurants.
She got to know a group of
regulars at a local Starbucks.
Friends were impressed at
how she succeeded as a fe-
male journalist and filmmaker
decades earlier.
There were also eccentrici-
ties and signs her life didn’t
match her own
portrait. One
friend saw her
picking ciga- She persuaded
rette butts from many around
the trash. She
ordered only her that she
hot water at
Starbucks,
was living the
bringing her high life.
own tea bags.
“It probably
took months,
even a year, before you finally
pieced it all together,” Jeff
Miller said.
The Starbucks friends
didn’t confront Franklin,
afraid to embarrass her or
scare her off. They found sub-
tle ways to help, such as treat-
ing her to food. A friend
bought her an iPad to replace
one with a cracked screen.
After the pandemic tempo-
rarily closed the coffee shop,
one of the friends, Michele
Merrell, contacted Franklin’s
daughter, saying she worried
Franklin was homeless. .
Franklin was arrested at
least three times in Palm
Beach Gardens, twice for pos-
session of marijuana. The first
time, in 2017, she was found
sleeping by the dumpster at a
bank. The next year, police
discovered her sleeping under
a staircase in the parking ga-
rage at the Embassy Suites
hotel. Both times, she claimed
problems with epilepsy and
was taken to a hospital.
Early in 2022, Franklin was
arrested on suspicion of shop-
lifting at a CVS
store. Workers
reported they
saw her put
two “Black Box
Cabernet Sauvi-
gnons” into her
large pink
purse, the po-
lice report said.
Officers found
her sitting out-
side the Dou-
bleTree hotel nearby. She de-
nied stealing, according to
police body-camera footage
viewed by The Wall Street
Journal.
“So you’re homeless?” an
officer asked.
“No, I live in California,”
she said, explaining that she
was going to stay with friends
in North Palm Beach.
“We’re working on a proj-
ect that has me back and forth
to California,” she said. It was
about NASA, she added, the
space agency.
Florida has a law, the Baker
Act, which allows for involun-
tary mental health evaluations
when people appear mentally
ill and pose a risk of danger to
themselves or others. Frank-
lin, like many other homeless
people, seemed to fall short of
that standard, said Justin
Castineira, a local police offi-
cer who saw Franklin regu-
larly. She looked like she took
care of herself—her appear-
ance neat and her hair fixed.
Castineira tried several
times to steer Franklin toward
help, which in the area in-
cludes shelters and faith-
based organizations. “She
would tell you her life story.
‘Don’t worry, I’m OK. I have
money, I live in California, I
have a house in California, I’m
here on vacation,’ ” he said.
George Franklin learned his
sister was homeless and trav-
eled to Florida in June 2022 to
check on her. He was afraid
she would run off if she recog-
nized him, so he shadowed
her, wearing a baseball cap
and sunglasses. He saw her
slip into the parking garage
where she sometimes slept.
The plan
Shortly after his visit, Mer-
rell, the Starbucks friend, sug-
gested a plan to George Frank-
lin: rent an apartment and
trick his sister into living
there. Merrell found a two-
bedroom place nearby, and
George paid the rent, $2,100 a
month.
Merrell, pretending it was
her condo, told the Starbucks
MICHELE MERRELL
group she wanted a housesit-
ter. Jo Franklin liked the idea,
saying it was close to work. “I
can have you in there Sunday
night or Monday morning?”
Merrell said in an email. “De-
pends how messy it is.”
“Great. I don’t want you to
have to rush so why don’t we
make it Monday morning,”
Franklin said. Friends donated
furniture, clothes and kitchen-
ware, and they stocked the re-
frigerator before Franklin
moved in.
That fall, Franklin’s two
children broke their long si-
lence and offered to reconnect
with their mother—if she
sought help. In October 2022,
Hugh Trout sent her an
email.
“Ashley and I are reaching
out to see if you would be
willing to meet with us with a
therapist to rebuild our rela-
tionship with you,” the email
said. “Our troubled past has
led us to keep our distance
over the years, but perhaps a
professional can help us get to
a better place. If working with
a mutual therapist isn’t some-
thing you are willing to do
we’ll keep the status quo, but
we wanted to extend the of-
fer.”
Franklin didn’t respond.
Ashley forwarded the same
email again in November, add-
ing: “Wondering your
thoughts.” Again, Franklin
never replied.
Last summer, Franklin ap-
peared to lose weight, friends
said. She emailed Merrell, la-
menting that she missed see-
ing her at Starbucks but was
caught up with work.
“When I came to stay at the
condo we pegged it at a year
which would mean I depart
end of July,” Franklin
wrote on July 6. “Work is far
from done, so I could defi-
nitely stay longer.”
Soon after, Franklin died at
home from arterial disease,
just shy of her 77th birthday.
Her son and brother flew to
Florida and met with her
friends at the Starbucks.
“She hurt so many people,”
Franklin’s son said. Yet, he
added, it was hard not to con-
clude that “nobody was more
of a victim of whatever this

hoped would become a movie.
Gadney said he later sued
Franklin for roughly $25,000
she owed the company. “We
went after her but she disap-
peared,” he said.
ter from the school president
and the returned check, Porti-
llo told Franklin’s family in an
email relaying what happened.
Not long after, Franklin
surfaced in Palm Beach Gar-
illness was than herself.”
Franklin’s daughter visited
her mother’s Starbucks
friends in Florida this month.
Starbucks friends noticed Jo Franklin, above, wore the same clothes and sandals with holes. “It was cathartic for me to
‘It probably took months, even a year, before you finally pieced it all together,’ one said. thank them,” she said.
 p y
A12 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024
Hit Maker Meets Table Breakers.
Buffalo Braces for Taylor Swift.
If the pop icon visits Highmark Stadium, she’ll experience a game day unlike anywhere else
BY ANDREW BEATON
T
aylor Swift’s first playoff
game as the unofficial super-
fan of the Kansas City Chiefs
couldn’t have gone better. While
the team took on the Miami Dol-
phins in frigid temperatures, she
was singing along with the crowd,
swaying and dancing as Kansas
City rolled toward a victory.
While the pop icon has at-
tended games across the country
to cheer on her beau Travis Kelce,
this weekend will provide an en-
tirely new experience if she goes
to watch the Chiefs vie for a spot
in the AFC Championship. Because
this time, the game is in Buffalo.
On the field, Chiefs-Bills has
become one of the more entertain-
ing rivalries in the NFL. This will
mark the third time in the last
four years that quarterbacks Pat-
rick Mahomes and Josh Allen have
met in the playoffs, with Mahomes
and the Chiefs prevailing in the
prior two showdowns, including
one particularly epic comeback
two years ago. In the regular sea-
son, Allen has come out on top in
Let’s talk about the ris-
ing tennis star Jannik
Sinner. Serious tennis
fans are already gaga
for Sinner, the 22-year-
old from Italy who’s
soared to World No. 4, but I don’t
think casual sports observers have
gotten there yet. It feels like only a
matter of time before the redhead
with a headline writer’s dream last
name breaks through and wins a
major tournament.
It could happen at the Austra-
lian Open, where Sinner just
cruised into the fourth round with
a rousing 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 thump of
Argentina’s Sebastian Baez.
Spend a few minutes watching
Sinner play, and it becomes obvi-
ous why the 6-foot-2 right-hander
is ascendant. He plays an athletic,
aggressive game, with the sort of
rangy power that’s a nightmare to
cope with. He’s quick and fluid on
hard courts like the ones in Mel-
bourne, where he’ll slide around
the baseline, take chances rushing
the net, and generally make life
miserable from both the forehand
and backhand sides.
He’s also a thumper. At this
level, every player hits hard. Sin-
ner hits harder. Andre Agassi is a
name that comes up as a compari-
son, but Sinner’s lanky wingspan
makes him feel like his own deal.
“He has just this extra gear,” a
Sinner opponent, Finland’s Emil
Ruusuvuori, said last year.
Fans are bullish on Sinner be-
cause he’s shown he can hang
with the tour’s elite. He owns a
winning record (4-3) against his
fellow phenom, Carlos Alcaraz.
The two have had their share of
epics, including an after-midnight
quarterfinal at the 2022 U.S. Open
which Alcaraz won in five sets.
Sinner is also riding a three-match
winning streak against No. 3
Daniil Medvedev, after losing the
first six times they met.
Meanwhile, Sinner has proven
himself to be competitive with
tennis’s active Big Three legend:
p p
three of four meetings.
But all six of those prior games,
including earlier this season when
the Bills won 20-17, have been in
Kansas City. In fact, Mahomes has
never played any playoff game on
the road. This one is at Highmark
Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.—
one of the stadiums that didn’t
make it onto Swift’s “Eras Tour.”
And there’s no game day atmo-
sphere in the NFL quite like what
happens just outside Buffalo at
this time of year.
“There are many Swifties here
in Buffalo and Western New York.
She’s going to be welcomed here
with open arms,” says Buffalo
Mayor Byron Brown.
Swift’s crash course in football
mega-fandom has taken her to
some of the league’s most storied
venues. She has made Arrowhead
her second home. She has basked
in the history of the Green Bay
Packers at Lambeau Field. She even
made a voyage to the exotic, mis-
understood locale known as East
Rutherford, N.J. That’s where she
watched the Chiefs beat the Jets.
Buffalo, though, is a town
JASON GAY
Tennis Star Is Cheered by Singing Carrots
The Carota Boys wear carrot costumes to cheer on Jannik Sinner.
Novak Djokovic. The world No. 1
from Serbia stopped Sinner at last
year’s ATP Finals, held before a
Sinner-crazed crowd in Turin, but
Sinner beat Djokovic in an earlier
group-stage match. Sinner then
turned around and beat Djokovic
at the Davis Cup, saving three
match points as Sinner’s Italian
team prevailed over Serbia in the
semis, and then defeated Australia
to win Italy’s first Cup since 1976.
SPORTS
where a pregame stroll
through the parking lot
qualifies as an eye-
opening experience
even for the hardiest
football fan. It’s freez-
ing cold—and people
get shirtless anyway.
One guy willingly
douses himself in
ketchup and mustard.
And enough beer gets
guzzled down that
scores of people volun-
tarily hurl themselves
into tables as a pre-
game ritual.
The precise reason
why Bills fans turn themselves
into projectiles and dive headfirst
at tables—usually plastic folding
ones—for the express purpose of
wrecking them isn’t clear. But
these days, it’s as much a part of
Buffalo lore as chicken wings.
Somehow, annihilating tables
isn’t the craziest thing that hap-
pens at Bills tailgates. One super-
fan named Ken Johnson, who’s
known as “Pinto Ron,” is famous
for grilling foods on strange ob-
It was a wild rush to finish out
the season. Sinner enters 2024 on
a remarkable heater.“We say this
is the hunting year,” Sinner told
me in a telephone conversation
the other day.
“Every tournament, we go to,
trying to hunt, and see what we
can get,” he continued. “Maybe
you go out with nothing, and
sometimes you go out with some-
thing. Let’s see.”
p g
* ***
Table breaking is a tailgate
tradition before Buffalo Bills
games at Highmark Stadium.
jects (think sizzling bacon on a
cutting saw) and knocking back
shots of liquor from the holes of a
bowling ball. He also volunteers to
let fans completely cover him in
ketchup and mustard 90 minutes
before kickoff in a tradition that
stretches back three decades and
ends with him completely slath-
Sinner is humble about his de-
velopment, and is the first to
point out the gap on his résumé.
He has yet to win a major. He
hasn’t even made a major final
(his best result is a semifinal at
Wimbledon last year). Alcaraz has
already won two majors. Medve-
dev’s got one. Djokovic has won,
uh…24, the all-time most.
That’s some brutal competition,
but Sinner’s recent breakthroughs
have given him faith. “For sure, it
gives you confidence,” he said
of his battles with Djok-
ovic, whom he could
face in the semifinals
in Australia. “But I
also know I can im-
prove many
things.”
Sinner didn’t
specialize early in
tennis. Born among
the Dolomites in the
northern region of
South Tyrol, Sinner grew
up skiing, and began collect-
ing junior championships as a
child. He was also keen on soccer.
Tennis lagged behind until Sinner
began focusing on the sport in his
early teens.
I wanted to know: What could a
background in skiing give to a pro-
fessional tennis player?
Fearlessness, Sinner said.
“In skiing, you go down as fast
as possible, and you can also hurt
yourself,” he said. Tennis, while
not without physical risk, is less
dangerous, and so, “you play fear-
less.”
Sinner is glad he played multi-
ple sports. Not focusing on a sin-
gle discipline kept the pressure
off, he said.
“You have to enjoy the ride,” he
said. “You have to have the right
company, which makes the ride
( ) j p
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
ered in condiments.
Unfortunately for Swift, Pinto
Ron doesn’t plan to take his usual
ketchup-mustard bath on Sunday
because he skips the practice
when it gets below 30 degrees.
Still, he says that Swift has a
standing invitation to down a
drink out of a bowling ball with
him.
“I call it a 16-pound shot
glass,” Pinto Ron says.
Even if Swift skips the mayhem
outside the stadium, she’s guaran-
teed a raucous atmosphere once
she gets inside.
Bills fans are understandably
jubilant about this year’s team.
Their team began the season as
one of the Super Bowl favorites,
before it lost a stunning overtime
opener to the Jets. That was the
beginning of a 6-6 start that saw
Buffalo’s playoff hopes shrink and
led to the firing of the team’s of-
fensive coordinator.
But back-to-back victories over
the Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys
kicked off a five-game winning
streak to close out the season. The
last of those, over the Miami Dol-
phins, delivered Buffalo the AFC
East crown and home-field advan-
tage in the first two rounds of the
playoffs. In the wild-card round,
the Bills breezed past the Pitts-
burgh Steelers 31-17.
The atmosphere at that game,
which was delayed by one day be-
cause of heavy snow that brought
Western New York to a halt, also
showed how the team’s supporters
embrace wintry conditions. While
ticket prices for the Chiefs’ open-
ing round win over the Dolphins
plummeted because of a historic
ILLUSTRATION: TIMMY HUYNH/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, AP (2), GETTY IMAGES (2), ACTION PLUS SPORTS/ZUMA PRESS, ISTOCK; RICK SCUTERI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
cold spell in Kansas City, Buffalo-
nians were more than happy to ar-
rive at their seats and find them
covered with several feet of snow.
“All you see is these little snow
explosions all around,” says Del
Reid, a 48-year-old
who was nominated
by the team as its fan
of the year. “The
snow doesn’t slow us
down.”
Chiefs players
should be warned
that the snow can
also become a projec-
tile. On one play in
the wild-card game, a
snowball tossed from
the crowd appeared
to narrowly miss
Pittsburgh wide re-
ceiver George Pickens
as he tried to haul in
a pass in the end
zone.
While Swift hasn’t performed
at Highmark Stadium, she’s not
unfamiliar with the local crowd.
She has performed in the area sev-
eral times, including at the Erie
County Fair back in 2008.
Brown, the city’s mayor, has
one more prediction besides a
Bills victory: He says that if Swift
comes, she’ll enjoy herself so
much that she’ll add a Buffalo stop
on her tour.
feel even more appreciated.”
We should definitely mention
Sinner’s company, which includes
coach Darren Cahill, who’s worked
with everyone from Agassi to Lley-
ton Hewitt and Andy Murray, and
also Sinner’s father, Hanspeter, a
longtime chef.
But I really want to get to the
Carota Boys, a gaggle of Italians
from Piedmont who have followed
Sinner to multiple tournaments,
and have now turned up in Mel-
bourne to cheer and sing at
his matches (Olé! Olé! Olé!
Olé! Sinner! Sinner!)
They wear carrot cos-
tumes—a wink to
their idol’s hair and
occasional in-tour-
nament snack—
and they have be-
come such a social-
media phenomenon
they had their own
press conference as the
tournament began.
“They’re getting more fa-
FROM LEFT: ANTHONY WALLACE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES; ISSEI KATO/REUTERS
mous than I am,” Sinner said at
his own press conference.
“We greatly admire [Jannik’s]
humility and simplicity,” Carota
Boys member Alessandro De-
dominici wrote to me in an email.
“He has great values and princi-
ples, like friends and family, like
us. And now that we’ve had an op-
portunity to get to know him, we
can tell you he’s also very very
funny.”
This might be the advantage
Djokovic and Alcaraz cannot com-
pete with, in Australia and on-
ward. Jannik Sinner has all the
talent to win a major, but he’s yet
to crack through. He’s still waiting
for that moment that makes him a
tennis household name.
But he’s the only guy with sing-
ing carrots.
 p y
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
THE WEEKEND INTERVIEW with Ben Sasse | By James Taranto
W
Gainesville, Fla.
ould calls for the
genocide of Jews be
a violation of the
University of Flor-
ida’s bullying and
harassment policy?
“Yes,” says Ben Sasse, UF’s
president.
Three university heads equivo-
cated when lawmakers asked that
question in a congressional hear-
ing last month. So far two of
them, the University of Pennsylva-
nia’s Liz Magill and Harvard’s
Claudine Gay, have been demoted
to the faculty. Mr. Sasse—who
came to Florida a year ago after
eight years as a U.S. senator from
his native Nebraska—is a deft
enough politician to parry a got-
cha question.
Yet when I follow up by raising
the issue of free speech, he ac-
knowledges the answer isn’t so
simple. Regarding the First
Amendment, he says, “I’m a pretty
libertarian zealot.” He emphasizes
that the Constitution “draws a
deep, deep line at speech and ac-
tion,” that “threats are the front
edge of action,” and that “orches-
trated plans, or getting to a defin-
able way of targeting specific peo-
ple, is when speech ceases to be
deliberation.”
The University of Florida
president has a theory of
how higher ed succumbed
to execrable ideas—and
thoughts on reforming it.
Which isn’t that different from
Ms. Gay’s testimony last month:
“We are deeply committed to free
expression. But when speech
crosses over into conduct that vio-
lates our policies—policies against
bullying, harassment, intimida-
tion—we do take action.”
Does that mean we have a
meeting of the minds between
Florida’s president and his erst-
while Harvard counterpart? Not
quite. Mr. Sasse calls Ms. Gay’s ap-
peal to free speech “laughable” in
light of “the culture of trigger
warnings and safe spaces and ev-
erything else that they’ve built on
top of their victimization grid that
defines the worldview of Harvard
bureaucrats of late.” Mr. Sasse’s
view is that toleration of antise-
mitic expression is a price worth
paying for free speech. Ms. Gay ex-
pects us to pay it and get nothing
in return.
Mr. Sasse, 51, says higher educa-
tion is having an “emperor-has-no-
clothes moment.” Illiberalism,
anti-intellectualism and identity
politics were spreading on campus
for decades before they congealed
recently into open and pervasive
antisemitism. For those of us who
have long been dismayed by this
trend, it has been satisfying to
watch institutions like Harvard
suffer well-deserved reputational
damage.
But it’s a guilty pleasure. “The
culture of ideological conformity
and monoculture at those schools
The Doctor Is In, but the Patient Is Out of State
Boston
State emergency or-
ders during the
Covid pandemic
made it possible for
patients in one state
to consult with doc-
CROSS
COUNTRY tors in another via
telephone and inter-
By Shannon
net. Those orders
MacDonald
have now expired,
however, and that
flexibility has ended. With limited ex-
ceptions, doctors can practice medi-
cine only in states where they are li-
censed and where their patients are
physically present.
In 2009, I began treating a 9-year-
old from New Jersey who had been
diagnosed with a brain tumor,
medulloblastoma. His oncologists felt
he needed the treatment and exper-
tise of a big-city hospital, so they re-
ferred him to me. Though the boy
and his family traveled between
states for appointments, he remained
my patient at all times. I fielded his
parents’ questions, discussed his im-
aging, and proposed new therapies
when others failed. He received
state-of-the-art treatment and bene-
fited from the continuity of care
across state lines (though he re-
lapsed and died years later).
Instead of enlightening local gov-
ernments about the benefits of tele-
medicine, the pandemic highlighted
what physicians are forbidden to do.
While I never hesitated to pick up the
phone to call the boy’s parents and
give them advice, I wouldn’t legally
be able to do that now because New
p p
* * * *
The Harvard of the Unwoke
is unhealthy not just for them, but
for the nation at large,” Mr. Sasse
says. “Some people from the right
. . . say, ‘Let’s just let it all burn,’
That is not a healthy instinct.”
Fair enough, but what’s the al-
ternative? The boards at Harvard
and Penn ditched their embarrass-
ing presidents, but that’s a far cry
from actual reform. “Historically
they’re resting on their laurels of
having delivered a much, much
better education,” Mr. Sasse says.
“Network effects” make it possible
for these schools’ prestige to en-
dure a long and deep decline in
their quality.
Maybe the answer lies in good
old-fashioned competition. To be
sure, Ivy League and similarly se-
lective schools have only enough
capacity to serve a tiny segment of
the higher-ed market, leaving
plenty of room for others to cap-
ture market share by offering a
similar product to a wider cus-
tomer base. And if parents and
prospective students are learning
that the merchandise is defective,
they ought to be open to sellers
that offer something different.
The University of Florida may
be ideally positioned to become
the Harvard of the Unwoke. It is
the flagship public institution in a
state whose governor and Legisla-
ture have declared war on identity
politics. There are no racial prefer-
ences in admissions, thanks to a
1999 executive order by the under-
appreciated then-Gov. Jeb Bush.
Mr. Sasse himself is a conservative
Republican with a scholarly back-
ground. He holds a doctorate in
history from Yale, and before en-
tering the Senate he taught at the
University of Texas and served as
president of Midland University in
Fremont, Neb.
He proudly notes that The Wall
Street Journal ranks UF higher
than any other public institution
in the U.S. (behind 14 private
ones). U.S. News puts it at sixth
place among state schools nation-
wide. Taking into account “study,
sports and weather, we’re No. 1,”
he says. “We have edge-of-Ivy-
League-level admissions now. Our
average SATs out-of-state are 1450,
in-state about 1420.” University of
Florida Hillel estimates that nearly
20% of undergraduates are Jewish.
UF also has what Mr. Sasse calls
“a healthy radical bias toward
practicality” owing to its status as
the state’s land-grant university—
established under the Morrill Act
of 1862 “for the benefit of agricul-
ture and the mechanic arts.” The
university has extension offices in
all of Florida’s 67 counties, most
specializing in agriculture. It has
impressive technical facilities, the
crown jewel of which is a super-
computer called HiPerGator that
was donated by Nvidia and its co-
founder Chris Malachowsky.
“There’s a lot to say about the
healthy large land-grant institu-
tions being the most important in-
stitutions of American higher ed
10 years from now,” Mr. Sasse
says. As rapidly advancing technol-
ogy transforms the economy, “stu-
dents are going to have to get re-
trained for a new job not just
when they come out of high school
Jersey has decided that a simple
phone call constitutes the practice of
medicine. Giving medical advice to an
out-of-state patient over the phone
can put me at risk of losing my li-
cense, and, in states such as Califor-
nia and New Jersey, of criminal
charges as well.
At the initiation of a telemedicine
visit, doctors at some hospitals must
now ask patients where they are,
document the location in the medical
chart, and end the visit if the patient
is in another state. Hospital lawyers
New Jersey puts patients
at risk by restricting their
telehealth options. I’m
suing to change that.
may even instruct physicians to
avoid giving medical advice by
phone to their in-state patients who
are temporarily out of state for vaca-
tion or work, a scenario that could
affect any of us. This is callous and
in conflict with a physician’s ethical
obligations.
In response, many patients drive
to “telemedicine parking lots” in
states where their physicians are li-
censed. Sick people are sitting in
their cars and talking to their doctors
using cellphones when they could be
in the comfort of their homes.
At the outset of the pandemic,
some state medical boards feared
that telehealth would enable out-of-
OPINION
and go through college, but at age
30, 35, 40, 45, 50—you’re going to
have more and more job disrup-
tion over the course of your life.”
Yet the liberal arts are also
central to Mr. Sasse’s educational
vision: “I think the best people to
navigate a complex world are
people who have a broad world-
view and are well and widely
read.” He wants to institute a
“dual core” so that humanities
majors would be required to take
courses in science, technology,
engineering and math and STEM
majors in the humanities.
He sees the crisis in higher ed
as having arisen in part from an
overemphasis on training for em-
ployment. In the mid-20th century,
as he tells it, “we were going
through the late stages of the In-
dustrial Revolution and the very,
very early stages of the rise of
knowledge-economy jobs.” With
the need for farm labor rapidly
dwindling and factories becoming
more efficient, “you have a whole
bunch of people who are just not
going to be able to have brawn
jobs for their whole life.” Antici-
pating that World War II veterans
would need training, Congress en-
acted the GI Bill in 1944. “So you
grow higher ed as a sector with an
assumption that this is going to be
practical first.”
B
ut the idea that the purpose
of education was, as Mr.
Sasse puts it, “to prepare for
life and thoughtful citizenship and
engagement and caring about the
good, the true and the beautiful”
also held a good deal of sway. “I
think people kind of intuitively un-
derstood in the late ’40s and early
’50s that you needed more of
both.”
Then came the political convul-
sions of the ’60s and the “curricu-
lar wrestling” in the aftermath of
the civil-rights movement and
amid protests over the Vietnam
War. “By the end of the 1960s,
people are so exhausted that the
general public decided, ‘I don’t
know about all that stuff. I believe
state doctors to poach patients from
local physicians, especially in rural
communities. State health authorities
also didn’t want the hassle of pursu-
ing malpractice claims across state
lines. These concerns were un-
founded. Fees and carve-outs—for
example, restricting interstate tele-
medicine to specialty care or requir-
ing referrals—could address these is-
sues without undue limits on access,
as could a requirement that physi-
cians adhere to the laws of the state
in which the patient is located.
The benefits of telemedicine out-
weigh any hypothetical concerns. Ru-
ral areas lack specialists, but rural
residents need specialized healthcare
as much as anyone. Distant special-
ists, accessible to rural residents by
phone, shouldn’t be thought of as
competitors to rural physicians but
as resources capable of extending pa-
tients’ lives.
Without interstate telehealth, I’d
have to become licensed in all the
states where my patients live if I
wanted to continue treating their
rare childhood cancers or bone tu-
mors. Because I believe strongly in
the benefits of telehealth, I have ob-
tained licenses in six states through
the Interstate Medical Licensure
Compact. Doing this took months,
cost thousands of dollars, and still
leaves me unable to care virtually for
patients in 43 states. The process is
so cumbersome that less than 1% of
physicians use it.
Because of those burdens and my
inability to care legally for my pa-
tients unless they travel to my states
p g
Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | A13
KEN FALLIN
in the practical parts. . . . I don’t
know about all those curricular
debates.’ ”
As a result, public engagement
with curriculum questions “starts
to atrophy.” By the late ’80s, “you
end up with more and more cul-
ture-war skirmishes happening on
campus, but that are supposedly
only the domain of the experts,”
Mr. Sasse says. “The public saw it
happening but stopped engaging
and stopped paying attention.”
Still, young people needed educa-
tion to succeed, so their parents
(and the government) kept sup-
porting the system by sending
them off to college.
Who would speak up for “dead
white males” when ideologues de-
claimed against them? “Moms and
dads have day jobs, and they need
to provide for their families,” Mr.
Sasse says. “They were patted on
the head and said, ‘The experts got
this.’ Well, the experts, if they’re
people like President Gay, they
don’t deserve us to defer to the
claims of ‘my truth.’ What the hell
is that? When she resigns, she
goes out and runs to the New York
Times and writes an op-ed and de-
fends ‘my truth.’ Well, that’s abso-
lute nonsense. That itself should
be a fireable offense.”
Mr. Sasse likes to speak his
mind, and during his time in
Washington he was known for crit-
icizing Donald Trump as scathingly
as he now does Ms. Gay. He also
knows his mind better than most
politicians or university presi-
dents. His Oct. 10 statement on the
attack against Israel was clear and
indignant: “What Hamas did is evil
and there is no defense for terror-
ism. This shouldn’t be hard. Sadly,
too many people in elite academia
have been so weakened by their
moral confusion that, when they
see videos of raped women, hear
of a beheaded baby, or learn of a
grandmother murdered in her
home, the first reaction of some is
to ‘provide context’ and try to
blame the raped women, beheaded
baby, or the murdered grand-
mother. In other grotesque cases,
of licensure, with the help of the Pa-
cific Legal Foundation I am suing the
medical board in New Jersey to end
its restrictions on access to specialty
telehealth care. I am challenging
New Jersey’s rules that only physi-
cians licensed in-state may care for
patients using telehealth. The Con-
stitution gives Congress the author-
ity to regulate interstate commerce
and prohibits states from erecting
barriers on their own. The First
Amendment also prohibits states
from singling out certain speech for
limitation. Calls with patients before
and after treatment are simply con-
versations.
Military doctors have long been
able to practice medicine across state
lines. In 2018 it became legal for
Notable & Quotable: Apology
Myah Ward reporting for Politico,
Jan. 17:
White House chief of staff Jeff
Zients called former Arkansas Gov.
Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday morn-
ing to apologize after the Democratic
National Committee released a
snarky statement to mark the end of
the Republican’s presidential bid.
Hutchinson, who ran a campaign
designed to take on and criticize
Donald Trump, dropped out of the
race after a sixth-place in the Iowa
caucuses this week.
The Democratic National Commit-
tee initially responded by calling his
( ) j p
they express simple support for
the terrorists.”
In January 2023 an Omaha
World-Herald reporter observed
that the departing Sen. Sasse had
“expressed concerns about Trump’s
authoritarian streak” but “did vote
with Trump 85% of the time.” The
senator’s response: “I’m gonna flip
it on you and say he supported my
policies.” And unlike many other
Trump detractors, Mr. Sasse also
expressed concerns about the left’s
authoritarian streak.
I didn’t come to Gainesville to
talk politics, and Mr. Sasse says he
“signed a 36-month pledge of par-
tisan neutrality,” following the ex-
ample of Mitch Daniels, the former
Indiana governor and Purdue Uni-
versity president. But he touches
on the subject when he says he
worries that “the collapse of a be-
lief in classical liberalism is what’s
eating up all of these institutions,”
including but not limited to uni-
versities. He blames this on both
the “wokes” who have managed to
“hijack” those institutions and the
“super MAGA” types who would
rather destroy than save them.
“You can’t burn down every in-
stitution,” Mr. Sasse says. “Lots of
institutions are going to be bank-
rupted by the digital revolution,”
and that disruption is made more
dangerous by the “ideological war-
fare about every institution.” He
would like “to conserve and pre-
serve and reform and change and
reorganize lots of institutions, and
that requires you to have more of
a public definition of what you’re
there for.”
T
hat’s another reason Mr.
Sasse wants to re-establish a
strong core curriculum,
which he sees as not only a benefit
to students but a necessary public
good. “If we’re going to pass on
the meaning of America to the
next generation, it doesn’t happen
in the bloodstream,” he says. “You
actually have to teach what Amer-
ica is to the next generation.”
Of the push for “diversity, eq-
uity and inclusion,” he says that
“the aspirational best parts of di-
versity and inclusion, I’m for.” “If
you don’t have viewpoint diversity,
I don’t know how you ever get to
education—you just get indoctri-
nation.” And he believes in “the
dignity of every soul,” so “you
want people to be included.”
What’s wrong with DEI “is the
E,” he says, meaning the embrace
of “equity” at the expense of
equality. “The fundamental prob-
lem is saying that Martin Luther
King can’t fit in the new commu-
nities of know-it-all ideological-
indoctrination bureaucrats that
run most universities in the coun-
try. . . . MLK doesn’t fit because
of his aspirations for a colorblind
society.
“Can people have a different
view than MLK? Of course.” But
“the ideological conformity of
mandating that equality of oppor-
tunity is wrong and bigoted, it has
to be excluded from our dis-
course—those people are crazy.”
Mr. Taranto is the Journal’s edi-
torial features editor.
sports-team doctors to practice med-
icine during out-of-state away games.
If we can make a law that allows
treatment across state lines for a Na-
tional Football League player, can’t
we consider it for a child with a brain
tumor?
As a doctor, I want to provide the
proper care for my patients no mat-
ter where they are, and I shouldn’t
have to risk losing my license—or jail
time—to do so. Because states have
failed to modernize physician licen-
sure, it’s time for the courts to weigh
in.
Dr. MacDonald is a radiation on-
cologist at Mass General Brigham
and an associate professor at Har-
vard Medical School.
withdrawal “a shock to those of us
who could’ve sworn he had already
dropped out.” The statement drew
immediate backlash from people who
said it was a gratuitous attempt to
humiliate Hutchinson.
Zients’ call to Hutchinson effec-
tively marked a repudiation of the
DNC—and a particularly swift clean-
up job by the White House.
The chief of staff’s damage-control
effort reflects the central importance
of anti-Trump Republicans in the
2024 campaign.
The Biden reelection operation has
identified those Republicans as a core
constituency.
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A14 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

OPINION
REVIEW & OUTLOOK LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Trump Isn’t Serious About the Debt Fauci and the ‘Sort of Just Appeared’ Defense

M
AGA Republicans claim to be worried Whatever Mr. Trump might say about get- Dr. Anthony Fauci’s closed-door the rule for 6 feet of social separa-
about the country’s $34 trillion debt, ting the debt under control, it won’t happen testimony reveals the lack of hard tion seemed both reasonable and
evidence behind his arbitrary poli- prudent. Social distancing may have
and this week the House Budget Com- without changes to these programs. Social Se-
cies and practices during the pan- saved many lives. There are answers
mittee advanced a bill to cre- curity was 19% of total federal demic (“Anthony Fauci Fesses Up,” now to this and other transmissibil-
ate a bipartisan fiscal commis- He joins Democrats in outlays in 2022. Medicare was Review & Outlook, Jan. 12). It is a ity factors, but there were few then.
sion. Have they checked with
Donald Trump?
saying that any reform 12% and Medicaid 9%. The cat-
egory of “other means tested
striking example of the sluggish and
phlegmatic bureaucracies at the
In those terrible conditions, Dr.
Fauci talked to the public when few
After winning the Iowa to Social Security would entitlements” was another Centers for Disease Control and Pre- others would. In the opinion of
caucuses Monday, Mr. Trump
replayed a golden oldie of a
toss granny off a cliff. 10%. Add those up, and they’re
half of federal spending. As
vention and the National Institutes
of Health.
many, he was heroic.
JIM SOMMER
campaign pledge: “We’re also social programs keep growing, These institutions could have as- San Diego
going to pay off the national they crowd out everything sembled rapid pilot or large re-
debt. It’s about time.” He said the same thing that’s counted as “discretionary,” including na- search projects to test the underly- Kudos to Dr. Fauci for introducing
ing premises of mask mandates, 6- the “sort of just appeared” defense
in 2016, before he added about $8 trillion to the tional defense, which was 12%.
foot social distancing, school to our lexicon. Similar to how the 6-
tab. Roughly half of that was Covid relief, so This problem will get worse. By the year closings, and the safety of indoor feet social-distancing rule sort of
perhaps voters grade him on a curve. Less for- 2053, Social Security outlays will climb to 6.2% and outdoor assemblies and public just appeared, I guess the virus it-
givable is that he’s now playing for the Demo- of GDP from 4.8%, the Congressional Budget Of- transportation. Instead, policies self sort of just appeared, just as
crats on entitlements. fice estimates. Medicare will go to 5.5% from were borrowed from prevailing wis- evidence of the Wuhan lab leak sort
“Americans were promised a secure retire- 2.8%. “Rising health care costs per person and dom and precedent or were created of just disappeared.
ment. Nikki Haley’s plan ends that,” says the the aging of the population are the main rea- without hard evidence. These gov- I look forward to seeing other
grim narrator of a Trump advertisement play- sons for the sharp increase in projected spend- ernment agencies need rapid-re- uses of this defense. Maybe Hunter
ing in New Hampshire. A new radio spot adds: ing on the major health care programs,” CBO sponse mechanisms to assemble re- Biden will assert that the overseas
“Year after year, you paid into Social Security. dryly notes. Ditto for Social Security. search teams when confronted with money sort of just appeared. Those
Now Nikki Haley wants to keep you from col- unprecedented, emerging public- waves of migrants crossing the
Republicans used to grasp this reality, and
health disasters. southern border? They sort of just
lecting what’s yours.” The Trump campaign al- Democrats hammered them as heartless while PROF. BERTHA K MADRAS appeared; there’s no tie to any of
leges Ms. Haley would cut benefits “for 82 per- pretending not to understand math. Recall the Harvard Medical School President Biden’s policies.
cent of Americans.” Medicare attack ad in which a doppelgänger of Belmont, Mass. This defense is the complete op-
This is dishonest. Social Security is running Rep. Paul Ryan pushed a grandma in a wheel- posite of taking responsibility. Per-
out of money, and doing nothing will result in chair off a cliff. Years of hindsight provide a safe haps no phrase better captures the
a 23% cut to benefits within a decade. The re- Today the putative leader of the Republican basis to initiate hearings and “got- spirit of 2024.
tirement trust fund, according to the latest re- Party is taking the same line against Ms. Haley. cha” critical reviews of Dr. Fauci. At DANA R . HERMANSON
port, will be depleted in 2033, at which point She’s the one candidate in 2024 who is honest the height of the Covid pandemic, Marietta, Ga.
the incoming cash “will be sufficient to pay 77 about what’s driving the debt, and Mr. Trump
percent of scheduled benefits.” Does Mr. Trump is trashing her for it. Ron DeSantis has switched
have any plan to prevent this outcome in only jerseys on this issue as well. He has been argu-
nine years? Nope. ing that because life expectancy has dipped U.S.-Qatar Partnership Is Stronger Than Ever
Ms. Haley hasn’t issued a detailed proposal, slightly amid Covid and the opioid epidemic, Yigal Carmon inaccurately sug- from Afghanistan, including thou-
but what she says doesn’t fit Mr. Trump’s narra- the U.S. can’t possibly adjust Social Security to gests that Qatar is not a U.S. ally in sands of American journalists, em-
tive. “I will protect those receiving Social Secu- account for the enormous gains in health and “When Terrorists Talk, They Listen” bassy personnel, nongovernmental
rity and Medicare—that’s a promise,” she said longevity since the 1930s. by Elliot Kaufman (Weekend Inter- organization representatives and
last fall. “We’ll keep these programs the same It’s dizzying. House Republicans are at one view, Jan. 13). Mr. Carmon also fails contract workers. Qatar currently
for anyone who’s in their 40s, 50s, 60s, or older, another’s throats over modest bills to keep the to explain the critical security part- serves as America’s “protecting
period.” government running, and some of the rabble nership between our two countries. power” in Afghanistan, and in 2022
Then she added that she would “limit bene- rousers are now debating whether to knife their Qatar is a close ally of the U.S., the U.S. designated Qatar a “major
fits on the wealthy” and “raise the retirement second Speaker in three months. Yet Mr. Trump and our two countries collaborate non-NATO ally,” marking a signifi-
daily on issues of shared interest cant elevation of our security rela-
age only for younger people who are just enter- is running a presidential campaign all but
and concern, including international tionship.
ing the system. Americans are living 15 years promising America a future as a broke, weak security. In the past 12 months, Qa- The U.S.-Qatar partnership is
longer than they were in the ’30s. If we don’t welfare state, and none of the MAGA debt ago- tar has played a pivotal role in medi- stronger than ever, reflecting our
get out of this 20th-century mindset, Social Se- nists object. Incoherence, thy name is Donald ating the release of U.S. prisoners shared aim for security and stability,
curity and Medicare won’t survive.” Trump’s Republican Party. from Iran and Venezuela. Since the not only in the Middle East but all
start of the war in Gaza, Qatar has around the world. Organizations that
also mediated between Israel and distort these realities, such as the
J.B. Pritzker vs. Catholic Schools Hamas, securing the release of 109
hostages, including four Americans.
Middle East Media Research Insti-
tute, are either grossly misinformed

I
llinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Democrats in
the Legislature killed the Invest in Kids
scholarship program last year, blocking
money for more than 9,000 low-income stu-
dents to escape failing public schools. Now
comes the second wave of destruction as the
schools that welcomed the scholarship students
are beginning to close.
On Thursday two Catholic schools in Chi-
cago’s western suburbs announced they are
shutting down. St. Frances of Rome School in
Cicero and St. Odilo School in Berwyn said that
the 164 Invest in Kids scholarship students be-
tween them represented more than half of the
schools’ enrollment. Without them, the schools
no longer have enough students to keep their
doors open.
In a statement on Thursday, the Archdio-
cese of Chicago said Catholic schools in the
Windy City are facing a “financial cliff” after
the loss of Invest in Kids. “We are doing all
that we can to keep our schools open,” Catho-
lic schools superintendent Greg Richmond
said, but “these may not be the last closures
in our archdiocese.”
On Friday Notre Dame Academy in Belleville
announced that it’s closing, despite “devoted la-
bor” aimed at boosting enrollment and raising
funds. The school cited the financial hardships of
aging buildings and the fact that the state discon-
The EV Backlash Builds
tinued Invest in Kids “that benefitted our school,
especially those with financial need.”
Schools like these are often the best chance
for low-income families to escape rotten union
schools. At Berwyn North, the neighborhood
where St. Odilo school is located, 30.8% of stu-
dents in third through eighth grade are profi-
cient in reading and 18.5% in math. In the Cicero
school district, 18.1% of third through eighth
graders are proficient in reading and 9.8% in
math. Parents will now have to send children
back to these failure factories.
Private-school families often unite to raise
money through donations, and many are now
fighting to save the education the state has un-
dermined. When St. Bede Catholic School in In-
gleside said it needed to raise $400,000 to keep
its doors open, students began a fundraising
effort. Their commitment is admirable, but the
Hail Mary won’t fix the chronic funding gap
created by the disappearance of state scholar-
ship students. They’ll need to find another
$400,000 next year.
The point to understand is that this is ex-
actly what the Chicago Teachers Union and
their Democratic front men intended in killing
the Invest in Kids program. They want private
schools to fail so that parents have no choice
other than sending their children to union-run
schools. It’s a moral and political disgrace.
Our efforts are continuing to free all or complicit in efforts to perpetuate
remaining hostages and put an end a cycle of violence that could further
to the bloodshed. destabilize the Middle East. Such a
Qatar has also mediated between divisive goal runs contrary to Ameri-
the U.S. and the Taliban, and in 2021 can interests.
provided critical support to the U.S. ALI AL-ANSARI
and its international allies by evacu- Embassy of the State of Qatar
ating more than 100,000 people Washington
Learning to Read Begins Before Kindergarten
I am not surprised that “Kinder- was a setback for kindergarten
gartners Arrive Less Ready for readiness, no doubt. But the early-
School Than Before Pandemic” (U.S. literacy brain drain has been a slow
News, Jan. 13). As a former kinder- leak over two decades. It is tragic
garten and first-grade teacher who but also fascinating.
then spent 35 years preparing fu- From my perspective, there are
ture teachers at the university two socioeconomic pathways that
level, which put me in public converge in an early-literacy disas-
schools several times a week to ob- ter. First, for families living at or
serve interns, I’ve seen it all. And near poverty levels, especially the
it doesn’t look good. The pandemic working poor, access and commit-
ment to preschool for their children,
even if it is free, has declined.
Don’t Punish Immigrants Transportation, trust and genera-
tional trauma issues contribute to
For Border-Policy Blunders this problem.
With his border-wall-funding pro- Among more affluent families,
posal, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has different variables contribute to a
blundered across the important line lack of commitment to preschool.
between legal and illegal immigrants Think overreliance on devices to en-
by saying that he would fund the tertain and educate little ones in-
wall by taxing remittances sent to stead of reading books aloud and
foreign countries (“Haley, DeSantis playing letter games. These parents
Trade Barbs to Be Alternative to
Trump,” Page One, Jan. 11). Mr. De-
may also think that sending chil-
dren to a posh nursery school ab-

T
Santis would place the wall-funding solves them from early-education
he Biden Administration keeps throw- consumers remains the same: finding safe, reli- burden on the shoulders of hard- obligations.
ing around billions in subsidies for able cars,” Consumer Reports CEO Marta Tel- working, law-abiding legal immi- Is this harsh? I don’t think so.
electric vehicles, and the press corps lado said. People want safe, reliable cars—who grants with strong family values Stop by the children’s room at your
keeps hailing them, but con- would have thought? who send money back to their fami- local public library. What do you
sumers don’t seem to want Companies cut output Hertz, the rental car giant, lies. These are exactly the immi- see? Getting ready for kindergarten
them. The evidence is build- amid flagging demand. demandbowing
is also to consumer grants America needs to shore up begins in the womb with a culture
ing that this green industrial by selling about a our sagging workforce. of family literacy that nurtures
policy is a bust. Could it be the product? third of its global EV fleet and Border security is a national brains and bodies for almost six
Ford Motor said on Friday buying more gas-powered problem, and the whole nation years before the entry assessments.
that it’s slashing production cars with the proceeds. Car should share the burden of fixing it. If these results are disappointing, it
We should fund it by cutting spend- is because families and communities
of its F-150 Lightning truck amid flagging de- renters have no doubt read stories about the
ing on less important programs. have lost sight of their roles and re-
mand. The F-150 Lightning drew oohs and long lines of Chicago drivers unable to charge KENT SCHEIDEGGER sponsibilities.
aahs from the press when it was unveiled in their EVs as batteries drain power faster in Stockton, Calif. EM. PROF. LINDA KARGES-BONE
May 2021. Yet the electric pickup has been freezing weather. Charleston Southern University
plagued with defects that have required re- None of this is stopping the Biden Adminis- Charleston, S.C.
calls. It sold a mere 24,165 Lightnings last tration, as this week the Environmental Protec- Supporting Trump Is Logical
year and lost roughly $36,000 on each EV in tion Agency sent its final rule on auto green- Peggy Noonan struggles to under-
the third quarter. house emission standards to the White House stand why people are still support-
Pepper ...
So now Ford is cutting production at its for review. This back-door EV mandate will pun- ing Donald Trump for the presi- And Salt
Lightning plant in Michigan while increasing ish Ford and other auto makers if they respond dency (“The Voters Finally Get Their
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
output of its popular gas-powered Bronco SUV to consumer demand by selling more gas-pow- Say,” Declarations, Jan. 13). She
and Ranger pickup. “We are taking advantage ered cars. It will also compel the companies to seems to miss the possibility that
of our manufacturing flexibility to offer cus- roll out EVs before technological and engineer- they are doing so because under Mr.
tomers choices while balancing our growth and ing kinks are worked out. This is a recipe for Trump the economy was booming, a
profitability,” said CEO Jim Farley. making EVs less popular, not more. gallon of gas was much cheaper
Or consider General Motors, which last Amid the private jet-set at Davos this week, than it is today and peace was
breaking out in the Middle East in
month told its Chevrolet dealers to stop selling Biden climate czar John Kerry attributed con-
the form of the Abraham Accords.
its electric Blazer SUV owing to software and sumer resistance to EVs to “disinformation.” They support him because he did a
other problems. Consumer complaints have That’s hilarious. The automobile press couldn’t good job while in office.
piled up on social media about glitches includ- be more in the tank for EVs. ELIYAHU KAUFMAN
ing inoperable window switches and batteries We’ve got nothing against electric vehicles Dallas
that won’t charge. if consumers want them. But the Administra-
A Consumer Reports survey in November tion is trying to force them on the public with
Letters intended for publication should
found that new EVs have 79% more problems mandates and subsidies. This misallocation of be emailed to wsj.ltrs@wsj.com. Please
than internal-combustion cars. “This suggests capital harms consumers and workers. Mr. Bi- include your city, state and telephone
that legacy auto makers need more time to den’s green industrial policy isn’t failing be- number. All letters are subject to
work out the kinks under the hood of their cause of bad marketing. It's failing because editing, and unpublished letters cannot “I’d keep going but
be acknowledged.
EVs,” the report noted. “What matters most to Americans don’t like the product. I’m lactose intolerant.”
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | A15

OPINION

This Isn’t Only a Trump Election

but what followed the next day— viewers could fairly come away
late-night rants on social media, thinking: They don’t just live far
putdowns of Nikki Haley—marked a away and have their own ideology,
return to verbal incontinence. He they have their own private lan-
DECLARATIONS can’t sustain normality. It makes guage. Their minds seemed to work
By Peggy Noonan him nervous. Something he said in a kind of self-satisfied robot

H
e got 51% of a modest
turnout in a small state,
but a win’s a win and a
30-point win is a land-
slide. Still, part of what
we saw in Iowa was Donald
about Doug Burgum showed his as- loop: “It depends on the context. It
sumption. The North Dakota gover- depends on the context.” All this
nor, Mr. Trump said, didn’t succeed delivered with an honestly uncon-
in his presidential bid because he scious condescension.
didn’t gain “traction,” he wasn’t Something else that I think has
controversial. “Sometimes being a changed is—well, something I ha-
little controversial is good.” It is, ven’t fully thought through, but I

ANDREW HARNIK/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Trump’s continual losing battle
with himself. His Des Moines vic-
tory speech was unusually gracious
and statesmanlike. The strategy
was to reassure moderates and cen-
trists and to undermine the coming
argument against him in New
Hampshire: that he’s a bad man
who’s violent in his rhetoric be-
cause he’s violent in his heart.
The non-elite feel more
alienated than ever, even
invaded, and they’ll be
looking for better options.
“I really think this is time now
for everybody, our country, to come
together . . . whether it’s Republi-
can or Democrat or liberal or con-
servative, it would be so nice if we
could come together and straighten
out the world,” he said. “I wanna
congratulate Ron and Nikki. . . .
They’re very smart people, very ca-
pable people.” “We’re going to re-
build the capital of our country,
Washington D.C. We’re going to
scrub those beautiful marble col-
umns . . . and get the graffiti off
them.” “We’re going to rebuild our
cities, and we’ll work with the
Democrats to do it. I’d be glad to
work with the people in New York.
We’re going to work with the peo-
ple in Chicago and L.A. We’re going
to rebuild our cities and we’re go-
ing to make them safe.”
He was trying to turn a page,
but Mr. Trump is a poor judge of think the unprotected at this point
the line between controversial and do not only feel ignored and be-
destructive. trayed, they feel invaded. Twenty
In New Hampshire, Ms. Haley twenty, that epic, nation-changing
may gain traction, may even tri- year, tripped something off, began
umph. Something good may happen something new, a sense among reg-
for Ron DeSantis. Life is surprise. ular people that some new ideology
But it’s time: Ms. Haley should take that doesn’t even have a name had
Mr. Trump on directly and make North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum with Donald Trump in Iowa, Jan. 14. entered their lives on all levels, in
the serious case against him. Not “I their intimate family and work
don’t like all the things he says,” publican Congress, was too incom- strategy toward China, the respon- space. The pandemic, with its pro-
but something deeper, truer, more petent to get a wall, was sur- sibility of America in Asia and the tocols and regulations and vaccine
substantive. She could ruminate on rounded by political aides who Mideast. Someone who can take on mandates; the strange things
the Trump tragedy. He was a were inexperienced and unaccom- identity politics, who knows we all taught in the schools, which were
breakthrough figure, he did defeat plished—the famous “island of bro- must stand equal. Someone who suddenly brought into your home
a weak and detached establishment. ken toys.” This time he’ll go in can reiterate the idea that we do by Zoom; the obsessions with gen-
But he can’t be president again be- with experience and can be more have national values. der and race, the redefinitions of
cause there’s something wrong with effectively bad. How long will it Those few (but huge) things, if a the founding and meaning of Amer-
him. We all know this, we all use take before he starts saying the leader got them right, would mark ica. At the office, the stupid and in-
different words to describe the Constitution mandates a limit of a national comeback, and not a fur- sulting race and gender instruc-
“something,” but we know what it two presidential terms, but his sec- ther sinking into the mire of the tions, and the index you have to
produces: impeachments, embar- ond term was stolen so that means dramas of the past decade. meet when hiring to achieve what
rassments, scandal, 1/6. he gets another term after this G.K. Chesterton wrote: “What we someone has decided is the right
Meanwhile three things cause one? all dread most is a maze with no “diversity” balance.
unique disquiet among the non- Third, Mr. Trump shouldn’t be center.” That’s what our national I think people feel invaded by
Trump-supporting majority in president, and neither should Joe politics feel like now. the ideology with no name. They
America, especially after Iowa. One Biden, because they aren’t what we Eight years ago I wrote of the know it is unhealthy for society, is
is that in 2016 Trump supporters need for the future. What do we driving force behind support for in fact guaranteed to make us, as a
didn’t know precisely what they need? Someone who feels in her or political newcomer Donald Trump. people who must live together,
were getting. Now they do. Eight his gut the wound of the open bor- America had devolved into a pro- weaker and more divided.
years ago it was a very American der and will stop illegal immigra- tected class of the socially and po- We are not sufficiently noting
thing to do, giving the outsider a tion; someone who can cut through litically influential vs. regular peo- that this isn’t only a Trump elec-
chance. You never know in life, the knot of “globalism” vs. “isola- ple at the mercy of the protected tion, it is also the first national
people grow in office, the presi- tionism,” a serious argument that class’s favored doctrines and politi- election since the full impact of
dency softens rough edges. That is becoming a cartoon one (interna- cal decisions. I think it still per- 2020 and its epochal changes sank
didn’t happen. They know what tionalists don’t really want to start tains, but eight years later I see in.
they’re electing now. wars all over; isolationists know we new shadings. The distance be- Voters are going to want more
Second, when Mr. Trump first are part of the world and can’t just tween the elites and the non-elite options. Talk will turn seriously to
came in, in 2017, he didn’t know a pull up the bridge). If we can cut has widened, the estrangement a third-party bid. The great unan-
president’s true and legitimate through all that we’ll go some dis- deepened. When the university swered question will be whether
powers, he wasn’t interested in tance to forging a true national presidents testified before Congress those mounting that party have
history, wasn’t up nights reading stance toward the world, and only in December it became a catastro- enough imagination to understand
Robert Caro. He got rolled by a Re- then can we answer the proper phe for the elites in part because what they could be this year.

A Century After Lenin’s Death, His Evil Legacy Lives On

By David Satter In February 1917, Lenin’s party, When the Soviet Union fell, Russia ing “deaf-mutes,” his term for West- people, but his popularity in Russia

V
ladimir Lenin has been gone
for a century, but the evil he
did lives on. The first leader
of the Soviet Union died on Jan. 21,
1924, in Gorki, Russia (now called
Nizhny Novgorod), after repeated
strokes. His legacy is a world
whose moral equilibrium he helped
to destroy.
The Soviet Union was based on
Marxism, a secular religion, and
Lenin was the architect of its system
of antimorality. For Lenin, as he said
in his speech to the Komsomol on
Oct. 2, 1920, morality was entirely
subordinated to the class struggle.
An action was right not in light of
“extrahuman concepts” but only if it
destroyed the old society and helped
to build a new communist society.
Believing that the class
struggle justified any
means, he glorified murder
as a moral obligation.
The effect of this theory is felt to-
day in post-Soviet Russia, where the
legacy of communism’s blanket re-
jection of universal morality de-
stroyed the hope for democratic re-
form. Lenin’s theory also inspired
modern terrorism and contributes to
the weakness that leads many in the
West to condone ideological crimes.
Lenin was born in 1870 in Sim-
birsk (now Ulyanovsk), the son of a
senior school inspector. In 1893 he
moved to St. Petersburg, where he
joined the Marxist party and pub-
lished a book, “What Is to Be Done?”
(1902), in which he described a plan
for seizing power by a disciplined
“vanguard” party of professional
revolutionaries. The unacknowledged
model for this party was the Russian
People’s Will, which was founded in
1879 and in 1881 carried out the as-
sassination of Alexander II, the “Czar
Liberator,” who 20 years earlier had
freed the Russian serfs.
PUBLISHED SINCE 1889 BY DOW JONES & COMPANY
Lachlan Murdoch
Executive Chairman, News Corp
Rupert Murdoch
Chairman Emeritus, News Corp
Emma Tucker
Editor in Chief
Liz Harris, Managing Editor
Charles Forelle, Deputy Editor in Chief
Elena Cherney, News; David Crow, Executive Editor;
Chip Cummins, Newswires; Andrew Dowell, Asia;
Taneth Evans, Associate Editor; Brent Jones, Culture,
Training & Outreach; Alex Martin, Print & Writing;
Michael W. Miller, Features & Weekend;
Emma Moody, Standards; Prabha Natarajan,
Professional Products; Bruce Orwall, Enterprise;
Philana Patterson, Audio; Michael Siconolfi,
Investigations; Amanda Wills, Video
Paul A. Gigot
Editor of the Editorial Page
Gerard Baker, Editor at Large
the Bolsheviks, had 24,000 members. dismantled the socialist economy but
It was able to triumph in a country didn’t restore the moral framework
of more than 100 million because it Lenin destroyed. The result was the
was a machine of concentrated rise of a criminal state no less dan-
power that accepted murder and glo- gerous than its predecessor—one
rified it as a moral obligation. Isaac that has engaged in assassinations,
Steinberg, the non-Bolshevik justice shot down civilian airliners, and
minister in the first revolutionary even bombed apartment buildings to
government, objected to summary bring Mr. Putin to power.
executions. He sarcastically asked Lenin’s influence is also evident in
Lenin: “Why bother with a Commis- the terror perpetrated in the name of
sariat of Justice? Let’s call it the political Islam, like Marxism a sys-
‘Commissariat for Social Extermina- tem of total explanation. The sav-
tion.’” Lenin’s face lit up, and he agery of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack
said: “That’s exactly what it should against Israel reproduced almost ex-
be, but we can’t say that.” actly the Bolsheviks’ tactics against
The combination of dedication to suspected nonsympathizers and
Marxism and total contempt for ethi- other civilians during the Red Terror
cal norms made it possible for the (1918-22).
communists and their successors to One of Lenin’s last writings was a
establish totalitarian regimes in the set of recommendations for deceiv-
20th century that ruled more than
one-third of the world’s population.
Although most of these regimes no
longer exist, the damage they did is
likely to be felt for many years to
Lovable Elon Pulls a Fast One
come. You have to love
Russia today is noncommunist but the temerity of
no less lawless than under the Sovi- Elon Musk.
ets. Arbitrary rule, once codified in He took to one
Marxist-Leninist ideology, is now of his companies,
justified by the prerogatives of the X, formerly known
state, which take absolute priority as Twitter, to lay
BUSINESS
over the lives of individuals. out his require-
WORLD
Russian officials interpret the ments to the board
By Holman W.
purpose of Russian history as the of another, Tesla,
Jenkins, Jr.
strengthening of the state. In a 2008 for the new pay
speech, Vladimir Putin said that package he would
maintaining Russia’s place as a like to receive.
“mighty nation” calls for “enormous His last package, in 2018, was
sacrifices and privations on the part worth $55 billion and is still subject
of our people.” In other words, his to lawsuits by ungrateful sharehold-
ambition is the same as Lenin’s: for ers who participated in a windfall
Russians to suffer indefinitely for the none could have anticipated, the
state. company’s market cap rising tenfold
Russia has suffered an estimated in six years.
360,000 casualties in Ukraine. That But things are different now,
hasn’t persuaded Russian leaders to thanks to the still-unfulfilled prom-
stop the war. In a recent speech, Mr. ise of Tesla’s now-towering market
Putin said the solution was for Rus- value. Mr. Musk says he needs his
sian women to give birth to more po- personal stake raised from 13% to
tential soldiers. “Many of our grand- 25% to make sure the artificial-in-
mothers and great-grandmothers telligence wonders he’s about to
had seven, eight or even more chil- conjure don’t fall into the wrong
dren,” he said. “Let us preserve and hands, presumably through hostile
revive these excellent traditions.” takeover or board coup.
He seems to suggest an outright
award of shares or at least voting
rights, not stock options, which
would require him to create com-
mensurate additional value for all
shareholders before he received a
Robert Thomson
Chief Executive Officer, News Corp dime. In essence he wants to get
Almar Latour paid a second time for AI promises
Chief Executive Officer and Publisher that he’s been selling to Tesla inves-
DOW JONES MANAGEMENT: tors for years and that are already
Daniel Bernard, Chief Experience Officer; embodied in its share price.
Mae M. Cheng, EVP, General Manager,
Leadership; David Cho, Barron’s Editor in Chief;
Understand: As the biggest indi-
Jason P. Conti, General Counsel, Chief vidual shareholder, Mr. Musk has al-
Compliance Officer; Dianne DeSevo, Chief People ready been compensated in advance
Officer; Frank Filippo, Chief Transformation
for these commitments, including a
Officer; David Martin, Chief Revenue Officer,
Business Intelligence; Dan Shar, EVP, General fully self-driving car, including
Manager, Wealth & Investing; Ashok Sinha, SVP, gushing high-margin software prof-
Head of Communications; Josh Stinchcomb, EVP its, etc., which he has yet to fulfill.
& Chief Revenue Officer, WSJ | Barron’s Group;
Sherry Weiss, Chief Marketing Officer
In fact, he just got done telling
EDITORIAL AND CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS:
shareholders they should forgo cur-
1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y., 10036 rent profits on car sales for more-
Telephone 1-800-DOWJONES lucrative software sales down the
ern capitalists who were ready to ig-
nore Soviet crimes in their pursuit of
profit. His plan was to promote the
fiction of a legitimate government in
the Soviet Union separate from the
Communist Party and establish rela-
tions with as many countries as pos-
sible to create a false impression of
normality.
Lenin’s plans were adopted by the
Soviet regime and inherited by post-
Soviet Russia with its fixed elections,
controlled Parliament and “out-
reach” through such institutions as
the Valdai Discussion Club, which af-
ter its founding in 2004 played an
important role in misleading West-
ern officials and experts about Rus-
sia’s intentions.
Lenin’s mausoleum is visited an-
nually by an estimated 2.5 million
road. His biggest Wall Street cheer-
leader, Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jo-
nas, in a formal report, cites these
future AI profits as justification for
the price investors are already pay-
ing for the shares.
Unlike many investors who are
holding on to their shares in hopes
of the promised next windfall, Mr.
Musk has cashed out a large num-
ber to buy Twitter. Yet now he
wants to be compensated all over
again for the magic beans he has
yet to deliver.
He wants to be paid
twice for the artificial-
intelligence hopes already
in Tesla’s stock price.
Unfortunately, Tesla sharehold-
ers may conclude he has them over
a barrel, never mind that he points
a gun at his own head. He would be
a big loser if the market started
treating Tesla not as the next Ap-
ple (as he encourages) but as a
mere auto company. Exactly this
would be likely to happen if Mr.
Musk, who is not a slave, were to
carry out his threat to take his AI
projects to a new company he more
fully controls.
A cherry on top is the suspicion
that Mr. Musk here simply invents
a rationale for his board, and
therefore Tesla shareholders, to
make him whole for the shares he
squandered in buying Twitter. He
says it’s about vesting more con-
trol of Tesla in his own hands to
make it a safe place to pursue his
artificial-intelligence and robotics
ambitions.
Welcome to Chapter 23 of an in-
quiry this column has been conduct-
ing for more than a decade, some-
times in print, sometimes in email
has declined compared with Stalin,
who is credited with the victory in
World War II. The figure of Lenin,
however, stands as the symbol of
history’s first rejection of universal
standards on behalf of a political
movement that claimed a monopoly
on truth.
Lenin viewed the past with a de-
gree of detachment in the last
months of his life, but there is no in-
dication that he regretted anything.
For Lenin, the end always justified
the means. This is why he stands as
a warning—not only to the countries
he directly affected but to all of
mankind.
Mr. Satter is author of “Age of De-
lirium: the Decline and Fall of the So-
viet Union.”
exchanges with readers. It concerns
the Tesla bubble and Mr. Musk’s
unique brand of CEO stewardship.
Here’s where I have tended to
come down: Mr. Musk has con-
ducted himself in a way that
wouldn’t be tolerated of another
CEO, overselling the future, all but
manipulating the stock. But no
company is followed more avidly by
the press or by Wall Street. The
pros and cons of Mr. Musk’s man-
agement are lengthily and pointil-
listically debated.
Not only his shareholders but the
legal-political system and even soci-
ety itself have issued Mr. Musk a
partial exemption from the behav-
ioral norms imposed on public-com-
pany CEOs. Witness the SEC’s
toothless and barely enforced set-
tlement of Mr. Musk’s tweeting of-
fenses in 2018. The SEC likes to
shoot the wounded after a stock
market miscarriage; it doesn’t want
to be the author of one. And inves-
tors still believe; for all the SEC can
know, Mr. Musk is well on his way
to delivering the innovations to jus-
tify a market cap that remains
greater than Toyota, GM, Ford,
Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen
combined.
But a final point. Mr. Musk is hu-
man. He’s an amazing fellow but
still subject to the human reality
that all dignity begins with under-
standing your limitations; beyond
lies the realm of the jackass, about
which advisers have been whisper-
ing in the ears of caesars since his-
tory began.
Mr. Musk ought to take these
admonitions seriously. From con-
cerns about his drug use to his oc-
casional discomfitingly manic pub-
lic appearances, he gives the
impression of a person risking ev-
erything he might yet accomplish
on some pratfall that his fans and
regulators might not be able to
brush off so easily.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

A16 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

  
      
  
      
   

 
       

 !    " 

 EXCHANGE
p y p p p g ( ) j p

Downshift Broken Record

Ford dials back its Two years later, a
electric truck new all-time high for
production B9 the S&P 500 B11

BUSINESS | FINANCE | TECHNOLOGY | MANAGEMENT THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | B1
DJIA 37863.80 À 395.19 1.05% NASDAQ 15310.97 À 1.7% STOXX 600 469.24 g 0.3% 10-YR. TREAS. g 1/32 , yield 4.145% OIL $73.41 g $0.67 GOLD $2,026.50 À $7.90 EURO $1.0898 YEN 148.15

TAX REPORT
LAURA SAUNDERS

What the
IRS Knows
About Your
Side Hustle
If you receive income
through online plat-
forms like eBay,
Venmo, Ticketmas-
ter, Airbnb or Posh-
mark, you’re proba-
bly confused about
what the Internal Revenue Service
knows. That’s not surprising: The
rules have bounced around three
times in three years, and Congress
might change them again.
Platform users shouldn’t ignore
this issue, however. Understanding
it could save some vendors a lot of
paperwork and others an unpleas-
ant encounter with the IRS or
their state tax department.
The background is important.
To encourage tax compliance, Con-
gress has enacted laws requiring
payers to tell the IRS about in-
come that isn’t subject to with-
ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL BYERS; ISTOCKPHOTO (WINE ICON); BRENDAN MCDERMID/REUTERS (TRADERS)

30
million
The estimated number of
new tax forms that would
have been sent because of
a lowered reporting
threshold, now delayed.

holding (as paychecks are). This

income is often reported on so-
called 1099 forms sent to both the
agency and the taxpayer. For ex-
ample, bankers put interest on
Form 1099-INT and brokers often
put dividends on Form 1099-DIV.
The form for potentially tax-
able income from online plat-
forms is 1099-K, which reports

This Is What Really Happens When users’ gross income above certain
thresholds. This income typically
doesn’t include payments to

THE GLOBAL ELITE MEET

“friends and family,” like reim-
bursements on Venmo.
In 2021, Congress dramatically
lowered the 1099-K reporting
threshold. For tax years beginning
in 2022, it is $600 of total income

B
Davos
illionaires and world leaders
swarm this tiny Alpine village
for one week every year to
stage a lavish networking ex-
travaganza with the social
stress of a high-school prom
and the physical demands of Nordic ski-
ing. Many worthy and important discus-
sions take place. Deals get done. Parties
run into the early hours.
And in between, as the world’s
great and good scramble in the cold
along Davos’s slippery streets or wait
for their limos to crawl along the one-
way main drag, there are the moments
that make the experience truly unique.
Nowhere else will you find this many
CEOs searching for toilets that don’t
exist. It is probably the only place in
the world where you will turn around
By Chip Cutter, David Benoit,
and realize the person behind you in
line is Jane Goodall, or in another in-
stance, the person in front of you is
Sam Altman.
Here are snapshots, boiled down
from a week of news, interviews, min-
gling, and parties in the Alps.
The wine runs Meet me at the doctor’s office
out. So do hotel Davos doesn’t have enough meeting
spaces for all the thought leaders and
rooms. But the their thoughts. Any space that can
aging rockers house a table and chairs is flipped into
a temporary sponsored home.
play on and For its temporary HQ, JPMorgan
hung photos of Wall Street in an office
the networking normally shared by a skateboarding
company, a beautician and an osteo-
never ends. path on Talstrasse, a block down from
the main drag. For Bank of America,
meetings took place in a doctor’s of-
fice with an actual skeleton in the
Sam Schechner closet. CNBC and the Filecoin Founda-
and Gunjan Banerji Please turn to page B4
a year. That is far below the prior
level of $20,000 of payments and
200 transactions.
In making this change, lawmak-
ers were trying to flush out unre-
ported income earned by smaller
businesses—and there’s plenty of
it. According to IRS studies, this
income has long accounted for a
large chunk of the more than
$450 billion of tax a year that’s
owed but not paid.
But the shift brought strong
protests from platforms and ven-
dors. They said the $600 threshold
would burden millions of casual
sellers who earned no taxable in-
come from selling items like
household goods, clothing, or elec-
tronic instruments at a loss. As a
result, these sellers would face
complex record-keeping. For ex-
ample, someone who sold a 1990s-
Please turn to page B5

He Arrived in Hollywood With Money

And a Name. It Just Might Work.
After producing and financing movies and shows, shows and films. Such a deal would
mark the start of a long-expected
Skydance Media’s David Ellison wants Paramount reshaping of entertainment indus-
try ownership after years waning
BY JOE FLINT movies and TV shows. moviegoing, cable declines and
Now the 41-year-old son of soft- costly pivots to streaming.
DAVID ELLISON’S FORAY in the en- ware billionaire and Oracle co- “There are a lot of people with
tertainment business is a tale as old founder Larry Ellison is exploring a strong connections to lots of money
as Hollywood itself—a rich kid comes complex deal to take control of Par- and most of them turn around after
to town with dreams of being a amount Global that could catapult five years with their tail between
mover and shaker. The story typically him to media moguldom. their legs,” said Jason Blum,
ends the same way: Industry sharks Ellison and investors in Skydance founder and chief executive of hor-
GETTY IMAGES FOR PARAMOUNT PICTURES

smell blood and devour their snack.
But Ellison’s script has had a
surprise twist—success. As much of
the entertainment industry strug-
gles to adjust to the economic reali-
ties of the streaming era, with lay-
offs and cost-cutting becoming the
norm at Disney, Warner Bros. Dis-
covery and NBCUniversal, Ellison
has built his production company,
Skydance Media, into a powerful
and profitable maker of big-budget
—whose hits include “Top Gun:
Maverick” “The Family Plan” and
“Reacher”—are discussing a bid for
media titan Shari Redstone’s con-
trolling stake in Paramount parent
National Amusements. If successful,
they would later seek to merge Par-
amount with Skydance.
Though far from certain, the
transactions put Ellison in the spot-
light, testing whether his industry
savvy extends beyond picking hit
ror-movie shop Blumhouse. Ellison
has stayed focused on his core mis-
sion of mass-market entertainment
and built a financially successful
company, said Blum.
Entertaining the masses
Since launching in 2010, Skydance
has positioned itself as a boutique
of big-budget fare for streamers. Before David Ellison cut his Hollywood path as a producer, he pursued
Please turn to page B3 flying planes and acting, including a role as a World War I pilot.
 p y
B2 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024
THE SCORE | THE BUSINESS WEEK IN SIX STOCKS
Taiwan Semiconductor
Gains, Spirit Air Sinks
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING

A chip-industry heavyweight sees a brighter year
ahead for semiconductor makers. The Taiwanese
TSM company, also known as TSMC, said that it expects
9.8% its revenue to grow over 20% in 2024—a stronger
outlook than expected. TSMC is the world’s largest
contract chip maker and a supplier to Apple, Nvidia and
Qualcomm. In 2023, chip makers dealt with an inventory
glut left over from the pandemic-era electronics boom. But
the artificial-intelligence arms race is fueling a surge in
demand. TSMC’s market value grew by roughly $31 billion
to reach nearly $514 billion by the end of Taipei trading
Friday, according to FactSet data. TSMC’s U.S.-listed shares
leapt 9.8% Thursday.
Performance of chip-stocks this week
20%
15
10
5
0 S&P 500
-5
Tues. Wed. Thurs.
Source: FactSet
SPIRIT AIRLINES
 JetBlue Airways and
Spirit’s merger won’t take
SAVE off after all. A federal
judge on Tuesday blocked
47% JetBlue’s $3.8 billion deal
to buy Spirit Airlines, say-
ing it would hamper competition
and lead to higher fares. The Justice
Department sued last year to pre-
vent JetBlue and Spirit from going
ahead with their tie-up, which would
have been the biggest U.S. airline
merger in over a decade. The deci-
sion could have repercussions for
other airlines hoping to merge. Spirit
Airlines shares tumbled 47% Tues-
day, while JetBlue shares rose 4.9%.
$3.8
billion
The value of JetBlue’s
planned deal to buy Spirit
Macy’s is cutting about 2,350 corporate staff, and closing five stores.
MACY’S
 Macy’s is cutting about
13% of its corporate staff
M and closing five stores to
trim costs and redirect
1.7% spending to improve cus-
tomers’ shopping experi-
ences. The job cuts total roughly
2,350 positions, or 3.5% of the de-
partment-store chain’s overall work-
force excluding seasonal hires. On
Friday, online retailer Wayfair said it
would lay off 13% of its staff. Macy’s
shares lost 1.7% Friday, while Way-
fair shares jumped 10%.
IROBOT
 The European Union’s
competition watchdog in-
IRBT tends to block Amazon’s
$1.7 billion bid to pur-
27% chase Roomba maker iRo-
YUKI IWAMURA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
bot, The Wall Street Jour-
nal reported late Thursday. Amazon
agreed to buy the smart robot
maker in August 2022. Amazon has
been under intensifying antitrust
scrutiny for its market power and
the way the company competes.
Last year, the Federal Trade Com-
mission sued Amazon claiming it
maintains an illegal monopoly. IRo-
bot shares sank 27% Friday.
p p
AMD
TSMC
Nvidia
Apple
Fri.
WALT DISNEY
 In a preliminary proxy
statement filed with regu-
DIS lators, activist investor Nel-
son Peltz’s Trian Fund
2.1% Management called for
streaming margin targets
of 15% to 20%, which it describes as
“Netflix-like.” As of November, Dis-
ney’s streaming business had lost
nearly $11 billion since it launched
Disney+ in late 2019. Peltz wants
Disney to find a clear successor to
Chief Executive Bob Iger, and Trian
urged shareholders to vote to add
Peltz and former Disney executive
Jay Rasulo to the company’s board.
Disney shares gained 2.1% Thursday.
15% to 20%
Trian’s streaming
margin target for
Disney to reach
by 2027
Performance of Macy’s and
Wayfair this week
15%
10
Wayfair
5
0
–5
Macy’s
–10
Tues. Wed. Thurs. Fri.
Source: FactSet
MORGAN STANLEY
 Bank earnings continued
rolling in. Goldman Sachs
MS quarterly profit jumped
over 50%, as revenue in its
4.2% asset- and wealth-manage-
ment division rose 23%.
Morgan Stanley said one-off charges
helped send quarterly profit down
32% to $1.5 billion. Reports from JP-
Morgan Chase and Bank of America
on Jan. 12 suggested that consum-
ers and businesses remained on
strong financial footing last year.
Morgan Stanley shares lost 4.2%
Tuesday, while Goldman shares
rose 0.7%. —Francesca Fontana
EXCHANGE
SCIENCE OF SUCCESS | BEN COHEN
The Real Reason You’re Paying
For So Many Subscriptions
Americans spend billions on stuff they have long since forgotten about
How much do you
spend on subscrip-
tions every month?
OK, now guess again.
Because whatever
number you came up
with wasn’t nearly
big enough.
Think about everything that’s
available through a monthly sub-
scription these days. Your favorite
streaming service. Also, three more
streaming services. This newspa-
per! Cable TV. Music. Audiobooks.
Makeup. Salads. Razors. Substacks.
Toothbrushes. Your dinner. Your
dog’s dinner. The number of sub-
scriptions you have to manage is
enough to make your head spin, at
which point you could use a sub-
scription to help you meditate.
But paying for the subscriptions
you use is not the only reason your
bill is probably much higher than
you realize.
It’s also because you’re overpay-
ing for the ones you don’t use.
That, as it turns out, is one of
the hidden forces behind the sub-
scription economy: Americans
spend billions of dollars on stuff
they have forgotten about. A
dirty little secret behind many of
the world’s most popular sub-
scription services is that they
owe part of their success to our
lack of attention.
The consulting firm West Mon-
roe surveyed thousands of Ameri-
cans in 2021, asking them to guess
how much they spent each month
on subscriptions. Their average re-
sponse was $62. When they were
given more time to guess again,
they increased their estimate to
$96. They were still way off. The
correct answer was $273.
But now Americans are paying
more attention to their growing
pile of subscriptions and canceling
the ones they no longer need, don’t
want or can’t afford.
Hollywood is already feeling the
effects of this shift in consumer be-
havior, as my colleague Sarah
Krouse recently wrote in The Wall
Street Journal. If you pay for Net-
flix and Disney+ every month, but
cancel other services and subscribe
again when they release new sea-
sons of your favorite shows, you’re
not alone. Americans are getting
more strategic about how they
manage their streaming portfolios.
In fact, nearly 25% of U.S. subscrib-
ers to streamers like Apple TV+,
Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix and
Peacock have canceled at least
three services in the past two
years, according to subscription-
analytics provider Antenna’s data
from November.
And that was before NFL fans be-
came Peacock subscribers last week-
end to stream one football game.
Many will keep paying $5.99 a
month. Others will cancel next
month. Some will bleed $5.99 a
month because they were too lazy
to cancel.
It just so happens that a ne-
glected Peacock subscription
helped inspire a fascinating, re-
cently published working paper on
this phenomenon of subscriber in-
attention.
Neale Mahoney is a soccer fan
who bought a Peacock subscrip-
tion at the beginning of an English
Premier League season intending
to cancel at the end of the season
in May. But when the next season
began in August, the Stanford Uni-
versity economist remembered
that he’d forgotten to cancel.
Which is how he learned that the
only thing more painful than pay-
p g
* ***
ing to watch Arsenal is paying to
not watch Arsenal.
His co-authors at Stanford and
Texas A&M University had their
own cases of subscription regret.
Liran Einav’s teenage daughter
thought she had paid $5 for a test-
prep service before getting her
driver’s permit. She had actually
paid for a $5 monthly subscrip-
tion. Ben Klopack signed up for a
free trial of Peacock and realized
he was still being charged six
months later without ever having
watched Peacock.
Sometimes you intentionally
subscribe and forget to cancel.
Sometimes you forget to cancel be-
cause you unintentionally sub-
scribed. Either way, you’re paying
for something you don’t value,
which feels like lighting money on
fire. Unfortunately, most of us are
familiar with that feeling.
“It’s almost a universal experi-
ence for consumers,” Klopack said.
The cool thing about their Na-
tional Bureau of Economic Re-
Amount by which consumers were
off when guessing how much they
spend on subscriptions monthly
$25–$99 18%
$100–$199 24
$200–$299 21
$300–$399 12
$400 or more 13
Note: Based on a 2021 survey of 2,500 consumers
Source: West Monroe
Rocket Money daily U.S. downloads
75,000
Oct. 1-Dec. 31*
Jan. 1-7
50,000
25,000
0 It’s like when Netflix asks if you’re
2020 ’22 ’24
*Oct. 1-Dec. 31 of prior year
Note: Downloads from Apple's App Store and Google
Play. Rocket Money was formerly known as Truebill.
Source: data.ai
search paper on subscriptions is
that they found a clever way to
measure such inertia. How? By
looking at what happens when
credit cards expire, are lost or sto-
len and have to be replaced.
To almost everyone on the planet,
this is a nuisance. But to econo-
mists, it’s a natural experiment.
They recognized that getting a
new card is one of the rare times
you must actively renew your auto-
matically renewing subscriptions,
since you have to update the pay-
ment information on file with
those companies. The economists
analyzed millions of transactions
from a large payment network and
found a clear pattern in the
months when credit cards are re-
placed: There is “a sharp, abnormal
drop” in subscription retention.
The study focused on 10 major
( ) j p
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
subscription services and people
who became subscribers over an
extended time period. In the aver-
age month, the services lost 2% of
those customers. But in the months
of card replacement, they lost 8%.
The goal of any good subscrip-
tion service is to be sticky enough
that it becomes a habit. You
shouldn’t forget that you’re a sub-
scriber. You should have a reason
to remember every day. Still, there
are plenty of industries that have
long relied on customers who
never use the product. You buy a
gym membership in January, stop
going in February but keep paying
because you want to believe that
one day you’ll wake up and get
back on the elliptical. Meanwhile,
your credit card is getting a work-
out every month.
But these economists weren’t
looking at your local gym. They
studied big subscription services
across entertainment, security, re-
tail goods and, yes, newspapers.
They say that every single one ben-
efited from subscriber inattention.
I asked the people who thought
about this curious problem of the
subscription economy if they had
come up with any solutions. Einav
floated two ideas.
The first is a simple prompt that
asks a basic question whenever you
sign up for a subscription: How of-
ten do you want to renew that sub-
scription? Maybe it’s every month.
Maybe it’s every year. Maybe it’s
never—but at least that’s a choice
and not the default. It would make
a difference: The economists calcu-
lated that requiring this kind of ac-
tive choice every six months re-
duces the excess payments from
inertia by half.
The second one is for the digital
subscriptions that have come to
dominate our lives. It’s hard to
miss a package of coffee beans or a
meal kit for beef bibimbap when
they land on your doorstep. It’s
way too easy to lose track of all
your online services.
But they know exactly how much
you’re using your subscription—or
not using it. They could use that
data to your advantage instead of
theirs.
Netflix already does. The
streaming giant asks inactive mem-
bers who haven’t watched the ser-
vice in years if they want to keep
their accounts and cancels their
subscriptions if they don’t respond.
still watching when you’ve fallen
asleep on the couch—except this
policy actually saves you money.
You don’t have to be an econom-
ics professor to understand why
other services would be reluctant
to implement these changes that
would cost them revenue. But soon
they might not have a choice: The
Federal Trade Commission recently
proposed a new rule that would re-
quire most companies to provide
annual subscription reminders.
Of course, you could just scruti-
nize your bills for unwanted sub-
scription charges. Or you could get
technology to do it for you.
One of the automated services
that identifies and cancels your
subscriptions is Rocket Money,
which gets a boost every January,
when people make New Year’s res-
olutions to get smarter about sub-
ILLUSTRATION BY RUTH GWILY
scription maintenance. There’s a
free version of the app, but to ac-
cess premium features, you have to
spring for a monthly subscription.
That’s right: To stop paying for
subscriptions, it might pay to
start one.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | B3

EXCHANGE
BY KEACH HAGEY AND At one point a decade ago,
JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
Print Is ‘Meaningless Dribble,’ Smith grew organic produce on his

C
onservative media mo-
gul David Smith owns a
local-TV behemoth and
has a long-held distrust
of print media, which
he once said serves “no real pur-
pose.”
Then last week, Smith agreed to
buy his hometown paper, the Bal-
timore Sun.
The deal, which marked the pa-
per’s return to local ownership for
the first time since the 1980s, was
surprising, not only due to Smith’s
well-documented dislike of print
journalism but also because the
seller, investment fund Alden
Global Capital, is mostly known for
buying, not selling, newspapers.
During a meeting with Sun
staffers, Smith told the crowd he
had paid “a nine-figure number,”
which would be at least $100 mil-
lion, for the publication he said he
read only rarely, according to at-
tendees.
A Baltimore native, Smith
helped expand the company that
owned the city’s TV station, which
his father founded, into one of the
country’s largest local-TV opera-
tors, Sinclair, which owns or oper-
ates 185 television stations in 86
markets. Though he has little
name recognition among the gen-
eral public, Smith is among the
most powerful U.S. media execu-
tives, given the influence local TV
has long had in politics and Sin-
clair’s extraordinary reach in
American living rooms.
Sinclair, where Smith currently
serves as executive chairman,
made headlines in 2018 for requir-
ing news anchors at dozens of its
local stations to read a segment
saying they were concerned about
“the troubling trend of irresponsi-
ble, one-sided news stories plagu-
ing our country.”
When New York Magazine at-
tempted to interview Smith a few
months before the incident, he de-
clined, saying: “The print media is
so left wing as to be meaningless
dribble which accounts for why
the industry is and will fade away.
Just no credibility.”
The 73-year-old Smith, who de-
clined to comment, has told the
Baltimore Sun that he was in the
news business because he believes
“we have an absolute responsibil-
ity to serve the public interest.”
He added: “I think the paper can
be hugely profitable.”
Smith is purchasing the Sun
personally with his longtime busi-
ness partner, conservative com-
mentator Armstrong Williams, not
through Sinclair. The size of Wil-
liams’s contribution couldn’t be
learned.
“We want all voices,” Williams
said of the Sun. “We want it to be
neutral.”
In the meeting with staff on
Tuesday, Smith focused on the
BALTIMORE BUSINESS JOURNAL
Said the Baltimore Sun’s Buyer
David Smith built Sinclair into one of the country’s largest operators of
local-TV stations, circumventing federal ownership rules along the way
performance of local public
schools.
In recordings of the meeting ob-
tained by the Baltimore Banner,
Smith said that fixing the Balti-
more school system is the only
way to fix problems stemming
from a “Baltimore City inner city
lifestyle” in which city schools
turn out students who were des-
tined to be jobless and “always go-
ing to be on welfare.” He accused
the school system of “taxpayer
fraud” for accepting money for
students who weren’t in school. A
spokeswoman for the city’s
schools told the Banner such re-
As to his role as an owner, he
pointed to his active role in the
Fox45 newsroom, which he said he
regards as a “test bed” for the
kinds of stories that will work na-
tionally.
Growth has been hard to come
by in the local news world, where
for years papers have endured
budget cuts and layoffs, with
many shutting down or operating
without a single full-time staffer.
“You have to give him credit for
taking on the challenges of a busi-
ness that has been deeply im-
pacted by the power of the tech
platforms,” said veteran media
advertising dollars to online plat-
forms and people got their news
elsewhere. The Baltimore Sun had
roughly 600 union members in
1999; today the union represents
about 70, said Cetewayo Parks, ex-
ecutive director of the Washing-
ton-Baltimore News Guild, which
represents Sun journalists.
Williams said one of the ways
he and Smith could lead the Sun
to success would be to cross-pro-
mote its content across the televi-
sion assets that he and Smith own.
“It’s something we’ve got to look
at,” he said.
Sinclair didn’t respond to re-
own farm in the Baltimore suburb
of Cockeysville, Md., to serve at a
farm-to-table restaurant called
Cunningham’s in Towson, Md.,
part of a broader restaurant group
that he owned. He also owns a car
dealership chain called MileOne
Autogroup.
Sinclair tested the limits of Fed-
eral Communications Commission
rules that restrict how much of a
local market a big TV-station
group can control. Occasionally,
Sinclair relied on partners who of-
ficially owned some stations but
let Sinclair operate them, known
as “sidecar agreements.”
One of the sidecar companies
that Sinclair has long used is How-
ard Stirk Holdings, which is owned
by Williams. Another is Cunning-
ham Broadcasting, named after
Smith’s mother, Carolyn Cunning-
ham.
Smith has previously said that
such agreements were necessary
for local broadcasters to compete
in a media landscape increasingly
dominated by big tech and cable
companies. The FCC slammed the
brakes on the practice in 2018,
moving to
block Sinclair’s
‘I think the $3.9 billion
paper can be purchase of
hugely dozens of sta-
profitable,’ says tions from
Smith of the Tribune Me-
Baltimore Sun dia.
newspaper. Ever since,
Williams said
he and Smith
have felt stymied by their inability
to do more TV-station deals. Sin-
clair did purchase Fox’s regional
sports channels in 2019, a deal
that saddled the company with $8
billion in debt and turned out to
be a misstep when cable cord-cut-
ting accelerated. Those assets are
in bankruptcy; a restructuring
deal announced this week would
give Amazon an ownership posi-
tion and streaming rights for the
channels.
Smith and Williams turned
their attention to the Sun, Wil-
liams said, which was on the block
a few years ago as Alden and a ri-
val group led by Maryland hotel
magnate Stewart Bainum Jr. were
battling to buy Tribune Publishing,
which in addition to the Sun
owned multiple papers including
the Chicago Tribune and New York
Daily News.
Alden eventually prevailed, and
Bainum, who had his sights on the
Sun, went on to launch Baltimore
Banner, a rival news website that
employs many former Sun staff-
ers.
Alden declined to comment. In
a statement following news of the
sale of the Baltimore Sun to Smith,
Guy Gilmore, chief operating offi-
cer of Alden’s MediaNews Group,
said: “We are always open to dis-
cussions about local ownership.”

need for the Sun to build a larger
audience, according to meeting at-
tendees. He suggested the paper
could do that by following the lead
of the local Sinclair TV station,
Fox45, whose investigative series
“Project Baltimore” focuses on the
marks were “offensive.”
He also discussed the ballot ini-
tiative he funded in 2022 to insti-
tute term limits in city govern-
ment, which passed, calling it “an
indictment of what people think of
government.”
banker John Chachas.
Founded in 1837, the Baltimore
Sun counts such literary journal-
ists as H.L. Mencken and Russell
Baker among its alumni. Like
many local newspapers, it lost
ground as marketers shifted their
quests for comment.
The son of Julian Sinclair
Smith, an electrical engineer who
founded Baltimore’s WBFF televi-
sion station, David Smith built
Sinclair into a local-TV giant
alongside his three brothers.
“I took a gamble because I was
prepared to say, honestly, I don’t
care if it ever makes any money,”
Smith told the newsroom, accord-
ing to the recording obtained by
the Banner. “I’m going to fix this
paper.”

Skydance Worldwide box office of Skydance Productions’ top-grossing films

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
$1.5 billion
opted to study filmmaking at the Uni-
versity of Southern California, instead
of attending one of the Ivy League
schools where he had been accepted.
starting to be pitched elsewhere. Elli-
son told Salke Amazon was making a
mistake by passing on “Cross,” which
he believed could be another

Makes a Mission: Impossible—Fallout (2018)

0.79
Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol (2011)
He dropped out in pursuit of real-life
experience. With his blond hair and
steely blue eyes, he co-starred as a
“Reacher.” An hour later Salke called
back and gave the series the green
light, a person familiar with the con-

Major Play 0.69

Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation (2015)
0.68
World War I fighter pilot in the 2006
film “Flyboys” in his 20s. The movie—
much of which was funded by his fa-
versation said.

Continued from page B1
When major studios such as Warner
Bros. and Disney decided to stop sell-
ing to Netflix and other streaming
platforms and instead focus on build-
ing their own, Skydance saw an open-
ing and pounced.
Among its credits are Netflix’s Ar-
nold Schwarzenegger action show
“Fubar” and Amazon Prime Video’s hit
show “Reacher.” Skydance made “The
Family Plan,” starring Mark Wahlberg,
for Apple TV+, the service’s most-
watched movie ever.
Skydance, which now has about 1,300
employees, partnered with Paramount
on Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick”
and “Mission: Impossible—Dead Reck-
oning: Part One,” as well as “Trans-
formers: Rise of the Beasts” and addi-
tional “Mission Impossible” and “Top
Gun” movies that are in the works.
The company has had misfires, too,
including the movies such as the Will
Smith vehicle “Gemini Man” and “Ter-
minator: Dark Fate,” which were criti-
cal and commercial disappointments.
A recurring knock on Ellison is that
his tastes are pedestrian. His sister
Megan’s Annapurna Pictures makes
critically acclaimed fare such as
“Booksmart,” “She Said” and “Zero
PARAMOUNT/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION
Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
0.57
World War Z (2013)
0.54
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
0.47
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
0.44
Terminator Genisys (2015)
0.44
GI Joe: Retaliation (2013)
0.38
Source: Comscore
make sophisticated programming for
millions of people.”
Skydance has committed hundreds
of millions of dollars to animation, hir-
ing former Pixar creative chief John
Lasseter in 2019 as head of its anima-
tion unit, which has ballooned to 800
employees. But it has had mixed suc-
cess: Apple and Skydance ended an
animation partnership after just one
movie—2022’s “Luck.” Its first ani-
mated movie for Netflix, “Spellbound,”
is set to make its debut later this year.
Learning to fly
Ellison was raised primarily by his
mother, and as a child was obsessed
ther—flopped, as did a second movie,
“Northern Lights,” that he produced
and starred in.
With cash from his father and advice
from mentors including Steve Jobs and
David Geffen, he launched Skydance.
Advice on how to navigate the snake
pit of Hollywood dealmaking came
from insiders such as renowned lawyer
Skip Brittenham and Jeff Berg, a pow-
erful agent and Oracle board member.
Ellison’s father was close with Jobs,
the Apple co-founder who was also
the architect of Pixar Animation Stu-
dios, offering young David a front-row
 Tom Cruise in ‘Top seat for the creation of one of the late
Gun: Maverick.’ 20th century’s most successful enter-
tainment companies. Among the les-
sons: It’s important to take a hands-on
David Ellison approach to matters large and small,
 Wings: Started and you don’t stop working on some-
flying when he was thing until it’s great. He also learned
13 and got his from Jobs that while knowing how to
pilot’s license at 16. negotiate is important, nobody goes to
see deals—they go to see movies.
 A family Ellison proved to be a deft deal-
business: Younger maker and producer. His first movie
sister Megan also from a co-financing deal with Para-
heads a successful mount was “True Grit,” a hit western
movie company, that earned 10 Oscar nominations.
Annapurna Pictures.
Ellison steeps himself in the details
 Go-Between: of a project and can talk about bud-
Played a key role in gets, shooting schedules and market-
A lasting business
With Ellison’s attention to detail
comes grumbling from those he works
with that he also can be inflexible in a
business that often requires compro-
mise. He doesn’t seem to distinguish
between projects for which Skydance
is a quiet financier versus a creative
partner, some studio executives say.
Should Ellison’s deal to buy a ma-
jority stake in National Amusements
work, it will give him power over an
iconic studio and a vast library of
films and TV shows. He will also have
to determine the future of Para-
mount’s CBS broadcast network, a
struggling cable business that’s home
to MTV and Nickelodeon, and a 1,300-
screen movie theater chain.
Paramount’s next owner will also
have to decide whether to keep
pumping cash into its Paramount+
streaming service, which is battling
much bigger and richer competitors.
In addition to the Ellison family,
stakeholders in the closely held Sky-
dance include private-equity firms
Redbird Capital Partners and KKR as
well as Chinese videogame and social-
media company Tencent Holdings.
Skydance said it surpassed $4 billion
in value in 2022 after raising $400
million in new capital.

Dark Thirty,” which won an Oscar for
best picture in 2013. Skydance content
has more populist appeal.
That can be an asset in a town of-
ten criticized for being too coastal and
insular in greenlighting film and TV
projects.
“He’s not looking down on the
masses,” said Ann Blanchard of Cre-
ative Artists Agency. “He wants to
with flying and movies. He learned to
fly a plane at 13 and by his late teens,
was participating in air shows and do-
ing competition aerobatics, steering
planes through complex maneuvers to
entertain crowds below.
When he wasn’t in the air, his
mother would often take him and his
younger sister, Megan, to the movies.
To his father’s chagrin, Ellison
negotiations ing with expertise, said executives
between Hollywood who have worked with Skydance on
studios and striking movies and television shows.
writers as he was After the successful debut of
seen as a neutral “Reacher” on Prime Video in 2022, El-
party. lison called Amazon Studios chief Jen
 Full house: Salke to make the case to order a se-
Ellison is married ries based on James Patterson’s Alex
with two children. Cross novels. The project had been
languishing there since 2020 and was
While the studio doesn’t disclose its
results, people familiar with its fi-
nances say it has been profitable for
several years, including 2023.
“No one should underestimate his
commitment to building a lasting
business,” said United Talent Agency
partner Chris Hart.
—Jessica Toonkel contributed to this
article.
 p y
B4 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024
Where the Global
Elite Run Out of
Wine and Rooms
Continued from page B1
tion, a blockchain group, took over
the English Church and called it the
Filecoin Sanctuary. Investment giant
KKR held meetings in the part of the
Belvedere Hotel that is normally the
spa and used for treatments. The ho-
tel swapped out a massage table for
a meeting table.
The chief executive of the London
Stock Exchange Group, David Schwim-
mer, took a meeting in a hotel kids
club, with purple walls and cubbies.
The toys were stashed away in a loft.
One storefront remained un-
touched: The Credit Suisse branch in
town hasn’t been updated to remove
the nation’s big failed bank.
The hot hotel
Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice,
Bridgewater hedge-fund investor Ray
Dalio and President Trump’s son-in-
law Jared Kushner found common
ground in an unusual power center:
The Hilton Garden Inn.
A-Listers flocked to the hotel, a
usually less-expensive option among
Hilton brands, for its prime location
as one of few accommodations inside
the security zone of the World Eco-
nomic Forum. Its 146 rooms were
hard to snag. Some top executives set-
tled for a room with two double beds.
Blackstone CEO Stephen A.
Schwarzman was spotted in a tête-
à-tête with Kushner. In past years,
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and
Apple’s Tim Cook have each held
court there.
 Connections to the staff
Bill Gates helped CEO Stanley Bergman snag
and two coveted tables at the ground-
Belgium’s floor-lobby restaurant for meet-
Prime ings, the head of medical device sup-
Minister plier Henry Schein said. Bergman
Alexander has stayed at the Davos hot spot since
De Croo 2016. (A table for two runs 150 Swiss
grab a francs an hour, or about $170.)
beer. “If you really know the right people
you can get a customized egg,” he said.
Camping out in the gym
Accommodations were so scarce that
some attendees accepted beds in
makeshift hotel rooms. One executive
arrived at her hotel up the mountain
in Davos—not the Hilton Garden
Inn—only to be given a flashlight.
Her room, which contained beds
set up in what is typically an exercise
space, didn’t come with its own bath-
room; the flashlight was to navigate
to a shared restroom down the hall.
 guards and told he’d need to register
It’s a party.
SkyBridge
The wine party that ran
Capital’s out of wine
Anthony It is an annual tradition: an evening
Scaramucci, wine party hosted by SkyBridge Capi-
far left, with tal founder and (briefly) Trump ad-
Gen. Mark viser Anthony Scaramucci.
Milley, Bartenders poured Château Latour
former Bordeaux wines—which can retail for
House more than $1,000 a bottle—alongside
Speaker bottles of white wine and bubbly.
Paul Ryan Guests including Goldman Sachs
and Sen. economist Jan Hatzius and Gen.
Chris Coons. Mark Milley were mingling in the
p p
EXCHANGE
dimly lit room at the Hotel Europe.
Then it ran dry.
By around 11 p.m., bartenders
were serving water.
Scaramucci said he ran into sup-
ply-chain issues.
“We will hope to be back next year
and promise to get the wine order to
match the heavy consumption of our
happy guests,” Scaramucci said.
Like most things in Davos, there
was a pecking order. In a smaller
backroom requiring an exclusive
wristband—or a nod from Scara-
mucci—to get past security guards at
the entry, the wine flowed. Former
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and
Sen. Chris Coons, the Democrat from
Delaware, packed in alongside finance
executives and public relations pro
Jennifer Prosek. Some double-fisted
glasses of French and Italian wines.
Bring on the night
Sting was this year’s musical artist
du jour. He performed at Salesforce’s
big fete Thursday night and was also
spotted around town.
He went to a party held by RED,
the advocacy group founded by Bono,
and Bank of America Wednesday
night, as did former British Prime
Minister Tony Blair. The illusionist
David Blaine performed magic tricks
for attendees, who went home with a
RED-branded beverage tumbler.
The Salesforce party was at capac-
ity before Sting went on stage, forc-
ing a line of senior executives like
advertising veteran Sir Martin Sor-
rell and geopolitical analyst Ian
Bremmer to wait in line for others to
leave. Inside the small venue, Sting
played classics like “Every Breath
You Take” and “Roxanne” to a crowd
that included executives from Uber
Technologies, Amazon, OpenAI and
Goldman Sachs.
Other big musical acts this past
week include Wyclef Jean, who did a
private set at Goals House, the lodge
on a golf course transformed to tout
United Nations sustainable develop-
ment goals. Sheryl Crow played a
small concert organized by Micro-
soft, according to one attendee. And
will.i.am was spotted at multiple
events, too—though he didn’t have to
wait in line to get into Salesforce’s
Thursday evening party.
Biggest security flex
After traveling to Zurich via private
plane and arriving in Davos after
midnight, a well-known private-eq-
uity billionaire went to check into
the Hilton Garden Inn.
But he was stopped by security
for his conference credentials before
he could enter the hotel. Retrieving
his badge, of course, wouldn’t be pos-
sible until the following day.
Exhausted and quickly losing feel-
ing in his extremities as he paced
outside, the investor called the
driver who’d picked him up in Zu-
rich. He ended up catching a few
hours of sleep on a couch in the
driver’s apartment.
Why not just call Klaus Schwab,
the World Economic Forum’s chair-
person and a personal friend? He
p g
* ***
didn’t want to wake him up.
No line-free free lunch
One of the hottest daytime party
tickets is the annual Swedish Lunch,
a nonprofit event, underwritten by
sponsors including Swiss bank UBS,
the Zurich Aston Martin dealership
and the U.N.’s Department of Eco-
nomic and Social Affairs. Held
within—and outside—the 124-year
old Schatzalp Hotel high above the
town of Davos, it bills itself as pro-
moting “Swedish values of sustain-
ability, equality, innovation and in-
clusive growth.”
Attendees lined up to pack into a
funicular, which takes four minutes
to trundle up almost half a mile. At
the top, the hulking Schatzalp
loomed. The vibe: a mix of “The
Sound of Music” with “The Shining.”
When word came that the meat-
balls were served, lines quickly grew
at several serving stations, each with
one chafing dish of the Swedish clas-
sic and another brimming with
mashed potatoes. Tensions briefly
rose when confused new arrivals ac-
cidentally cut the lines. But all re-
mained good-humored.
After eating, people crowded into
a makeshift auditorium for presenta-
tions from speakers including the
head of a foundation established by
Ikea’s founder, the U.N.’s deputy high
commissioner for refugees, and the
CEO of hunger-relief group Feeding
America on investing, leadership and
international security among other
topics. An overflow crowd peeked in
through glass doors.
A royal audience for
Bill Gates
Bill Gates is no stranger to Davos,
but this year he changed things up
by appearing onstage to be inter-
viewed by Belgian Prime Minister Al-
exander De Croo, in front of a stand-
ing crowd that included Belgium’s
King Philippe, Queen Mathilde and
fashion royalty Diane von Fursten-
berg, who is also a Belgian.
Gates spoke about Breakthrough
Energy, his organization seeking to
catalyze innovation and investment
in clean power. The organization’s
European operation is based in Bel-
gium, which holds the European
Union’s rotating 6-month presidency,
so for the first time it opened a pro-
motional center at the WEF.
Afterward Gates poured himself a
Stella Artois and De Croo sampled
Belgian chocolates.
Beating the Davos traffic
The avowedly climate-friendly confer-
ence turned the small Swiss ski town
into a near-continuous traffic jam. At
peak times it took almost an hour to
get from one end of town to the other,
a distance of about 2 miles.
Jason Bordoff, founding director of
Columbia University’s Center on
Global Energy Policy, found a solu-
tion: an electric bike with fat snow
tires. Bordoff zipped past the stalled
traffic and locked up his bike outside
hotels and other meeting venues.
“It has its downsides, to be clear,
( ) j p
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
including the risk of sliding on ice— 
I took a nasty fall last year—or hav- Davos,
ing melted snow kick up mud all Switzerland,
over your suit,” Bordoff said. fills up
during the
World
Ultimate status symbol Economic
Many attendees schlepped around Forum.
town in puffy coats and hats with
their most durable snow boots. Upon 
arrival at a hotel or bar, many waited Professor
on lengthy lines to check coats. Jason
Ruth Porat, Alphabet’s chief fi- Bordoff
nancial officer, stepped out of the gets to
Alpine Inn hotel after a party in a meetings
sleek black blazer—no heavy coat on his fat-
shielding her from the icy air. She tire bike.
was running late for a dinner, she
said, as she walked toward a large
black car waiting to whisk her away.
The Davos caste system
Attendees at the World Economic
Forum needed only a quick glance at
a badge around someone’s neck to
gauge if they are worth schmoozing
with. The coveted white badges put
attendees at the top of the pecking
order, allowing access to nearly all
of the events.
Many in the media had orange
press badges that provide more lim-
ited access—but still get bearers
into the Congress Center, a labyrinth
of meeting and event rooms down a
sloping hill where the official World
Economic Forum takes place.
Some had brown badges with less
access. “I’m just a nobody this year,”
said one attendee with such a
badge.
Some had inferior “hotel badges,”
which gave access to some of the
main hotels, though not the main
Congress Center.
FROM TOP: ANDY BARTON/SOPA IMAGES/ZUMA PRESS; JOCELYN TARBOX; ERIC LALMAND/BELGA NEWS AGENCY/ZUMA PRESS; DANIEL MICHAELS/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL; ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI
There are the green badges. “This 
badge basically says, ‘I’m a gopher,’” A lunch of
said one attendee. She said the Swedish
badge allows her to go everywhere meatballs
with her white badge-holding boss, at the
but has its limitations. When escort- Schatzalp
ing her boss to a panel, one of the Hotel that
WEF door monitors “looked at my overlooks
badge and said, ‘staff.’” Davos and
A small dog was spotted running the Alps.
around the coat check area as peo-
ple were leaving the Belvedere hotel.
It wasn’t wearing a badge.
A reliable Davos pastime
One World Economic Forum tradi-
tion is taking inventory of just how
wrong predictions at the previous
year’s gathering turned out to be. In
January 2020, the Davos set barely
registered the worrisome virus
spreading in China that went on to
dominate the next several years.
Investors in attendance a year
ago anticipated a gloomy year in the
markets, then the S&P 500 ended
2023 up 24%.
“Whatever is said at Davos, it’s
just the beginning,” said Manolo
Falcó, a senior banker at Citigroup.
“And most of the time, what ends up
happening is exactly the opposite.”
—Emily Glazer, Jenny Strasburg,
Cara Lombardo, Daniel Michaels,
Kimberly S. Johnson, Marie
Beaudette, Francesca Fontana
contributed to this article
 p y
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
This Overhyped Tech Is No Longer Coming Soon
As a sugar high of free money wears off, these three technologies are finally facing reality
The past decade was
chockablock with
ideas that were easy
to demo, and impos-
sible to transform
into a real business.
A historic era of
low interest rates is over, and so
is the flow of endless free money
to prop up such enterprises. As
companies are failing, and corpo-
rate sponsors scale back invest-
ment, it’s now apparent just
which technologies these are: the
metaverse, blockchain and auton-
omous vehicles.
The fact that these technolo-
gies aren’t living up to their hype
doesn’t mean they’re doomed for-
ever. But it does mean that a
time of contraction and disinvest-
ment in them may only be just
beginning.
Some investors have warned us
since 2015, at least, that the ven-
ture-capital industry and the com-
panies it supported were in a
place of irrational exuberance—
and those predictions are finally
coming to pass.
The metaverse
It’s been just over two years since
the company formerly known as
Facebook changed its name to
Meta, in part to signal its commit-
ment to the metaverse. And what
a commitment it’s been: Meta has
been losing between $3 billion and
$4 billion a quarter on its meta-
verse bet for the past two years.
The metaverse was supposed to
be a three-dimensional virtual
world, an alternative to the real
one, in which we carry out all
manner of activities we’d other-
wise have to leave our home to ac-
complish, like socializing and
shopping. It made a lot of sense in
a world in which people were in-
clined to stay home, but now that
we’ve all remembered how nice it
is to touch grass? Not so much.
It would probably be a surprise
to 2021-era Mark Zuckerberg that
Meta’s most notable successes of
the past 18 months were the com-
pany’s TikTok-like Reels feature in
Instagram, and a Twitter clone
called Threads. This could help ex-
plain why, lately, Meta has
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: FACEBOOK/REUTERS; JOHN G. MABANGLO/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK; MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES
changed course and de-empha-
sized the way its headsets im-
merse you in a virtual world. In-
stead, it’s pushing the devices’
potential to overlay virtual ele-
ments on the real world—aug-
mented reality.
In a deft bit of corporate spin,
Meta has found a way around ad-
mitting that, between lackluster
sales of its headsets and the aban-
donment of the technology by con-
tent creators, its push into VR was
a mistake. About a year ago, Meta
rebranded the new augmented-re-
ality functionality in its headsets
as “Meta Reality.” It’s a bit like
finding a new partner who has the
same name as your last one, so you
don’t have to get a tattoo removed.
Meta’s chief technology officer,
Andrew Bosworth, wrote at the
end of 2022 that “this year was
even harder than we expected.” By
June of 2023 he sounded more up-
beat, as he announced the com-
pany’s Reality Labs would be pur-
Taxing Issues
About Your
Side Hustle
Continued from page B1
era electric skillet on eBay could
be required to ascertain its origi-
nal cost to prepare the tax return.
For its part, the IRS was wary
of a blizzard of new forms, many
of them useless. A recent study by
the Government Accountability Of-
fice said the $600 threshold would
bring about 44 million 1099-Ks for
2023—30 million more than in the
past.
Late in tax years 2022 and
2023, the agency used its author-
ity to delay the $600 threshold
and continue the prior one. In ad-
dition, it’s planning a $5,000
threshold for 1099-K forms in
2024—although Congress could
change that.
The bottom line is that platform
users have a lot to keep abreast of.
Here’s what to know now.
 1099-K REPORTING RULES FOR
KIERSTEN ESSENPREIS
TAX YEAR 2023. The IRS an-
nounced in November that the
threshold for online platforms to
report potentially taxable income
on Form 1099-K for 2023 is once
p p
* * * *
KEYWORDS | CHRISTOPHER MIMS
suing augmented reality, which he
called “an early milestone in one
of the biggest changes likely to
come to computing in our life-
times.” And by December, he was
touting the way that the com-
pany’s Ray Ban smart glasses
point the way to a future in which
augmented-reality headsets be-
come the primary way that people
use AI to help them interact with
the world.
Pivoting to augmented (or
“mixed”) reality, and throwing
some AI on top, might yet justify
Meta’s investment in face-based
computers. This is, after all, the
same path Apple is pursuing with
its Vision Pro headset.
But it’s clear that heavy, face-
hugging VR and AR goggles have a
long way to go before people are
comfortable using them as a pri-
mary device, and that today’s
smart glasses aren’t yet powerful
enough to realize this vision.
Blockchain
Bitcoin is having a moment on ac-
count of the U.S. Securities and Ex-
change Commission approving bit-
coin exchange-traded funds, but
that’s hardly a validation of the
underlying tech—blockchain. If
anything, the adoption of bitcoin
ETFs by mainstream financial com-
panies casts a harsh light on the
failure of every other expression of
blockchain to produce anything of
real substance or value—yet.
It’s easy to forget that just a
couple of years ago, blockchain
revolutionaries were going to re-
boot the entire internet by build-
ing it atop so-called “Web3” tech-
nologies. The big idea was turning
anything you might want to pos-
sess or trade—from artworks and
in-game currency to carbon cred-
its known as “goddess nature to-
kens” into non-duplicable units of
data that lived on blockchains.
These “tokens” could then be
again $20,000 of gross income and
200 transactions. Say someone
bought six tickets to a concert for
$250 each last year and resold four
of them for $1,000 each through a
reselling platform. The platform
doesn’t need to report the seller’s
$4,000 of income to the IRS.
To be sure, this seller probably
owes Uncle Sam tax on her sales.
If the IRS finds out about them
EXCHANGE
U.S. venture-capital deal activity
$7 billion
Cryptocurrency
6 bets to bear fruit. They’re urging
Autonomous cars
Virtual reality
5 places in the sector to invest.
4 Horowitz crypto research partner
3
2 chains—as one example.
1 of this application are scant. In
0 did one experiment with issuing
2021 ’22 ’23 ’24
Note: 2024 through Jan. 18 Source: PitchBook
traded, traced and accessed by any
company or individual.
“There are people who are still
building in Web3, but it’s nothing
like it once was,” says Molly
White, a software developer who
researches Web3 and cryptocur-
rency projects. “A lot of the hype
and funding that would come in
just for mentioning blockchain has
moved on to AI or whatever they
think is the next cash cow,” she
adds. (White is hardly alone in
noting the rapid shift of capital
and hype from crypto to artificial
intelligence.)
Others argue that all the hype
and fraud that resulted from
broad adoption and light regula-
tion of crypto has obscured what
is fundamentally useful about
blockchains. At least in theory,
they can make ownership of assets
transparent and transferrable in a
way that can make them more ac-
cessible.
A handful of Silicon Valley ven-
ture-capital firms generated huge
returns through crypto invest-
ments right up to the crash of
FTX, the crypto-trading platform.
and she hasn’t paid tax due, she
would likely owe interest and pen-
alties. On the other hand, the
higher 1099-K threshold for 2023
will bring relief to millions of ca-
sual sellers unloading items for
less than they acquired them for.
One is Grace Tully, a 25-year-old
marketing manager and celebrity
stylist in New York City. She has
been selling her unwanted clothing
p g
Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | B5
 Meta has been
losing between
$3 billion and
$4 billion a
quarter on its
metaverse bet.
 Cruise pulled
its driverless cars
off U.S. streets in
October.
 A reproduction
of a ‘Bored Ape’
non-fungible
token.
Now, that well is drying up,
though there are still true believ-
ers at the VC firms who argue
that it will take longer for their
patience, and looking for new
Scott Kominers, an Andreessen
and Harvard Business School pro-
fessor, cites tickets to events, sold
as nonfungible tokens—a type of
token that can live on block-
So far, however, the examples
March of last year, Ticketmaster
tickets connected to NFTs, at the
request of a band, and a trade
show in Indiana made selling
NFT-based tickets a central gim-
mick of the conference.
Autonomous vehicles
Today, in a few cities, under the
right conditions, in a limited geo-
graphical area, you can ride in a
self-driving car.
But saying widespread autono-
mous vehicles are right around the
corner in this day and age is like
saying in 1897 that electric vehi-
cles were poised to take over, on
account of New York City having
an all-electric taxi fleet. (Which it
did, at the time.) Like EVs—which
even now are experiencing chal-
lenges to their adoption—autono-
mous vehicles are one of those
technologies whose success is tak-
ing far longer than initial demon-
strations and promises would have
had us believe.
The barriers to rollout of auton-
omous vehicles, or AVs, are myr-
iad. For example, they shift liabil-
ity from the driver to the
manufacturer of a vehicle, or the
operator of a robotaxi service.
That’s just one reason they can’t
just be as good as human drivers—
but in fact must be much safer.
for three years on Poshmark, a
popular site for reselling luxury
goods. She says she has made less
than $4,000 annually and typically
doesn’t make a profit.
“I’d rather sell for less and get
some money back than have the
clothes sit in my closet. The $600
threshold would have been a di-
saster,” she says.
 STATE-TAX REPORTING FOR
2023 INCOME FROM PLATFORMS.
While the IRS’s reset of the 1099-K
threshold for 2023 helps shrink
federal tax reporting by the plat-
forms, several states have lower
thresholds. Sellers in these states
could soon receive 1099-K forms
for 2023 showing income reported
to state tax departments.
Maryland, Massachusetts, Ver-
mont, Virginia and the District of
Columbia have a $600 threshold in
effect for 2023, says Kelli Wooten,
a principal with KPMG who spe-
cializes in this area. North Caro-
lina and Montana also have a $600
threshold, although state tax offi-
cials have said these states may
offer relief.
Wooten adds that in New Jer-
sey the threshold is $1,000, while
in Illinois it is $1,000 and four
transactions. In California, where
the federal 1099-K threshold ap-
plies for most platform sellers,
there’s an exception for drivers
working with firms such as Uber
and Lyft. For them, the 2023
threshold remains $600.
( ) j p
“When you move people in cit-
ies, you can’t afford to kill them—
that’s the crucial issue,” says Heidi
Wyle, chief executive of autono-
mous-vehicle company Venti
Technologies.
The other big obstacle is cost.
The savings that were supposed to
come from autonomous vehicles
have been largely wiped out by the
arrays of sensors—cameras, radar
and lidar—and the heavy-duty
computers they have to carry on-
board to process all that data.
Plus, there’s the cost of mapping
and remapping the areas these ve-
hicles drive.
Arlington, Texas, is a prime ex-
ample of economic forces holding
back AV adoption. The city has no
conventional mass-transit sys-
tem—no bus or rail—but instead
contracts with a company called
Via Transportation to operate a
fleet of minivans. Citizens can re-
serve rides in the city, making the
service a kind of subsidized Uber.
Arlington is also currently part-
nering with AV company May Mo-
bility to offer some rides, but
there’s not yet any urgency to
switch to AVs, says Arlington
transportation manager Ann Foss.
The city has no trouble hiring
drivers for its human-driven fleet,
she adds.
What all three of these technol-
ogies—the metaverse, blockchain
and AVs—have in common, says
Kominers of Andreessen Horowitz,
is that they’re all “general pur-
pose” technologies that must fit in
with all kinds of other things, in-
cluding laws, infrastructure, and
people’s expectations.
And changing everything about
a society—from how it regulates
crypto and whether people are
comfortable doing their work in
VR, to laws over who is liable in
the event of an autonomous vehi-
cle crash—may take a lot longer
than the billions already invested
in these technologies can last.
For more information, platform
users should check their state tax
website. Ms. Wooten also advises
vendors who move to another state
to alert their platforms of the
change of address to avoid hassles.
 1099-K REPORTING RULES FOR
TAX YEAR 2024. In its November
announcement resetting the 1099-
K threshold for 2023, the IRS also
said it’s planning a $5,000 thresh-
old for 1099-K forms for 2024.
This is intended to exempt many
casual sellers who aren’t earning
taxable income from their sales,
like Ms. Tully.
Shortly after this announce-
ment, however, Republicans on the
House Ways & Means Committee
sent a letter to the IRS saying the
agency had exceeded its legal au-
thority in planning a $5,000
threshold for 2024 while the
threshold set by Congress is still
$600. They called the move “a
lawless act.”
They also asked IRS Commis-
sioner Daniel Werfel to testify
about it, although a date for his
appearance before Congress hasn’t
been announced. While a tax pack-
age currently under consideration
in Congress would raise reporting
thresholds for two other 1099
forms, there is no provision affect-
ing 1099-K forms.
The upshot is that 1099-K report-
ing rules for 2024 are an unsettled
area that will—once again—need to
be resolved before year-end.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

B6 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

MARKETS DIGEST
Dow Jones Industrial Average S&P 500 Index Nasdaq Composite Index Track the Markets: Winners and Losers
Last Year ago Last Year ago Last Year ago A look at how selected global stock indexes, bond ETFs, currencies
37863.80 Trailing P/E ratio 26.09 22.13 4839.81 Trailing P/E ratio * 21.47 18.92 15310.97 Trailing P/E ratio *† 30.27 24.69 and commodities performed around the world for the week.
s 395.19 P/E estimate * 19.86 17.95 s 58.87 P/E estimate * 21.47 17.54 s 255.32 P/E estimate *† 29.08 21.47
Index Currency, Commodity, Exchange-
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or 1.05% or 1.23%
All-time high: S&P 500 Information Tech 4.31%
All-time high Current divisor All-time high
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Nasdaq Composite 2.26
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37100 4800
Session high S&P 500 1.17
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14500
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Nymex crude 1.00
Close Open
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WSJ Dollar Index 0.97

35500 4600 14200
Session low S&P 500 Financials 0.94
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34700 4500 13900 Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.72
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Bars measure the point change from session's open S&P MidCap 400 0.45
13300 S&P 500 Industrials 0.29
33100 4300
Nov. Dec. Jan. Nov. Dec. Jan. Nov. Dec. Jan. S&P SmallCap 600 0.03
Weekly P/E data based on as-reported earnings from Birinyi Associates Inc. † Based on Nasdaq-100 Index
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8.6 6.5
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Utility Average 857.17 848.16 852.54 -1.69 -0.20 976.42 783.08 -11.2 -3.3 -0.2
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Total Stock Market 48244.39 47665.33 48223.97 582.31 1.22 48223.97 38697.55 20.5 0.9 6.4
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Barron's 400 1060.10 1046.28 1060.09 12.06 1.15 1084.21 881.58 9.1 -1.1 5.5
Unchanged 99 21 -0.48 Euro area euro
Nasdaq Stock Market New highs 118 6 -0.52 Indonesian rupiah
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Issues traded 4,412 1,887 -1.03 S&P/ASX 200
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NYSE Composite 16745.97 16558.91 16729.55 113.26 0.68 16898.34 14599.05 6.0 -0.7 3.7 Declines 1,634 377 -1.04 S&P 500 Consumer Staples
Value Line 575.24 568.31 575.03 4.49 0.79 606.49 498.09 0.8 -3.2 -1.6 Unchanged 185 37 -1.07 VangdTotalBd
NYSE Arca Biotech 5202.46 5123.55 5201.97 30.58 0.59 5644.50 4544.40 -5.9 -4.0 -5.3 New highs 205 297 -1.15 iShJPMUSEmgBd
NYSE Arca Pharma 949.39 942.68 948.97 2.05 0.22 959.06 791.91 11.3 4.3 9.7 New lows 224 54 -1.18 Bloomberg Commodity Index
KBW Bank 94.13 91.75 94.11 2.31 2.51 115.10 71.71 -12.1 -2.0 -4.3 Closing Arms† 0.63 1.59 -1.22 S&P BSE Sensex
PHLX§ Gold/Silver 113.02 111.43 112.94 0.29 0.25 144.37 103.31 -16.8 -10.1 -6.7 Block trades* 41,684 1,826 -1.25 Mexican peso
PHLX§ Oil Service 78.56 77.55 78.35 0.48 0.61 98.76 69.29 -14.0 -6.6 14.5 * Primary market NYSE, NYSE American NYSE Arca only. -1.25 CAC-40
PHLX§ Semiconductor 4380.79 4240.81 4375.65 169.13 4.02 4375.65 2794.69 56.6 4.8 12.3 †(TRIN) A comparison of the number of advancing and declining -1.31 iShiBoxx$InvGrdCp
issues with the volume of shares rising and falling. An
Cboe Volatility 14.58 13.28 13.30 -0.83 -5.87 26.52 12.07 -33.0 6.8 -17.0 -1.33 Australian dollar
Arms of less than 1 indicates buying demand; above 1

Nasdaq PHLX Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data indicates selling pressure. -1.34 iSh 7-10 Treasury
-1.49 S&P 500 Materials
International Stock Indexes Percentage Gainers... -1.57 South Korean won
Latest Session 52-Week
-1.58 STOXX Europe 600
Latest YTD
Region/Country Index Close Net chg % chg % chg Company Symbol Close Net chg % chg High Low % chg -1.60 Lean hogs
Kaman KAMN 45.05 22.62 100.85 45.26 18.06 97.2 -1.72 South African rand
World MSCI ACWI 724.32 7.31 1.02 –0.4
Super Micro Computer SMCI 423.36 111.92 35.94 428.69 70.11 488.2 -1.72 Shanghai Composite
MSCI ACWI ex-USA 306.27 1.83 0.60 –3.3
Edgewise Therapeutics EWTX 13.04 3.35 34.57 13.75 5.12 20.1 -1.79 Swiss franc
MSCI World 3175.36 32.16 1.02 0.2 Tricon Residential TCN 11.07 2.44 28.27 11.15 6.53 32.7 -1.89 Norwegian krone
MSCI Emerging Markets 970.91 9.57 1.00 –5.2 Palatin Technologies PTN 3.68 0.76 26.03 5.00 1.43 -20.7 -2.07 KOSPI Composite
Americas MSCI AC Americas 1833.68 22.65 1.25 1.1 Bullfrog AI Holdings BFRG 4.89 1.00 25.71 9.50 2.36 ... -2.13 S&P 500 Real Estate
Canada S&P/TSX Comp 20906.52 149.79 0.72 –0.2 Pinstripes Holdings PNST 4.58 0.88 23.78 16.00 3.01 -55.4 -2.14 FTSE 100
0.94
Meiwu Technology WNW 5.19 0.91 21.26 11.24 1.72 -35.0 -2.25 Japanese yen
Latin Amer. MSCI EM Latin America 2514.69 23.42 –5.6
MMTec MTC 2.45 0.42 20.39 4.86 0.36 157.2 -2.34 IBEX 35
Brazil Bovespa 127635.65 319.91 0.25 –4.9
Kirkland's KIRK 3.03 0.51 20.24 4.06 1.40 -13.9 -2.52 iSh 20+ Treasury
Chile S&P IPSA 3265.99 –12.94 –0.39 –5.8
Tenaya Therapeutics TNYA 3.83 0.64 20.06 8.09 1.66 33.9 -2.55 Comex silver
Mexico S&P/BMV IPC 55452.10 744.21 1.36 –3.4
World Acceptance WRLD 142.67 21.06 17.32 160.08 75.19 78.6 -2.56 Bovespa Index
EMEA STOXX Europe 600 469.24 –1.21 –0.26 –2.0 Spirit Airlines SAVE 6.68 0.98 17.19 20.29 4.04 -66.7 -3.08 S&P 500 Energy
Eurozone –1.8
Viant Technology DSP 8.39 1.23 17.18 8.43 3.66 83.6 -3.70 S&P 500 Utilities
Euro STOXX 465.83 –0.73 –0.16
Ryvyl RVYL 4.18 0.61 16.95 17.50 1.57 -49.0
Belgium Bel-20 3556.71 3.87 0.11 –4.1 -5.76 Hang Seng
Denmark OMX Copenhagen 20 2340.80 –6.41 –0.27 2.5 Percentage Losers -23.97 Nymex natural gas
Latest Session 52-Week *Continuous front-month contracts
France CAC 40 7371.64 –29.71 –0.40 –2.3
Company Symbol Close Net chg % chg High Low % chg
Germany DAX 16555.13 –12.22 –0.07 –1.2 Sources: FactSet (indexes, bond ETFs, commodities), Tullett Prebon (currencies).
iRobot IRBT 17.26 -6.36 -26.93 51.49 15.77 -62.4 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Israel Tel Aviv 1839.80 … Closed –1.4
AST SpaceMobile ASTS 3.09 -1.07 -25.72 7.14 2.73 -40.0
Italy FTSE MIB 30283.61 –66.92 –0.22 –0.2
Azitra AZTR 1.54 -0.51 -24.88 5.18 0.92 ... Methodology
Netherlands AEX 778.89 0.72 0.09 –1.0 New Horizon Aircraft HOVR 1.82 -0.55 -23.21 12.14 1.75 ... Performance reflects price change (except DAX, Bovespa, and Tel Aviv 35, which
Norway Oslo Bors All-Share 1484.89 1.59 0.11 –2.3 SEALSQ LAES 1.73 -0.50 -22.42 28.50 0.91 ... reflect total returns). Commodities are represented by the continuous front-month
South Africa FTSE/JSE All-Share 72660.91 0.44 –5.5 futures contract. Bond exchange-traded fund performance may diverge from that of
316.52 Adagene ADR ADAG 2.64 -0.73 -21.66 4.01 1.10 57.0 their underlying index. Bond categories are represented by the following ETFs: U.S.
Spain IBEX 35 9858.30 –22.00 –0.22 –2.4 Volato Group SOAR 2.13 -0.49 -18.70 35.00 2.12 -79.2 Bonds Total Market: Vanguard Total Bond Market; 1-3 Yr U.S. Treasurys: iShares 1-3
Sweden OMX Stockholm 859.65 –5.82 –0.67 –4.8 China Liberal Educ Hldgs CLEU 2.06 -0.45 -17.76 40.80 1.77 -83.5 Year Treasury; U.S. 7-10 Yr Treasurys: iShares 7-10 Year Treasury; 20+ Yr U.S.
Treasurys: iShares 20+ Year Treasury; Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS):
Switzerland Swiss Market 11150.52 –35.36 –0.32 0.1 Polished.com POL 5.27 -1.12 -17.53 42.91 1.06 -78.9 iShares TIPS; Investment Grade Corporate Bonds: iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade
Turkey BIST 100 7996.70 –19.39 –0.24 7.0 Origin Agritech SEED 1.65 -0.35 -17.50 9.96 1.63 -82.8 Corporate; High Yield Corporate Bonds: iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate; Municipal
Bonds: iShares National Muni; International Bonds: Vanguard Total International;
U.K. FTSE 100 7461.93 2.84 0.04 –3.5 NexImmune NEXI 7.00 -1.37 -16.37 20.35 1.25 -22.1
Emerging Market Bonds: iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets.
U.K. FTSE 250 18871.41 –76.64 –0.40 –4.2 SYLA Technologies ADR SYT 4.56 -0.89 -16.33 8.74 2.80 ...
Cingulate CING 4.52 -0.82 -15.36 38.60 1.90 -76.8 Scan this code
Asia-Pacific MSCI AC Asia Pacific 163.78 1.71 1.05 –3.3 Swvl Holdings SWVL 3.50 -0.63 -15.25 6.49 0.62 -17.3
Australia S&P/ASX 200 7421.20 74.72 1.02 –2.2 Newcourt Acquisition A NCAC 6.65 -1.17 -14.96 14.55 5.60 -36.1 Get real-time U.S. stock quotes and
track most-active stocks, new highs/lows
China Shanghai Composite 2832.28 –13.50 –0.47 –4.8
Hong Kong Hang Seng 15308.69 –83.10 –0.54 –10.2
Most Active Stocks and mutual funds.
Volume % chg from Latest Session 52-Week
India S&P BSE Sensex 71683.23 496.37 0.70 –0.8 Company Symbol (000) 65-day avg Close % chg High Low Available free at WSJMarkets.com
Japan NIKKEI 225 35963.27 497.10 1.40 7.5 Phunware PHUN 546,618 1079.1 0.25 4.67 1.15 0.07
Singapore Straits Times 3152.29 12.51 0.40 –2.7 Charge Enterprises CRGE 222,461 2314.9 0.16 28.23 1.60 0.08
South Korea KOSPI 2472.74 32.70 1.34 –6.9
ProSh UltraPro Shrt QQQ SQQQ 160,675 28.8 12.38 -5.86 48.53 12.37 Currencies
Advanced Micro Devices AMD 139,133 129.1 174.23 7.11 174.25 67.45
Taiwan TAIEX 17681.52 453.73 2.63 –1.4 U.S.-dollar foreign-exchange rates in late New York trading
Direxion Dly Semi 3 Bear SOXS 134,834 76.6 4.98 -11.70 31.14 4.96
Thailand SET 1382.51 4.58 0.33 –2.4 * Common stocks priced at $2 a share or more with an average volume over 65 trading days of at least
US$vs, US$vs,
Fri YTDchg Fri YTDchg
Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data 5,000 shares =Has traded fewer than 65 days Country/currency in US$ per US$ (%) Country/currency in US$ per US$ (%)
Americas Vietnam dong .00004073 24550 1.2
Argentina peso .0012819.7500 1.4 Europe
Consumer Rates and Returns to Investor Benchmark
Treasury Yields
yield curve Forex Race Brazil real .2028 4.9315 1.6 Czech Rep. koruna .04396 22.746 1.6

Selected rates
and
Yield toRates
maturity of current bills, Yen, euro vs. dollar; dollar vs. Canada dollar .7446 1.3430 1.4 Denmark krone .1461 6.8430 1.0
U.S. consumer rates notes and bonds major U.S. trading partners Chile peso .001098 910.65 4.1 Euro area euro 1.0898 .9176 1.3
Colombiapeso .000255 3918.60 1.1 Hungary forint .002854 350.39 0.9
A consumer rate against its 5-year CDs Ecuador US dollar Iceland krona
1 1 unch .007319 136.63 0.5
benchmark over the past year 6.00% Mexico peso .0585 17.0826 0.7 Norway krone .0953 10.4886 3.1
Bankrate.com avg†: 2.84% Tradeweb ICE 18%
Uruguay peso .02540 39.3650 0.8 Poland zloty .2502 3.9971 1.5
America First FCU 4.20% Friday Close 5.00 Russia ruble .01137 88.170 –1.4
Federal-funds 9 Euro WSJ Dollar Index Asia-Pacific
6.00% Riverdale, UT 801-627-0900 t t s Sweden krona .0955 10.4672 3.6
4.00
s
target rate Australiadollar .6597 1.5158 3.3
t Quontic Bank 4.30% One year ago China yuan .1393 7.1782 0.9
Switzerland franc 1.1519 .8681 3.1
5.00 0 Turkey lira .0331 30.2066 2.5
New York, NY 800-908-6600 3.00 Hong Kong dollar .1279 7.8182 0.1
Ukraine hryvnia .0266 37.6500 –1.3
India rupee .01203 83.148 –0.05
4.00 Popular Direct 4.40% 2.00 –9 Yen UK pound 1.2703 .7872 0.2
s Indonesia rupiah .0000640 15619 1.5
Five-year CD yields Miami Lakes, FL 800-274-5696 Middle East/Africa
Japan yen .006750 148.15 5.0
t 3.00 1.00 –18
First National Bank of America 4.55% Kazakhstan tenge .002222 450.06 –1.2 Bahrain dinar 2.6532 .3769 –0.01
East Lansing, MI 800-968-3626 1 3 6 1 2 3 5 7 10 20 30 2023 2024 Macau pataca .1241 8.0565 0.03 Egypt pound .0324 30.8971 –0.1
2.00 month(s) years Malaysia ringgit .2120 4.7175 2.7 Israel shekel .2671 3.7438 3.9
FMAM J J A S ON D J First Internet Bank of Indiana 4.59%
maturity New Zealand dollar .6119 1.6343 3.3 Kuwait dinar 3.2487 .3078 0.2
2023 Indianapolis, IN 888-873-3424 Pakistan rupee .00357 279.775 –0.5 Oman sul rial 2.5976 .3850 ...
Sources: Tradeweb ICE U.S. Treasury Close; Tullett Prebon; Dow Jones Market Data Philippines peso .0179 55.990 1.1 Qatar rial .2744 3.644 0.02
Yield/Rate (%) 52-Week Range (%) 3-yr chg Singapore dollar .7454 1.3416 1.7 Saudi Arabia riyal .2666 3.7507 0.02
Interest rate Last (l)Week ago Low 0 2 4 6 8 High (pct pts) Corporate Borrowing Rates and Yields South Korea won .0007496 1334.11 3.1 South Africa rand .0526 19.0293 4.0
Sri Lanka rupee .0031191 320.61 –1.0
Federal-funds rate target 5.25-5.50 5.25-5.50 4.25 l 5.50 5.25 Yield (%) 52-Week Total Return (%) Taiwan dollar .03185 31.399 2.3 Close Net Chg % Chg YTD%Chg
Prime rate* 8.50 8.50 7.50 l 8.50 5.25 Bond total return index Close Last Week ago High Low 52-wk 3-yr Thailand baht .02815 35.520 3.3 WSJ Dollar Index 97.84 –0.14–0.14 2.10
SOFR 5.31 5.31 4.30 l 5.40 5.23
U.S. Treasury, Bloomberg 2145.340 4.280 4.070 5.120 3.610 –0.286 –3.955 Sources: Tullett Prebon, Dow Jones Market Data
Money market, annual yield 0.48 0.48 0.35 l 0.64 0.38
2.84 l 2.36 U.S. Treasury Long, Bloomberg 3099.470 4.460 4.290 5.280 3.630 –8.314–11.776
Five-year CD, annual yield
30-year mortgage, fixed† 7.17
2.84
7.15
2.71
6.36
2.87
l 8.28 4.26 Aggregate, Bloomberg 2031.960 4.750 4.550 5.740 4.180 0.669 –3.552
Commodities Friday 52-Week YTD
15-year mortgage, fixed† 6.53 6.48 5.54 l 7.42 4.15
Pricing trends on someClose
raw materials, or commodities
Net chg % Chg High Low % Chg % chg
Fixed-Rate MBS, Bloomberg 2003.060 4.950 4.740 6.050 4.140 –0.244 –3.380
Jumbo mortgages, $766,550-plus† 7.23 7.19 6.37 l 8.33 4.29 DJ Commodity 942.05 -2.89 -0.31 1058.44 930.59 -10.77 -1.64
High Yield 100, ICE BofA 3519.080 7.365 7.207 9.101 7.022 8.996 1.787
Five-year adj mortgage (ARM)† 6.40 6.44 5.33 l 7.16 3.22 Refinitiv/CC CRB Index 265.38 -0.09 -0.03 290.29 253.85 -4.70 0.59
New-car loan, 48-month 7.69 7.69 6.56 l 7.70 3.67 Muni Master, ICE BofA 582.027 3.287 3.119 4.311 2.757 1.744 –0.790 Crude oil, $ per barrel 73.41 -0.67 -0.90 93.68 66.74 -9.72 2.46
Bankrate.com rates based on survey of over 4,800 online banks. *Base rate posted by 70% of the nation's largest EMBI Global, J.P. Morgan 831.531 7.606 7.411 8.842 7.102 4.724 –3.294 Natural gas, $/MMBtu 2.519 -0.178 -6.60 3.575 1.991 -20.64 0.20
banks.† Excludes closing costs.
Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data; Bankrate.com Sources: J.P. Morgan; Bloomberg Fixed Income Indices; ICE Data Services
Gold, $ per troy oz. 2026.50 7.90 0.39 2081.90 1808.80 5.20 -1.74
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | B7

MARKET DATA
Futures Contracts Open
Contract
High hilo Low Settle Chg
Open
interest Open
Contract
High hilo Low Settle Chg
Open
interest Open
Contract
High hilo Low Settle Chg
Open
interest

Metal & Petroleum Futures Wheat (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. Currency Futures Index Futures
March 586.25 598.00 584.75 593.25 7.75 195,881
Contract Open Japanese Yen (CME)-¥12,500,000; $ per 100¥ Mini DJ Industrial Average (CBT)-$5 x index
Open High hi lo Low Settle Chg interest July 603.75 614.75 603.25 609.75 6.00 89,283
Feb .6784 t
.6794
.6751 .6778 … 1,303 March 37645 38133 s 37597 38045 386 98,320
Copper-High (CMX)-25,000 lbs.; $ per lb. Wheat (KC)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. June 38045 38500 s 37977 38416 385 371
March .6811 t
.6825
.6781 .6809 … 224,677
March 605.00 617.25 604.00 608.00 2.75 114,798 Mini S&P 500 (CME)-$50 x index
Jan 3.7625 3.7880 3.7625 3.7870 0.0420 1,034
July 610.00 621.75 610.00 614.00 3.00 42,729
Canadian Dollar (CME)-CAD 100,000; $ per CAD
March 3.7565 3.7920 3.7430 3.7865 0.0415 135,071 Feb .7417 .7450 .7410 .7446 .0038 551 March 4811.25 4874.25 s 4808.50 4869.50 58.25 2,203,025
Gold (CMX)-100 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. Cattle-Feeder (CME)-50,000 lbs.; cents per lb. March .7421 .7453 .7412 .7449 .0038 158,111 June 4864.25 4928.75 s 4862.50 4924.00 59.50 17,343
Jan 2023.20 2036.00 2019.50 2026.50 7.90 1,498
Jan 230.925 231.375 229.700 230.100 –.825 4,466
British Pound (CME)-£62,500; $ per £ Mini S&P Midcap 400 (CME)-$100 x index
March 232.775 233.350 231.525 231.950 –.600 23,454 Feb 1.2712 1.2716 1.2665 1.2700 .0011 681 March 2730.10 2760.00 2716.20 2756.20 26.70 40,913
Feb 2027.40 2041.90 2022.20 2029.30 7.70 196,979
Cattle-Live (CME)-40,000 lbs.; cents per lb. June 2776.70 26.70 1
March 2033.70 2050.10 2031.80 2038.50 7.40 777 March 1.2710 1.2719 1.2665 1.2702 .0011 167,705
Feb 174.650 174.975 173.875 174.375 –.450 55,696 Swiss Franc (CME)-CHF 125,000; $ per CHF Mini Nasdaq 100 (CME)-$20 x index
April 2046.30 2061.20 2041.70 2048.60 7.50 209,769 March 17116.00 17471.25 s 17107.25 17438.50 328.50 277,173
April 177.350 177.875 176.925 177.375 –.275 98,922 March 1.1588 1.1595 t 1.1557 1.1576 .0004 48,193
June 2064.30 2080.50 2061.40 2068.10 7.50 28,459 June 17321.50 17687.75 s 17321.50 17657.25 334.00 1,136
2080.60 2096.00 2078.40 2085.20 7.70 18,540 Hogs-Lean (CME)-40,000 lbs.; cents per lb. June 1.1690 1.1700 t 1.1668 1.1684 .0006 447
Aug
71.250 71.250 70.625 70.750 –.350 38,226
Mini Russell 2000 (CME)-$50 x index
Palladium (NYM) - 50 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. Feb Australian Dollar (CME)-AUD 100,000; $ per AUD March 1936.90 1958.30 1921.30 1954.80 18.60 484,330
Jan 941.80 4.90 2 April 78.650 78.650 77.925 78.150 –.300 80,371 Feb .6586 .6607 .6572 .6602 .0036 341 June 1957.70 1978.80 1942.50 1974.90 18.50 836
March 944.00 958.50 930.50 948.70 4.70 20,140 Lumber (CME)-27,500 bd. ft., $ per 1,000 bd. ft. March .6586 .6613 .6577 .6608 .0036 163,820 Mini Russell 1000 (CME)-$50 x index
Platinum (NYM)-50 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. March 547.50 553.50 544.50 548.00 .50 5,958 Mexican Peso (CME)-MXN 500,000; $ per MXN March 2654.60 2672.10 s 2641.10 2669.80 30.00 7,074
May 562.50 567.50 560.00 562.50 –1.00 1,146 Feb .05812 .05819 .05792 .05823 .00031 124 U.S. Dollar Index (ICE-US)-$1,000 x index
Jan 897.70 898.00 897.30 897.30 –6.00 53
Milk (CME)-200,000 lbs., cents per lb. March .05767 .05800 .05762 .05793 .00031 252,427 March 103.14 103.33 103.01 103.07 –.24 23,787
April 916.40 924.00 900.80 907.00 –5.00 69,452
Silver (CMX)-5,000 troy oz.; $ per troy oz. Jan 15.20 15.23 15.17 15.18 .04 4,924 Euro (CME)-€125,000; $ per € June 102.85 102.98 102.81 102.75 –.24 388
Feb 15.62 15.89 15.62 15.79 .14 7,893 Feb 1.0892 1.0912 1.0879 1.0905 .0030 3,753
Jan 22.515 22.515 22.515 22.571 –0.096 327
Cocoa (ICE-US)-10 metric tons; $ per ton. March 1.0902 1.0924 1.0891 1.0918 .0031 715,631 Source: FactSet
March 22.885 22.980 22.595 22.711 –0.096 102,195
Crude Oil, Light Sweet (NYM)-1,000 bbls.; $ per bbl. March 4,499 4,607 s 4,479 4,583 125 139,344
Feb 74.08 74.91 73.19 73.41 –0.67 62,919 May 4,446 4,550 s 4,421 4,528 129 70,649
March 73.92 74.63 72.99 73.25 –0.70 338,365 Coffee (ICE-US)-37,500 lbs.; cents per lb.
March 182.00 186.15 181.65 185.15 5.20 92,367
Bonds | wsj.com/market-data/bonds/benchmarks
April 73.79 74.44 72.88 73.12 –0.71 135,405
May 179.30 182.75 178.75 181.85 4.85 63,201
May
June
73.63
73.33
74.26
74.03
72.78
72.60
72.99 –0.71
72.80 –0.70
96,386
149,410 Sugar-World (ICE-US)-112,000 lbs.; cents per lb. Global Government Bonds: Mapping Yields
Dec 71.19 71.79 70.60 70.72 –0.70 160,718 March 23.10 23.75 s 23.04 23.57 .53 289,690
22.35 22.91 s 22.28 22.77 .48 169,780
Yields and spreads over or under U.S. Treasurys on benchmark two-year and 10-year government bonds in
NY Harbor ULSD (NYM)-42,000 gal.; $ per gal. May
Feb 2.6940 2.7249 2.6578 2.6621 –.0315 47,646 Sugar-Domestic (ICE-US)-112,000 lbs.; cents per lb. selected other countries; arrows indicate whether the yield rose(s) or fell (t) in the latest session
March 2.6475 2.6818 2.6225 2.6278 –.0218 77,924 March 39.75 40.50 s 39.50 40.50 1.00 2,118
Country/ Yield (%) Spread Under/Over U.S. Treasurys, in basis points
Gasoline-NY RBOB (NYM)-42,000 gal.; $ per gal. May 40.30 40.75 s 40.30 40.75 1.14 2,646
Coupon (%) Maturity, in years Latest(l)-1 0 1 2 3 4 5 Previous Month ago Year ago Latest Prev Year ago
Feb 2.1818 2.1970 2.1545 2.1628 –.0207 48,482 Cotton (ICE-US)-50,000 lbs.; cents per lb.
March 2.2043 2.2188 2.1770 2.1852 –.0203 101,202 March 82.50 84.72 s 82.31 83.95 1.44 90,813
4.250 U.S. 2 4.406 s l 4.355 4.437 4.116
Natural Gas (NYM)-10,000 MMBtu.; $ per MMBtu. May 83.39 85.53 s 83.18 84.89 1.50 47,094 4.500 10 4.145 s l 4.142 3.921 3.396
Feb 2.712 2.714 t 2.514 2.519 –.178 78,882 Orange Juice (ICE-US)-15,000 lbs.; cents per lb. 0.250 Australia 2 3.972 s l 3.954 3.873 2.946 -43.8 -40.1 -119.4
March 2.420 2.421 t 2.237 2.252 –.161 345,669 March 299.40 307.70 296.90 307.70 10.00 5,693
April 2.412 2.412 t 2.249 2.267 –.140 135,440 May 298.40 307.15 296.60 306.20 9.05 1,793 3.000 10 4.306 s l 4.274 4.124 3.329 15.7 12.8 -7.1
May 2.477 2.478 t 2.327 2.353 –.126 123,972 0.000 France 2 2.823 s l 2.807 3.015 2.647 -154.8 -149.3
-158.7
July 2.745 2.755 t 2.611 2.644 –.108 78,387 Interest Rate Futures
Oct 2.847 2.859 t 2.711 2.754 –.100 94,131 3.500 10 2.828 t l 2.837 2.526 2.481 -132.2 -130.9 -91.9
Ultra Treasury Bonds (CBT) - $100,000; pts 32nds of 100%
March 125-240 126-140 125-010 126-010 11.0 1,673,943 3.100 Germany 2 2.768 s l 2.692 2.522 2.526 -164.2 -166.3 -161.4
Agriculture Futures Treasury Bonds (CBT)-$100,000; pts 32nds of 100% 2.200 10 2.348 t l 2.352 2.022 2.064 -180.1 -179.4 -133.6
Corn (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. March 119-310 120-110 119-100 120-000 3.0 1,444,560
March 443.50 449.50 443.00 445.50 1.50 652,459 June 119-280 120-090 119-090 119-310 2.0 2,100
3.600 Italy 2 3.215 t l 3.231 3.055 2.810 -119.6 -112.4 -132.9
May 454.50 460.00 454.00 456.00 1.00 263,903 Treasury Notes (CBT)-$100,000; pts 32nds of 100% 4.200 10 3.872 t l 3.909 3.643 3.771 -27.7 -23.7 37.2
Oats (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. March 111-070 111-095 110-260 111-040 –2.5 4,649,058
March 367.00 384.00 365.25 379.75 13.00 2,890 0.100 Japan 2 0.033 t l 0.038 0.057 -0.008 -437.7 -431.7 -414.8
June 111-225 111-280 111-135 111-235 –2.0 4,581
May 367.75 381.00 367.75 376.00 9.75 493 5 Yr. Treasury Notes (CBT)-$100,000; pts 32nds of 100% 0.600 10 0.669 s l 0.655 0.634 0.404 -348.1 -349.1 -299.6
Soybeans (CBT)-5,000 bu.; cents per bu. March 107-257 107-270 107-165 107-217 –4.0 5,903,218
March 1213.00 1227.00 1210.75 1213.25 –.25 298,811 0.000 Spain 2 3.200 s l 3.187 3.044 2.667 -121.0 -116.8 -147.2
June 108-035 108-050 107-297 108-027 –4.2 554
May 1223.75 1236.75 1220.75 1223.00 –1.25 161,030
2 Yr. Treasury Notes (CBT)-$200,000; pts 32nds of 100% 3.550 10 3.247 t l 3.263 2.967 3.001 -90.2 -88.3 -39.9
Soybean Meal (CBT)-100 tons; $ per ton.
March 361.90 365.70 356.00 356.50 –4.80 196,519
March 102-220 102-225 102-175 102-183 –3.5 3,912,520 3.500 U.K. 2 4.308 s l 4.307 4.287 3.434 -10.3 -4.8 -70.5
358.00 362.20 355.70 356.20 –1.30 123,386 June 103-066 103-086 103-030 103-040 –3.5 566
May
30 Day Federal Funds (CBT)-$5,000,000; 100 - daily avg. 4.250 10 3.936 t l 3.937 3.659 3.281 -21.4 -20.9 -11.9
Soybean Oil (CBT)-60,000 lbs.; cents per lb.
March 47.73 48.12 46.76 46.90 –.72 215,531 Jan 94.6700 94.6725 s t 94.6700 94.6700 –.0025 392,897 Source: Tullett Prebon, Tradeweb ICE U.S. Treasury Close
May 48.11 48.51 47.25 47.40 –.61 111,849 Feb 94.6750 94.6800 94.6750 94.6750 –.0050 540,403
Three-Month SOFR (CME)-$1,000,000; 100 - daily avg.
Rough Rice (CBT)-2,000 cwt.; $ per cwt.
March 17.63 17.72 17.56 17.64 .04 9,220 Nov 94.6350 –.0025 2,996
Corporate Debt
Sept 15.47 15.51 t 15.46 15.51 .05 1,210 Dec 94.6375 94.6400 94.6350 94.6350 –.0025 1,195,142 Prices of firms' bonds reflect factors including investors' economic, sectoral and company-specific
expectations
Investment-grade spreads that tightened the most…
Exchange-Traded Portfolios | WSJ.com/ETFresearch Spread*, in basis points
Issuer Symbol Coupon (%) Yield (%) Maturity Current One-day change Last week
Closing Chg YTD
Largest 100 exchange-traded funds, latest session ETF Symbol Price (%) (%) –218
Bank of America BAC 5.000 5.20 Jan. 21, ’44 71 92
Friday, January 19, 2024 Closing Chg YTD iShShortTreaBd SHV 110.42 0.03 0.3
Toyota Motor Credit TOYOTA 4.800 4.94 Jan. 5, ’34 81 –156 83
ETF Symbol Price (%) (%) iShTIPSBond TIP 107.02 0.07 –0.4
Closing Chg YTD iSh20+YTreaBd TLT 94.09 0.32 –4.8 United Airlines UAL 4.000 6.20 April 11, ’26 178 –51 n.a.
ETF Symbol Price (%) (%) iShEdgeMSCIUSAQual QUAL 150.81 1.45 2.5
iShUSTreasuryBd GOVT 22.74 ... –1.3 –33
CommSvsSPDR XLC 74.83 1.35 3.0 iShGoldTr IAU 38.39 0.31 –1.6 Citigroup C 4.600 5.00 March 9, ’26 59 88
iSh0-3MTreaBd SGOV 100.58 0.03 0.3
CnsmrDiscSel XLY 174.89 0.96 –2.2 iShiBoxx$HYCpBd HYG 77.17 0.17 –0.3
iShiBoxx$IGCpBd LQD 108.99 0.10 –1.5
JPM EqPrem JEPI 55.46 0.45 0.9 ING Groep INTNED 3.950 5.15 March 29, ’27 96 –10 107
DimenUSCoreEq2 DFAC 29.19 1.18 –0.1 JPM UltShIncm JPST 50.38 ... 0.3
EnSelSectorSPDR XLE 80.17 0.33 –4.4 iShJPMUSDEmBd EMB 87.49 0.05 –1.8
PacerUSCashCows COWZ 51.25 0.77 –1.4 Ally Financial ALLY 8.000 6.48 Nov. 1, ’31 232 –9 253
iShMBS MBB 92.69 –0.03 –1.5
FinSelSectorSPDR XLF 37.93 1.61 0.9
iShMSCIACWI ACWI 101.67 1.00 –0.1
ProShUltPrQQQ TQQQ 54.54 5.78 7.6 Caterpillar Financial Services … 4.350 4.58 May 15, ’26 17 –8 21
HealthCrSelSect XLV 139.46 0.06 2.3 SPDRBbg1-3MTB BIL 91.66 0.01 0.3
iShMSCI EAFE EFA 73.93 0.23 –1.9 –8
InvscNasd100 QQQM 173.39 1.94 2.9
iSh MSCI EM EEM 38.39 1.05 –4.5
SPDR DJIA Tr DIA 378.60 1.07 0.5 Intesa Sanpaolo ISPIM 7.800 7.18 Nov. 28, ’53 280 280
InvscQQQI QQQ 421.18 1.98 2.8 SPDR Gold GLD 187.93 0.30 –1.7
iShMSCIEAFEValue EFV 51.03 0.06 –2.1
InvscS&P500EW RSP 155.82 0.77 –1.3
iShNatlMuniBd MUB 107.49 –0.09 –0.8 SPDRPtfDevxUS SPDW 33.24 0.27 –2.3 …And spreads that widened the most
iShCoreDivGrowth DGRO 54.08 0.88 0.5 SPDRS&P500Value SPYV 46.37 0.76 –0.6
iSh1-5YIGCpBd IGSB 51.19 –0.05 –0.2
iShCoreMSCIEAFE IEFA 68.89 0.20 –2.1
iSh1-3YTreaBd SHY 82.03 –0.07 –0.0 SPDRPtfS&P500 SPLG 56.76 1.25 1.5 Corebridge Global Funding CRBG 5.200 5.26 Jan. 12, ’29 117 17 n.a.
iShCoreMSCIEM IEMG 48.40 1.02 –4.3 SPDRS&P500Growth SPYG 67.19 1.57 3.3
iShRussMC IWR 76.50 0.86 –1.6 Banco Santander SANTAN 5.294 5.35 Aug. 18, ’27 118 10 123
iShCoreMSCITotInt IXUS 63.23 0.51 –2.6 iShRuss1000 IWB 265.50 1.25 1.2 SPDR S&P 500 SPY 482.43 1.25 1.5
iShCoreS&P500 IVV 484.68 1.25 1.5 iShRuss1000Grw IWF 312.23 1.43 3.0 SchwabIntEquity SCHF 36.14 0.31 –2.2 Conagra Brands CAG 5.300 5.05 Oct. 1, ’26 63 9 n.a.
iShCoreS&P MC IJH 273.18 0.95 –1.4 163.78 0.87 –0.9 SchwabUS BrdMkt SCHB 56.20 1.24 1.0
104.34 –3.6
iShRuss1000Val IWD
Ares Capital ARCC 7.000 6.08 Jan. 15, ’27 190 5 190
iShCoreS&P SC IJR 1.00 iShRuss2000 IWM 192.43 0.96 –4.1 SchwabUS Div SCHD 76.59 1.18 0.6
iShCoreS&PTotUS ITOT 106.22 1.28 0.9 iShS&P500Grw IVW 77.60 1.66 3.3 SchwabUS LC SCHX 57.18 1.26 1.4 4
Anheuser–Busch Inbev Worldwide ABIBB 4.950 5.13 Jan. 15, ’42 64 n.a.
iShCoreTotUSDBd IUSB 45.54 0.07 –1.2 iShS&P500Value IVE 172.87 0.78 –0.6 SchwabUS LC Grw SCHG 85.53 1.59 3.1
iShCoreUSAggBd AGG 98.02 0.02 –1.2 iShSelectDiv DVY 114.88 0.88 –2.0 SPDR S&PMdCpTr MDY 500.19 1.00 –1.4 John Deere Capital … 4.350 4.72 Sept. 15, ’32 56 4 54
iShEdgeMSCIMinUSA USMV 79.38 0.74 1.7 iSh7-10YTreaBd IEF 94.94 0.01 –1.5 SPDR S&P Div SDY 123.54 0.54 –1.1
ArcelorMittal MTNA 4.250 5.18 July 16, ’29 109 4 98
TechSelectSector XLK 200.17 2.31 4.0
VangdInfoTech VGT 499.70 2.17 3.2 Netflix NFLX 4.875 4.84 April 15, ’28 75 4 72
Borrowing Benchmarks | WSJ.com/bonds VangdSC Val
VangdExtMkt
VBR
VXF
175.35
160.31
1.01
1.14
–2.6
–2.5 High-yield issues with the biggest price increases…
VangdDivApp VIG 171.98 0.85 0.9
Bond Price as % of face value
Money Rates January 19, 2024 VangdFTSEAWxUS
VangdFTSEDevMk
VEU
VEA
54.73
46.78
0.53
0.32
–2.5
–2.3
Issuer Symbol Coupon (%) Yield (%) Maturity Current One-day change Last week
VangdFTSE EM VWO 39.63 0.92 –3.6
Dish DBS … 7.750 35.64 July 1, ’26 56.875 0.63 58.000
Key annual interest rates paid to borrow or lend money in U.S. and VangdFTSE Europe VGK 62.49 0.03 –3.1
international markets. Rates below are a guide to general levels but VangdGrowth VUG 319.98 1.54 2.9 Oxford Finance OXDFLL 6.375 8.57 Feb. 1, ’27 94.250 0.39 n.a.
VangdHlthCr VHT 255.27 0.11 1.8 0.34
don’t always represent actual transactions. VangdHiDiv VYM 111.62 1.12 –0.0
Occidental Petroleum OXY 6.200 6.06 March 15, ’40 101.449 101.327
Week —52-WEEK— VangdIntermBd BIV 75.53 0.08 –1.1 Telecom Italia Capital TITIM 7.200 7.23 July 18, ’36 99.750 0.32 99.375
Inflation Latest ago High Low VangdIntrCorpBd VCIT 80.30 0.04 –1.2
Dec. index Chg From (%) VangdIntermTrea VGIT 58.83 –0.05 –0.8 Hughes Satellite Systems … 5.250 11.64 Aug. 1, ’26 86.375 0.13 88.500
level Nov. '23 Dec. '22 Switzerland 2.25 2.25 2.25 1.50 VangdLC VV 221.68 1.23 1.6
Britain 5.25 5.25 5.25 3.50 VangdMegaGrwth MGK 268.04 1.64 3.3 …And with the biggest price decreases
U.S. consumer price index Australia 4.35 4.35 4.35 3.10 VangdMC VO 228.92 0.77 –1.6
VangdMBS VMBS 45.67 –0.02 –1.5 Bausch Health BHCCN 11.000 21.79 Sept. 30, ’28 69.209 –0.57 72.480
All items 306.746 –0.10 3.4 Secondary market VangdRealEst VNQ 85.40 1.20 –3.3 –0.48
Core 311.907 0.10 3.9 Telecom Italia Capital TITIM 6.375 6.92 Nov. 15, ’33 96.125 96.000
VangdRuss1000Grw VONG 80.38 1.48 3.0
Fannie Mae VangdS&P500ETF VOO 443.29 1.22 1.5 Bath & Body Works BBWI 7.600 7.69 July 15, ’37 99.250 –0.38 100.000
International rates 30-year mortgage yields VangdST Bond BSV 76.85 –0.08 –0.2
Occidental Petroleum OXY 7.500 5.72 May 1, ’31 110.438 –0.35 111.197
Week 52-Week 30 days 6.131 6.031 7.495 5.244 VangdSTCpBd VCSH 77.25 –0.05 –0.2
Latest ago High Low 60 days 6.136 6.035 7.554 5.250 VangdShortTrea VGSH 58.30 –0.09 –0.1 Prime Security Services Borrower PRSESE 5.750 5.93 April 15, ’26 99.625 –0.29 100.492
VangdSC VB 207.71 1.00 –2.6
Notes on data: –0.26
Prime rates VangdTaxExemptBd VTEB 50.45 –0.16 –1.2 Navient NAVI 5.625 8.68 Aug. 1, ’33 80.472 80.985
U.S. prime rate is the base rate on corporate
VangdTotalBd BND 72.67 ... –1.2 –0.26
U.S. 8.50 8.50 8.50 7.50 loans posted by at least 70% of the 10 largest Venture Global Calcasieu Pass VENTGL 4.125 6.25 Aug. 15, ’31 87.370 88.937
U.S. banks, and is effective July 27, 2023. Other VangdTotIntlBd BNDX 48.79 0.18 –1.2
Canada 7.20 7.20 7.20 6.45 VangdTotIntlStk VXUS 56.44 0.50 –2.6 Transocean RIG 6.800 9.65 March 15, ’38 78.250 –0.25 79.000
prime rates aren’t directly comparable; lending
Japan 1.475 1.475 1.475 1.475 practices vary widely by location. Complete VangdTotalStk VTI 239.54 1.22 1.0
Money Rates table appears Monday through VangdTotWrldStk VT 102.46 0.91 –0.4 *Estimated spread over 2-year, 3-year, 5-year, 10-year or 30-year hot-run Treasury; 100 basis points=one percentage pt.; change in spread shown is for Z-spread.
Policy Rates Friday. VangdValue VTV 149.20 0.86 –0.2 Note: Data are for the most active issue of bonds with maturities of two years or more
Euro zone 4.50 4.50 4.50 2.50 Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics; FactSet WT FRTrea USFR 50.40 0.02 0.3 Source: MarketAxess

New Highs and Lows Stock

52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock
52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock
52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock
52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock
52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock
52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock
52-Wk %
Sym Hi/Lo Chg
OricPharm ORIC 10.15 8.7 WintrustFinl WTFC 98.63 3.0 ChinaLiberalEduc CLEU 1.77 -17.8 Ideanomics IDEX 1.03 7.5 PetcoHealth WOOF 2.55 -3.8 StryveFoods SNAX 1.48 ... VyneTherap VYNE 1.71 -4.8
The following explanations apply to the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Arca, NYSE OverseasShip OSG 5.83 0.3 Workday WDAY 290.46 1.5 ChinaNaturalRscs CHNR 1.15 -5.6 Imunon IMNN 0.57 -3.4 PiedmontLith PLL 16.85 -4.3 SunPower SPWR 2.74 3.1 Valneva VALN 8.47 -0.3
American and Nasdaq Stock Market stocks that hit a new 52-week intraday high or low PacGE pfE PCGpE 19.00 1.1 ZionsBncpPfdG ZIONO 25.96 -0.3 ChinaSXTPharm SXTC 1.56 -5.3 Infobird IFBD 0.46 -6.0 PlanetLabs PL 1.99 1.9 Sunworks SUNW 0.18 3.5 VastRenewables VSTE 3.15 -9.7
in the latest session. % CHG-Daily percentage change from the previous trading session. PaloAltoNtwks PANW 340.40 0.6 ClearmindMed CMND 1.01 -9.3 InfraredCameras MSAI 2.45 -1.9 PlaystudiosWt MYPSW 0.08 -13.2 TopFinancial Vaxxinity VAXX 0.67 -0.2
TOP 2.64 3.2

Friday, January 19, 2024

PangaeaLogistics PANL 8.81 -1.3 Lows CompassTherap CMPX 1.33 -3.5 Inno INHD 1.03 -0.9 PolarPower POLA 0.36 -0.8 TRX Gold TRX 0.35 0.5 Velo3D VLD 0.26 -9.1
ParkerHannifin PH 471.56 1.0 COMSovereign COMS 0.63 -2.9 InspireVeterinary IVP 0.14 -6.9 PolestarAutoWt PSNYW 0.16 -10.3 Tantech TANH 0.68 1.2 VentyxBiosciences VTYX 1.87 3.7
ACELYRIN SLRN 5.70 -1.2
52-Wk % 52-Wk % 52-Wk % PerceptionCapIII PFTA 10.74 0.9 ComstockRscs CRK 7.77 -0.7 IntelligentLiving ILAG 0.46 2.1 Rallybio RLYB 1.36 -5.9 Taoping TAOP 0.80 -12.2 VerdeCleanFuelsA VGAS 1.95 0.5
Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg Stock Sym Hi/Lo Chg AGBA AGBA 0.34 -8.6
Phenixfin PFX 45.50 1.0 ComtechTel CMTL 6.52 -0.9 Ioneer IONR 3.24 -1.2 RealGoodFood RGF 1.16 -1.6 Techprecision TPCS 3.79 -6.2 VermilionEnergy VET 10.53 0.5
AMTD IDEA AMTD 1.68 ...
Chemed CHE 596.99 0.2 IDEAYA Bio IDYA 41.79 -1.1 PlumAcqnIWt PLMIW 0.26 ... ConsensusCloud CCSI 17.57 2.1 iQIYI IQ 3.52 -2.1 reAlphaTech AIRE 1.29 -3.6 TianRuixiang TIRX 0.51 -1.9 VersusSystems VS 1.88 -0.6
APA APA 29.95 -0.2
Highs ChengheAcqn CHEAU 11.17 1.9 Informatica INFA 30.35 4.3 Primerica
Progressive
PRI 226.59
PGR 172.51
1.6
0.1
ARCAbiopharma ABIO 1.56 ...
CoreCard
Cricut
CCRD
CRCT
11.65 -1.5
5.38 -1.4
iRobot IRBT 15.77 -26.9 Remark
Renalytix
MARK
RNLX
0.36 -10.5
0.24 -0.5
TonixPharm TNXP 0.26 4.9
VertexEnergy VTNR
Veru VERU
1.75 0.5
0.36 -10.8
ChengheAcqnA CHEA 12.15 -0.1 IngersollRand IR 78.92 0.9 JD.com JD 21.35 1.2 ToughBuiltInds TBLT 6.04 -3.7
AG Mortgage PfdC MITTpC 22.96 1.5 ArkoWt ARKOW 0.84 -1.4 RileyExpln REPX 21.58 -1.7 VigilNeurosci VIGL 2.67 -2.7
Chubb CB 238.04 3.2 InsightEnt NSIT 186.81 1.2 PureStorage PSTG 40.91 5.1 CuriosityStream CURI 0.47 1.4 Jet.AI JTAI 1.01 -7.2
AGNC InvtPfdF AGNCP 22.83 0.8 AST Space Wt ASTSW 0.58 -25.3 TransCodeTherap RNAZ 0.74 -25.2
Qualcomm QCOM 152.77 4.6 DSS DSS 1.94 1.0 JohnBeanTech JBT 89.96 8.9 RubiconTech RBT 0.96 -6.5 VisionMarineTech VMAR 0.69 -6.4
ChurchillCapVII CVII.U 10.60 0.3 InstalledBldg IBP 193.05 1.9 AccelerateDiag AXDX 0.92 -23.4 TrioPetroleum TPET 0.19 -5.6
AGNC InvtPfdE AGNCO 24.35 0.9 RELX RELX 41.76 0.3 DanimerScientific DNMR 0.62 1.0 SellasLifeSci SLS 0.50 3.4 VividSeats SEAT 5.55 -1.2
Coca-ColaEuro CCEP 67.81 1.4 Intellinetics INLX 6.29 -4.2 KE Holdings BEKE 13.14 -0.7 TritiumDCFC DCFC 0.13 0.6
AI Transportation AITR 10.24 0.1 AehrTestSys AEHR 16.59 -3.0 SSR Mining SSRM 9.78 -1.3 Volato SOAR 2.12 -18.7
Costco COST 696.13 1.1 InterContinentl IHG 95.66 0.9 Rambus RMBS 73.38 5.8 DaqoNewEnergy DQ 20.20 -4.2 KaixinAuto KXIN 0.55 -6.4
AbacusLifeWt ABLLW 1.05 6.7 AEye LIDR 1.17 -6.9 TuanChe TC 0.17 -9.6
ReposiTrak TRAK 12.04 2.3 Datasea DTSS 0.11 -18.8 13.10 -2.9 SacksParenteGolf SPGC 0.53 0.2 vTvTherap VTVT 8.20 -1.5
Crane CR 119.04 1.6 IBM IBM 171.58 2.8 0.47 -2.0
Kanzhun BZ Tuniu TOUR 0.60 0.3
Abercrombie&Fitch ANF 101.27 4.2 AgapeATP ATPC ScilexWt SCLXW 0.26 -5.6 W&T Offshore WTI 2.55 1.2
CredoTech CRDO 20.84 8.3 IntuitiveSurgical ISRG 376.90 0.8 RepublicSvcs RSG 169.15 0.6 DatChat DATS 1.40 -9.6 Kaspi.kz KSPI 90.74 4.3
Accenture ACN 364.82 1.2 AgEagleAerial UAVS 0.08 -4.4 Shapeways SHPW 1.88 2.6 TurboEnergy TURB 0.86 2.3 WeBuyGlobal WBUY 0.37 -4.8
Crexendo CXDO 5.76 0.7 Invivyd IVVD 4.88 5.9 SAP SAP 163.72 1.9 DeepMedicineAcqn DMAQ 7.25 -2.4 KolibriGlblEnergy KGEI 3.14 -1.8
AcmeUnited ACU 49.39 3.9 AgileTherap AGRX 1.42 -7.9 ShengfengDevt SFWL 1.82 -3.1 TwinVee VEEE 1.17 -7.5 Weibo WB 7.84 -1.3
Salesforce CRM 282.00 2.3 DermataTherap DRMA 0.37 2.8 LSB Inds LXU 7.30 -0.7
CrowdStrike CRWD 290.85 2.6 JVSPACAcqn JVSAU 10.16 1.2 agilon health AGL 6.36 -5.3 TWOU 0.73 -3.3
AcuityBrands AYI 231.16 1.8 SeanergyMaritime SHIP 8.33 -2.4 DigitalBrands DBGI 2.31 -0.8 Silynxcom SYNX 3.07 -13.3 2U WesternCopper WRN 1.04 0.9
CrownPropA CPTK 10.69 ... JawsMustang JWSM.U 11.00 1.4 Agriforce AGRI 0.30 -8.7 Lantheus LNTH 52.69 -3.5 U Power UCAR 0.11 10.2
Acushnet GOLF 65.40 2.7 ServiceNow NOW 753.16 0.4 DiversifiedEnergy DEC 11.94 6.7 Skillsoft SKIL 13.20 1.1 WindtreeTherap WINT 0.42 4.2
Datadog DDOG 130.50 2.7 KLA KLAC 616.98 3.9 Agrify AGFY 1.02 -22.6 DuckhornPtf Lazydays GORV 3.92 7.9 QURE 5.47 0.5
AdvMicroDevices AMD 174.25 7.1 SkechersUSA SKX 64.86 1.2 NAPA 8.34 0.7 SocietyPass SOPA 0.20 -2.4 uniQure Workhorse WKHS 0.27 -5.4
DeckersOutdoor DECK 749.49 1.7 Kaman KAMN 45.26 100.8 AISP 1.42 3.4 ECDAutoDesign ECDA Leafly LFLY 4.47 -1.8
Aegon AEG 5.92 0.9 SkyHarbourWt SKYH.WS 1.33 ... AirshipAI 0.90 2.0 SoloBrands DTC 2.85 3.4 UTStarcom UTSI 2.78 -2.8 Youdao DAO 3.05 -8.9
DellTechC DELL 84.76 6.1 Kaspi.kz KSPI 95.97 4.3 AkariTherap AKTX 2.60 -13.6 ElicioTherap Li-Cycle LICY 0.35 -2.4
AerCap AER 75.66 1.3 SkyHarbour SKYH 12.37 3.1 ELTX 4.27 -4.1 Sonder SOND 2.33 -0.8 Uxin UXIN 2.68 -13.5 ZTO Express ZTO 17.09 -2.1
DescartesSystems DSGX 87.17 2.1 KodiakGasSvcs KGS 21.70 0.2 Alibaba BABA 66.92 2.0 Emeren Lightbridge LTBR 3.03 -1.0
Afya AFYA 22.48 0.7 SolenoTherap SLNO 47.33 7.9 SOL 1.94 0.5 SpectralAI MDAI 2.00 -5.1 VNET VNET 2.14 -7.6 ZaiLab ZLAB 22.13 -0.5
DieboldNixdorf DBD 30.90 3.9 LamResearch LRCX 828.56 5.2 AlternusCleanEner ALCE 1.01 -10.4 EmergentBiosol EBS LithiumAmArg LAAC 4.38 -9.0
AimeiHlthTechUn AFJKU 10.32 0.2 SparkIAcqnA SPKL 10.21 0.3 1.80 -0.5 StandardLithium SLI 1.11 -3.2 VS Media VSME 0.32 -10.6 ZeviaPBC ZVIA 1.46 7.0
DigitalWorldWt DWACW 11.60 16.4 LibertySirius A LSXMA 31.56 0.4 Ameren AEE 68.94 -0.5 EndeavourSilver EXK LithiumAmericas LAC 4.27 -6.8
AkamaiTech AKAM 120.68 0.9 Splunk SPLK 153.34 0.3 1.65 2.4
DoorDash DASH 106.56 1.3 LibertySirius C LSXMK 31.52 0.3 AmerGold&Silver USAS 0.20 -1.0 ENGlobal Longeveron LGVN 0.94 -6.9
Allstate ALL 156.52 1.3 SproutsFarmers SFM 51.74 0.1 ENG 1.30 -12.7
Dropbox DBX 32.18 1.7 LibertyRscsA LIBY 11.10 0.1 AmpioPharm AMPE 1.57 ... EnsysceBioWt ENSCW Lucid LCID 2.54 2.3
AllyFinancial ALLY 35.88 10.7 StepStone STEP 33.53 4.8 0.00 -61.3
Dynatrace DT 57.94 1.5 Loews L 72.47 1.0 LuminarTech LAZR 2.09 2.3
AlphaMetal
Alphabet C
AMR 403.52
GOOG 148.04
1.5
2.1 Eaton ETN 244.62 1.9 MGIC Investment MTG 19.67 2.1
StoneBridge
Stride
APACU 12.55
LRN 62.88
14.1
1.0
AngioDynamics ANGO 5.67 0.2 Enviva
Aravive ARAV 0.05 -12.3 EsportsEnt
EVA
GMBL
0.40 -18.4
2.02 -10.6
Luxfer LXFR 7.88 -0.1 Dividend Changes
Alphabet A GOOGL 146.45 2.0 EdgewiseTherap EWTX 13.75 34.6 Macrogenics MGNX 12.10 11.6 ArcadiumLithium ALTM 4.92 -6.5 EvokePharma EVOK MAG Silver MAG 8.89 0.6
SuperMicroComp SMCI 428.69 35.9 0.65 -1.9
AlvotechWt ALVOW 4.12 30.9 Elastic ESTC 121.63 1.8 MakeMyTrip MMYT 49.66 1.3 ADM ADM 68.00 -0.8 Evotec MaisonSolutions MSS 0.73 -2.2
SwiftmergeAcqn IVCPU 11.65 4.2 EVO 7.66 -1.7 Amount Payable /
AnnalyCapPfdI NLYpI 24.87 0.2 Eltek ELTK 17.66 8.1 Marriott MAR 234.10 0.4 ArenaGroup AREN 0.78 -33.6 ExelaTech MariaDBWt MRDB.WS 0.02 -2.0
T-MobileUS TMUS 165.95 0.2 XELA 2.13 -6.3 Company Symbol Yld % New/Old Frq Record
ApogeeTherap APGE 34.06 4.7 EnerTransferPfdI ETpI 11.15 1.8 MartinMarietta MLM 506.11 0.5 ArrayTech ARRY 12.85 -4.1 ExelaTechPfdB XELAP MariaDB MRDB 0.17 2.2
TaiwanSemi TSM 115.15 1.0 1.10 -10.5
ApolloGlbPfdA APOpA 58.13 2.5 EnerTransferPfdE ETpE 25.43 0.1 MarvellTech MRVL 71.21 4.2 AscentSolar ASTI 0.64 -9.2 Express MatthewsIntl MATW 32.80 ... Increased
Teekay TK 8.47 2.3 EXPR 7.26 0.7
ApolloGlbMgmt APO 98.94 2.4 ErieIndemnity ERIE 345.85 -0.8 Mastercard MA 437.07 1.4 Ashford AINC 2.90 -10.6 FLJ MicroAlgo MLGO 0.51 -5.5
TeekayTankers TNK 61.67 3.3 FLJ 0.64 -7.4 Fastenal FAST 2.2 .39 /.35 Q Feb29 /Feb01
ApplMaterials AMAT 168.28 4.7 EssentGroup ESNT 55.22 3.2 Matson MATX 119.67 4.2 AultAlliance AULT 0.75 -5.3 FreyrBattery MicroCloudHologram HOLO 0.20 -7.9
TextainerPfdB TGHpB 24.92 0.2 FREY 1.25 -4.3
APxAcqnI A APXI 11.30 0.4 F5 FFIV 181.68 -0.1 McDonald's MCD 301.08 2.1 AuroraCannabis ACB 0.40 0.3 FaZe MiddlesexWater MSEX 56.67 -1.8 Graham Holdings GHC 1.0 1.72 /1.65 Q Feb15 /Feb01
Textainer TGH 49.73 -0.1 FAZE 0.15 -5.5
ArchResources ARCH 186.70 4.4 FTAI Aviation FTAI 50.22 1.3 MercadoLibre MELI 1735.79 3.9 ThomsonReuters TRI 152.46 0.4 Bio-key BKYI 1.74 -1.7 FinchTherap FNCH 2.78 -5.2
MilestonePharm MIST 1.38 -6.0 MetroCity Bankshares MCBS 3.3 .20 /.18 Q Feb09 /Jan31
AristaNetworks ANET 265.00 2.3 Fabrinet FN 202.71 5.5 MercuryGeneral MCY 40.68 1.8 ByndCannasoft BCAN 0.24 -6.3 5EAdvMatls MontereyCapRt MCACR 0.01 -7.1 Oneok OKE 5.7 .99 /.955 Q Feb14 /Jan30
ToyotaMotor TM 200.70 0.3 FEAM 1.11 -0.4
Arm ARM 78.97 5.9 FairIsaac FICO 1266.71 0.8 Merus MRUS 35.16 9.8 Tradeweb TW 99.24 -0.1 BallardPower BLDP 2.91 2.0 ForwardAir FWRD 50.81 -2.2 NIO NIO 5.86 -3.5
Fastenal FAST 69.51 2.1 MetaPlatforms META 384.36 1.9 NaaSTechnology NAAS 1.07 -3.4
Plumas Bancorp PLBC 2.8 .27 /.25 Q Feb15 /Feb01
AssuredGuaranty AGO 79.57 2.2 TrailblazerI A TBMC 10.48 -0.1 Bausch+Lomb BLCO 14.40 -2.0 Fresh2 FRES 0.40 -23.1
AtlCoastalA ACAH 11.64 -0.2 FifthThirdPfdB FITBP 25.19 2.3 Microsoft MSFT 398.67 1.2 TraneTech TT 249.89 0.6 Beneficient BENF 0.32 -6.0 GDS Holdings GDS 5.33 -4.5 NanoDimension NNDM 2.06 6.2 Valero Energy VLO 3.3 1.07 /1.02 Q Mar04 /Feb01
Autodesk ADSK 249.05 3.1 Fiserv FI 139.35 0.9 MiX Telematics MIXT 9.26 3.9 TransDigm TDG 1059.95 0.4 Bilibili BILI 9.13 -3.0 GRI Bio GRI 0.25 -4.9 NeuroMetrix NURO 2.85 -5.1
AutoZone AZO 2774.99 0.9 Flexsteel FLXS 29.36 4.8 ModineMfg MOD 66.82 0.5 Travelers TRV 214.29 6.7 Biofrontera BFRI 1.54 -9.4 GSE Systems GVP 1.21 0.8 NewFoundGold NFGC 3.03 -0.3 Reduced
Azenta AZTA 67.46 2.0 FomentoEconMex FMX 134.01 0.9 NB Bancorp NBBK 14.40 2.2 TriconRes TCN 11.15 28.3 Biolase BIOL 0.88 -14.1 GameSquare GAME 1.23 -9.5 NewHorizAircraft HOVR 1.75 -23.2 Mesa Royalty Trust MTR 16.9 .0252 /.03084 M Apr30 /Jan31
BankFinancial BFIN 10.77 2.9 FormFactor FORM 42.71 4.0 NGL EnergyPfdC NGLpC 29.53 0.9 TylerTech TYL 430.63 1.5 BionanoGenom BNGO 1.15 2.5 Gaxos.ai GXAI 0.22 -1.0 NewcourtAcqn NCACU 6.03 -3.0 Via Renewables Pfd A VIASP 17.6 .7596 /.76459 Q Apr15 /Apr01
bleuacaciaA BLEU 11.40 2.3 FutureHealthESG FHLTU 10.90 4.7 NRG Energy NRG 52.54 3.1 Uber UBER 65.39 0.4 BioraTherap BIOR 0.87 -6.3 GeneDxWt WGSWW 0.00 -25.7 NewcourtAcqnA NCAC 5.60 -15.0
BlueOwlCapital OWL 15.46 2.3 GardenStage GSIW 12.50 6.6 NatlPrestoInds NPK 83.71 0.9 UnvlTechInst UTI 14.00 0.4 bluebirdbio BLUE 1.24 -9.0 GeoVaxLabs GOVX 0.29 -1.6 NiuTech NIU 1.75 -3.0 Stocks
Booking BKNG 3622.59 2.5 Genetron GTH 3.81 ... NaviosMaritime NMM 29.74 0.8 UrbanOutfitters URBN 40.03 2.0 BluejayDiag BJDX 0.89 -3.5 GinkgoBioworksWt DNA.WS 0.08 -1.7 noco-noco NCNC 0.14 -5.7
Nuvve Holding NVVE 1:40 /Jan22
Broadcom AVGO 1217.00 5.9 GileadSciences GILD 87.87 1.0 NeuroPace NPCE 14.45 7.8 VeecoInstr VECO 32.55 2.9 BowFlex BFX 0.47 1.3 Gogoro GGR 2.18 -0.9 NoEuroOil NRT 5.05 -4.8
Processa Pharmaceuticals PCSA 1:20 /Jan22
BuildersFirst BLDR 172.55 4.1 GitLab GTLB 68.37 5.0 NewAmstPharma NAMS 20.30 10.8 Vertiv VRT 53.67 5.5 Boxlight BOXL 0.81 -3.5 GoldenHeaven GDHG 0.44 -8.0 NovaBayPharm NBY 0.14 2.0
GoldenStarAcqn GODN 10.50 0.1 NewAmstPharmaWt NAMSW 8.50 28.4 Novavax NVAX 3.99 -1.5
Reborn Coffee REBN 1:8 /Jan22
CBIZ CBZ 63.58 1.0 ViantTech DSP 8.43 17.2 CN Energy CNEY 1.25 2.8 GreenGiant GGE 0.04 -2.9
CCSC Tech Intl CCTG 10.33 16.9 GrahamHoldings GHC 710.00 0.9 NewMarket NEU 599.04 ... VTSI 12.93 6.6 C3is CISS 0.11 -64.1 GreenPlains GPRE 20.32 0.1 NovoIntSci NVOS 0.61 -5.5
VirTra Foreign
CRH CRH 69.87 0.8 Grainger GWW 879.56 -0.9 Nova NVMI 144.60 4.9 Visa V 271.15 1.0 CalAmp CAMP 0.16 -4.8 GroceryOutlet GO 25.56 0.1 Nukkleus NUKK 0.82 -6.2
CSW Industrials CSWI 217.00 -0.2 GpoAvalAcc AVAL 2.71 1.9 Nutanix NTNX 55.32 2.6 40.17 1.9 CalidiBiotherap CLDI 1.11 -7.4 HDFC Bank 55.11 -1.2 Nxu NXU 1.25 -3.8
Banco Bradesco Ord ADR BBDO 5.4 .00351 Mar08 /Feb05
Vistra VST HDB
CadenceDesign CDNS 292.54 4.7 Guidewire GWRE 115.26 2.9 NVIDIA NVDA 595.00 4.2 WarriorMetCoal HCC 69.97 3.7 Canoo GOEV 0.16 -6.0 HelloGroup MOMO 6.01 -0.5 OpalFuels OPAL 4.77 1.0 Banco Bradesco Pref ADR BBD 5.2 .00386 Mar08 /Feb05
Camtek CAMT 79.87 3.1 HamiltonLane HLNE 119.20 3.0 OReillyAuto ORLY 1037.24 1.2 WasteConnections WCN 152.66 1.7 CareMax CMAX 0.30 21.1 HepionPharm HEPA 2.07 -4.5 Ohmyhome OMH 1.04 -7.5 Granite REIT GRP.U 4.2 .2034 M Feb15 /Jan31
CapitalProduct CPLP 18.22 0.2 HartfordFinl HIG 85.16 2.4 OaktreeSpec OCSL 21.45 0.1 WasteMgt WM 184.93 0.5 CarismaTherap CARM 2.12 -2.6 Hesai HSAI 6.61 2.0 OneMedNet ONMD 0.42 -18.9 Sources: FactSet; Dow Jones Market Data
Celestica CLS 31.25 8.1 Hilton HLT 187.60 0.9 OldRepublic ORI 30.07 0.6 WesternDigital WDC 54.79 2.3 CenntroElec CENN 1.00 3.8 Hywin HYW 1.15 -5.6 Orgenesis ORGS 0.25 -12.1
HD 362.96 1.3 OntoInnovation ONTO 163.39 4.9 3.34 -2.1 IHS Holding PED 0.64 -4.1
KEY: A: annual; M: monthly; Q: quarterly; r: revised; SA: semiannual; S2:1: stock split and
Cencora COR 221.31 -1.1 HomeDepot WhiteMtnIns WTM 1643.00 0.5 CenturyCasinos CNTY IHS 4.01 -0.2 PEDEVCO
CtrlPlainsBcshs CPBI 10.87 0.2 HowmetAerospace HWM 55.93 1.0 OrchardTherap ORTX 16.63 0.2 WhitestoneREIT WSR 12.73 1.4 ChargePoint CHPT 1.56 5.5 IM Cannabis IMCC 0.21 -10.7 PaxMedica PXMD 0.56 -3.7 ratio; SO: spin-off.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

B8 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

BIGGEST 1,000 STOCKS

YTD 52-Week Yld Net YTD 52-Week Yld Net YTD 52-Week Yld Net
How to Read the Stock Tables % Chg Hi Lo Stock Sym % PE Last Chg % Chg Hi Lo Stock Sym % PE Last Chg % Chg Hi Lo Stock Sym % PE Last Chg
The following explanations apply to NYSE, NYSE Arca, NYSE American and Nasdaq Stock Market listed securities. -3.76 116.70 76.30 Floor&Decor FND ... 42 107.36 2.01 -4.41 94.97 59.12 McCormickVtg MKC.V 2.6 27 65.00 1.62 -1.55 74.66 52.89 ServiceIntl SCI 1.7 21 67.39 -0.15
Prices are composite quotations that include primary market trades as well as trades reported by Nasdaq BX s 2.53 134.01 81.14 FomentoEconMex FMX 1.1 13 133.65 1.13 -4.95 94.39 59.13 McCormick MKC 2.6 27 65.03 0.11 s 6.03 753.16 405.37 ServiceNow NOW ... 97 749.11 3.15
(formerly Boston), Chicago Stock Exchange, Cboe, NYSE National and Nasdaq ISE. -8.12 15.42 9.63 FordMotor F 5.4 7 11.20 0.21 s 1.36 301.08 245.73 McDonald's MCD 2.2 26 300.53 6.17 -7.13 68.74 52.47 Shell SHEL 4.0 7 61.11 -0.24
The list comprises the 1,000 largest companies based on market capitalization. Underlined quotations are those 4.05 81.24 44.12 Fortinet FTNT ... 42 60.90 -0.51 4.67 494.76 331.75 McKesson MCK 0.5 19 484.60 -8.40 -2.53 314.14 205.43 SherwinWilliams SHW 0.8 33 304.02 -2.35
stocks with large changes in volume compared with the issue’s average trading volume. Boldfaced quotations -1.58 46.28 36.30 Fortis FTS 4.2 18 40.48 0.59 -3.53 317.57 167.00 Medpace MEDP ... 35 295.70 4.18 -9.45 36.64 24.99 ShinhanFin SHG 5.2 5 27.87 0.38
-1.85 79.90 62.70 Fortive FTV 0.4 31 72.27 0.69 4.99 92.02 68.84 Medtronic MDT 3.2 28 86.49 0.20 13.97 315.95 157.00 ShockwaveMed SWAV ... 34 217.19 -3.82
highlight those issues whose price changed by 5% or more if their previous closing price was $2 or higher. 2.23 80.33 54.10 FortuneBrands FBIN 1.2 23 77.84 0.61 s 9.84 1735.79 1063.02 MercadoLibre MELI ... 89 1726.19 64.21 2.71 83.19 38.14 Shopify SHOP ... dd 80.01 2.49
4.58 37.26 28.66 FoxA FOXA 1.7 15 31.03 0.16 9.05 119.94 99.14 Merck MRK 2.6 66 118.89 0.35 -0.72 146.91 100.17 SimonProperty SPG 5.4 21 141.62 -0.21
Footnotes: h-Does not meet continued listing v-Trading halted on primary market. 3.91 34.42 26.20 FoxB FOX 1.8 14 28.73 0.15 s 8.33 384.36 134.61 MetaPlatforms META ... 34 383.45 7.32 -7.90 202.14 95.55 SimpsonMfg SSD 0.6 22 182.33 -1.37
s-New 52-week high. standards vj-In bankruptcy or receivership or -2.91 161.25 102.29 Franco-Nevada FNV 1.3 30 107.59 -0.05 4.17 73.28 48.95 MetLife MET 3.0 25 68.89 1.17 -0.91 7.95 3.32 SiriusXM SIRI 2.0 17 5.42 0.06
t-New 52-week low. lf-Late filing being reorganized under the -6.24 34.37 21.88 FranklinRscs BEN 4.4 16 27.93 0.47 -1.07 1615.97 928.50 Mettler-Toledo MTD ... 31 1200.00 15.00 -1.80 176.16 116.81 SiteOneLandscape SITE ... 41 159.57 1.15
dd-Indicates loss in the most recent q-Temporary exemption from Nasdaq Bankruptcy Code, or securities -8.93 46.73 32.83 FreeportMcM FCX 1.5 26 38.77 0.56 -0.82 94.30 68.75 MicrochipTech MCHP 2.0 20 89.44 3.28 s 3.98 64.86 41.56 SkechersUSA SKX ... 19 64.82 0.75
four quarters. requirements. assumed by such companies. -6.14 27.71 16.37 FreseniusMedCare FMS 2.1 19 19.55 0.17 2.54 87.87 52.76 MicronTech MU 0.5 dd 87.51 2.69 -5.68 123.69 85.06 Skyworks SWKS 2.6 17 106.04 2.31
-4.71 9.75 5.41 FullTruck YMM ... 27 6.68 0.13 s 6.02 398.67 230.90 Microsoft MSFT 0.8 39 398.67 4.80 -1.49 82.77 57.45 SmithAO AOS 1.6 41 81.21 0.63
FD-First day of trading. t-NYSE bankruptcy -23.85 727.77 188.30 MicroStrategy MSTR ...373 481.00 -5.60 3.26 33.09 21.52 Smith&Nephew SNN 2.6 56 28.17 0.11
Stock tables reflect composite regular trading as of 4 p.m. and changes in the closing prices from 4 p.m. the previous day. GHI 0.58 176.36 115.56 MidAmApt MAA 4.3 27 135.24 3.78 2.23 159.92 107.33 Smucker SJM 3.3 dd 129.20 -0.10
-3.76 162.02 109.59 Middleby MIDD ... 17 141.64 3.61 -3.01 17.90 7.86 Snap SNAP ... dd 16.42 0.21
-4.15 87.83 62.35 GE HealthCare GEHC 0.2 22 74.11 0.59 2.67 9.04 5.99 MitsubishiUFJ MUFG 2.3 8 8.84 0.03 -0.69 297.25 226.68 Snap-On SNA 2.6 16 286.86 1.90
Friday, January 19, 2024 YTD 52-Week Yld Net -2.32 39.05 26.87 GFLEnvironmental GFL 0.2 dd 33.71 -0.12 1.16 3.70 2.70 MizuhoFin MFG 2.7 10 3.48 ... -2.95 202.83 128.56 Snowflake SNOW ... dd 193.12 6.51
% Chg Hi Lo Stock Sym % PE Last Chg 7.07 40.34 33.20 GSK GSK 3.4 11 39.68 0.14 -34.58 48.11 27.29 Mobileye MBLY ... dd 28.34 0.27 -20.49 98.66 44.86 SOQUIMICH SQM 6.8 5 47.88 -0.07
YTD 52-Week Yld Net 6.19 254.00 174.44 Gallagher AJG 0.9 46 238.79 1.84 0.25 198.86 62.55 Moderna MRNA ... dd 99.70 0.63 -24.72 11.70 4.45 SoFiTech SOFI ... dd 7.49 0.08
% Chg Hi Lo Stock Sym % PE Last Chg -6.52 17.95 7.65 Carnival CUK 0.0 dd 15.76 0.03 -5.75 55.13 43.54 Gaming&Leisure GLPI 6.3 17 46.51 0.18 1.16 391.21 256.19 MolinaHealthcare MOH ... 23 365.51 -15.55 4.57 100.94 79.62 Sony SONY 0.4 20 99.02 1.17
-2.73 60.04 40.28 CarrierGlobal CARR 1.4 40 55.88 0.48 -2.38 129.32 93.22 Garmin GRMN 2.3 23 125.48 1.20 2.09 70.90 49.25 MolsonCoorsB TAP 2.6 54 62.49 -0.34 -1.67 75.80 61.56 Southern SO 4.1 25 68.95 0.18
ABC -15.15 62.59 6.06 Carvana CVNA
3.95 291.51 202.13 CaseysGenStores CASY
... dd 44.92
0.6 22 285.58
2.08
0.37
3.05 469.58 292.60 Gartner
2.89 23.74 15.45 GenDigital
IT ... 40 464.88
GEN 2.1 11 23.48
1.79
0.51
4.16 199.68 108.34 monday.com MNDY ... dd 195.63 2.59 -5.79 88.40 64.66 SoCopper SCCO 4.9 22 81.09 2.28
0.58 78.59 60.75 Mondelez MDLZ 2.3 22 72.85 -0.06 3.84 39.53 21.91 SouthwestAir LUV 2.4 41 29.99 -0.04
-4.25 94.01 74.40 AECOM ACM 0.9231 88.50 0.05 9.53 74.49 31.45 Catalent CTLT ... dd 49.21 0.49 -9.61 156.95 79.86 Generac GNRC ... 46 116.82 0.93 -1.91 442.84 179.52 MongoDB MDB ... dd 401.05 8.87 -2.14 7.69 4.57 SouthwesternEner SWN ... 1 6.41 -0.03
-12.26 27.71 11.43 AES AES 3.9 dd 16.89 -0.49 -3.51 299.20 204.04 Caterpillar CAT 1.8 16 285.28 4.68 -3.98 261.39 202.35 GeneralDynamics GD 2.1 21 249.34 -1.61 0.09 647.12 383.19 MonolithicPower MPWR 0.6 68 631.33 20.43 s 0.59 153.34 82.19 Splunk SPLK ...345 153.25 0.46
2.27 84.64 60.20 Aflac AFL 2.4 11 84.37 0.76 -6.59 159.06 97.12 Celanese CE 1.9 8 145.13 -0.45 1.71 130.80 75.67 GeneralElec GE 0.2 15 129.81 1.26 -0.75 60.47 47.13 MonsterBev MNST ... 39 57.18 -0.07 8.94 209.88 94.35 Spotify SPOT ... dd 204.71 -0.11
-3.09 145.53 109.81 AGCO AGCO 1.0 8 117.66 1.82 -4.64 68.95 26.75 CelsiusHldg CELH ...106 51.99 -7.59 -3.05 90.89 60.33 GeneralMills GIS 3.7 15 63.15 -0.16 -0.95 396.91 278.23 Moody's MCO 0.8 47 386.84 3.64 -3.26 104.21 73.12 StanleyBlackDck SWK 3.4 dd 94.90 0.42
-7.13 364.31 248.00 Ansys ANSS ... 61 337.00 8.73 -3.74 8.46 4.72 Cemex CX ... 24 7.46 0.05 -1.14 43.63 26.30 GeneralMotors GM 1.0 5 35.51 0.93 -8.48 100.99 69.42 MorganStanley MS 4.0 16 85.34 1.44 0.16 81.22 50.56 Stantec STN 0.7 36 80.32 0.27
t -15.36 46.98 29.95 APA APA 3.3 6 30.37 -0.06 s 6.28 221.31 147.48 Cencora COR 0.9 26 218.28 -2.51 -9.11 42.99 27.74 Genmab GMAB ... 31 28.94 0.22 -2.64 289.17 163.28 Morningstar MORN 0.6169 278.67 1.96 -2.24 115.48 89.21 Starbucks SBUX 2.4 26 93.86 0.52
-1.49 9.55 6.70 ASE Tech ASX 4.6 17 9.27 0.22 -10.39 21.37 14.69 CenovusEnergy CVE 2.1 9 14.92 0.02 -0.98 34.33 25.77 Gentex GNTX 1.5 19 32.34 -0.26 -10.16 57.46 31.33 Mosaic MOS 2.6 8 32.10 -0.02 -2.07 94.73 62.78 StateStreet STT 3.6 14 75.86 1.55
0.12 771.98 564.00 ASML ASML 0.7 37 757.83 13.30 -0.08 79.83 60.83 Centene CNC ... 17 74.15 -2.45 2.59 181.37 126.35 GenuineParts GPC 2.7 16 142.09 2.64 4.21 329.83 251.00 MotorolaSol MSI 1.2 33 326.28 5.31 -4.44 136.46 90.55 SteelDynamics STLD 1.5 7 112.86 0.17
-0.66 21.53 13.43 AT&T T 6.7 dd 16.67 0.27 -2.80 31.43 25.42 CenterPointEner CNP 2.9 22 27.77 ... -11.55 6.24 4.15 Gerdau GGB 0.6 5 4.29 0.05 2.75 384.25 231.65 MurphyUSA MUSA 0.4 15 366.36 -6.17 -7.29 23.66 14.98 Stellantis STLA 6.8 3 21.62 0.06
4.20 115.83 89.67 AbbottLabs ABT 1.9 39 114.69 0.67 -1.39 8.99 5.67 CentraisElBras EBR 0.5 30 8.50 0.19 s 7.75 87.86 72.87 GileadSciences GILD 3.4 19 87.29 0.89 6.37 231.54 149.54 NICE NICE ... 43 212.22 9.07 0.72 254.00 173.21 Steris STE 0.9 40 221.43 0.96
6.32 166.20 130.96 AbbVie ABBV 3.8 45 164.77 1.47 -0.35 42.87 19.59 CerevelTherap CERE ... dd 42.25 -0.04 s 8.59 68.37 26.24 GitLab GTLB ... dd 68.37 3.27 t -33.19 16.18 5.86 NIO NIO ... dd 6.06 -0.22 3.85 36.30 18.20 Stevanato STVN 0.2 47 28.34 0.89
10.49 86.00 66.49 AcadiaHealthcare ACHC ... dd 85.92 0.86 -1.28 79.66 55.62 CeridianHCM CDAY ...2738 66.26 0.63 1.94 138.07 94.05 GlobalPayments GPN 0.8 39 129.46 2.04 -1.79 47.95 34.38 NNN REIT NNN 5.3 20 42.33 0.46 1.53 70.65 53.48 StifelFinancial SF 2.1 16 70.21 1.28
s 3.70 364.82 242.80 Accenture ACN 1.4 34 363.90 4.35 -10.31 262.00 161.65 CharlesRiverLabs CRL ... 23 212.03 5.92 -2.36 72.50 48.12 GlobalFoundries GFS ... 23 59.17 2.40 -3.85 24.83 14.05 NOV NOV 1.0 15 19.50 0.03 -10.25 55.85 37.21 STMicroelec STM 0.5 10 44.99 1.00
s 12.54 231.16 149.30 AcuityBrands AYI 0.2 20 230.51 4.12 -4.52 458.30 315.02 CharterComms CHTR ... 12 371.10 6.55 -2.70 250.39 135.41 Globant GLOB ... 65 231.56 2.79 s 1.59 52.54 30.25 NRG Energy NRG 2.9 dd 52.52 1.56 5.21 317.82 248.96 Stryker SYK 1.0 47 315.05 0.33
2.51 633.89 318.60 Adobe ADBE ... 52 611.55 17.85 3.23 160.21 117.18 CheckPoint CHKP ... 22 157.73 -1.33 0.07 125.02 102.23 GlobeLife GL 0.7 13 121.81 1.08 2.96 7267.02 4900.99 NVR NVR ... 15 7207.99 23.03 1.55 10.58 7.53 SumitomoMits SMFG 3.0 12 9.83 0.07
-4.62 145.68 75.02 AdvDrainageSys WMS 0.4 23 134.14 1.41 s 1.65 596.99 489.54 Chemed CHE 0.3 37 594.41 1.35 6.06 80.04 43.38 GlobusMedical GMED ... 37 56.52 0.81 -4.93 238.27 155.31 NXP Semicon NXPI 1.9 20 218.36 6.75 -3.34 163.83 102.74 SunComms SUI 2.9 71 129.19 0.18
s 18.19 174.25 67.45 AdvMicroDevices AMD ...1374 174.23 11.56 -5.66 183.46 135.30 CheniereEnergy LNG 1.1 3 161.05 -1.35 1.77 108.47 67.44 GoDaddy GDDY ... 47 108.04 0.75 -0.50 62.79 46.88 Nasdaq NDAQ 1.5 26 57.85 1.02 -1.70 53.21 43.53 SunLifeFinancial SLF 4.5 12 50.98 0.56
s 2.60 5.92 4.02 Aegon AEG 4.0 dd 5.91 0.05 1.29 62.34 42.96 CheniereEnerPtrs CQP 6.1 5 50.43 -0.64 -12.52 17.78 8.89 GoldFields GFI 2.6 17 12.65 0.17 6.37 68.59 36.90 Natera NTRA ... dd 66.63 -0.93 -1.72 35.51 27.59 SuncorEnergy SU 5.1 7 31.49 0.05
s 1.79 75.66 49.58 AerCap AER ... 7 75.65 0.95 -1.30 93.12 69.68 ChesapeakeEner CHK 3.0 2 75.94 -0.41 -0.93 389.47 289.36 GoldmanSachs GS 2.9 17 382.20 5.29 -2.77 74.48 56.41 NationalGrid NGG 5.3 5 66.11 0.17 s 48.93 428.69 70.11 SuperMicroComp SMCI ... 39 423.36 111.92
-14.17 52.48 8.80 AffirmHldgs AFRM ... dd 42.17 2.04 -4.64 187.81 139.62 Chevron CVX 4.2 11 142.24 0.42 -10.98 3.92 2.65 Grab GRAB ... dd 3.00 ... -4.26 7.79 4.29 NatWest NWG 7.0 5 5.39 0.05 -7.48 11.60 7.46 Suzano SUZ 1.7 4 10.51 0.07
-5.62 159.59 96.80 AgilentTechs A 0.7 31 131.22 0.76 -18.11 52.88 16.53 Chewy CHWY ...730 19.35 0.07 -2.03 87.94 65.93 Graco GGG 1.2 28 85.00 0.39 -0.40 91.78 59.73 NetApp NTAP 2.3 27 87.81 1.35 -14.09 64.14 13.25 Symbotic SYM ... dd 44.10 2.32
-10.05 61.15 43.22 AgnicoEagleMines AEM 3.2 9 49.34 0.19 2.08 2348.41 1470.05 Chipotle CMG ... 55 2334.60 11.78 s 4.26 879.56 544.95 Grainger GWW 0.9 24 864.00 -8.20 -1.57 118.89 76.85 NetEase NTES 1.9 16 91.70 2.26 -3.35 39.34 26.59 SynchronyFinl SYF 2.7 7 36.91 1.14
-4.81 320.90 251.63 AirProducts APD 2.7 25 260.64 0.61 s 5.01 238.04 183.40 Chubb CB 1.4 14 237.32 7.29 2.39 27.56 20.07 GraphicPkg GPK 1.6 11 25.24 0.09 -0.81 503.41 285.33 Netflix NFLX ... 48 482.95 -2.36 0.47 573.77 329.89 Synopsys
-2.97 41.58 35.45 ChunghwaTel CHT 3.0 25 37.91 0.10
SNPS ... 65 517.31 22.97
2.78 154.95 98.11 Airbnb ABNB ... 17 139.93 2.89 -11.54 200.85 107.25 GpoAeroportuar PAC 4.9 16 155.00 2.70 4.26 139.56 89.04 Neurocrine NBIX ... 73 137.37 0.62 2.84 82.38 62.23 Sysco SYY 2.7 21 75.21 0.01
s 1.69 120.68 70.65 AkamaiTech AKAM ... 36 120.35 1.02 2.51 100.52 78.63 Church&Dwight CHD 1.1 55 96.93 -0.90 -5.13 314.48 165.00 GpoAeroportSur ASR 1.8 15 279.16 6.13 -1.81 83.73 33.98 NewOrientalEduc EDU ... 44 71.95 -2.13
-20.31 293.01 112.00 Albemarle
-4.35 23.88 19.14 Albertsons
ALB 1.4 4 115.13 -2.86
ACI 2.2 10 22.00 0.06
-7.24 150.45 106.45 ChurchillDowns CHDN
16.66 54.25 39.94 Ciena CIEN
0.3 27 125.16
... 31 52.51
0.22
1.18
s 5.70 115.26 68.09 Guidewire GWRE ... dd 115.25
6.31 304.86 215.96 HCA Healthcare HCA 0.8 14 287.77
3.20
2.95
-2.54 14.22 5.81 NY CmntyBcp NYCB 6.8 2 9.97 0.14 TUV
-2.02 49.54 32.83 NYTimes A NYT 0.9 41 48.00 0.47
-0.50 86.20 63.78 Alcon ALC 0.3 86 77.73 0.13 0.87 319.92 240.50 Cigna CI 1.6 17 302.06 -7.02 t -16.79 71.76 55.11 HDFC Bank HDB 1.0 17 55.84 -0.68 -16.45 55.41 33.59 Newmont NEM 4.6 dd 34.58 -0.04 -11.96 13.48 5.08 TAL Education TAL ... dd 11.12 -0.15
-2.70 172.65 90.73 AlexandriaRlEst ARE 4.1 89 123.35 1.39 7.57 130.66 95.01 CincinnatiFinl CINF 2.7 11 111.29 3.02 -5.51 62.20 37.12 HF Sinclair DINO 3.4 5 52.51 0.12 -2.76 26.00 15.73 NewsCorp B NWS 0.8104 25.01 0.42 -0.77 45.18 32.52 TC Energy TRP 7.0 dd 38.79 0.04
t -10.44 121.30 66.92 Alibaba BABA 1.4 10 69.42 1.37 -0.60 607.79 423.06 Cintas CTAS 0.9 43 599.05 6.43 -3.22 33.90 25.22 HP HPQ 3.8 9 29.12 0.47 -2.12 24.81 15.57 NewsCorp A NWSA 0.8100 24.03 0.45 -2.82 110.94 86.30 TD Synnex SNX 1.5 16 104.58 0.43
-2.80 413.20 176.34 AlignTech ALGN ... 56 266.34 1.83 1.48 58.19 45.55 CiscoSystems CSCO 3.0 15 51.27 0.52 -6.29 42.47 32.41 HSBC HSBC 6.9 6 37.99 0.10 -5.73 84.20 47.15 NextEraEnergy NEE 3.3 15 57.26 -0.39 -5.67 146.59 115.00 TE Connectivity TEL 1.8 22 132.54 2.08
-3.55 128.43 95.94 Allegion ALLE 1.5 19 122.19 1.02 0.16 54.75 38.17 Citigroup C 4.1 13 51.52 0.41 -4.84 53.52 30.64 H World HTHT 1.9 23 31.82 0.40 -6.25 131.31 88.66 Nike NKE 1.5 30 101.78 0.84 3.04 21.82 15.47 Telus TU 5.9 45 18.33 0.09
-4.74 56.26 45.15 AlliantEnergy LNT 3.9 18 48.87 -0.18 -1.66 44.82 22.77 CitizensFin CFG 5.2 10 32.59 0.99 3.16 9.05 7.49 Haleon HLN 1.2 30 8.49 0.13 -3.58 28.95 22.86 NiSource NI 3.9 17 25.60 -0.05 -8.50 45.81 35.22 Ternium TX 7.5 26 38.86 0.03
s 10.64 156.52 100.57 Allstate ALL 2.3 dd 154.88 1.96 -2.72 179.49 122.03 CleanHarbors CLH ... 26 169.77 4.00 -6.03 43.85 27.84 Halliburton HAL 1.9 12 33.97 0.66 0.29 4.97 2.94 Nokia NOK 2.7 5 3.43 -0.04 -3.11 138.16 100.96 TFI Intl TFII 1.2 22 131.75 0.07
s 1.86 35.88 21.59 AllyFinancial ALLY 3.4 12 35.57 3.44 -13.17 22.83 13.61 Cleveland-Cliffs CLF 0.0 27 17.73 -0.09 s 5.77 85.16 64.25 HartfordFinl HIG 2.2 12 85.02 2.03 9.76 5.06 3.38 Nomura NMR 2.4 16 4.95 0.02 -3.09 18.94 10.20 TIM TIMB 4.2 19 17.90 0.19
-3.86 234.78 148.10 AlnylamPharm ALNY ... dd 184.03 -1.92 -0.26 178.21 114.69 Clorox CLX 3.4207 142.22 -1.13 -0.25 28.43 15.24 HealthpeakProp PEAK 6.1 46 19.75 0.15 -4.07 265.99 202.57 Nordson NDSN 1.1 30 253.42 1.88 1.80 95.92 72.92 TJX TJX 1.4 27 95.50 0.75
s 5.00 148.04 88.86 Alphabet C GOOG ... 28 147.97 2.98 -2.29 86.91 39.90 Cloudflare NET ... dd 81.35 3.39 -1.39 191.00 153.63 Heico HEI 0.1 61 176.38 -1.16 -0.99 259.67 183.09 NorfolkSouthern NSC 2.3 26 234.05 -0.21 s 3.01 165.94 124.92 T-MobileUS TMUS 1.6 26 165.16 0.27
s 4.79 146.45 88.58 Alphabet A GOOGL ... 28 146.38 2.90 1.53 64.99 51.55 Coca-Cola KO 3.1 24 59.83 -0.33 -2.70 150.42 121.43 Heico A HEI.A 0.1 48 138.60 0.11 -3.84 99.87 62.44 NorthernTrust NTRS 3.7 16 81.14 0.23 -6.88 44.46 24.74 TPG TPG 3.5 dd 40.20 1.10
1.87 86.99 49.98 AltairEngg ALTR ... dd 85.72 0.56 -7.51 961.91 474.28 CocaColaCon COKE 0.2 18 858.64 -0.25 -2.21 89.72 60.01 HenrySchein HSIC ... 22 74.04 -0.21 0.50 496.89 414.56 NorthropGrum NOC 1.6 15 470.48 -4.15 1.68 132.76 87.43 T.RowePrice TROW 4.5 16 109.50 3.22
-0.02 48.11 39.06 Altria MO 9.7 8 40.33 -0.11 s 1.21 67.81 53.53 Coca-ColaEuro CCEP 2.9 17 67.55 0.90 2.16 276.88 178.82 Hershey HSY 2.5 21 190.46 -1.01 -11.38 22.75 12.15 NorwegCruise NCLH ... dd 17.76 0.25 s 9.81 115.15 81.21 TaiwanSemi TSM 1.3 22 114.20 1.17
2.24 157.17 88.12 Amazon.com AMZN ... 81 155.34 1.84 1.79 78.42 56.45 CognizantTech CTSH 1.5 19 76.88 1.22 -4.74 167.75 113.82 Hess HES 1.3 27 137.32 0.21 7.19 108.41 75.68 Novartis NVS 2.1 29 108.23 0.20 1.34 164.85 103.13 TakeTwoSoftware TTWO ... dd 163.10 3.24
-3.57 3.23 2.40 Ambev ABEV 4.0 14 2.70 ... 6.06 60.46 26.29 Coherent COHR ... dd 46.17 0.44 1.58 33.32 25.63 HessMidstream HESM 7.7 16 32.13 -0.23 3.39 108.98 65.58 NovoNordisk NVO 0.7 44 106.96 -0.59 3.08 17.15 13.19 TakedaPharm TAK 3.7 33 14.71 -0.16
-1.76 12.25 8.45 Amcor AMCR 5.3 14 9.47 0.02 -28.27 187.39 46.43 CoinbaseGlbl COIN ... dd 124.75 0.41 -9.48 18.14 13.65 HewlettPackard HPE 3.4 10 15.37 0.41 10.08 9.49 3.62 NuHoldings NU ...123 9.17 0.12 -0.46 47.48 25.99 Tapestry TPR 3.8 9 36.64 0.81
5.43 99.75 78.38 Amdocs DOX 1.9 21 92.66 1.63 0.84 82.09 67.62 ColgatePalm CL 2.4 42 80.38 0.03 s 2.91 187.60 129.86 Hilton HLT 0.3 38 187.38 1.67 -4.17 182.68 129.79 Nucor NUE 1.3 8 166.79 0.39 -5.04 91.44 64.85 TargaResources TRGP 2.4 21 82.49 -0.10
t -4.23 91.18 68.94 Ameren AEE 3.6 16 69.28 -0.33 -1.14 47.45 34.63 Comcast A CMCSA 2.7 12 43.35 0.81 2.90 87.88 64.02 Hologic HOLX ... 40 73.52 -0.03 s 15.10 55.32 23.34 Nutanix NTNX ... dd 54.89 1.37 -3.01 181.70 102.93 Target TGT 3.2 18 138.14 0.74
-0.11 23.07 15.99 AmericaMovil AMX 1.9 15 18.50 0.48 -5.75 77.34 28.40 Comerica CMA 5.4 8 52.60 0.31 s 4.58 362.96 274.26 HomeDepot HD 2.3 23 362.41 4.51 -8.66 85.16 48.29 Nutrien NTR 4.1 12 51.45 1.46 -3.82 22.78 12.04 TechnipFMC FTI 1.0 dd 19.37 0.32
-0.58 19.08 10.86 AmerAirlines AAL 0.0 6 13.66 -0.16 -0.47 211.60 113.81 ComfortSystems FIX 0.5 26 204.70 0.13 4.69 36.82 23.65 HondaMotor HMC 2.5 8 32.36 -0.33 -1.78 59.58 38.03 nVentElectric NVT 1.3 21 58.04 1.76 -8.90 49.34 32.48 TeckResourcesB TECK 1.0 12 38.51 1.22
-4.33 96.05 69.38 AEP AEP 4.5 18 77.70 -0.50 2.10 64.86 40.91 CommerceBcshrs CBSH 1.9 15 54.53 1.53 -4.26 210.87 174.88 Honeywell HON 2.2 25 200.78 0.65 s 20.13 595.00 168.25 NVIDIA NVDA 0.0 79 594.91 23.84 -2.39 448.71 364.98 TeledyneTech TDY ... 26 435.63 3.09
-2.23 189.51 140.91 AmerExpress AXP 1.3 17 183.17 3.38 1.44 15.96 8.45 SABESP SBS 1.5 18 15.45 0.18 -4.58 46.04 30.12 HormelFoods HRL 3.7 21 30.64 -0.44 -1.01 276.43 177.63 Teleflex TFX 0.6 29 246.83 0.45
0.42 142.89 105.22 AmericanFin AFG 2.4 12 119.39 1.46
-0.97 37.97 28.79 AmHomes4Rent AMH 2.5 34 35.61 0.78
-0.14 38.94 25.16 ConagraBrands CAG
-7.06 127.35 91.53 ConocoPhillips COP
4.9 14 28.62
2.2 12 107.87
-0.09
0.94
2.18 156.78 89.05 DR Horton
2.52 20.39 14.51 HostHotels
DHI 0.8 11 155.30
HST 4.0 19 19.96
2.77
0.34
OPQ -6.51 6.36 4.33 Ericsson ERIC 2.8 dd 5.89
-6.31 11.15 7.16 TelefonicaBras VIV 5.4 19 10.25
-0.25
-0.05
1.59 69.76 45.66 AIG AIG 2.1 13 68.83 1.59 -1.22 100.92 80.46 ConEd ED 3.6 13 89.86 0.46 -0.48 123.51 83.92 HoulihanLokey HLI 1.8 31 119.34 1.91 -0.26 72.52 55.91 ONEOK OKE 5.7 13 70.04 -1.21 5.90 4.53 3.69 Telefonica TEF 5.8 13 4.13 0.05
-5.56 235.49 154.58 AmerTowerREIT AMT 3.2134 203.87 -0.04 5.05 273.65 210.15 ConstBrands A STZ 1.4 30 253.95 0.30 s 2.99 55.92 38.17 HowmetAerospace HWM 0.4 36 55.74 0.55 -11.56 111.35 61.47 ON Semi ON ... 15 73.87 0.65 -1.48 29.58 21.66 TelekmIndonesia TLK 3.3 16 25.38 -0.12
-5.07 162.59 114.25 AmerWaterWorks AWK 2.3 26 125.30 -0.53 -2.09 127.24 71.16 ConstellationEner CEG 1.0 22 114.45 3.04 0.21 340.06 219.77 Hubbell HUBB 1.5 26 329.62 3.93 s 8.21 1037.24 767.27 OReillyAuto ORLY ... 27 1028.10 12.57 0.06 51.68 34.98 TempurSealy TPX 0.9 23 51.00 0.39
-2.94 33.90 24.31 AmericoldRealty COLD 3.0 dd 29.38 0.32 2.39 399.62 303.74 Cooper COO 0.0 66 387.50 1.75 0.15 593.53 311.93 HubSpot HUBS ... dd 581.40 7.49 -5.51 67.93 55.12 OccidentalPetrol OXY 1.3 12 56.42 -0.05 -8.86 37.35 24.69 Tenaris TS 0.0 5 31.68 0.09
0.48 386.33 275.09 Ameriprise AMP 1.4 16 381.67 6.79 -0.61 51.53 30.52 Copart CPRT ... 36 48.70 0.53 -12.29 541.21 390.50 Humana HUM 0.9 17 401.53 -10.45 -10.22 92.38 64.67 Okta OKTA ... dd 81.28 0.06 -5.55 9.58 5.70 TencentMusic TME ... 20 8.51 -0.24
-1.73 165.52 131.52 Ametek AME 0.6 29 162.03 -0.28 1.56 41.52 20.30 Core&Main CNM ... 19 41.04 0.15 -0.51 209.21 163.66 JBHunt JBHT 0.8 29 198.72 1.78 -4.47 438.05 295.80 OldDomFreight ODFL 0.4 34 387.23 4.83 8.73 85.40 49.61 TenetHealthcare THC ... 18 82.17 1.79
6.87 311.05 211.71 Amgen AMGN 2.9 22 307.81 3.32 12.10 24.43 14.01 CorebridgeFin CRBG 3.8 8 24.28 0.38 ... 15.62 9.13 HuntingtonBcshs HBAN 4.9 10 12.72 0.48 s 1.90 30.07 23.31 OldRepublic ORI 3.3 10 29.96 0.19 0.18 119.20 81.08 Teradyne TER 0.4 36 108.72 2.70
-1.92 34.44 17.58 AmkorTech AMKR 1.0 20 32.63 0.69 -0.03 37.10 25.26 Corning GLW 3.7 45 30.44 0.28 -1.31 261.42 188.51 HuntingIngalls HII 2.0 19 256.23 -3.96 -3.20 34.77 25.61 OmegaHealthcare OHI 9.0 31 29.68 0.27 -14.60 299.29 127.35 Tesla TSLA ... 68 212.19 0.31
-1.53 99.93 72.00 Amphenol APH 0.9 31 97.61 0.91 -4.84 65.21 43.22 Corteva CTVA 1.4 35 45.60 1.19 0.13 133.62 96.77 HyattHotels H 0.5 29 130.58 1.01 1.58 99.23 72.20 Omnicom OMC 3.2 13 87.88 -0.06 -1.98 173.27 131.19 TetraTech TTEK 0.6 32 163.62 0.44
-1.91 202.77 154.99 AnalogDevices ADI 1.8 30 194.77 4.80 -5.79 92.36 65.12 CoStar CSGP ... 83 82.33 0.50 0.17 25.04 19.34 ICICI Bank IBN 0.5 17 23.88 0.44 3.67 37.08 19.89 OnHolding ONON ...100 27.96 0.18 7.09 11.64 7.08 TevaPharm TEVA ... dd 11.18 0.19
-13.16 30.27 14.91 AngloGoldAsh AU 1.3175 16.23 -0.07 s 5.29 696.13 465.33 Costco COST 0.6 47 694.97 7.66 -5.63 568.30 372.50 IdexxLab IDXX ... 53 523.82 -1.46 s 6.52 163.39 74.29 OntoInnovation ONTO ... 51 162.87 7.58 1.87 188.12 139.48 TexasInstruments TXN 3.0 23 173.65 6.74
-2.49 67.09 51.66 AB InBev BUD 1.0 20 63.01 0.31 -4.47 29.89 22.25 CoterraEnergy CTRA 3.3 8 24.38 -0.23 -6.86 15.22 11.00 ING Groep ING 5.4 ... 13.99 0.15 -2.02 43.25 32.04 OpenText OTEX 2.4 32 41.17 0.27 -5.39 2127.80 1266.21 TexasPacLand TPL 0.9 29 1487.66 3.29
-0.36 24.43 14.52 AnnalyCap NLY 13.5 dd 19.30 0.11 -2.58 13.46 9.02 Coty COTY 0.0 29 12.10 ... -4.20 20.56 12.48 Invesco IVZ 4.7 13 17.09 0.54 4.02 127.54 82.04 Oracle ORCL 1.5 30 109.67 0.97 -2.82 124.02 91.06 TexasRoadhouse TXRH 1.9 27 118.78 -0.57
7.06 347.37 280.89 Aon AON 0.8 24 311.58 4.30 -7.72 19.99 12.66 Coupang CPNG ... 63 14.94 0.03 -6.91 241.86 167.42 IQVIA IQV ... 36 215.39 2.20 6.91 13.08 10.21 Orange ORAN 4.7 19 12.22 0.04 -2.03 81.59 61.27 Textron TXT 0.1 17 78.79 0.45
6.58 94.75 19.83 ApellisPharm APLS ... dd 63.80 -0.08 -0.66 160.15 116.42 Credicorp BAP 4.5 9 148.94 0.14 -0.04 121.19 75.82 ITT ITT 1.0 23 119.27 0.74 1.56 101.56 79.64 Orix IX 2.7 11 94.85 -0.31 3.95 609.85 415.60 ThermoFisher TMO 0.3 36 551.75 7.33
-7.86 34.91 19.27 APi Group APG ... 81 31.88 0.09 s 13.79 290.85 97.26 CrowdStrike CRWD ... dd 290.54 7.43 1.80 54.48 15.00 IcahnEnterprises IEP 34.3 dd 17.50 -0.23 -1.89 91.33 73.32 OtisWorldwide OTIS 1.5 26 87.78 0.81 s 3.39 152.46 112.84 ThomsonReuters TRI 1.3 31 151.17 0.66
s 6.17 98.94 55.16 ApolloGlbMgmt APO 1.7 21 98.94 2.36 -6.27 153.98 84.72 CrownCastle CCI 5.8 30 107.97 0.18 -8.30 288.50 181.92 Icon ICLR ... 42 259.57 5.33 -6.85 52.47 32.07 Ovintiv OVV 2.9 4 40.91 0.61 -1.43 123.90 85.34 3M MMM 5.6 dd 107.76 1.32
-0.50 199.62 134.22 Apple AAPL 0.5 31 191.56 2.93 -1.57 96.35 75.61 Crown Holdings CCK 1.1 21 90.64 1.35 -4.64 240.15 183.76 IDEX IEX 1.2 25 207.04 1.71 1.62 155.19 86.34 OwensCorning OC 1.6 12 150.63 -0.08 -5.04 27.00 13.77 Toast TOST ... dd 17.34 -0.04
s 3.62 168.28 106.49 ApplMaterials AMAT 0.8 21 167.94 7.60 -2.18 48.93 33.17 CubeSmart CUBE 4.5 27 45.34 0.74 -2.45 265.00 217.06 IllinoisToolWks ITW 2.2 25 255.51 2.73 -1.82 152.99 59.67 PDD PDD ... 32 143.64 1.58 -1.65 105.91 54.62 Toll Bros TOL 0.8 8 101.09 1.78
3.24 45.10 10.13 Applovin APP ...140 41.14 -1.95 -4.32 265.28 203.18 Cummins CMI 2.9 12 229.21 -3.98 -2.41 238.55 89.00 Illumina ILMN ... dd 135.88 1.64 -6.27 18.32 14.71 PG&E PCG 0.2 19 16.90 0.02 -0.27 382.94 180.01 TopBuild BLD ... 19 373.26 2.13
5.81 133.79 107.89 Aptargroup ATR 1.3 31 130.80 1.66 -0.01 224.74 156.76 Curtiss-Wright CW 0.4 25 222.77 -1.05 -0.44 30.13 3.60 Immunogen IMGN ... dd 29.52 -0.01 -2.62 167.12 109.40 PNC Finl PNC 4.1 12 150.79 4.50 -3.31 117.17 78.35 Toro TTC 1.6 30 92.81 0.53
-11.95 124.88 71.01 Aptiv APTV 0.0 10 79.00 -0.01 6.14 233.69 120.11 CyberArkSoftware CYBR ... dd 232.51 3.59 -2.31 63.07 44.22 ImperialOil IMO 2.3 8 55.87 0.30 -17.10 133.09 58.65 POSCO PKX 1.8 25 78.85 -0.28 -6.50 70.67 54.69 TorontoDomBk TD 4.8 15 60.42 0.99
1.96 32.96 23.55 Aramark ARMK 1.3 11 28.65 -0.02 -3.03 110.25 25.98 Cytokinetics CYTK ... dd 80.96 -1.78 -2.07 86.29 50.27 Incyte INCY ... 33 61.49 0.31 -5.46 152.89 120.33 PPG Ind PPG 1.8 26 141.39 -3.56 -5.22 69.63 54.94 TotalEnergies TTE ... 8 63.86 -0.11
-6.45 32.48 21.30 ArcelorMittal MT 1.4 5 26.56 -0.14 s 6.69 30.35 13.29 Informatica INFA ... dd 30.29 1.26 -4.02 30.04 22.20 PPL PPL 3.7 25 26.01 0.08 s 9.43 200.70 132.35 ToyotaMotor TM 2.0 10 200.67 0.59
8.90 90.65 60.70 ArchCapital ACGL ... 10 80.88 1.92 DEF 8.76 20.06 14.71 Infosys INFY 1.2 28 19.99 0.16 -0.15 176.25 115.44 PTC PTC ... 85 174.70 1.51 7.45 251.17 185.00 TractorSupply TSCO 1.8 23 231.06 0.81
t -5.58 87.30 68.00 ADM ADM 2.6 9 68.19 -0.55 s 1.99 78.92 51.84 IngersollRand IR 0.1 42 78.88 0.70 -1.10 123.91 69.27 PVH PVH 0.1 14 120.78 2.88 -7.10 91.85 44.08 TradeDesk TTD ...219 66.85 1.80
-2.09 120.99 71.36 AresMgmt ARES 2.6 54 116.43 2.24 -5.21 117.19 90.14 DTE Energy DTE 3.9 17 104.52 -0.33 -1.42 98.47 64.89 Paccar PCAR 1.1 12 96.26 0.88 s 7.78 99.23 64.83 Tradeweb TW 0.4 57 97.95 -0.08
-0.13 247.58 182.09 Danaher DHR 0.4 29 231.05 4.74 1.25 113.46 89.54 Ingredion INGR 2.8 12 109.89 -0.19
-3.56 550.76 327.73 argenx ARGX ... dd 366.90 1.12 -5.77 335.91 125.82 Insulet PODD ...122 204.46 0.55 0.90 171.61 122.20 PackagingCpAm PKG 3.0 19 164.38 0.08 s 2.06 249.89 162.04 TraneTech TT 1.2 29 248.92 1.59
s 11.89 265.00 111.68 AristaNetworks ANET ... 44 263.51 5.95 -3.08 173.06 133.36 Darden DRI 3.2 19 159.24 -0.68 -2.27 21.85 6.69 PalantirTech PLTR ...259 16.78 0.38 s 4.50 1059.95 661.08 TransDigm TDG 0.0 48 1057.13 4.13
-12.62 71.60 38.97 DarlingIngred DAR ... 10 43.55 0.01 -4.18 51.28 24.73 Intel INTC 1.0 dd 48.15 1.41
s 4.57 78.97 46.50 Arm ARM ... ... 78.58 4.35 8.31 95.59 70.83 InteractiveBrkrs IBKR 0.4 16 89.79 0.97 s 14.53 340.40 142.61 PaloAltoNtwks PANW ...191 337.74 1.97 0.35 82.75 42.09 TransUnion TRU 0.6 dd 68.95 1.19
4.82 140.00 64.33 AscendisPharma ASND ... dd 132.02 -0.96 s 7.36 130.50 62.60 Datadog DDOG ... dd 130.31 3.39 -9.40 25.93 10.51 ParamountB PARA 1.5 dd 13.40 0.29 s 11.12 214.29 157.33 Travelers TRV 1.9 16 211.67 13.32
... 116.97 71.51 DaVita DVA ... 16 104.76 -0.65 -1.54 129.16 94.16 ICE ICE 1.3 29 126.45 -0.18
-7.80 247.96 161.32 AspenTech AZPN ... dd 202.97 4.36 s 4.72 95.66 63.12 InterContinentl IHG 1.5 27 95.48 0.82 -4.53 29.51 13.40 ParamountA PARAA 1.1 dd 18.77 0.56 -0.59 84.67 44.90 Trex TREX ... 46 82.30 1.04
-0.40 173.60 104.49 Assurant AIZ 1.7 17 167.82 1.24 s 12.09 749.49 395.90 DeckersOutdoor DECK ... 32 749.25 12.54 s 2.10 471.56 297.49 ParkerHannifin PH 1.3 26 470.37 4.67 -6.00 62.01 39.57 Trimble TRMB ... 37 50.01 0.61
s 4.85 171.58 120.55 IBM IBM 3.9 23 171.48 4.64
-1.20 76.56 61.73 AstraZeneca AZN 2.1 35 66.54 0.02 -4.29 450.00 345.55 Deere DE 1.5 11 382.72 1.33 5.34 67.12 40.61 Parsons PSN ... 52 66.06 -0.09 -0.19 43.59 30.70 Trip.com TCOM ... 16 35.94 -0.55
s 8.75 84.75 35.96 DellTechC -1.79 116.96 62.11 IntlFlavors IFF 4.1442 79.52 1.17
2.14 249.08 128.02 Atlassian TEAM ... dd 242.96 3.54 DELL ... 23 83.19 4.78 1.63 41.89 29.00 IntlPaper IP 5.0 17 36.74 0.05 2.50 129.70 104.09 Paychex PAYX 2.9 27 122.09 1.72 1.49 51.26 25.56 TruistFinl TFC 5.6 dd 37.47 1.49
-2.43 125.28 101.00 AtmosEnergy ATO 2.8 18 113.08 0.65 -7.33 49.81 30.60 DeltaAir DAL 1.1 5 37.28 -0.81 -6.35 374.04 146.15 PaycomSoftware PAYC 0.8 33 193.59 -2.05 -3.31 79.70 45.02 Twilio TWLO ... dd 73.36 0.84
0.20 43.24 26.27 DentsplySirona XRAY 1.6 dd 35.66 -0.25 -2.42 40.95 27.20 Interpublic IPG 3.9 13 31.85 0.08
s 2.12 249.05 188.38 Autodesk ADSK ... 59 248.64 7.46 -0.46 631.07 382.55 Intuit INTU 0.6 68 622.18 10.82 -7.50 235.00 139.40 Paylocity PCTY ... 60 152.49 -0.84 s 2.92 430.62 304.67 TylerTech TYL ...116 430.33 6.17
-6.53 111.30 79.66 Autoliv ALV 2.6 21 103.00 -0.42 s 3.41 87.17 69.59 DescartesSystems DSGX ... 66 86.93 1.77 7.18 88.62 50.25 PayPal -1.21 66.34 44.94 TysonFoods TSN 3.7 dd 53.10 -0.47
s 11.10 376.90 222.65 IntuitiveSurgical ISRG ... 88 374.82 2.89 PYPL ... 20 65.82 3.73
2.26 256.84 201.46 ADP ADP 2.4 28 238.24 2.16 -3.99 14.02 8.85 DeutscheBank DB 2.5 5 13.01 ... -1.46 12.51 9.29 Pearson PSO 2.3 24 12.11 -0.11 -6.08 31.39 17.99 UBS Group UBS 1.9 3 29.02 -0.34
-9.56 66.95 40.51 DevonEnergy DVN 7.0 7 40.97 -0.11 -1.26 36.53 28.49 InvitatHomes INVH 3.3 62 33.68 0.63
s 6.22 2774.99 2277.88 AutoZone AZO ... 20 2746.44 23.46 0.77 54.44 32.69 IonisPharm IONS ... dd 50.98 0.33 -1.92 36.29 28.15 PembinaPipeline PBA 6.0 21 33.76 0.12 -1.78 45.46 30.95 UDR UDR 4.5 28 37.61 0.40
-3.63 198.66 153.07 Avalonbay AVB 3.7 28 180.43 2.93 2.58 139.55 74.75 DexCom DXCM ...141 127.29 -0.16 -5.64 180.84 114.69 PenskeAuto PAG 2.0 9 151.45 0.12 -7.35 128.65 75.01 UFP Inds UFPI 1.0 14 116.32 0.51
-4.94 190.02 135.63 Diageo DEO 2.8 18 138.46 -1.25 -4.44 70.66 48.94 IronMountain IRM 3.9 71 66.87 0.93
-4.38 43.01 27.46 Avangrid AGR 5.7 22 30.99 0.11 -4.17 7.05 4.24 ItauUnibanco ITUB 2.0 10 6.66 ... -1.86 73.27 47.90 Pentair PNR 1.3 23 71.36 0.68 -9.16 71.52 43.62 U-Haul N UHAL/B 0.3 17 63.99 0.80
-5.48 25.25 16.63 Avantor AVTR ... 40 21.58 ... -2.59 171.40 119.01 DiamondbkEner FANG 2.2 9 151.06 1.32 -0.49 348.67 180.93 Penumbra PEN ...241 250.31 -5.51 -7.23 73.03 48.07 U-Haul UHAL 0.0 18 66.61 1.02
-0.77 203.69 158.93 AveryDennison AVY 1.6 34 200.60 2.11
-4.47 34.45 25.03 AxaltaCoating AXTA ... 30 32.45 -0.45
-0.31 152.61 100.98 Dick's
2.05 139.86 86.33 DigitalRealty
DKS 2.7 13 146.49
DLR 3.6 48 137.34
2.58
2.80 JKL -2.39 196.88 155.83 PepsiCo PEP 3.1 28 165.78
2.53 71.36 52.32 PerformanceFood PFGC ... 26 70.90
-1.39
-0.03
1.30 47.10 33.96 US Foods
-11.19 7.43 4.03 UWM
USFD ... 26 46.00
UWMC 6.3 dd 6.35
-0.26
0.15
-0.60 260.69 168.30 AxonEnterprise AXON ...131 256.79 2.69 -13.41 122.50 79.04 DiscoverFinSvcs DFS 2.9 9 97.33 0.33 t -22.85 64.46 21.34 JD.com JD 2.7 10 22.29 0.27 -2.87 15.49 8.94 PermianRscs PR 1.5 15 13.21 -0.02 s 5.75 65.39 28.51 Uber UBER ...131 65.11 0.23
5.84 48.38 36.15 BCE BCE 6.8 23 41.68 0.17 3.07 118.18 78.73 Disney DIS 0.6 72 93.06 0.85 0.12 176.31 123.11 JPMorganChase JPM 2.5 11 170.31 2.89 -1.44 16.79 9.56 PetroleoBrasil PBR 18.0 4 15.74 -0.08 -10.09 303.75 103.00 Ubiquiti UI 1.9 19 125.48 -1.55
-11.39 71.52 54.28 BHP Group BHP 5.6 12 60.53 0.05 6.31 69.45 38.11 DocuSign DOCU ...253 63.20 1.94 -2.21 141.38 74.16 Jabil JBL 0.3 21 124.59 1.09 -0.72 16.01 8.52 PetroleoBrasilA PBR.A 18.7 4 15.17 -0.11 -10.51 26.52 12.38 UiPath PATH ... dd 22.23 0.63
-11.14 139.50 51.94 BILL BILL ... dd 72.50 -0.11 -2.10 91.02 75.87 DolbyLab DLB 1.4 41 84.37 0.11 1.82 184.19 136.57 JackHenry JKHY 1.3 34 166.39 0.85 -1.77 45.43 25.76 Pfizer PFE 5.9 16 28.28 0.19 -3.56 556.60 368.02 UltaBeauty ULTA ... 19 472.57 -2.93
-1.46 78.88 60.33 BJ'sWholesale BJ ... 18 65.69 -1.33 -2.74 239.71 101.09 DollarGeneral DG 1.8 15 132.22 -3.77 1.90 141.16 109.00 JacobsSolns J 0.8 25 132.27 0.50 -1.87 105.62 87.23 PhilipMorris PM 5.6 18 92.32 -0.87 -2.70 55.99 46.16 Unilever UL 3.9 14 47.17 -0.01
-4.38 41.38 33.52 BP BP 4.4 4 33.85 -0.18 -8.15 161.10 102.77 DollarTree DLTR ... 25 130.48 -2.03 -2.46 39.01 19.72 JamesHardie JHX 0.0 34 37.72 0.54 -3.04 138.06 89.74 Phillips66 PSX 3.3 8 129.09 1.42 -2.59 246.99 183.69 UnionPacific UNP 2.2 23 239.27 1.28
3.64 81.66 55.50 BWX Tech BWXT 1.2 33 79.52 0.14 -3.57 63.68 39.18 DominionEner D 5.9 23 45.32 -0.16 -5.25 158.63 111.25 JazzPharm JAZZ ...193 116.54 1.35 -3.08 86.03 67.35 PinnacleWest PNW 5.1 17 69.63 0.34 -5.91 58.23 33.68 UnitedAirlines UAL ... 5 38.82 -0.95
-13.80 160.88 98.98 Baidu BIDU ... 11 102.65 -0.99 3.53 432.49 285.84 Domino's DPZ 1.1 29 426.77 0.84 -0.69 41.82 28.34 JefferiesFinl JEF 3.0 36 40.13 0.85 0.16 38.66 20.60 Pinterest PINS ... dd 37.10 0.01 -5.91 8.97 6.71 UnitedMicro UMC 5.6 9 7.96 0.17
-10.18 37.58 26.12 BakerHughes BKR 2.6 18 30.70 -0.17 -1.91 66.96 57.05 Donaldson DCI 1.6 22 64.10 0.51 3.15 175.97 144.95 J&J JNJ 2.9 31 161.68 0.47 -3.58 257.76 177.26 PioneerNatRscs PXD 6.4 10 216.83 0.20 -0.22 197.80 133.68 UPS B UPS 4.1 16 156.89 0.36
-3.46 62.14 42.81 Ball BALL 1.4 29 55.53 0.68 s 7.52 106.56 51.50 DoorDash DASH ... dd 106.33 1.37 -5.99 70.43 47.90 JohnsonControls JCI 2.7 20 54.19 0.52 3.10 16.05 11.28 PlainsAllAmPipe PAA 8.1 12 15.62 0.05 -0.24 585.50 325.15 UnitedRentals URI 1.0 17 572.03 8.66
-3.95 9.52 6.24 BBVA BBVA 4.7 7 8.75 -0.04 -3.72 160.66 127.25 Dover DOV 1.4 20 148.09 1.32 -8.13 191.21 119.46 JonesLang JLL 0.0 37 173.51 2.51 3.01 16.70 11.79 PlainsGP PAGP 7.7 20 16.43 0.03 -2.93 49.95 27.27 US Bancorp USB 4.7 13 42.01 1.86
-10.07 3.21 2.12 BancoBradesco BBDO 5.4 11 2.86 -0.01 -3.70 60.88 47.26 Dow DOW 5.3 29 52.81 0.21 26.90 38.04 24.87 JuniperNetworks JNPR 2.4 34 37.41 0.09 -2.98 423.97 307.76 Pool POOL 1.1 28 386.84 -0.16 -1.69 50.20 20.40 US Steel X 0.4 11 47.83 0.38
-5.16 23.80 17.96 BancodeChile BCH 7.4 8 21.89 0.24 -2.43 73.17 51.17 DrReddy'sLab RDY 0.6 18 67.89 -0.26 -9.33 48.28 35.20 KB Financial KB 4.8 4 37.51 0.58 s 10.12 226.59 148.25 Primerica PRI 1.1 15 226.58 3.50 -0.93 266.05 204.44 UnitedTherap UTHR ... 12 217.84 -1.27
-6.72 6.66 4.76 BancSanBrasil BSBR 4.1 ... 6.11 0.02 6.72 39.35 13.51 DraftKings DKNG ... dd 37.62 0.08 -3.57 65.87 47.77 KBR KBR 1.0 dd 53.43 -0.13 -0.44 93.87 65.17 PrincipalFinl PFG 3.4 13 78.32 1.10 -4.35 554.70 445.68 UnitedHealth UNH 1.5 21 503.56 -12.78
-4.10 21.81 15.46 BcoSantChile BSAC 5.1 18 18.69 0.23 s 9.12 32.18 18.71 Dropbox DBX ... 20 32.17 0.53 t -16.47 21.08 13.14 KE Holdings BEKE 0.0 21 13.54 -0.10 -0.07 76.86 48.11 ProcoreTech PCOR ... dd 69.17 1.13 -18.95 50.08 22.20 UnitySoftware U ... dd 33.14 0.27
-2.90 4.29 3.20 BancoSantander SAN 2.6 6 4.02 0.01 -1.53 103.83 83.06 DukeEnergy DUK 4.3 61 95.56 -0.30 1.62 85.66 47.46 KKR KKR 0.8 28 84.19 2.63 0.70 158.38 135.83 Procter&Gamble PG 2.5 24 147.57 -0.57 -6.89 194.84 125.38 UnivDisplay OLED 0.8 41 178.09 -1.64
3.67 34.43 21.55 BanColombia CIB 3.5 10 31.90 -0.30 -14.22 245.87 82.13 Duolingo DUOL ... dd 194.60 -5.21 s 5.45 616.98 355.88 KLA KLAC 0.9 27 612.99 22.99 s 6.82 172.51 111.41 Progressive PGR 0.2 37 170.14 0.23 3.52 160.36 113.69 UniversalHealthB UHS 0.5 17 157.81 1.42
-4.31 37.00 24.96 BankofAmerica BAC 3.0 10 32.22 0.49 -4.22 78.74 62.80 DuPont DD 2.0 8 73.68 0.34 -0.28 319.42 158.38 KarunaTherap KRTX ... dd 315.62 -0.33 -3.65 137.52 96.64 Prologis PLD 2.7 40 128.44 2.18 1.88 52.15 36.27 UnumGroup UNM 3.2 7 46.07 0.20
-3.13 102.79 73.98 BankMontreal BMO 3.5 23 95.84 2.15 s 5.87 57.94 35.39 Dynatrace DT ...101 57.90 0.85 -3.54 67.84 47.62 Kellanova K 4.2 23 53.93 -0.63 -0.26 107.31 75.37 PrudentialFinl PRU 4.8 67 103.44 1.60 -4.14 35.07 26.62 VICI Prop VICI 5.4 13 30.56 0.30
5.74 55.47 39.65 BankNY Mellon BK 3.1 14 55.04 0.82 9.32 164.71 52.63 elfBeauty ELF ... 74 157.79 1.41 -3.81 27.80 17.82 Kenvue KVUE 3.9 25 20.71 -0.23 -8.82 34.37 19.68 Prudential PUK 1.9 15 20.47 0.24 4.54 266.26 204.88 VailResorts MTN 3.7 41 223.16 1.08
-5.16 55.91 39.80 BankNovaScotia BNS 6.8 11 46.18 0.74 1.60 227.84 142.63 EMCOR EME 0.3 19 218.88 -4.38 -4.29 36.23 27.66 KeurigDrPepper KDP 2.7 23 31.89 0.09 -4.25 65.46 53.71 PublicServiceEnt PEG 3.9 10 58.55 0.22 -12.99 19.31 12.22 Vale VALE 8.5 7 13.80 -0.24
-6.60 9.44 6.23 Barclays BCS 5.0 ... 7.36 0.07 -7.29 34.30 25.10 ENI E 4.3 10 31.53 -0.46 -3.19 20.30 8.54 KeyCorp KEY 5.9 16 13.94 0.74 -4.29 316.48 233.18 PublicStorage PSA 4.1 27 291.92 0.95 -1.42 152.20 104.18 ValeroEnergy VLO 3.3 4 128.16 2.20
-13.71 20.75 13.82 BarrickGold GOLD 2.6459 15.61 0.08 -8.91 137.95 98.52 EOG Rscs EOG 3.3 8 110.17 0.08 -3.43 189.31 118.57 KeysightTech KEYS ... 26 153.63 1.26 2.76 106.39 49.48 PulteGroup PHM 0.8 9 106.07 1.84 7.60 225.49 158.50 VeevaSystems VEEV ... 60 207.15 2.65
-1.69 49.55 27.30 Bath&BodyWks BBWI 1.9 13 42.43 -0.12 0.90 385.96 197.99 EPAM Systems EPAM ... 37 300.02 0.50 1.04 147.87 116.32 KimberlyClark KMB 3.8 24 122.77 -0.27 s 14.69 40.91 22.14 PureStorage PSTG ...216 40.90 1.97 -3.59 53.15 39.33 Ventas VTR 3.74711 48.05 0.45
-0.16 50.21 31.01 BaxterIntl BAX 3.0 dd 38.60 -0.24 -8.61 45.23 28.11 EQT EQT 1.8 5 35.33 0.12 -5.40 23.27 16.34 KimcoRealty KIM 4.8 29 20.16 0.37 3.91 50.82 34.74 Qiagen QGEN ... 31 45.13 0.48 -5.73 89.00 65.51 Veralto VLTO 0.5 22 77.55 1.54
-3.26 287.32 228.62 BectonDicknsn BDX 1.6 47 235.89 0.89 0.79 206.47 129.76 EagleMaterials EXP 0.5 15 204.45 2.77 -2.49 18.90 15.89 KinderMorgan KMI 6.6 16 17.20 -0.11 -6.26 114.97 80.62 Qorvo QRVO ... dd 105.56 1.78 -0.29 229.72 188.44 VeriSign VRSN ... 29 205.37 1.38
-11.41 280.62 156.56 BeiGene BGNE ... dd 159.78 -5.57 -1.51 80.98 33.86 EastWestBncp EWBC 2.7 8 70.86 1.52 19.06 457.73 250.90 KinsaleCapital KNSL 0.1 34 398.75 1.32 s 5.07 152.77 101.47 Qualcomm QCOM 2.1 24 151.96 6.67 0.53 249.26 169.74 VeriskAnalytics VRSK 0.6 71 240.12 2.57
-3.97 57.00 26.10 BellRing BRBR ... 43 53.23 -1.41 -1.08 188.85 152.45 EastGroup EGP 2.8 46 181.56 4.81 -4.58 64.35 45.73 Knight-Swift KNX 1.0 24 55.01 -0.40 0.05 206.35 104.59 Qualys QLYS ... 53 196.37 -1.39 4.32 42.00 30.14 Verizon VZ 6.8 8 39.33 0.39
-3.66 55.37 36.59 BentleySystems BSY 0.4 93 50.27 1.29 -3.42 92.21 68.89 EastmanChem EMN 3.7 18 86.75 -0.24 -0.09 24.27 14.96 Philips PHG 0.0 dd 23.31 -0.07 -6.20 219.17 143.22 QuantaServices PWR 0.2 43 202.43 0.52 6.91 439.77 283.60 VertexPharm VRTX ... 33 435.02 2.04
6.50 75.53 55.50 Berkley WRB 0.6 15 75.32 0.94 s 1.57 244.62 150.86 Eaton ETN 1.4 33 244.60 4.48 -7.31 8.42 5.92 KoreaElecPwr KEP 0.0 dd 6.72 -0.25 -3.85 150.57 119.59 QuestDiag DGX 2.1 20 132.57 -1.66 s 11.74 53.67 11.95 Vertiv VRT 0.0 82 53.67 2.78
2.90 373.34 292.42 BerkHathwy B BRK.B ... 10 366.99 4.61 -5.71 52.23 37.17 eBay EBAY 2.4 8 41.13 0.34 0.27 41.47 30.68 KraftHeinz KHC 4.3 15 37.08 0.07 5.26 12.49 8.74 Viatris VTRS 4.2 8 11.40 0.13
2.60 566570 442363 BerkHathwy A BRK.A ... 11 556710 7233.14
-0.58 69.94 53.83 BerryGlobal BERY 1.6 13 67.00 0.57
0.77 201.62 143.91 Ecolab
-2.10 13.14 8.59 Ecopetrol
ECL 1.1 46 199.87
EC 19.8 5 11.67
-0.59
-0.05
0.50 50.36 42.09 Kroger
-0.86 59.38 41.49 LKQ
KR
LKQ
2.5 18 45.94
2.5 13 47.38
-0.21
0.10
RS -28.32 93.00 4.59 VinFastAuto VFS ... dd 6.00 0.36
-15.37 19.13 13.13 Vipshop VIPS ... 8 15.03 -0.08
-9.30 93.32 62.30 BestBuy BBY 5.2 12 71.00 0.06 -4.48 74.92 58.82 EdisonIntl EIX 4.6 21 68.29 -0.31 5.26 257.64 179.00 LPL Financial LPLA 0.5 16 239.60 2.96 -1.57 288.16 195.18 RBC Bearings RBC ... 50 280.41 5.16 s 4.05 271.15 208.76 Visa V 0.8 33 270.90 2.76
-8.86 89.91 51.79 Bio-Techne TECH 0.5 46 70.32 0.46 -2.54 94.87 60.57 EdwardsLife EW ... 32 74.31 -0.13 -2.75 219.31 160.25 L3HarrisTech LHX 2.2 26 204.82 -0.91 -4.34 68.25 51.07 RB Global RBA 1.7 76 63.99 -0.72 s 4.28 40.17 21.18 Vistra VST 2.1 12 40.17 0.76
-5.04 509.62 261.59 Bio-RadLab A BIO ... dd 306.62 2.51 -2.01 15.94 7.88 ElancoAnimal ELAN ... dd 14.60 -0.20 -0.50 234.09 179.58 LabCorp.ofAmerica LH 1.3 30 226.15 -1.17 s 5.27 41.76 28.79 RELX RELX 1.7 38 41.75 0.13 -0.34 12.53 8.11 Vodafone VOD 10.9 2 8.67 0.22
-3.40 319.76 220.86 Biogen BIIB ... 25 249.96 2.99 s 6.77 121.63 50.21 Elastic ESTC ... dd 120.33 2.08 s 5.50 828.56 456.82 LamResearch LRCX 1.0 28 826.32 40.67 -3.16 113.37 78.52 RPM RPM 1.7 27 108.10 -1.26 -1.51 78.11 62.79 VoyaFinancial VOYA 2.2 12 71.86 1.03
-4.32 117.77 76.02 BioMarinPharm BMRN ...121 92.25 -0.28 -1.98 225.22 162.01 ElbitSystems ESLT 1.0 34 209.02 1.84 -0.49 112.34 77.20 LamarAdv LAMR 4.7 26 105.76 2.21 1.65 104.91 68.56 RTX RTX 2.8 40 85.53 0.06 -0.41 229.75 159.76 VulcanMatls VMC 0.8 37 226.08 0.96
-6.94 147.66 88.00 BioNTech BNTX 0.0 9 98.22 0.69 0.67 143.47 108.53 ElectronicArts EA 0.6 38 137.72 -0.31 1.06 117.38 81.25 LambWeston LW 1.3 14 109.24 -0.50 -4.24 148.03 103.17 RalphLauren RL 2.2 18 138.09 0.09
-4.95 52.12 35.83 Birkenstock
-0.78 819.00 596.18 BlackRock
BIRK ...106 46.32 0.20
BLK 2.5 22 805.44 10.18
-1.47 508.78 412.00 ElevanceHealth ELV 1.3 18 464.61
-2.49 100.62 76.94 EmersonElec EMR 2.2 dd 94.91
-4.72
1.23
-0.19 208.62 161.13 LandstarSystem LSTR
-0.73 65.58 43.77 LasVegasSands LVS
0.7 23 193.28
1.6 56 48.85
1.20
-0.67
s 7.28 73.38 39.60 Rambus
-2.43 37.88 22.61 RangeResources RRC
RMBS ... 28 73.22
1.1 5 29.70
4.04
0.35
WXYZ
-9.04 133.53 76.19 Blackstone BX 2.8 50 119.08 1.99 -0.11 42.06 31.03 Enbridge ENB 7.6 32 35.98 0.19 -0.77 98.30 51.95 LatticeSemi LSCC ... 45 68.46 1.69 0.02 120.73 82.00 RaymondJames RJF 1.6 14 111.52 1.78 -4.92 99.26 75.47 WEC Energy WEC 4.2 19 80.03 -0.37
-14.87 89.97 38.85 Block SQ ... dd 65.85 1.38 5.61 72.06 51.15 EncompassHealth EHC 0.9 20 70.46 -0.40 -7.79 157.91 117.79 Lear LEA 2.4 14 130.21 -0.61 -1.57 68.85 45.03 RealtyIncome O 5.4 43 56.52 0.40 3.60 204.06 161.95 WEX WEX ... 33 201.55 3.52
s 3.62 15.46 9.70 BlueOwlCapital OWL 3.6188 15.44 0.34 3.54 26.26 17.65 Endeavor EDR 1.0 dd 24.57 1.53 -5.80 77.32 42.91 LegendBiotech LEGN ... dd 56.68 -0.35 -5.52 166.00 97.18 RegalRexnord RRX 1.0 dd 139.85 2.08 1.31 84.13 50.28 W.P.Carey WPC 5.2 18 65.66 0.52
-17.51 267.54 176.25 Boeing BA 0.0 dd 215.02 3.41 -0.07 14.15 11.45 EnergyTransfer ET 9.1 13 13.79 0.07 1.52 111.39 76.58 Leidos LDOS 1.4105 109.88 0.15 -6.37 68.56 54.72 RegencyCtrs REG 4.3 29 62.73 0.43 -3.17 64.07 41.13 WPP WPP 5.4 16 46.06 -0.28
s 1.95 3622.59 2289.69 Booking BKNG ... 25 3616.51 87.70 -21.61 247.00 73.49 EnphaseEnergy ENPH ... 26 103.59 -3.07 4.21 141.44 78.53 Lennar B LEN.B 1.4 10 139.70 1.94 6.27 943.00 684.80 RegenPharm REGN ... 27 933.40 3.40 0.87 129.00 91.89 Wabtec WAB 0.5 30 128.01 1.27
-0.33 131.28 87.99 BoozAllen BAH 1.5 57 127.49 -0.18 0.43 122.58 69.37 Entegris ENTG 0.3 91 120.34 4.32 1.86 156.01 94.11 Lennar A LEN 1.3 11 151.81 1.49 -3.92 24.33 13.71 RegionsFinl RF 5.2 9 18.62 0.67 -15.74 37.95 19.68 WalgreensBoots WBA 4.5 33 22.00 -0.15
-8.31 47.05 31.63 BorgWarner BWA 1.3 11 32.87 0.12 -2.09 111.90 87.10 Entergy ETR 4.6 14 99.08 0.22 -0.78 451.35 232.00 LennoxIntl LII 1.0 29 444.05 2.95 3.78 170.83 120.99 ReinsGrp RGA 2.0 12 167.89 -0.42 3.00 169.94 136.09 Walmart WMT 1.4 27 162.38 -0.86
-2.62 79.42 46.18 BostonProps BXP 5.7 56 68.33 1.83 1.86 27.95 24.66 EnterpriseProd EPD 7.7 11 26.84 0.13 -24.55 47.33 20.80 LiAuto LI ... 34 28.24 -0.67 -0.30 295.98 208.66 RelianceSteel RS 1.4 12 278.84 -1.45 -9.05 16.34 9.27 WarnerBrosA WBD ... dd 10.35 0.07
5.41 61.46 45.01 BostonSci BSX ... 75 60.94 -0.11 -0.79 252.60 159.95 Equifax EFX 0.6 58 245.34 0.02 -3.76 97.05 70.01 LibertyBroadbandA LBRDA 0.0 17 77.61 1.43 7.10 227.16 174.22 RenaissanceRe RNR 0.7 7 209.91 0.17 1.70 37.75 23.62 WarnerMusic WMG 1.9 44 36.40 0.18
-2.34 75.18 48.25 BristolMyers BMY 4.8 13 50.11 0.02 -0.34 826.00 661.66 Equinix EQIX 2.1 86 802.69 8.95 -3.06 96.88 70.36 LibertyBroadbandC LBRDK ... 17 78.12 1.54 -8.77 41.55 23.39 RentokilInit RTO 1.7 35 26.10 0.45 s 1.96 152.66 125.83 WasteConnections WCN 0.7 47 152.20 2.61
0.65 38.90 28.35 BritishAmTob BTI 9.4 6 29.48 0.12 -10.46 34.73 25.23 Equinor EQNR 3.2 5 28.33 -0.16 9.17 22.09 15.01 LibertyGlobalA LBTYA ... dd 19.40 0.41 -0.99 200.98 110.45 Repligen RGEN ... 88 178.02 3.82 s 2.99 184.93 148.31 WasteMgt WM 1.5 33 184.45 0.94
s 8.51 1217.00 559.11 Broadcom AVGO 1.7 37 1211.20 67.29 -0.78 34.80 21.89 Equitable EQH 2.7 10 33.04 0.59 9.92 22.78 16.27 LibertyGlobalC LBTYK ... dd 20.49 0.53 s 2.29 169.15 120.58 RepublicSvcs RSG 1.3 33 168.68 0.93 -5.10 346.99 231.90 Waters WAT ... 28 312.45 2.29
-0.42 207.29 133.97 BroadridgeFinl BR 1.6 36 204.89 3.66 -2.93 74.40 60.47 EquityLife ELS 2.6 43 68.47 0.85 -2.10 69.48 55.08 LibertyFormOne A FWONA ... 30 56.76 0.07 0.30 243.52 132.24 ResMed RMD 1.1 28 172.54 -0.22 -6.60 433.19 261.25 Watsco WSO 2.4 27 400.20 7.22
-2.81 40.85 28.35 BrookfieldAsset BAM 3.3 8 39.04 0.78 -0.98 69.45 52.57 EquityResdntl EQR 4.4 34 60.56 0.84 -0.14 78.58 60.95 LibertyFormOne C FWONK ... 33 63.04 0.14 -1.60 79.45 59.99 RestaurantBrands QSR 2.9 27 76.88 0.14 -0.87 56.00 31.03 WebsterFin WBS 3.2 10 50.32 1.21
-0.80 41.05 28.25 Brookfield BN 0.7 dd 39.80 1.03 s 1.53 345.85 199.49 ErieIndemnity ERIE 1.5 45 340.04 -2.66 s 8.73 31.56 22.01 LibertySirius A LSXMA ... 16 31.25 0.13 -2.63 145.35 79.50 Revvity RVTY 0.3 18 106.43 0.51 -2.23 50.77 35.25 WellsFargo WFC 2.9 10 48.12 1.68
-1.65 37.32 21.03 BrookfieldInfr BIP 4.9 93 30.97 0.64 -1.39 48.84 32.07 EssentialUtil WTRG 3.3 20 36.83 0.11 s 8.44 31.52 22.24 LibertySirius C LSXMK ... 16 31.21 0.10 -1.82 66.71 41.56 RexfordIndlRealty REXR 2.8 53 55.08 1.32 -0.35 93.42 65.18 Welltower WELL 2.7244 89.85 0.84
-1.49 36.16 21.77 BrookfieldRenew BEPC 4.8 7 28.36 ... -2.86 252.85 195.03 EssexProp ESS 3.8 30 240.85 2.00 -0.27 89.02 53.77 Light&Wonder LNW ... 59 81.89 -0.35 -7.67 80.52 58.27 RioTinto RIO 5.8 13 68.75 -0.42 0.41 185.23 121.91 WescoIntl WCC 0.9 12 174.60 2.62
5.23 76.25 52.82 Brown&Brown BRO 0.7 28 74.83 0.68 -13.96 283.62 102.22 EsteeLauder EL 2.1 83 125.83 -1.83 7.83 647.73 309.20 EliLilly LLY 0.8116 628.58 5.23 -34.02 28.06 11.68 Rivian RIVN ... dd 15.48 -0.26 -2.66 415.73 253.43 WestPharmSvcs WST 0.2 46 342.74 -0.13
-4.92 72.65 53.52 Brown-Forman A BF.A 1.5 35 56.66 0.13 -12.82 149.91 58.20 Etsy ETSY ... 30 70.66 1.44 1.50 221.14 152.36 LincolnElectric LECO 1.3 26 220.72 5.24 -8.33 89.78 64.65 RobertHalf RHI 2.4 18 80.60 0.19 s 4.58 54.79 31.97 WesternDigital WDC 0.0 dd 54.77 1.22
-4.38 71.27 52.59 Brown-Forman B BF.B 1.6 34 54.60 0.06 5.73 417.92 331.08 Everest EG 1.9 7 373.84 4.92 -0.81 434.21 318.88 Linde LIN 1.3 34 407.38 -0.47 -15.93 13.51 7.91 Robinhood HOOD ... dd 10.71 0.04 -5.06 30.20 23.79 WesternMidstrm WES 8.3 10 27.78 0.06
-2.10 84.84 53.79 Bruker BRKR 0.3 33 71.94 0.44 -3.37 63.93 46.92 Evergy EVRG 5.1 17 50.44 -0.45 -9.88 331.96 203.65 LithiaMotors LAD 0.7 8 296.74 4.44 -15.38 47.65 24.88 Roblox RBLX ... dd 38.69 -0.20 -1.06 143.61 102.64 Westlake WLK 1.4 15 138.48 2.21
s 3.34 172.55 68.94 BuildersFirst BLDR ... 15 172.51 6.83 -13.46 84.00 52.03 EversourceEner ES 5.1 16 53.41 -0.59 -2.59 101.74 64.25 LiveNationEnt LYV ... 63 91.18 0.53 -15.61 15.19 7.17 RocketCos. RKT 0.0 dd 12.22 0.64 -3.68 43.58 26.84 WestRock WRK 3.0 dd 39.99 -0.50
-8.19 116.59 87.86 BungeGlobal BG 2.9 7 92.68 -1.42 -10.99 100.77 58.43 ExactSciences EXAS ... dd 65.85 0.65 -8.37 2.63 1.88 LloydsBanking LYG 5.6 ... 2.19 0.05 -2.26 348.52 252.19 Rockwell ROK 1.6 25 303.45 3.30 -5.52 36.00 27.65 Weyerhaeuser WY 2.3 38 32.85 0.26
0.16 239.94 115.66 BurlingtonStrs BURL ... 43 194.80 -0.91 -6.29 24.34 16.14 Exelixis EXEL ... 80 22.48 0.21 1.00 508.10 393.77 LockheedMartin LMT 2.8 17 457.76 -1.81 1.75 50.16 36.55 RogersComm B RCI 3.1 32 47.63 0.60 -6.38 52.76 38.37 WheatonPrecMet WPM 1.3 39 46.19 -0.17
3.70 359.33 275.79 CACI Intl CACI ... 20 335.83 4.17 -2.40 43.71 34.05 Exelon EXC 4.1 16 35.04 -0.26 s 3.75 72.47 52.85 Loews L 0.3 12 72.20 0.71 -7.84 13.24 6.58 RoivantSciences ROIV ... dd 10.35 -0.16 -2.78 37.45 27.80 Williams WMB 5.3 15 33.86 0.01
-8.14 94.27 64.63 CBRE Group CBRE ... 46 85.51 1.19 -2.12 155.84 87.94 Expedia EXPE 0.0 27 148.57 -0.39 -0.41 96.65 50.26 LogitechIntl LOGI 1.2 40 94.67 -0.05 -5.01 108.84 49.46 Roku ROKU ... dd 87.07 3.01 2.30 209.27 109.44 Williams-Sonoma WSM 1.7 14 206.42 -0.47
-0.38 229.42 160.66 CDW CDW 1.1 28 226.46 1.43 0.18 129.18 102.89 ExpeditorsIntl EXPD 1.1 24 127.43 -1.21 -1.14 237.21 181.85 Lowe's LOW 2.0 17 220.01 1.78 1.05 45.04 32.19 Rollins ROL 1.4 53 44.13 0.41 3.96 258.93 195.29 WillisTowers WTW 1.3 27 250.76 2.99
-5.67 91.23 60.08 CF Industries CF 2.1 7 74.99 -0.03 -8.46 170.30 101.19 ExtraSpaceSt EXR 4.4 27 146.76 0.32 -5.33 516.39 286.57 lululemon LULU ... 62 484.02 6.57 0.61 551.91 416.77 RoperTech ROP 0.5 46 548.49 6.55 -3.53 53.46 34.40 WillScotMobile WSC ... 30 42.93 0.40
1.18 109.16 84.25 CGI A GIB ... 21 108.48 1.39 -3.03 120.70 95.82 ExxonMobil XOM 3.9 10 96.95 0.15 -1.78 102.05 81.24 LyondellBasell LYB 5.4 13 93.39 0.08 -0.55 139.32 99.00 RossStores ROST 1.0 27 137.63 0.16 7.47 277.07 134.53 Wingstop WING 0.3120 275.75 0.27
-0.16 108.05 78.69 CH Robinson CHRW 2.8 27 86.25 0.68 s 0.62 181.68 127.05 F5 FFIV ... 27 180.09 -0.10 -1.49 104.72 77.90 RoyalBkCanada RY 4.1 13 99.62 1.45 3.77 6.39 4.32 Wipro WIT 0.4 23 5.78 ...
-4.06 223.80 171.93 CME Group
-2.81 64.67 49.87 CMS Energy
CME 2.2 24 202.05 -0.85
CMS 3.5 22 56.44 0.10
0.59 232.15 156.06 FTI Consulting FCN ... 30 200.32
s 6.11 202.71 90.19 Fabrinet FN ... 30 201.96
-4.20
10.59
MN -1.92 130.97 59.37 RoyalCaribbean RCL
-3.82 147.82 101.82 RoyalGold RGLD
0.0 40 127.00
1.4 33 116.34
1.72
0.58
3.36 127.65 73.39 Wix.com WIX ... dd 127.15
-3.70 26.93 19.02 WoodsideEnergy WDS 10.8 6 20.31
2.32
0.09
2.41 45.42 36.17 CNA Fin CNA 3.9 11 43.33 0.31 -2.85 478.60 377.89 FactSet FDS 0.8 37 463.45 2.27 1.69 161.99 108.53 M&T Bank MTB 3.7 9 139.39 6.51 3.49 39.25 25.92 RoyaltyPharma RPRX 2.8 73 29.07 1.03 0.07 140.72 88.30 Woodward WWD 0.6 36 136.22 0.35
-4.35 17.98 9.77 CNH Indl CNHI 3.4 7 11.65 0.08 s 8.26 1266.71 610.66 FairIsaac FICO ... 74 1260.21 9.79 -3.76 51.35 34.12 MGM Resorts MGM 0.0 15 43.00 0.14 2.25 50.64 35.10 RyanSpecialty RYAN ... 93 43.99 0.15 -4.14 33.09 24.46 WooriFinl WF 8.8 3 28.97 0.51
s 1.01 69.87 44.41 CRH CRH 1.9 18 69.86 0.58 s 7.06 69.51 46.59 Fastenal FAST 2.2 34 69.34 1.41 4.69 114.15 63.44 MKS Instrum MKSI 0.8 dd 107.69 2.99 -5.02 136.14 86.36 Ryanair RYAAY 1.1 12 126.67 -0.33 s 5.05 290.46 167.50 Workday WDAY ...1227 289.99 4.31
-0.35 35.09 27.60 CSX CSX 1.3 18 34.55 0.10 -2.36 115.08 85.27 FederalRealty FRT 4.3 29 100.62 1.54 1.01 37.50 33.03 MPLX MPLX 9.2 11 37.09 0.16 s 5.73 163.72 112.25 SAP SAP 1.0 70 163.45 3.02 3.42 117.86 81.65 WynnResorts WYNN 1.11376 94.23 0.13
-7.27 90.62 64.41 CVS Health CVS 3.6 11 73.22 ... -2.55 285.53 183.59 FedEx FDX 2.0 16 246.53 2.46 -2.07 573.32 451.55 MSCI MSCI 1.0 46 553.93 7.47 0.32 443.72 321.14 S&P Global SPGI 0.8 57 441.95 2.35 -2.76 27.71 10.30 XP XP 10.4 20 25.35 0.34
s 7.26 292.54 171.68 CadenceDesign CDNS ... 83 292.14 13.13 -1.79 194.13 123.17 Ferguson FERG 1.7 22 189.61 0.26 -7.65 68.92 46.71 MagnaIntl MGA 3.4 15 54.56 0.59 -8.99 309.52 185.23 SBA Comm SBAC 1.5 51 230.88 -1.71 -3.06 90.84 29.02 XPO XPO ...294 84.91 1.46
-0.26 60.27 38.33 CaesarsEnt CZR ... 14 46.76 0.23 3.24 372.42 239.52 Ferrari RACE 0.6 50 349.41 2.31 2.83 230.61 118.92 ManhattanAssoc MANH ... 84 221.41 3.84 -0.09 64.94 52.20 SEI Investments SEIC 1.4 19 63.49 0.50 -3.93 71.96 53.73 XcelEnergy XEL 3.5 19 59.48 -0.17
-0.55 127.60 82.81 CamdenProperty CPT 4.1 47 98.74 2.98 -4.19 51.48 31.84 FidNatlFinl FNF 3.9 20 48.88 0.68 -4.07 22.33 17.07 ManulifeFinl MFC 4.2 11 21.20 0.20 -3.50 22.61 18.26 SK Telecom SKM 5.4 10 20.65 0.07 -33.93 23.62 7.50 XPeng XPEV ... dd 9.64 -0.23
9.03 51.22 23.69 Cameco CCJ 0.2104 46.99 -0.82 -0.35 79.32 46.91 FidNatlInfo FIS 3.5 dd 59.86 0.85 10.82 42.95 22.13 Maplebear CART ... dd 26.01 0.38 -0.97 64.52 46.61 SS&C Tech SSNC 1.6 25 60.52 0.60 -2.18 117.35 87.59 Xylem XYL 1.2 46 111.87 0.47
-0.19 56.04 37.94 CampbellSoup CPB 3.4 16 43.15 -0.56 -0.81 38.05 22.11 FifthThirdBncp FITB 4.1 11 34.21 0.97 -7.82 29.85 20.57 MarathonOil MRO 1.8 8 22.27 0.12 2.88 461.92 240.87 Saia SAIA ... 36 450.82 9.29 -9.08 18.82 8.73 YPF YPF 0.0 7 15.63 0.43
-4.61 48.91 34.35 CIBC CM 5.5 12 45.92 0.72 -0.65 1528.12 505.84 FirstCitizBcshA FCNCA 0.5 2 1409.68 24.27 3.11 162.31 104.32 MarathonPetrol MPC 2.2 6 152.98 1.18 s 6.74 282.00 144.30 Salesforce CRM ...107 280.88 6.42 1.26 143.25 115.53 Yum!Brands YUM 1.8 25 132.30 1.84
0.41 127.14 103.96 CanNtlRlwy CNI 1.9 23 126.15 1.42 -0.56 24.90 8.99 FirstHorizon FHN 4.3 9 14.08 0.16 1.97 1560.00 1186.56 Markel MKL ... 10 1447.81 16.12 -3.36 36.91 12.17 Samsara IOT ... dd 32.26 0.41 -16.92 64.70 34.70 YumChina YUMC 1.5 19 35.25 -0.41
-3.88 68.74 48.81 CanadianNatRscs CNQ 4.6 13 62.98 0.39 1.99 55.51 40.44 FirstIndRlty FR 2.4 27 53.72 1.39 -9.19 399.78 200.01 MarketAxess MKTX 1.1 40 265.93 1.21 2.61 57.82 42.63 Sanofi SNY 2.7 14 51.03 -0.85 t -18.33 30.05 17.09 ZTO Express ZTO 0.0 12 17.38 -0.37
-0.70 85.40 68.92 CdnPacKC CP 0.8 24 78.51 1.28 -15.30 232.00 129.22 FirstSolar FSLR ... 33 145.92 -1.53 s 3.62 234.10 153.56 Marriott MAR 0.9 25 233.67 0.99 19.92 159.89 55.25 SareptaTherap SRPT ... dd 115.64 -1.16 -8.87 351.74 194.59 ZebraTech ZBRA ... 28 249.09 -0.50
-2.39 134.26 83.93 CapitalOne COF 1.9 10 127.98 3.06 0.95 42.23 32.18 FirstEnergy FE 4.4 41 37.01 -0.10 5.08 202.81 151.86 Marsh&McLen MMC 1.4 29 199.10 0.62 -4.61 62.12 42.73 Schlumberger SLB 2.0 17 49.64 1.08 -6.00 59.86 33.80 Zillow C Z ... dd 54.39 1.85
4.64 108.85 68.53 CardinalHealth CAH 1.9174 105.48 -0.91 1.20 166.27 131.75 FirstService FSV 0.5 55 164.04 2.14 s 1.32 506.11 317.94 MartinMarietta MLM 0.6 29 505.48 2.48 -7.30 81.96 45.00 SchwabC SCHW 1.6 25 63.78 1.06 -6.54 58.82 33.23 Zillow A ZG ... dd 53.01 1.71
-1.18 318.74 203.66 Carlisle CSL 1.1 21 308.74 -1.37 s 4.65 139.35 101.58 Fiserv FI ... 29 139.02 1.21 s 17.86 71.21 36.64 MarvellTech MRVL 0.3 dd 71.08 2.87 -10.12 88.84 34.35 Sea SE ... 32 36.40 0.56 1.36 149.25 102.00 ZimmerBiomet ZBH 0.8 55 123.36 -0.47
-2.36 42.48 25.20 Carlyle CG 3.5 69 39.73 0.92 -12.40 220.19 144.57 FiveBelow FIVE ... 39 186.72 -2.16 1.61 69.66 46.69 Masco MAS 1.7 19 68.06 -0.14 0.06 87.93 54.32 Seagate STX 3.3 dd 85.42 1.45 -4.55 201.92 151.03 Zoetis ZTS 0.9 38 188.38 -2.12
-9.89 87.50 55.77 CarMax KMX ... 22 69.15 0.59 0.09 285.20 185.03 FleetCorTech FLT ... 22 282.86 5.30 s 2.41 437.07 340.21 Mastercard MA 0.6 38 436.78 6.06 -2.48 81.36 63.75 Sempra SRE 3.3 17 72.88 -0.33 -3.99 85.13 58.87 ZoomVideo ZM ... 93 69.04 1.72
-6.53 19.74 8.37 Carnival CCL 0.0 dd 17.33 0.05 3.72 23.98 14.14 Flex FLEX ... 13 22.98 0.49 -1.21 54.60 27.85 MatchGroup MTCH ... 21 36.06 -0.31 -9.48 27.96 12.43 SentinelOne S ... dd 24.84 0.12 4.39 233.81 84.93 Zscaler ZS ... dd 231.29 3.38

Mutual Funds Data provided by

Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg %Ret Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg %Ret Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg %Ret Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg %Ret Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg %Ret Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg %Ret Fund
Net YTD
NAV Chg %Ret
Federated Hermes Int Balanc 27.08 +0.20 0.6 Growth A 124.55 +1.50 1.6 Northern Funds LrgCpGrIdxInst 53.43 +0.78 3.1 TotBdAdml 9.56 ... -1.4 IdxIntl 18.11 +0.09 -2.7
Top 250 mutual-funds listings for Nasdaq-published share classes by net assets. TtlRtnBdI 9.45 ... -1.2 BluCh 178.90 +2.61 3.2 RisDv A 88.63 +0.50 0.2 StkIdx NA ... NA VANGUARD ADMIRAL TotIntBdIdxAdm 19.48 +0.01 -1.3 MdCpGrAdml 93.36 +0.83 -1.2
e-Ex-distribution. f-Previous day’s quotation. g-Footnotes x and s apply. j-Footnotes e Fidelity BluChpGr K6 27.60 +0.38 2.8 Guggenheim Funds Tru Old Westbury Fds 500Adml 446.73 +5.46 1.5 TotIntlAdmIdx r 30.29 +0.14 -2.7 MdCpVlAdml 73.65 +0.46 -1.9
and s apply. k-Recalculated by Lipper, using updated data. p-Distribution costs apply, 500IdxInstPrem168.03 +2.05 1.5 Contra 16.68 +0.22 3.7 TotRtnBdFdClInst NA ... NA LrgCpStr NA ... NA BalAdml 44.63 +0.34 0.1 TotStAdml 116.63 +1.41 1.0 SmValAdml 75.36 +0.74 -2.6
12b-1. r-Redemption charge may apply. s-Stock split or dividend. t-Footnotes p and r Contrafund K6 23.87 +0.31 3.6 ContraK 16.74 +0.21 3.7 Harbor Funds Parnassus Fds CAITAdml 11.37 -0.02 -0.7 TxMCapAdml250.17 +3.01 1.2 TotBd2 9.45 ... -1.3
apply. v-Footnotes x and e apply. x-Ex-dividend. z-Footnote x, e and s apply. NA-Not ExtMktIdxInstPre 76.16 +0.87 -2.4 CpInc 9.62 +0.02 -0.1 CapApInst 100.28 +1.83 3.9 ParnEqFd 56.06 +0.64 1.7 CapOpAdml r179.13 +1.74 ... TxMIn r 15.02 +0.05 -2.5 TotIntlInstIdx r121.13 +0.58 -2.7
available due to incomplete price, performance or cost data. NE-Not released by Lipper; Harding Loevner PGIM Funds Cl Z DivAppIdxAdm 46.68 +0.40 1.0 TotItlInstPlId r121.16 +0.58 -2.7
FidSerToMarket 15.84 +0.19 1.0 GroCo 33.06 +0.55 3.6 USGroAdml 150.19 +2.49 2.4
data under review. NN-Fund not tracked. NS-Fund didn’t exist at start of period. IntlEq NA ... NA TotalReturnBond NA
GrowthCompanyK6 23.27 +0.39 3.7 InvGrBd 9.96 +0.01 -1.2 ... NA EMAdmr 33.02 +0.28 -3.4 ValAdml 58.21 +0.50 -0.1 TotSt 116.61 +1.41 1.0
Invesco Funds A PIMCO Fds Instl EqIncAdml 83.30 +0.67 -1.2 VANGUARD INSTL FDS
IntlIdxInstPrem 46.40 +0.08 -2.0 LowP 43.23 +0.26 -1.9 WdsrllAdml 76.02 +0.75 -0.1
Friday, January 19, 2024 EqIncA 10.01 +0.06 -0.7 AllAsset 10.86 +0.03 NA ExplrAdml 101.48 +0.95 -1.7 BalInst 44.63 +0.33 0.1
LgCpGwId InstPre 30.40 +0.44 3.1 Magin 12.71 +0.18 3.2 WellsIAdml 59.64 +0.17 -1.3
Invesco Funds Y
Net YTD Net YTD Net YTD MidCpInxInstPrem 29.49 +0.26 -1.5 NASDAQ 193.99 +3.23 2.0 TotRt 8.54 ... -1.1 ExtndAdml 121.67 +1.40 -2.4 WelltnAdml 71.50 +0.52 0.1 DevMktsIndInst 15.04 +0.05 -2.5
Fund NAV Chg %Ret Fund NAV Chg %Ret Fund NAV Chg %Ret DevMktY 36.80 +0.33 -4.7 PIMCO Funds A GNMAAdml 9.20 +0.01 -1.4 DevMktsInxInst 23.51 +0.08 -2.5
SAIUSLgCpIndxFd 20.03 +0.24 1.5 OTC 18.86 +0.29 3.1 JHF III DispVal WndsrAdml 71.28 +0.50 -1.6
AB Funds SmCpA 64.15 +0.47 -3.2 EmgMktVa 28.08 +0.19 -4.6 SeriesBondFd 8.94 ... -1.3 Puritn 23.51 +0.21 0.9 IncomeFd 10.54 ... -0.5 GroIncAdml 92.22 +1.17 2.2
VANGUARD FDS
ExtndInst 121.66 +1.40 -2.4
DispValMCI 26.91 +0.23 -1.7 GrwthAdml 164.70 +2.53 2.9 GrwthInst 164.71 +2.54 2.9
MuniIncmShares 11.00 -0.03 -0.9 TxExA 12.33 -0.03 -1.0 EmMktCorEq 21.57 +0.18 -3.7 SeriesOverseas 12.83 +0.04 -1.1 SAIUSQtyIdx 20.17 +0.31 4.2 PIMCO Funds I2 DivdGro 37.52 +0.21 0.8
John Hancock
AB Funds - ADV WshA 57.64 +0.66 0.8 IntlCoreEq 14.92 +0.02 -2.6 SerLTTreBdIdx 5.60 +0.01 -4.3 SrsEmrgMkt 16.67 +0.19 -3.8 Income 10.54 ... -0.5 HlthCareAdml r 88.56 -0.14 0.4
IntlVal 39.31 +0.17 -2.6
InPrSeIn 9.33 ... -0.5
BondR6 13.43 +0.01 -1.2 HYCorAdml r 5.36 ... -0.8 InstIdx 399.51 +4.88 1.5
LgCpGrAdv 95.88 +1.04 3.3 Artisan Funds IntSmCo 18.71 +0.01 -3.1 SmCpIdxInstPrem 24.03 +0.25 -4.0 SrsGlobal 13.48 +0.07 -2.7 PIMCO Funds Instl LifeCon 20.18 +0.08 -0.9
JPMorgan I Class
American Century Inv IntlVal Inst 45.62 +0.13 NA IntSmVa 20.60 -0.02 -3.0 TMktIdxInstPrem133.04 +1.61 1.0 SrsGroCoRetail 20.18 +0.34 3.6 IncomeFd 10.54 ... -0.5 InfProAd 22.91 +0.02 -0.5
LifeGro 41.17 +0.31 -0.7
InstPlus 399.51 +4.89 1.5
CoreBond 10.18 ... NA IntlGrAdml 98.77 +0.74 -3.0 InstTStPlus 83.16 +1.00 1.0
Ultra 76.47 +1.05 2.6 Baird Funds LgCo 32.10 +0.39 1.5 TotalMarketIndex 16.79 +0.20 1.0 SrsIntlGrw 17.00 +0.08 -0.8 EqInc 22.76 +0.18 NA
Price Funds LifeMod 30.20 +0.17 -0.8
American Funds Cl A AggBdInst 9.73 ... -1.3 US CoreEq1 36.24 +0.42 0.5 TtlIntIdxInstPr 12.78 +0.06 -2.8 SrsIntlVal 11.46 +0.02 -1.8 LgCpGwth 62.38 +0.92 NA BlChip 154.42 +2.15 NA ITBondAdml 10.21 -0.01 -1.3
PrmcpCor 31.91 +0.34 0.5
MidCpInst 62.62 +0.47 -1.6
AmcpA 38.62 +0.43 1.3 CorBdInst 10.05 ... -1.2 US CoreEq2 32.52 +0.36 0.2 USBdIdxInstPrem 10.28 ... -1.3 TotalBond 9.46 ... -1.2 JPMorgan R Class DivGro 71.06 +0.57 NA ITIGradeAdml 8.56 ... -1.2
STAR 26.61 +0.18 -0.9
MidCpIstPl 308.84 +2.32 -1.6
AMutlA 51.19 +0.38 0.4 BlackRock Funds US Small 43.05 +0.41 -3.0 Fidelity Advisor I Fidelity SAI CoreBond 10.20 ... NA Growth 89.13 +1.16 NA LarCapAd 111.95 +1.38 1.5
TgtRe2020 26.65 +0.10 -0.8
SmCapInst 99.51 +1.02 -2.6
BalA 32.04 +0.24 0.2 HiYldBd Inst NA ... -0.5 US SmCpVal 43.68 +0.49 -2.8 Total Bd 9.45 +0.01 -1.2 TotalBd 8.95 ... -1.1 CorePlusBd 7.18 +0.01 NA LgCapGow I 68.01 +0.79 NA LTGradeAdml 7.90 +0.02 -2.6
TgtRe2025 18.23 +0.09 -0.8
SmCapIstPl 287.21 +2.92 -2.6

BondA 11.32 -0.01 -1.3 BlackRock Funds III US TgdVal 30.82 +0.33 -3.4 Lord Abbett I MidCap 100.01 +0.78 NA MidCpAdml 283.48 +2.13 -1.6 STIGradeInst 10.20 ... -0.1
Fidelity Freedom U.S.TreBdIdx 8.70 ... -1.3 TgtRe2030 35.20 +0.21 -0.8
-2.1 MuHYAdml STIPSIxins 23.85
10.57 -0.03 -1.1 ... 0.1
CapIBA 65.74 +0.45 -0.7 iShS&P500IdxK567.39 +6.93 1.5 USLgVa 44.10 +0.45 -1.0 FF2030 16.41 +0.09 -1.0 Fidelity Selects ShtDurInc p 3.85 ... 0.2 NHoriz 55.03 +0.44
TgtRe2035 21.97 +0.14 -0.7
R2025 15.60 +0.08 NA
MuIntAdml 13.62 -0.03 -0.8 TotBdInst 9.56 ... -1.4
CapWGrA 60.02 +0.59 -0.2 BlackRock Funds Inst Dodge & Cox FF2040 10.41 +0.08 -0.8 Semiconductors r 25.78 +0.87 6.3 Metropolitan West
MuLTAdml 10.85 -0.03 -1.2 TgtRe2040 39.05 +0.29 -0.6 TotBdInst2 9.45 ... -1.3
EupacA 53.85 +0.52 -1.5 EqtyDivd 19.02 +0.12 -0.8 Balanced 100.52 +0.45 NA Freedom2030 K 16.39 +0.09 -1.0 Softwr 28.37 +0.44 2.5 TotRetBdI NA ... NA R2030 23.77 +0.15 NA
TgtRe2045 26.51 +0.21 -0.6
MuLtdAdml 10.80 -0.01 -0.4 TotBdInstPl 9.56 ... -1.4
FdInvA 71.97 +0.80 0.7 StratIncOpptyIns NA ... -0.7 GblStock 14.59 +0.11 -2.2 TRBdPlan NA ... NA R2040 27.47 +0.23 NA
Freedom2035 K 14.38 +0.10 -0.9 Tech 29.70 +0.58 4.2 MuShtAdml 15.73 ... -0.2 TgtRe2050 44.19 +0.37 -0.6 TotIntBdIdxInst 29.24 +0.02 -1.2
GwthA 63.98 +0.84 1.3 TotRet 9.88 ... -1.3 Income 12.46 ... -1.3 MFS Funds Schwab Funds
Freedom2040 K 10.41 +0.08 -0.8 First Eagle Funds PrmcpAdml r157.70 +1.91 0.9 TgtRe2060 45.43 +0.38 -0.6 TotStInst 116.65 +1.41 1.0
HI TrA 9.45 +0.01 -0.2 Calamos Funds Intl Stk 47.61 +0.25 -3.2 IIE 32.36 +0.08 -1.8 1000 Inv r 103.68 +1.27 1.3
Idx2030InsPre 18.73 +0.11 -1.0 GlbA 62.64 +0.35 -0.7 RealEstatAdml121.01 +1.45 -3.3 TgtRet2055 49.31 +0.41 -0.6 ValueInst 58.21 +0.51 -0.1
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 p y
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
BUSINESS & FINANCE
Ford Trims Lightning Output Hot Debt Market
As EV Downshift Continues Cuts Risky Firms’
BY NORA ECKERT Borrowing Costs
It has been a messy start to
the year for electric vehicles.
Ford Motor said Friday it is
slashing production of its
F-150 Lightning, the electric
pickup that has generated ma-
jor buzz since its launch
nearly two years ago. Tesla in
recent days cut vehicle prices
in Europe and China, and its
stock has fallen sharply this
month. Hertz on Jan. 11 said it
was replacing 20,000 EVs in
its rental fleet with gasoline-
engine cars.
REBECCA COOK/REUTERS
Meanwhile, the Arctic blast
affecting much of the north-
ern U.S. offered a reminder of
one EV inconvenience: Re-
duced battery performance in
cold weather, a jolt of bad
publicity for electric cars.
EV sales in the U.S. and
globally continue to climb, but
the pace of that growth—and
the enthusiasm around the EV
story—has faded. Long wait
lists and accelerated factory
schedules have given way to a
backlog of inventory and
downsized ambitions.
Carmakers say they remain
committed to going electric—
while calibrating their plans
as fewer consumers than an-
ticipated seem ready to rush
into EVs. Surveys show many
car buyers are interested in
the technology, but hesitate
over charger availability and
higher prices.
“High interest rates and el-
evated sticker prices may be
causing consumer interest in
EVs to soften,” a Deloitte
study this month concluded,
based on a global survey of
27,000 people. It also cited a
lack of chargers and long
charging times.
Ford has spent two years
rushing to expand its Light-
ning plant in Dearborn, Mich.,
citing a big backlog of buyers.
But on Friday, the company
said it was cutting that fac-
tory’s workforce—from two
Sports Illustrated Plans Major Layoffs,
Putting the Brand’s Future in Jeopardy
Sports Illustrated announced
major layoffs on Friday, accord-
ing to the publication’s union,
throwing the future of the leg-
acy sports magazine into ques-
tion.
By Suryatapa
Bhattacharya
And Ben Glickman
The union said it was noti-
fied by the magazine’s pub-
lisher, the Arena Group, that it
intended to “lay off a signifi-
cant number, possibly all” of
Sports Illustrated’s unionized
staffers because Arena had lost
its license to publish the maga-
zine.
“This is another difficult day
in what has been a difficult
four years for Sports Illustrated
under Arena Group (previously
The Maven) stewardship,” the
union said in a statement
posted on X. The union said it
JetBlue, Spirit Airlines to Appeal Merger Block
BY ALISON SIDER
JetBlue Airways and Spirit
Airlines plan to appeal a fed-
eral judge’s ruling blocking
their planned merger, the carri-
ers said late Friday.
U.S. District Judge William
Young on Tuesday ruled that
JetBlue can’t go forward with
its planned $3.8 billion acquisi-
tion of Spirit, siding with fed-
eral antitrust enforcers who
said the deal would reduce
competition and harm cost-con-
scious consumers.
The decision raised ques-
tions about Spirit’s financial fu-
ture and sent the airline’s
shares into a tailspin for much
of the week. Spirit on Friday
raised its fourth-quarter guid-
ance and outlined steps it is
taking to shore up liquidity.
JetBlue pursued Spirit in
hopes that its planes and pilots
would supercharge JetBlue’s
growth plans, helping it chal-
lenge the larger carriers that
dominate the industry in the
U.S. But Spirit’s prospects have
deteriorated, with rising costs,
p p
* * * * * * *
The electric truck has been a central part of Ford’s EV strategy in the past few years.
shifts to one—and relocating
about two-thirds of its 2,100
hourly workers, mostly to fac-
tories that make gasoline-en-
gine vehicles.
Ford Chief Executive Jim
Farley said the automaker is
remaining flexible in its man-
ufacturing plans to offer cus-
tomers choice while also fo-
cusing on growth and
profitability.
“We see a bright future for
electric vehicles for specific
consumers, especially with
our upcoming digitally ad-
vanced EVs,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the
company declined to quantify
the production cut. In letter to
suppliers late last year, re-
viewed by The Wall Street
Journal, Ford said it expected
to reduce Lightning output by
half this year because of
“changing market demand.”
The electric truck has been
a central part of Ford’s EV
strategy in the past few years,
and the plant itself has often
been in the spotlight, even re-
ceiving a visit from President
Biden.
Ford shares ended Friday at
Arena Group said it missed a payment to its licenser.
didn’t know the exact number
of employees affected by the
layoffs. It said it has more than
80 unionized employees at
Sports Illustrated.
Sports Illustrated, the pre-
weakened demand, and planes
that are stuck on the ground
due to an engine problem.
Some analysts have grown
more skeptical that the acquisi-
tion still makes sense for Jet-
Blue, even though it is on the
hook for a breakup fee of $400
million to Spirit investors and
$70 million to the company it-
self if the deal is barred by anti-
trust authorities. Challenging
the decision could be an uphill
legal battle, some analysts have
said. Either airline could walk
away from the deal if it isn’t
completed by a July deadline.
Spirit said in a regulatory fil-
ing earlier Friday that it is con-
sidering refinancing $1.1 billion
in debt due in 2025.
The news boosted Spirit’s
shares. The stock rose 17% Fri-
day after closing at an all-time
low on Thursday. Over the
three months leading up to
Thursday’s close, Spirit’s stock
had lost about 57% of its value.
The stock climbed about 12%
in after-hours trading after the
companies announced their in-
tent to appeal, while JetBlue
$11.20, up 1.9%. ‘As soon as you do not fix the
EV sales growth in the U.S., affordability issue by giving
while still far exceeding that me a significant subsidy…then
of the broader car market, I stop buying,’” he said.
eased to 47% last year from Tesla is trying to crank up
65% in 2022, according re- production of its Cybertruck
search-firm Motor Intelli- at its factory near Austin,
gence. That has stoked con- Texas, to meet what CEO Elon
cerns about whether there will Musk has said is huge de-
be enough buyers for dozens mand. Meanwhile, analysts
of new models headed to have flagged signs of a
showrooms this year. tougher market for Tesla’s top
In many cases, auto execu- sellers, the Model Y SUV and
tives are reworking EV plans Model 3 sedan, pointing to the
on the fly, after having spent price cuts in China and Eu-
much of the past three years rope.
accelerating vehicle introduc- Hertz, in its recent an-
tions and factory output. nouncement, cited weak de-
Stellantis said Friday it mand for EVs from its rental
plans no adjustments to its customers, higher operating
electric-vehicle strategy. The costs and fading used prices
owner of Jeep, Ram and for its decision to sell about
Dodge plans to roll out dozens one-third of its electric fleet.
of battery-powered models And in parts of the U.S. in
this decade. But CEO Carlos recent weeks, EV owners were
Tavares told reporters during confronted with frigid temper-
a video briefing that the U.S. atures that slowed charge
presidential race and elections times and reduced driving
in Europe could change that, A ranges. According to news re-
shift in political attitudes ports from Chicago, some
could make staying the course Tesla drivers searched so long
more challenging, he said. for an available charger that
“The feedback from the they had to be towed to a dif-
consumer is loud and clear: ferent location.
Arena said in a regulatory
filing that it lost the license to
publish Sports Illustrated after
it missed a $3.8 million quar-
terly payment to its licenser,
Authentic Brands Group.
Arena said it was in discus-
sions with Authentic Brands
and would continue to publish
Sports Illustrated until the
matter was resolved.
Authentic Brands said that it
planned for Sports Illustrated
JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES
to continue operating. It didn’t
respond to a request for com-
ment on whether that would
affect the announced layoffs.
Sports Illustrated said some
employees would be laid off im-
mediately, while others would
be expected to continue work-
eminent voice in sports jour- ing through the end of the no-
nalism for decades, has strug- tice period, according to a staff
gled like many other magazines email the union shared with
to keep pace with the transition The Wall Street Journal. The
to digital media and changes in email didn’t specify how long
advertising. the notice period would be.
stock fell 1.4%. pleted sale-leaseback deals for
Spirit said earlier Friday that 25 aircraft in the past two
it saw strong bookings during months, generating cash pro-
peak holiday travel and now ex- ceeds of $419 million and al-
pects fourth-quarter revenue to lowing for the repayment of
come in at the high end of its about $465 million in debt.
previous guidance. Spirit also said it had made
Spirit is anticipating revenue progress in negotiations with
of $1.32 billion, more than the jet-engine maker Pratt & Whit-
$1.305 billion forecast by ana- ney about financial damages
lysts polled by FactSet. The related to engine issues. The
company is now forecasting RTX unit last year said sus-
better-than-expected operating pected contaminated metal in
expenses due to lower fuel some engine parts would re-
costs and airport costs, driven quire accelerated inspections
by strong operations. Spirit ex- and ground planes.
pects capacity will be up 1% to Spirit had $1.3 billion of li-
2% in the first quarter. quidity as of Dec. 31, which in-
Analysts at Seaport Research cludes $300 million under the
Partners wrote Friday that company’s revolving credit fa-
Spirit could get a boost from a cility, according to the filing.
rebound in domestic travel this JetBlue, meanwhile, said this
year, and while the airline’s po- past week that it is making
sition is precarious, it is viable. changes to its route map as it
Spirit said it had taken steps looks to turn its own finances
to “shore up” its liquidity in the around. The carrier will no lon-
fourth quarter, allowing the ger serve Baltimore, for exam-
company to “compete effec- ple. Some routes will be cut and
tively in the current demand others will be reduced to sea-
backdrop and to return the sonal flying.
business to profitability.” —Ben Glickman
The airline said it has com- contributed to this article.
p g ( )
Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | B9
BY SAM GOLDFARB
Companies with low credit
ratings are rushing to slash
their borrowing costs even be-
fore the Federal Reserve makes
a single interest-rate cut.
As of Thursday, companies
such as SeaWorld Entertain-
ment and Dave & Buster’s had
asked investors to cut the inter-
est rates on some $62 billion of
sub-investment grade loans in
January—already the largest
monthly total in three years, ac-
cording to PitchBook LCD.
The rate adjustments are the
product of a broad rally in
stocks and bonds that kicked off
late last year when investors
grew more optimistic that a
yearslong spell of high inflation
was coming to an end without
any sign of an imminent reces-
sion.
Prices of so-called leveraged
loans, which are often used to
fund private-equity buyouts,
have climbed especially high, in
part because a slowdown in
those deals has led to lack of
new loans entering the market.
The enthusiasm has gone so
far that investors are willing to
accept lower rates on some of
the loans they own rather than
give them up. And businesses
have been able to take advan-
tage, thanks to terms that make
their loans extremely easy to
refinance just months after they
were issued.
“It’s a sign of strength in the
market that the issuers are able
to do it,” said
Kevin Loome, a
high-yield port-
folio manager at Leveraged loans
T. Rowe Price. have proved a
The wave of
rate adjust- solid investment
ments, known
on Wall Street
over the past
as repricings, is couple of years.
just the latest
evidence that
the Fed’s cam-
paign against inflation hasn’t
dealt as hard a blow to indebted
companies as Wall Street had
initially feared.
Interest rates on leveraged
loans are variable, rising and
falling with those set by the
Fed. As a result, there were
concerns that companies that
had borrowed heavily before
2022 would be in trouble once
rates started surging.
At the end of 2023, however,
the loan default rate remained
comfortably below its historical
average. Companies have
pushed out debt maturities by
replacing older debt with new
bonds or loans, and now many
are taking the extra step of re-
ducing their interest costs.
They can do so because, in
addition to a variable base rate,
interest rates on leveraged
loans also include a “spread”—
extra compensation that inves-
tors demand for the risk of a
default. Set when the loan is is-
sued, the spread can later be
changed if companies make the
request and investors are will-
ing to go along.
Rate reductions range in
size. Car-battery manufacturer
Clarios this month reduced the
spread of a $2.7 billion loan by
0.75 percentage point, promis-
ing more than $20 million in
annual savings. SeaWorld and
Dave & Buster’s both cut
spreads on their loans by 0.5
percentage point, while others
Proposed leverage-loan repricings, monthly
$100billion
80
60
40
20
0
2018 ’19 ’20
Share of leveraged loans
trading at or above par
50%
40
30
20
10
0 0
2021 ’22 ’23 ’24†
*As of Jan. 18 **Shows Bloomberg U.S. high yield corporate bond index †Through Jan. 17
Sources: PitchBook LCD (leverage loan repricings, share); FactSet (yield)
j p
have achieved more modest
0.25-percentage-point cuts.
Overall, investors have ap-
proved rate reductions for
roughly $35 billion in loans so
far this month, with an addi-
tional $27 billion waiting to be
approved and more repricings
still being proposed at a steady
clip. Repricing waves tend to
occur when loans trade above
their face value in the second-
ary market, a signal to compa-
nies that investors are willing to
accept a lower return on their
debt.
Sure enough, the share of
loans trading at or above par
reached more than 40% early
this year, up from 5% at the end
of October. At the end of De-
cember, there were around
$250 billion of loans to single-B
and double-B-rated companies
trading at that level and old
enough to be refinanced with-
out penalty, according to Pitch-
Book LCD.
Leveraged loans have proved
a solid investment over the past
couple of years, delivering a to-
tal return of minus 1% in 2022,
counting price changes and in-
terest payments, while the S&P
500 lost 18%. They also held
their own during last year’s re-
bound, returning 13% to the
S&P 500’s 26%.
From an investment perspec-
tive, both low-rated corporate
loans and bonds now pose a
similar dilemma to stocks:
While the economic outlook has
improved, the recent market
rally means it
could be hard to
match last
year’s returns.
In general,
investors some-
times see low-
rated or “junk”
corporate bonds
and loans as a
compromise.
Both kinds of
debt have his-
torically been less volatile than
stocks, though much riskier
than investment-grade bonds.
Some investors say that debt
in general could be a more ap-
pealing alternative to stocks
over the next several years if in-
terest rates stay higher than
they were in the dozen or so
years after the 2008-09 finan-
cial crisis.
The average yield of sub-in-
vestment-grade bonds has re-
cently hovered around 8%,
about 2 percentage points
higher than what they generally
offered for about seven years
before the Covid-19 pandemic,
outside of the occasional mar-
ket selloff. The extra yield above
U.S. Treasurys, however, is only
around 3.4 percentage points—
on the low-end of its prepan-
demic range.
David Albrycht, chief invest-
ment officer at Newfleet Asset
Management, said his portfolio
managers are generally trying
to play it safe in their fixed-in-
come portfolios, given the re-
cent compression in yields be-
tween higher- and lower-rated
debt.
But, he said, they would
likely add risk in any selloff.
They also have added some
loans, betting that it could take
longer for the Fed to cut rates
than markets are generally ex-
pecting. That would make float-
ing-rate loans appealing relative
to fixed-rate bonds.
’21 ’22 ’23 ’24*
Average junk bond yield**
12%
10
8
6
4
2
2018 ’19 ’20 ’21 ’22 ’23 ’24†
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

B10 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Clean-Energy
Bet Goes Bad
For Utilities
Offshore wind building turbines the size of
skyscrapers in the ocean, with
turbines are proving supply-chain snarls and higher
too risky for many interest rates blowing up proj-
ect budgets.
power companies “Utilities over time have
learned they don’t want to be
BY DAVID UBERTI first movers,” said Shahriar
Pourreza, an analyst at
U.S. power companies raced Guggenheim Partners, adding
to get in on the offshore wind that investors in the sector

CHARLES KRUPA/ASSOCIATED PRESS

boom a few years ago. Now seek slow and steady returns.
some are rushing to get out. “Let someone else be the first,
Already, utilities have un- second and third mover.”
loaded pieces of a planned Several U.S. power compa-
New Jersey wind farm and a nies set out on offshore devel-
yet-to-be-built seabed off Mas- opments years ago, competing
sachusetts. Now, “for sale” alongside larger energy firms
signs sit on stakes in four de- including British oil behemoth
velopments aimed at electrify- BP and Norway’s Equinor. Bi- Developers behind projects totaling 8.5 gigawatts of electricity canceled or are expected to cancel state-approved power contracts.
ing hundreds of thousands of den and Democratic governors
homes in New York, Connecti- in the Northeast threw their wages soared after the pan- frastructure investor to sell Share-price, index and tious about Dominion and
cut, Rhode Island and Virginia. weight behind such megaproj- demic, while Russia’s invasion similar stakes in three projects sector performance other utilities with offshore
The pullback is adding to ects, which promised to har- of Ukraine sent commodity with Ørsted that aim to power 30%
ambitions. Dominion said in
the turmoil in a new industry ness powerful winds off the prices skyrocketing. The Fed- parts of New York, Connecticut November that it is seeking an
at the center of the U.S.’s re- East Coast to help decarbonize eral Reserve’s rate increases and Rhode Island. The up- S&P 500 investor in the nearly $10 bil-
20
newable-energy ambitions. De- the economy. drove up the cost of borrowing heaval in the offshore market lion development as part of a
velopers behind projects total- With cheap debt available for billion-dollar developments. has made it harder to complete wider strategic review of its
10
ing 8.5 gigawatts of electricity and the successful record of A global backlog of wind farm a deal, according to people fa- business.
—more than a quarter of wind farms across Northern plans created a shortage of the miliar with the matter. “Our objective is to get a
0 S&P 500
President Biden’s 2030 goal— Europe, the offshore industry vessels needed to haul turbines Eversource expects to write utilities true equity partner with pro
canceled or are expected to appeared poised to take off and their foundations from down up to $1.6 billion from sector rata sharing of project costs,”
–10
cancel state-approved power stateside. ports to job sites in the ocean. the projects in the fourth quar- Dominion Chief Executive Rob-
contracts to propose deals “There was a land grab go- Delays stacked up. ter. Chief Executive Joe Nolan ert Blue said on a call with an-
with new terms, according to ing on,” said John Bartlett, “The problem is the cost last week called it “an unfortu- –20 alysts. Dominion declined to
Intelatus Global Partners. Two president of Reaves Asset has spiraled out of control,” nate reflection of the current Eversource comment further.
projects have been nixed out- Management, which invests in Bartlett said. market conditions we are fac- –30 Energy
In Connecticut, Avangrid
right. utilities. Utilities’ pullback began in ing.” last year paused two of its
The retreat by utilities un- Then the problems started earnest in May. In New Jersey, Any buyer will have to navi- –40 three offshore projects, paying
derscores the challenge of mounting. American workers’ Public Service Enterprise gate a web of existing con- Jan. 2023 Jan. ’24 tens of millions in termination
Group sold its 25% stake in a tracts approved by state regu- Source: FactSet fees to get out of power con-
project known as Ocean Wind lators and supplier deals for tracts in Connecticut and Mas-
ADVERTISEMENT 1 to partner Ørsted for more everything from turbine parts ply-chain chaos struck. Those sachusetts.

The Marketplace
than $200 million. The Danish to ships. Former Ørsted execu- contracts, approved by regula- Owned by Spanish electric
wind-power giant later deep- tives say the company had tors, exposed developers to the and renewables giant
sixed the project and sister teamed up with Eversource in risk of cost overruns. Iberdrola, Avangrid believes
To advertise: 800-366-3975 or WSJ.com/classifieds Ocean Wind 2. part because of its local politi- That isn’t the case in Vir- its ability to tap in to its par-
In New England, the with- cal connections and onshore ginia, where plans for Domin- ent company’s expertise and
drawal by utility Eversource development know-how. ion Energy’s huge wind farm European supply chains insu-
NOTICE OF SALE
Energy has been even more Eversource will continue to have stayed on time and on lated it from some of the re-
ADJOURNED NOTICE OF SALE extreme. The company in Sep- support onshore construction budget. Executives chalk up cent turmoil. CEO Pedro Aza-
tember sold Ørsted its 50% of the three wind farms after the progress in part to a model gra Blázquez said the company
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that in accordance with applicable provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code as enacted
in New York, by virtue of certain Event(s) of Default under those certain Ownership Interests Pledge and Security stake in an undeveloped lease any deal, an Ørsted spokesman that lets it recover costs from is waiting for the market to
Agreements, each dated as of April 12, 2023 (collectively, the “Pledge Agreement”), executed and delivered by J.
SUPOR REALTY LLC, SUPOR PROPERTIES BOONTON HOLDING LLC, SUPOR PROPERTIES BOONTON DE LLC, SUPOR off Massachusetts, as well as said. ratepayers—which gave the stabilize before offering new
MANOR REALTY LLC, JOSEPH SUPOR, III, ROSEANN SUPOR and THE MARITAL TRUST UNDER THE LAST WILL AND
TESTAMENT OF JOSEPH SUPOR, JR., DATED SEPTEMBER 13, 2002, AS AMENDED BY FIRST CODICIL DATED JUNE 14,
assets including a maintenance Analysts say the projects company the flexibility to proposals for its stalled devel-
2007 (collectively, the “Pledgor”), and in accordance with it rights as holder of the security, 1000 FRANK E. ROGERS 1 facility and regional port deals, have suffered more than most make investments before U.S. opments.
LLC (the “Secured Party”), by virtue of possession of those certain Share Certificates held in accordance with Article
8 of the Uniform Commercial Code of the State of New York (the “Code”), and by virtue of those certain UCC-1 Filing for $625 million. because of the bad timing of supply chains faltered. “The question is always
Statement made in favor of Secured Party, all in accordance with Article 9 of the Code, Secured Party will offer for
sale, at public auction, (i) all of Pledgor’s right, title, and interest in and to the following: J. SUPOR REALTY MEZZ LLC,
Eversource said it is in ad- power-purchase agreements Even so, Bank of America when,” he said. “We don’t stop.
SUPOR PROPERTIES BOONTON LLC, SUPOR MANOR REALTY MEZZ LLC, SUPOR PROPERTIES-400 LIMITED LIABILITY vanced talks with a private in- just before inflation and sup- recently told clients it is cau- We just take some breaks.”
COMPANY, and SUPOR FAMILY, L.L.C. (individually a “Pledged Entity”, and collectively, the “Pledged Entities”), and
(ii) certain related rights and property relating thereto (collectively, (i) and (ii) are the “Collateral”). Secured Party’s
understanding is that the principal asset of the Pledged Entities are those certain fee interests in the following
premise located at (i) 500 Supor Boulevard, Harrison, New Jersey, (ii) 95 Fulton Street, Boonton, New Jersey, (iii)
505 Manor Avenue, Harrison, New Jersey, (iv) 400 Supor Boulevard, Harrison, New Jersey, and (v) 125-129 Sanford
Avenue, Kearny, NJ (collectively, the “Property”).
Mannion Auctions, LLC (“Mannion”), under the direction of Matthew D. Mannion (the “Auctioneer”), will conduct
a public sale consisting of the Collateral (as set forth in Schedule A below), via online bidding, on February 15, 2024
at 3:00pm, in satisfaction or partial satisfaction of an indebtedness in the approximate amount of $91,556.558.26,
Apple Set
including principal, interest on principal, and reasonable fees and costs, plus default interest through February 15,
2024, subject to open charges and all additional costs, fees and disbursements permitted by law. The Secured Party
reserves the right to credit bid.
Online bidding will be made available via Zoom Meeting: Meeting link: https://bit.ly/UCCSupor (URL is case sensitive)
Meeting ID: 840 9275 9057 Passcode: 850199 One Tap Mobile: +16469313860,,84092759057#,,,,*850199# US; +164655
To Allow
88656,,84092759057#,,,,*850199# US (New York) Dial by your location: +1 646 931 3860 US
The UCC sale was originally scheduled for January 17, 2024 at 3:00pm.
Bidder Qualification Deadline: Interested parties who intend to bid on the Collateral must contact Brett Rosenberg
at Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. (“JLL”), 330 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017, (212) 812-5926, Brett.
Rosenberg@jll.com, to receive the Terms and Conditions of Sale and bidding instructions by February 12, 2024 by 4:00
Third-Party
Payments
pm. Upon execution of a standard confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement, which can be found at the following
link www.NJIndustrialPortfolioUCCSale.com, additional documentation and information will be available. Interested
parties who do not contact JLL and qualify prior to the sale will not be permitted to enter a bid. KRISS & FEUERSTEIN
LLP, Attn: Jerold C. Feuerstein, Esq., Attorneys for Secured Party, 360 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1200, New York, New
York 10017 (212) 661-2900.
SCHEDULE A: (i.) Pledgor: J. SUPOR REALTY LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. Issuer: J. Supor Realty
Mezz LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. Interest Pledged: 100% limited liability company interest. The UCC1
was filed on April 17, 2023 with the Delaware Department of State under Filing No. #20232809498. (ii.) Pledgor: BY DAVID SACHS
SUPOR PROPERTIES BOONTON HOLDING LLC, a New Jersey limited liability company. Issuer: Supor Properties
AND KIM MACKRAEL
DAVID L. RYAN/THE BOSTON GLOBE VIA GETTY IMAGES

Boonton LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. Interest Pledged: 99% membership interest. The UCC1 was filed on
April 17, 2023 with the State of New Jersey Department of Treasury under the Filing No. #56537635. (iii.) Pledgor:
SUPOR PROPERTIES BOONTON DE LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. Issuer: Supor Properties Boonton LLC,
a Delaware limited liability company. Interest Pledged: 1% membership interest. The UCC1 was filed on April 17, BRUSSELS—Apple has
2023 with the Delaware Department of State under Filing No. #20232809407. (iv.) Pledgor: SUPOR MANOR REALTY
LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. Issuer: SUPOR MANOR REALTY MEZZ LLC, a Delaware limited liability agreed to let third-party mobile
company. Interest Pledged: 100% limited liability company interest. The UCC1 was filed on April 17, 2023 with the
Delaware Department of State under Filing No. #20232809308. (v.) Pledgor: JOSEPH SUPOR, III, an individual. Issuer:
wallet and payment services in
SUPOR PROPERTIES-400 LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, a New Jersey limited liability company. Interest Pledged: Europe use the technology be-
100% membership interest. The UCC1 was filed on April 17, 2023 with the New Jersey Department of Treasury under
Filing No. 56537651. (vi) Pledgor: ROSEANN SUPOR, an individual. Issuer: Supor Family, L.L.C., a New Jersey limited hind its Apple Pay app in a
liability company. Interest Pledged: 50% membership. The UCC1 was filed on April 18, 2023 with the New Jersey move to allay competition con-
Department of Treasury under Filing No. #65639673. (vii.) Pledgor: THE MARITAL TRUST UNDER THE LAST WILL AND
TESTAMENT OF JOSEPH SUPOR, JR., DATED SEPTEMBER 13, 2002, AS AMENDED BY FIRST CODICIL DATED JUNE 14, cerns from European regula-
2007. Issuer: Supor Family, L.L.C., a New Jersey limited liability company. Interest Pledged: 50% membership interest.
The UCC1 was filed on April 18, 2023 with the New Jersey Department of Treasury under Filing No. # 65639673. tors.
The U.S. tech giant said Fri-
NOTICE OF SALE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES day that it would allow other
companies’ apps to make con-
The company has done several rounds of layoffs as pandemic furniture buying has cooled. tactless payments on iPhones
NOTICE OF SALE
alliance mortgage fund and other devices that use its

Wayfair Boss Trims Staff

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that in accordance with
applicable provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code iOS operating system for free,
as enacted in New York, by virtue of certain Event(s)
of Default under that certain Ownership Interests
Pledge and Security Agreement dated as of October
20, 2022 but effective as of July 1, 2022 (the “Pledge
8%-9% Return without the need to use Apple
Pay or Apple Wallet.
Agreement”), executed and delivered by Nancy J. Haber REAL ESTATE SECURED It follows an investigation

Weeks After Viral Memo

(the “Pledgor”), and in accordance with it rights as
holder of the security, Maguire Perry LLC (the “Secured FIXED INCOME FUND by the European Commission,
Party”), by virtue of that certain UCC-1 Filing Statement
made in favor of Secured Party, in accordance with SEEKING RIA’S & the European Union’s executive
Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code of the State
of New York, Secured Party will offer for sale, at public ACCREDITED INVESTORS arm, into whether restricting
auction, (i) all of Pledgor’s right, title, and interest in
and to the following: 1819 Weeks Ave Realty Corp. (the CALL: access to NFC technology—the

866-700-0600 software and hardware neces-

“Pledged Entity”), and (ii) certain related rights and
property relating thereto (collectively, (i) and (ii) are the
“Collateral”). Secured Party’s understanding is that the BY SARAH NASSAUER Wayfair employee count rate employees a message dur- sary for mobile devices to com-
principal asset of the Pledged Entity is that certain fee ALLIANCE PORTFOLIO
interest in the premise located at 47 Perry Street, New 18,000 ing the holiday season thanking municate with pay terminals—
120 Vantis Dr., Ste. 515 • Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
York, NY 10014 (the “Property”).
Mannion Auctions, LLC (“Mannion”), under the direction www.AlliancePortfolio.com Wayfair is laying off 13% of them for returning the com- violated competition rules.
RE Broker • CA DRE • 02066955 Broker License ID
of Matthew D. Mannion (the “Auctioneer”), will conduct its employees, weeks after the pany to profitability and asking Apple said it was making
a public sale consisting of the Collateral (as set forth
in Schedule A below), via online bidding, on February company’s chief executive 15,000 them to work harder. the concession after discus-
5, 2024 at 3:45pm, in satisfaction of an indebtedness
in the approximate amount of $6,151,171.04, including Business for Sale sent a memo asking them to “Working long hours, being sions with the commission, and
principal, interest on principal, and reasonable fees and
Baseball/Softball Sporting Goods work harder. responsive, blending work and that Apple Pay, which is used
costs, plus default interest through February 5, 2024, 12,000
subject to open charges and all additional costs, fees Patents and Inventory Included On Friday the online re- life, is not anything to shy away by more than 3,000 issuing
and disbursements permitted by law. The Secured Party
reserves the right to credit bid. Online bidding will be www.maxtbaseball.com tailer said it would lay off from. There is not a lot of his- banks across Europe, would
made available via Zoom Meeting:
Meeting link: https://bit.ly/HaberUCC (case sensitive Pre-revenue No Brokers around 1,650 employees. Way- 9,000 tory of laziness being rewarded continue to be a broadly avail-
URL), Meeting ID: 820 5063 8953 Passcode: 619547 fair, which primarily sells fur- with success,” Shah wrote in able option.
One Tap Mobile: +16469313860,,82050638953#,,,,*619
547# US +16465588656,,82050638953#,,,,*619547# US
MaxTtraining@gmail.com niture and other home goods, December. The memo drew Under the proposed change,
(New York)
has done several rounds of 6,000 praise from some who want consumers in Europe who use
Dial by your location: +1 646 931 3860 US; +1 646 558
8656 US (New York); +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago); +1
301 715 8592 US (Washington DC); +1 305 224 1968
large layoffs in recent years as workers to return to offices and their mobile device to make a
US; +1 309 205 3325 US; +1 360 209 5623 US; +1 386 pandemic furniture buying 3,000 work harder, while others criti- payment will be able to decide
347 5053 US; +1 507 473 4847 US; +1 564 217 2000 US;
has cooled. cized it as tone-deaf. between using Apple Pay or an
THE
+1 669 444 9171 US; +1 689 278 1000 US; +1 719 359
4580 US; +1 720 707 2699 US (Denver); +1 253 205 0468
US; +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma); +1 346 248 7799 US “We went overboard in hir- Workers affected by the app enabled by iOS, Apple said.
(Houston)
Bidder Qualification Deadline: Interested parties
who intend to bid on the Collateral must contact David
MARKETPLACE ing during a strong economic
period and veered away from
0
2015 ’20 ’23*
current round of layoffs will
receive email notification Fri-
Users will be able to change
their default payment method
Schechtman (“Schechtman”), at Meridian Investment
Sales, with offices at One Battery Park Plaza, 25th Floor, ADVERTISE TODAY our core principles, and while *Estimate as of early 2023 day, the company said. The at any time.
New York, NY 10004, (212) 468-5907, dschechtman@
meridiancapital.com, to receive the Terms and we have come quite far back Source: the company move will cost $70 million to By offering commitments in
Conditions of Sale and bidding instructions by February (800) 366-3975 to them, we are not quite $80 million, mostly in sever- response to the commission’s
2, 2024 by 4:00 pm. Upon execution of a standard
confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement, additional For more information visit: there,” CEO Niraj Shah said in ers as it grappled with losses. ance, and is expected to gen- concerns, Apple is seeking to
documentation and information will be available.
Interested parties who do not contact Schechtman and wsj.com/classifieds a memo to staff Friday. “I believe we need to stay erate annual savings of about settle the case and avoid a pos-
qualify prior to the sale will not be permitted to enter In 2022, Wayfair laid off focused as a company on what $280 million. sible fine.
a bid.
SCHEDULE A: PLEDGOR: NANCY J. HABER, An around 900 people as the pan- committed small teams can The Boston-based company The commission said Friday
individual. ISSUER: 1819 WEEKS AVE. REALTY CORP.,
a New York corporation. INTERESTS PLEDGED: 100% demic sales and profit boom accomplish,” Shah wrote on had around 14,000 employees that it was inviting feedback
membership interest. The UCC1 was filed on December
8, 2022 with the New York State Department of State faded. Last year, the company Friday. “In many ways, having as of early 2023, according to from competitors on Apple’s
under the Filing No. #202212080506188. The UCC3
Assignment was filed on December 20, 2022 under Filing
laid off roughly 1,700 employ- too many great people is financial filings. It joins Ama- proposal. If competitors say the
No. 202212208577749. KRISS & FEUERSTEIN LLP, Attn: ees as sales fell. Before the worse than having too few.” zon.com, Macy’s and others commitments Apple offered are
Jerold C. Feuerstein, Esq., Attorneys for Secured Party,
360 Lexington Avenue, Suite 1200, New York, New York © 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. pandemic, Wayfair in early The layoff news comes that have announced jobs cuts sufficient, the commission can
10017, (212) 661-2900 All Rights Reserved. 2020 laid off about 500 work- weeks after Shah sent corpo- this month. make them legally binding.
 p y
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
S&P 500 Climbs 1.2% to a Record China
Settles
Benchmark index
surpasses its
previous high set
two years ago
BY HANNAH MIAO
A rally in technology stocks
propelled the S&P 500 to an
all-time high Friday.
The S&P 500 rose 1.2% to
4839.81, breaking a streak of
more than 500 trading ses-
sions without
FRIDAY’S a record. The
MARKETS Dow Jones In-
dustrial Aver-
age gained 395 points, or 1.1%,
to close at 37863.80, also a re-
cord. The tech-heavy Nasdaq
Composite climbed 1.7%.
Shares of tech companies
led the charge higher. An up-
beat earnings report this week
from chip maker Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufactur-
ing Co. spurred a resurgence
in semiconductor stocks like
Nvidia, Advanced Micro De-
vices and Broadcom. The
PHLX Semiconductor Index
gained 4%. Shares of Apple,
which uses TSMC chips, rose
1.6%.
“That earnings report took
the leash off the bull,” said
Jeff Kilburg, founder and CEO
of KKM Financial. “All we
needed was a spark to get the
S&P 500 back into positive
territory.”
The recent comeback in
shares of chip makers echoes
the excitement around artifi-
cial-intelligence companies
that boosted the stock market
last year. Since the S&P 500
and Nasdaq Composite are
weighted by market capital-
izations, shares of big tech
companies have an outsize in-
fluence on index performance.
“We’ve seen a resumption
of leadership in technology
stocks again here over the
back half of this week,” Mark
Blackstone Moves Back Into Rental Homes
BY RYAN DEZEMBER
Shares of America’s big-
gest suburban landlords are
up today after Blackstone
said it would pay $3.5 billion
for Tricon Residential, which
owns about 38,000 U.S. rental
homes.
Bain Capital Closes
$1 Billion Midmarket
Private-Credit Fund
BY CHRIS CUMMING
Bain Capital has raised its
newest fund to provide flexi-
ble, junior debt to midmarket
companies, the Boston firm
said Thursday.
The fund, Bain Capital Mid-
dle Market Credit 2022, closed
with commitments of more
than $1 billion, according to
Michael Ewald, global head of
the firm’s private credit
group. Including leverage, the
fund provides as much as
$1.25 billion to deploy.
The new vehicle is Bain
Capital’s fourth fund in this
midmarket debt strategy,
which lends to companies in
the U.S., Europe, Australia
and New Zealand, typically
with $25 million to $75 mil-
lion in earnings before inter-
est, taxes, depreciation and
amortization, Ewald said. The
firm’s predecessor fund
closed with $975 million in
2019.
The strategy invests flexi-
bly across a range of junior
debt types, including unse-
cured loans, second-lien, pre-
ferred equity and payment-in-
kind debt, Ewald said. The
firm has so far backed five
businesses from the new fund
and expects to invest in about
50 in total, he said.
Founded in 1984, Bain Capi-
tal was one of the pioneers of
private-equity investing, and
it has since expanded into
strategies including credit,
real estate, venture capital, in-
surance and others. The firm
manages about $180 billion in
total, including $45 billion in
its credit business, which it
started in 1998.
Funds that invest in private
Bank
An upbeat earnings report from chip maker TSMC spurred a resurgence in semiconductor stocks.
Index performance this past week
2.5%
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0 economy has slowed enough
–0.5
–1.0
–1.5
–2.0
Tues. Wed.
Note: Market was closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Luschini, chief investment
strategist at Janney Mont-
gomery Scott.
U.S. stocks stumbled at the
beginning of this year after
the S&P 500’s 24% gain in
2023. Investor optimism about
Blackstone’s return to
rental houses is a vote of
confidence for a sector that
the world’s largest property
investor helped launch after
the 2008 mortgage melt-
down.
Blackstone bankrolled Invi-
tation Homes’ multibillion
debt over the past several
years have become more pop-
ular among investors and a
more integral part of the
global financial system. As the
Federal Reserve began raising
interest rates in 2022, high-
yield bonds and leveraged
loans—the typical means by
which buyout firms fund their
acquisitions—began to dry up.
More asset managers and
business owners turned to pri-
vate lenders to finance deals
and refinance debt.
At the same time, higher
rates helped push more inves-
tors into private credit. As in-
terest rates rose, the yields on
private debt generally did, too,
creating greater investment in
the asset class.
As a result, private-credit
fundraising has remained ro-
bust even as gathering com-
mitments for private-equity
and venture-capital funds has
declined since the postpan-
demic boom of 2021. Private-
credit funds raised about
$193 billion globally last year
through mid-December, ap-
proaching 2022’s total of
about $219 billion, according
to data-collection firm
Preqin.
Bain Capital has run several
other successful fundraisings
during the past year, including
gathering $7 billion for its lat-
est Asia buyout strategy in
November, closing its inaugu-
ral insurance fund at $1.15 bil-
lion in July and raising a $2.4
billion technology fund in Feb-
ruary. In October, the firm an-
nounced a joint venture with
Smith Hill Capital aiming to
lend $1 billion to companies in
the hospitality sector in the
coming years.
p p
* * * *
MARKETS
Nasdaq Composite
S&P 500
Dow industrials
10-minute intervals
Thurs. Fri.
Source: FactSet
how quickly the Federal Re-
serve might pivot to cutting
interest rates has waned.
Traders are pricing in a
roughly 46% probability that
the Fed will reduce rates at its
March policy meeting, down
home-buying spree during
the ensuing foreclosure crisis
and made billions of dollars
in profit when it cashed out
of the giant landlord.
Invitation’s shares were
among the S&P 500’s top per-
formers Tuesday. Rival AMH,
formerly known as American
Many ideas incubated inside the Store No. 8 innovation group were adopted by the wider company or shut down as misses.
Walmart Closes Store No. 8 Unit
As It Tests Technology in New Ways
BY SARAH NASSAUER
Walmart plans to shutter
Store No. 8, a business unit it
created to spur innovation, as
the country’s largest re-
tailer works to curb costs and
test technology in new ways.
When Walmart launched
the unit seven years ago, it
was working to quickly catch
up to Amazon’s growing on-
line business and foster new
ideas that might not be imme-
diately profitable. Walmart
had recently spent $3.3 billion
to buy Jet.com and placed its
founder, Marc Lore, at the
head of the company’s e-com-
p g ( )
Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | B11
lowest full-year level since
1995, the National Association
of Realtors reported.
Meanwhile, a measure of
U.S. consumer confidence re-
flected improving sentiment.
The preliminary reading Fri-
day of the University of Michi-
gan’s consumer-confidence in-
dex climbed to 78.8 points in
January from 69.7 in Decem-
ber, beating consensus econo-
mist expectations. Inflation
expectations for next year fell
to 2.9% from 3.1% in Decem-
ber, the lowest since the final
month of 2020.
MEHDI CHEBIL/HANS LUCAS/REUTERS
Several companies released
earnings reports this week.
Results from regional banks in
recent days showed steep de-
clines in quarterly earnings.
Still, shares of Huntington
Bancshares, Regions Finan-
cial and Fifth Third Bancorp
all rose about 3% or more Fri-
day after the lenders released
from 68% one month earlier, results.
according to federal-funds fu- Shares of Travelers jumped
tures. 6.7% after the insurance giant
The yield on the 10-year reported higher revenue and
U.S. Treasury note—a bench- income last quarter, helped by
mark for borrowing costs from increases in premiums for
mortgages to corporate auto and home insurance.
loans—rose to 4.145% on Fri- Spirit Airlines surged 17%
day. after the company raised its
Investors are watching data fourth-quarter guidance and
closely to gauge whether the outlined steps it is taking to
shore up liquidity. The stock
for inflation to ease but stayed had been beaten down after a
strong enough to avoid a re- ruling blocking its sale to Jet-
cession. That “soft landing” Blue Airways.
scenario would allow the Fed Shares of Wayfair gained
to shift to cutting interest 10% after the online retailer
rates. said it would lay off around 13%
“The market is still looking of employees. Macy’s stock de-
for proof to justify the rally clined 1.7% after the depart-
over the past three months,” ment-store chain said it would
said Scott Duba, chief invest- lay off about 13% of corporate
ment officer at Prime Capital staff and close five stores.
Investment Advisors.
Data released Friday re-
flected continued pressure on Watch a Video
the U.S. housing market. Ex- Scan this code
isting home sales, which make for Wall Street’s
up most of the housing mar- predictions for
ket, slid 19% in 2023 from the stocks and the
prior year to 4.09 million, the economy.
Homes 4 Rent, was also up. less than the six-figure-salary
Tricon, which also has a renters courted by Invitation
big apartment business in and AMH. Blackstone said it
Canada, ramped up its U.S. would continue Tricon’s
home buying and building plans to build $1 billion of
during the pandemic when new rental homes and that it
suburban rents exploded. would spend another $1 bil-
Its homes are leased to lion updating the firms exist-
people who typically earn ing houses.
merce operations. Store No. 8 workers moved on
Many of Lore’s hires to other internal jobs, he said.
worked within Store No. 8, “The responsibility to shape
named after the store in Ar- the future of retail is now
kansas that Walmart founder shared by all segments.”
Sam Walton once used to test Many of the ideas incu-
new ideas. With the recent bated inside the group have
changes, Scott Eckert, a senior either been adopted by the
vice president who led the wider company or shut down
unit, will leave the company. as misses. Walmart now offers
“We’ve graduated capabili- online delivery into shoppers’
ties from this operating ap- homes and shopping over text
proach that are now fully em- message based on Store No. 8
bedded in our organization,” tests, Rainey said.
said Walmart Chief Financial The announcement comes
Officer John David Rainey in a near the end of Walmart’s fis-
staff memo viewed by The cal year, a time when the com-
Wall Street Journal. During the pany often announces execu-
past seven years, almost 300 tive changes and strategy
j p
Compliance
Probe for
$32 Million
BY DAVID SMAGALLA
Industrial & Commercial
Bank of China will pay about
$32 million to resolve investi-
gations into alleged compliance
problems at the bank’s New
York branch.
ICBC, the world’s largest
bank by assets, entered into
settlements with the Federal
Reserve and the New York
State Department of Financial
Services, the regulators said
Friday.
ICBC will pay $30 million in
connection with an NYDFS in-
vestigation that found deficien-
cies in the anti-money-launder-
ing and Bank Secrecy Act
compliance programs at ICBC’s
New York branch between 2018
and 2022. The Federal Reserve
fined the bank another $2.4
million for alleged unauthor-
ized use and disclosure of con-
fidential supervisory informa-
tion.
NYDFS said it also found
that compliance documents had
been backdated and that ICBC
had failed to report the issue to
the NYDFS in a timely manner.
ICBC said that the settle-
ment acknowledged the bank’s
remediation efforts, and
doesn’t reflect the current state
of the compliance programs
and internal controls at its New
York branch, adding that the
bank considers compliance and
risk management a “top prior-
ity.”
NYDFS said its most recent
examination in 2023 deter-
mined that the compliance pro-
gram at the bank’s New York
branch was now adequate and
that over the past few years it
had remediated alleged prob-
lems in its anti-money-launder-
ing, BSA and sanctions compli-
ance programs.
NYDFS will, as part of the
settlement, need to approve a
plan written by the bank that
details how it will improve its
compliance policies and proce-
dures, corporate governance,
management oversight, re-
quirements for customer due
diligence and the handling of
confidential supervisory infor-
mation.
CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
shifts. Walmart has also been
working to reduce expenses in
other business areas as con-
sumers are cautious about
their spending.
Last week, Walmart also
sent memos to staff to an-
nounce several other execu-
tive departures, including De-
nise Malloy, who had the title
chief belonging officer and
joined the company less than
a year ago. Malloy’s title was a
new version of a diversity, eq-
uity and inclusion chief, a job
that has become more fraught
in corporate America as court
rulings and critics make some
of the work more challenging.
 p y
B12 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024
India Isn’t About to
Be the Next China
The country’s path forward is likely to look very
different from its now-struggling neighbor
China’s economy is struggling,
but another Asian giant, neighbor-
ing India, is suddenly squarely on
investors’ and manufacturers’ ra-
dar. The first two decades of the
21st century were largely the story
of China’s rise. Will the next two be
the story of India’s?
There are plenty of reasons for
optimism. The country’s population
surpassed China’s last year. More
than half of Indians are under 25.
And at current growth rates, it
could become the world’s third-
largest economy in less than a de-
cade, having recently overtaken the
U.K., its old colonial ruler, for the
no. 5 spot. India’s equity market
has now seen eight straight years
of gains. Worsening trade relations
between the West and China only
helps its case.
But India’s path forward is likely
to look very different—and more
challenging—than China’s.
While its labor resources are, in
theory, plentiful, a host of barriers
still make it difficult to connect
Net foreign direct investment
in India, quarterly
$25 billion
20
15
10
5 bour and Employment. That is up
0 average for low-middle income
2005 ’10 ’15 ’20
Source: CEIC
ANDREW HARNIK/ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Biden and Donald Trump have taken a hard line on drug prices.
Pharma Investors Can
Safely Ignore Politics
It matters little that Washington hates the sector
Donald Trump and President Bi-
den have both taken a hard line on
drug prices, while Florida Gov. Ron
DeSantis has touted his state’s ef-
fort to import drugs from Canada.
During an election year that may
see Republicans and Democrats
seeking to outdo each other over
who is tougher on insurance gi-
ants and big pharma, investors
might want to tune the noise out.
That isn’t to say that politics
don’t matter. During years where
serious policy overhauls are on the
table, election considerations tend
to take over. That was the case for
the insurance industry in both
1996 and 2008, as Bill Clinton, and
later Barack Obama, took stabs at
reforming the sector. During both
those years, the insurance indus-
try significantly underperformed
the broader market.
But with the Biden administra-
tion already able to tout a law that
will target drug prices paid by
Medicare—and Republicans far
from united on any serious
changes to the healthcare sys-
tem—valuations, earnings trajecto-
ries and macroeconomics might be
more important signals in 2024.
When it comes to valuations,
healthcare looks attractive after
p p
HEARD STREET
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY
workers with employers. That
makes it hard for households and
companies alike to build up the
savings needed for the kind of in-
vestment booms that transformed
East Asian tigers like Taiwan and
South Korea and lifted them out of
poverty. Still-high barriers to trade
are another problem, especially if
India wants to become a gadget-as-
sembly hub like China.
That isn’t to say that recent
progress hasn’t been impressive, or
that it won’t continue. Big elec-
tronics assemblers like Foxconn
and Pegatron have poured hun-
dreds of millions of dollars into the
country, and its share of global ex-
ports has risen.
Demographically, India is where
China was when its growth was
taking off in the 1990s. According
to the U.N., almost one-fifth of the
world’s 15- to 64-year-olds will be
Indian by 2030. India’s age-depen-
dency ratio—a measure of the bur-
den of child and elderly care on
households—has fallen by nearly
half since 1967, according to the
World Bank.
Low dependency ratios often
help lift savings and investment:
Plentiful workers keep labor costs
for companies in check while
households themselves invest ex-
cess income rather than spending
it supporting children or parents.
Unfortunately, India has strug-
gled to smooth the path into the la-
bor force—especially for women.
Only a third of India’s female work-
ing-age population was in the labor
force in fiscal 2022, according to
figures from India’s Ministry of La-
about 10 percentage points since
2018, but still well below the global
countries of around 50%, and far
below China’s 71%.
Moreover, much of the improve-
Forward price/earnings multiple
24 times
21 S&P 500
Pharma*
18
15
12
9 yielding stocks—historical outper-
6
2005 ’10 ’15
*Pharma multiples are derived from the NYSE Arca
Pharmaceutical ETF
Source: FactSet
posting one of its worst relative
performances last year. The S&P
500 and the NYSE Arca Pharma-
ceutical Index were trading at
roughly similar valuations at the
start of last year, but drug compa-
nies are now cheaper thanks to
the sector underperforming the
S&P 500 by 21% in 2023.
Political pessimism is arguably
priced in: Pharma’s price-to-for-
ON
THE
About a third of India’s female working-age population is in the labor force. The percentage is increasing rapidly.
ment since 2018 is in rural, rather
than urban, workforce participa-
tion—little help for labor-hungry
urban factories.
Hefty subsidies for agriculture
and rural food aid may be one rea-
son. A lower tolerance for traveling
away from home to live and work,
compared with China where many
female workers live in dormitories,
may be another: 45% of women
surveyed last year said child care
and homemaking duties kept them
out of the workforce.
India’s love-hate relationship
with trade is another problem. Un-
like China, India is a boisterous de-
mocracy. People-pleasing protec-
tionist measures are part of the
equation. According to the World
Trade Organization, India had the
among highest import duties glob-
ally in 2022. Such import restric-
tions are cumbersome for manufac-
turers reliant on importing
components to assemble and ex-
port their products.
India has been investing heavily
in infrastructure in recent years,
and the nation’s creaky transport
network has improved—for exam-
ward-earnings ratio of 16.7 is
about a 15% discount to the S&P
500’s 19.7, and much steeper if you
take out Eli Lilly, the highflying
obesity-focused company.
So far, it seems investors are
being tempted to rotate back into
healthcare. The NYSE Arca Pharma
Index is up 4.3% so far this year,
beating the 1.5% gain for the S&P
500.
Asad Haider, a senior health-
care strategist at Goldman Sachs,
notes that 2023 was a bad year
thanks to highly negative earnings
revisions. This year, forecasts
show industry growth turning pos-
itive in the second quarter. One
particularly strong theme has been
the outperformance of hospitals
and industries tied to procedure
volumes and the underperfor-
mance of the insurers stuck foot-
ing the bill, he notes.
Another year of underperfor-
mance is entirely possible, but it
isn’t going to be because Trump
threatens to, say, gut Obamacare.
Instead, the fate of the sector will
largely depend on where the econ-
omy goes. Jefferies healthcare
strategist Will Sevush notes that
election years aren’t nearly as
good of a predictor for what the
sector will do as the economic
backdrop.
During elections held during
downturns for the stock market,
such as in 2000 and 2008, pharma
outperformed the S&P 500 by an
average of 27 percentage points.
That makes sense, given that
healthcare is viewed as a defensive
sector. For investors looking to
move toward more defensive pos-
tures, Johnson & Johnson, Am-
gen, and Walgreens are among
the Dow’s 10 highest dividend-
formers known as “Dogs of the
Dow.”
For now, many economists are
’20 seeing a soft landing coming into
view, with a consensus that this
year the Federal Reserve will be
able to slash rates without facing
a recession. If that happens, inves-
tors will have less of a reason to
rush to the safety of healthcare, as
they did in 2022, when pharma
outperformed the broader market
by 23 percentage points. If reces-
sion jitters do start to build
though, or if investors conclude
that inflation won’t easily be
tamed, then this could be a great
year for healthcare, no matter
what the politicians say they are
going to do. —David Wainer
p g ( )
* ***
ple, the average speed of freight
trains has increased by more than
50% in the past two years, and
wait time at ports has fallen by
80% since 2015, according to Mac-
quarie. But the government is al-
ready highly indebted, which may
make continued progress difficult if
a big private-sector boom doesn’t
lift tax revenues.
India’s public debt load stands at
about 85% of GDP—second only to
Brazil among emerging economies.
Central-government capital expen-
ditures will rise to an almost two-
decade high of 3.3% of GDP by the
end of this financial year. Sustain-
ing that level of infrastructure
build will require higher revenues,
lower subsidies or a lot more in-
volvement from the private sector.
This all makes it crucial for In-
dia to do everything it can to
smooth the path for foreign direct
investment, especially in manufac-
turing.
In order for India to punch its
geopolitical weight, it needs out-
side investment to help push the
manufacturing sector’s share of
GDP up from below 15%, where it
Housing Is A Long
Way From Normal
If you haven’t tried to buy a
home lately, the U.S. economy is
starting to look kind of, sort of nor-
mal. But the housing market is still
a mess, and it looks as if it will be
that way for a long time.
When the Commerce Depart-
ment reports fourth-quarter gross
domestic product next Thursday, it
looks as if it will show the econ-
omy grew at close to a 2% annual
rate from the third quarter. That
would put GDP about 2.8% above
its year earlier level, matching the
annual pace it experienced during
the three years before the pan-
demic.
Meanwhile, the Federal Re-
serve’s preferred measure of infla-
tion has been cooling. December
figures from the Commerce Depart-
ment, set for release next Friday,
will likely show consumer prices
rose at around a 2% annual rate
over the six months ended Decem-
ber—right around the central
bank’s 2% target. Core prices,
which exclude volatile food and en-
ergy categories, probably rose at a
somewhat slower pace. Finally, the
labor market has been moderating.
The unemployment rate, at 3.7%, is
right at its 2019 average.
So, normal as can be. A lot of
the distortions that came in the
wake of the pandemic—a massive
reshuffling of the job market, hefty
government relief, huge savings
stockpiles, supply-chain distortions
and skyrocketing inflation—look to
have been largely wrung out.
Except for the housing market.
Even with the retreat from the 24-
year high set in late October, the
average rate on 30-year mortgage,
at 6.6% in the latest week, is about
3 percentage points higher than be-
fore the pandemic. Prices are much
higher too, with the National Asso-
ciation of Realtors on Friday re-
porting that the median existing
single-family home sold in Decem-
ber fetched $387,000, versus
$277,000 in December 2019. Put
the two together and affordability
is far worse than before.
A lot of the problem comes
down to supply. With so many
homeowners locking in low rates
before and during the early part of
j p
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
SMITA SHARMA FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
has been for years, to somewhere
near the official 25% target. But re-
cent signals are mixed. FDI dipped
in 2022 and 2023 after hitting re-
cord levels in 2020.
Part of this decline is easy to ex-
plain: the collapse of the global
tech bubble, of which India was an
important part, and the general re-
treat in global venture-capital fi-
nance. But FDI in sectors like com-
puters has also dropped back
markedly. That is worrying because
India desperately needs those la-
bor-intensive assembly jobs. Elec-
tronics giants like Foxconn are in-
vesting heavily, but are also
contending with inflexible labor
laws, among other issues.
For now, at least, India remains
a primarily consumption- and ser-
vices-driven economy. Unless it can
truly supercharge manufacturing
FDI—which probably means solving
labor-market bottlenecks and re-
ducing trade barriers, among other
tasks—it may struggle to match the
ferocious takeoff trajectories of the
onetime Asian tigers and dragon.
—Megha Mandavia
and Nathaniel Taplin
Average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
8%
7
6
5
4
3
2
2016 ’20
Source: Freddie Mac via St. Louis Fed
the pandemic, they are loath to
move and sell. Friday’s report
showed the fewest existing homes
were sold last year since 1995.
There is no quick solution here.
Even if mortgage rates decline over
the next year, they are unlikely to
drop so much that they completely
reverse the lock-in effect. Home
builders are constructing more
small homes at lower prices to
serve entry-level buyers, and large
builders are offering “buydowns”
that lower buyers’ mortgage rates.
But building more homes isn’t as
simple as throwing a switch.
Perversely, housing looks as if it
could boost economic growth this
year. Wednesday, the National As-
sociation of Home Builders said
that its measure of builders’ single-
family home sales expectations
over the next six months rose to its
highest level in January since July.
The Commerce Department on
Thursday reported that construc-
tion was started on a seasonally
adjusted 1.09 million homes in the
fourth quarter—the most since the
second quarter of 2022.
Just because housing could add
to GDP doesn’t mean what is hap-
pening with it is good. People un-
able to move for fear of losing their
low-rate payments, would-be buy-
ers unable to find a home they can
afford—these are problems. Even if
the rest of the economy ends up
looking healthy this year, housing
won’t. —Justin Lahart
 REVIEW
p y p p p g ( ) j p

Soup for All Worthy Rivals

A nourishing staple Churchill and the art
from peasant kitchens of personal diplomacy
to royal banquets C3 Books C7

CULTURE | SCIENCE | POLITICS | HUMOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | C1

Why
Americans
Have Lost Faith
In the Value
Of College
Three generations of ‘college for all’ in the U.S.
has left most families looking for alternatives.
By Douglas Belkin

THE POLITICAL TURMOIL that rocked universities over the past three
months and sparked the resignations of two Ivy League presidents has landed
like an unwelcome thud on institutions already struggling to maintain the trust
of the American public. For three generations, the national aspiration to “col-
lege for all” shaped America’s economy and culture, as most high-school gradu-
ates took it for granted that they would earn a degree. That consensus is now
collapsing in the face of massive student debt, underemployed degree-holders
and political intolerance on campus.
In the past decade, the percentage of Americans who expressed a lot of
confidence in higher education fell to 36% from 57%, according to Gallup. A
decline in undergraduate enrollment since 2011 has translated into 3 million
fewer students on campus. Nearly half of parents say they would prefer not
to send their children to a four-year college after high school, even if there
were no obstacles, financial or otherwise. Two-thirds of high-school students
Please turn to the next page
EDU FUENTES

Inside
INDIA
Abusive POLITICS JASON GAY

A grand Hindu temple

rising on the site of a Mothers The priorities of
the GOP in 2024
The sad life of a
school lunch
Muslim mosque is a The Gypsy Rose have shifted far maker: Would
potent symbol of the Blanchard case from the campaign more chocolate
shows how idealizing
ruling party’s elevation motherhood can messages of past and cheese
of its religion. C4 cause trouble. C6 candidates. C5 puffs help? C3
 p y
C2 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024
Americans Are Losing
Faith in ‘College for All’
Continued from the prior page
think they will be just fine without
a college degree.
The pandemic drove home a so-
bering realization for a lot of mid-
dle-class American families: “Col-
lege for all” is broken for most.
Arthur Levine, president emeritus
of Columbia Teachers College and au-
thor of “The Great Upheaval: Higher
Education’s Past, Present and Uncer-
tain Future,” compares this moment
in post-secondary education to the
seismic change that followed the In-
dustrial Revolution. That 19th-cen-
tury wave of disruption washed over
Two-thirds of
high-school students
think they will be
just fine without a
college degree.
schools designed to meet the needs
of a sectarian, agricultural society
and transformed higher education
into a sprawling system of commu-
nity colleges, land-grant universities
and graduate schools.
The dilemma faced by today’s
high-school students is that while a
similarly massive economic disrup-
tion has arrived, new educational
alternatives have not. “Whatever
comes next,” Levine says of Genera-
tion Z, “It’s not going to come soon
enough for them.”
So how did one of the crown jew-
els of American society squander so
much confidence so quickly?
If the pandemic marked the mo-
ment the “college for all” model fi-
nally cracked, 1965 marked its birth.
As the baby boomers came of age,
the federal government made loans
available to any college-bound 18-
year-old with a high-school di-
ploma, in order to maintain the
most educated workforce in the
world. High schools scrapped voca-
tional education programs in favor
College enrollment rate of recent high-school graduates, 16 to 24 years old
75%
70
65
60
55
50
1995 2000 ’05
Source: Labor Department
An Iowa high-school student signs papers for an apprenticeship at
John Deere, May 2023.
of college preparatory classes.
Cash and prestige saturated col-
lege campuses while alternatives like
vocational and technical schools
withered. Between 1965 and 2011,
university enrollment increased
nearly fourfold to 21 million as the
earning differential between high
school and college graduates ex-
panded. But embedded in the infra-
structure of universities were hairline
fractures and misaligned incentives
that have led the system to buckle.
University governance was de-
signed for an analog era. Decisions
are sifted through a slow, delibera-
tive process until faculty, adminis-
trators and trustees reach consen-
sus. The genius of the system is that
it avoids the strictures of top-down
control and protects academic free-
dom against political interference.
p p
The weakness is that it’s a recipe
for stagnation.
The digital revolution demanded
a nimble realignment of the acad-
emy so that students could learn a
quickly emerging set of skills to
meet changing labor-market de-
mands. Instead of adapting, campus
interest groups protected their turf.
Decisions reached by consensus usu-
ally meant the adoption of modest
reforms that were the least objec-
tionable to the greatest number of
people, said Brian Rosenberg, former
president of Macalester College and
author of “‘Whatever It Is, I’m
Against It’: Resistance to Change in
Higher Education.”
As students abandoned the hu-
manities and flooded fields like com-
puter science, big data and engineer-
ing, schools failed to respond. The
result was undersubscribed history
and English departments and waiting
lists for classes that led to well-pay-
ing jobs. New programs in emerging
fields did not start because schools
could not free up the resources.
Many university presidents who
pushed for new programs, the faster
adoption of technology or the re-
moval of undersubscribed majors
faced no-confidence votes from
their faculty. “Presidents come in
and run smack into the culture and
the structures of an institution, and
they realize that if I want to keep
my job, I’m not going to push for
transformational change,” said
Rosenberg.
In 2021, when Chuck Ambrose
became chancellor at Henderson
State University in Arkadelphia,
Ark., the school was in financial
peril. The music department had
more faculty than graduating stu-
dents, and none of the 60 academic
programs was generating enough
revenue to cover its costs, Ambrose
said. When he announced that the
school was going broke, the faculty
rejected his data.
Ambrose declared a fiscal “exi-
gency”—the academic equivalent of
bankruptcy—and recommended that
Women
Overall
Men
’10 ’15 ’20
the school’s board eliminate a third
of its teaching positions and nearly
half of its degree programs. The fac-
ulty asked for his termination, and
Ambrose left the next year.
“Systems don’t want to change,”
Ambrose said. “Problems accumu-
late and so does culture.”
The misalignment between uni-
versities and the labor market is
compounded by the failure of many
schools to teach students to think
critically. Many students arrive
poorly prepared for college-level
work, and the universities them-
selves are ill-equipped to provide
intensive classroom instruction.
Professors compete for tenure on
the basis of the quality of their re-
search and publishing track record.
Teaching is mostly an afterthought.
Professors who earn tenure negoti-
REVIEW
Above: Students at the
Commencement ceremony
at Jackson State
University in Mississippi,
May 2021. Right: A first-
year student moves into a
dorm at the University of
Minnesota, August 2022.
ate lighter teaching loads.
To fill the gap, schools hire
less expensive adjuncts
with little job security.
Non-tenure track professors
now make up three-quar-
ters of college faculty, up
from a quarter in 1975.
These precariously em-
ployed adjuncts depend on
strong student performance
reviews for job security, a
system that incentivizes
them to make few demands
in exchange for high ratings. Stu-
dents spend about half as much time
studying and attending class as
their counterparts did in 1961, but
they are three times more likely to
earn an A—now the most common
grade in colleges across the country.
A quarter of college graduates do
not have basic skills in numeracy
and one in five does not have basic
skills in literacy, says Irwin Kirsch,
who oversees large-scale assess-
ments for ETS, the company that
administers the SAT.
Quality control for college de-
grees falls to accreditors, but they
approve programs at hundreds of
schools that fail to produce finan-
cial value for graduates, and have
kept many schools in business
with a single-digit graduation
rate. About one in 40 U.S. workers
draws a paycheck from a college
or university, and in recent de-
cades the powerful higher-educa-
tion lobby in Washington has
quashed dozens of proposals to
measure the sector’s successes
and failures.
Meanwhile, through a combina-
tion of state budget cuts, adminis-
trative bloat and runaway spend-
ing on campus amenities, the real
cost of a four-year college degree
climbed 180% between 1980 and
2020. The high cost increased
pressure on universities to treat
students as consumers purchasing
a credential, instead of scholars re-
ceiving an education.
One result of this transactional
attitude has been a sharp increase
in cheating. College is one of the
few products whose consumers
try to get as little out of it as pos-
sible, because its market value is
tied to the credential, not to the
education that it is meant to rep-
resent, says Bryan Caplan, an
economist at George Mason Uni-
versity and author of “The Case
Against Education.”
Cheating is a rational choice on
the part of students when creden-
tials are decoupled from learning,
Caplan says. He believes that 80%
of the value of graduating college
today is the signal it sends to em-
ployers, and that few students out-
side of the hard sciences learn much
of real value.
The combination of more college
graduates and weaker learning out-
comes has diluted the signal pro-
vided by a degree from less presti-
gious colleges. That has led to a
host of knock-on effects, including
credential inflation, in which em-
ployers ask for college degrees for
jobs that don’t need one and previ-
ously did not require one.
For middle-class Americans, col-
lege made sense as long as a degree
generated a large enough wage pre-
mium to make the rising cost of the
investment worthwhile. As that pre-
mium became less consistent, the
risks of going to college grew and
confidence in college as an institu-
tion declined.
p g
* ***
Of 100 random freshmen enroll-
ing in college today, 40 will not
graduate. Of the remaining 60 that
earn a degree in six years, 20 will
end up chronically underemployed.
In other words, for every five stu-
dents who enroll in a four-year col-
lege, only two will graduate and find
a job based on their degree.
A college education is among the
largest investments most Ameri-
cans will make. The total cost of at-
tending a public college is about
$36,000 a year, and the average
length of time to a degree is nearly
five years. Tack on debt service for
student loans and the opportunity
cost of not working while in school,
and the real cost of college can eas-
Of 100 students
enrolling in college
today, 40 will not
graduate and another
20 will end up
chronically
underemployed.
ily pass $300,000—more than the
median net worth of most families.
That math doesn’t work for a
growing number of families. The
percentage of students who enrolled
in college after graduating high
school fell from 70% in 2016 to 62%
in 2022.
Adalyn Arnstrom, a high-school
senior in Dandridge, Tenn., is con-
sidering taking a job in construc-
tion, with the eventual goal of be-
coming an electrician, or heading to
community college to study ultra-
sound technology. Despite a 3.0
grade-point average, she’s not very
interested in a four-year degree. “I
think I can do just fine without it,”
she said.
Ben Likens, a high-school senior
in Indiana, plans to attend Indiana
University next year, mainly because
he didn’t see any better options and
wanted to avoid the stigma of not
going to college. His father, Eric,
said that he marched off to college
in 1988 because that’s what every-
one did. He earned a degree from
Ball State University in biology
while he worked summers paving
roads. After he graduated he contin-
ued with road construction because
the money was better than anything
he could earn with his degree.
Now when Eric hires new employ-
ees he considers a college degree a
marker of persistence and discipline,
but not knowledge or skill. He is un-
sure if the college path is the wisest
choice for his son: “I worry for him
that it will be worth it,” he said.
The challenge faced by students
willing to buck the gravitational pull
of college is to find an alternative. In
an economy becoming ever more spe-
cialized, most jobs and careers de-
mand skills beyond high school. The
( ) j p
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
question becomes how to get them.
A poll published in 2022 asked
parents if they would rather their
child attended a four-year college
or a three-year apprenticeship that
would train them for a job and pay
them while they learned. Nearly
half of parents whose child had
graduated from college chose the
apprenticeship.
But unlike the European model of
higher education, where students
enter a vocational track and appren-
tice with an employer with the as-
sistance of government support, the
U.S. invests almost exclusively in
students heading to college. Govern-
ment financial support for universi-
ties outstrips apprenticeships by
about 1,000 to one, writes Ryan
Craig, author of the book “Appren-
tice Nation” and managing director
of a firm that invests in new educa-
tional models.
The pressure to place less em-
phasis on four-year degrees is
growing, however. In what has been
called the “degree reset,” the fed-
eral government and several states
eliminated the degree requirements
for many government jobs. Compa-
nies like IBM and the giant profes-
sional services firm Deloitte have
too. Last year, a survey of 800 com-
panies by Intelligent.com found
that 45% intended to eliminate
bachelor degree requirements for
some positions in 2024. The Ad
Council recently ran a campaign en-
couraging employers to get rid of
the “paper ceiling.”
In place of a degree, some em-
ployers are adopting skills-based
hiring, looking at what students
FROM TOP: ARON SMITH/JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY/GETTY IMAGES; JEFF WHEELER/STAR TRIBUNE/GETTY IMAGES; NIKOS FRAZIER/QUAD CITY TIMES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
know as opposed to what credential
they hold. The problem is that the
signal sent by a college degree still
matters more, in most cases, than
the demonstration of skills. The re-
sult is something of a stand-off be-
tween old and new ideas of job
readiness. A LinkedIn study pub-
lished last August found that be-
tween 2019 and 2022 there was a
36% increase in job postings that
omitted degree requirements—but
the actual number of jobs filled with
candidates who did not have a de-
gree was much smaller.
New initiatives may start to
change that balance. New York
Mayor Eric Adams has called for
30,000 new apprenticeships in the
city by 2030. California Gov. Gavin
Newsom wants to create 500,000 in
the state by 2029.
Deloitte is one of dozens of big
companies championing the idea
that skills matter more than de-
grees. “This is a decade-long jour-
ney,” said Kwasi Mitchell, Deloitte’s
chief purpose and DEI officer. “It’s
going to be a little bit of time be-
fore we really open the floodgates
with respect to skills-first hiring.”
Douglas Belkin covers higher edu-
cation and national news out
of the Chicago bureau of The Wall
Street Journal.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | C3

REVIEW

E
at more soup. That, in a
nutshell—or a soup
bowl—would be my diet
advice for anyone look-
ing for a gentle way to
happier eating.
This is a time of year when many
of us are looking for ways, large
and small, to reset. The danger is
that we adopt new regimes so self-
punishing that we soon give up and
feel worse than before. By contrast,
cooking and eating more soup is a
way to eat more healthily that you
can actually stick to, because it
comes without
any dreary sense
of denial—espe-
cially if you add
some buttered
toast on the side.
Instead of go-
ing on a New Year
TABLE diet, I try to make
TALK January and Feb-
ruary a time when
BEE
I focus on eating
WILSON
more soup, in all
its heartiest
homemade varieties, from Greek
avgolomeno with chicken, rice and
lemon to Vietnamese pho with noo-
dles and meat stock. By soup, I
don’t mean a fat-free cauldron of
cabbage soup (though if that de-
lights you, don’t let me stop you).
Nor do I mean a dainty cup of Vi- Hearty soups like yogurt
chyssoise or a delicate starter of potato (seen here) and
consommé, as lovely as that may be. chicken noodle (below left)
When I say soup, I’m talking can provide cheer and health-
about a filling bowl of something food in a single pot.
thick with noodles, beans, vegeta-
bles, herbs and olive oil, and proba-
bly topped with Parmigiano—a kind
of what’s-in-the-fridge minestrone.

A Bowl of Nourishment
I won’t call it “chunky,” since that very different thing from the soups
word was trademarked by Camp- eaten by the rich, which were just
bell’s in relation to soup in 2019. one course among many, more like
(Campbell’s Chunky soups are cur- a snack than a meal. King Louis XIV

For Peasants and Kings

rently the market leader in the U.S.,
and a survey found that 75% of con-
sumers associate the word with
soup.) Let’s call these concoctions
“hearty” instead. At the height of
the pandemic, I made and ate ver-
sions of this satisfying soup almost
every day for lunch and never felt
bored. This kind of soup can pro-
vide cheer and health-
of France was said to be crazy
about soups, preferring them
highly seasoned with strong meat
broth. His sister-in-law, the Prin-
cess Palatine, wrote that she regu-
larly saw the king eat four “full
Soup is a staple of cuisines around the world, whether it’s made to tickle plates of soup,” followed by a
a refined appetite or serve as a meal in itself. whole pheasant, a partridge, a
salad, some pastry and fruit and
some hard-boiled eggs.

food in a single pot.
If I had to choose
one dish to live off for
the rest of my life, I
would unhesitatingly
go for soup. Then
again, this might be
cheating, because soup
is very far from being
just one dish. So far as
I’m aware, there isn’t a
single cuisine in the
world that doesn’t have
its own version of
soup, and usually doz-
ens of them. Some of
the oldest recorded
recipes, carved into
stone tablets in Babylon more than
4000 years ago, are for simple
soups made from herbs, vegetables
and various meats boiled in water.
Why eat more soup? For one
thing, I can’t think of a more ap-
pealing delivery system for vegeta-
bles. Soup is like salad, but so
much more warming and without
the virtuous overtones. No other
food can make you feel quite so
looked after, which is something
we could all do with more of. Con-
sider the fact that the word “res-
taurant” originally referred to a
kind of French soup designed to re-
store those who ate it.
For many of us, soup carries
memories of being fed by a parent
when we were sick. I no longer
crave the canned chicken-noodle or
tomato soups that my busy mother
often gave me when I was a child.
What I do yearn for is the feeling of
safety that came from
cradling a bowl of
something brothy,
given to me by a kind
person. There is a rea-
son why the popular
self-help books are
called “Chicken Soup
for the Soul.” Chicken
Salad for the Soul
doesn’t have quite the
same ring.
Another reason to
eat more soup is that—
in all its varieties, from
cream of pumpkin to
French onion—it has an
amazing ability to
make us feel full. In 2005, Richard
Mattes, a nutrition scientist at Pur-
due University, published a land-
mark paper titled “Soup and Sati-
ety.” Mattes and his colleagues
found that giving people soup sat-
isfied them much more than giving
them the same amount of calories
in the form of juice. When the sub-
jects in the study drank a glass of
apple juice it didn’t make them full,
but when the same apple juice was
heated up and presented as “apple
soup,” they were still full an hour
later. This suggests that it is the
idea of soup, as much as anything,
that makes us feel nourished.
The original meaning of the
word “soup,” which is related to
the Italian zuppa as well as the
French soupe, is broth poured onto
bread. At its most basic, soup was
not a particular dish but simply the
most fundamental
way for ordinary
working people to Soup has an
satisfy their hunger.
Soups were por-
amazing ability
ridgy things made to make us
with whatever was
at hand, which was
feel full.
often not much. The
European folk story “Stone Soup”
tells of villagers who try to make a
soup with nothing but a stone and
some water. Each person adds an-
other ingredient to the soup—a
carrot, some herbs, some potatoes,
butter, salt and pepper—until it has
become something rich and deli-
cious for everyone to share.
This peasant soup-as-meal was a
FROM TOP: KATE SEARS FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FOOD STYLING BY JAMIE KIMM, PROP STYLING BY SUZIE; GMVOZD/GETTY IMAGES
The notion that soup should be
served as a smooth and suave ap-
petizer, rather than the main event,
goes back to this aristocratic tradi-
tion of European soup eating. As
the novelist Alexandre Dumas
wrote in his “Grand Dictionary of
Cooking,” published after his death
in 1873, “The name of soup is ap-
plied to every food whose destiny
is to be served in a soup tureen at
the beginning of a
meal.”
A first course of
soup can be a very
lovely thing,
whether it’s a salty
cup of clam chow-
der or a silky-
smooth dish of em-
erald-green watercress soup that
tickles your appetite rather than
sating it. In the summer, there are
few nicer ways to start a meal than
with a cooling shot of gazpacho or
iced cucumber soup. But while the
days are still so dark and short, the
soups I love the most are the kind
that leave you satisfied all by
themselves.

The Thankless Job of The solution, of

course, is to give my

A School Lunch Maker children the assignment

JASON I PERFORM MULTIPLE JOBS
GAY at the moment: I write a medi-
ocre sports column; I scribble
out this middling humor col-
umn; I drive a complimentary
shuttle bus to youth
Sending the sporting events; and I
make a pair of underap-
kids off with a preciated school
balanced diet lunches.
I wish to discuss the
can lead to final job. I don’t know
blowback. Do how I wound up with
I just fill their the assignment, I think
it was something my
lunch boxes wife and I decided early
with cheese on. She carried and gave
puffs? birth to two children,
therefore it was only fair
I would make the school
lunches. It is quite clear she
got the better deal.
Because this is thankless
work. Every weekday, some-
where between 40 minutes and
10 seconds before my children
head off to school, I stand in a
chaotic kitchen, raiding the
dards and does not include a
choking hazard.
My loose ambition for a
menu is: at least one (1) vege-
table, at least one (1) fruit, a
healthy midday snack of some
kind, a cookie, and two French
cigarettes. OK I am kidding
about the cigarettes, but my
children would reject them
anyway, because they have
proven themselves to be fussy
diners, impossible to please.
Seldom a week goes by in
which they haven’t lobbed at
least one criticism at my lunch-
making skills, leaving me in a
heap of self-doubt, like a
trained chef denied a star. My
daughter confided that she’s
been trading most of her lunch
away for snacks from other
students, and she asked me to
supply more tradable items.
Honestly, this left me im-
pressed, and believing she will
one day have a shot at making
the Forbes 400.
school lunches for children—
finger sandwiches; petits fours;
clever amuse-bouches. I cannot
compete at this level, because I
have a life, with other impor-
tant responsibilities, like watch-
ing Toronto Raptors games and
looking at my phone.
But there was a long stretch
in which both children asked me
to cut the crusts off peanut but-
ter and jelly sandwiches, which
I did, even as I privately won-
dered if cutting the crusts off
peanut butter and jelly sand-
wiches was the sort of cushy
helicopter parenting which
full of burdensome crusts, like
having to go to meetings, and
housewarming parties.
If you’re thinking: just find
stuff they like…You can’t cave
completely to a child’s whims,
because every child would ask
for nothing but chocolate bars
and cheese puffs, washed down
with a fountain soda, and if you
give your child that, it’s only a
matter of time before you show
up on the 11 p.m. news, trying
to explain why your kid robbed
a string of casinos.
Is it true you gave the sus-
pect chocolate bars and cheese
of making their own
lunches. I am sure there
are self-reliant readers
here who did precisely
that, for many years,
and all I can say is:
you’re not helping here.
I can barely get my chil-
dren to put on shoes on
a subzero day. Asking
them to cut up apples
and fill a small container
with baby carrots would
be like asking them to
pilot the Goodyear blimp, and if
I’m being honest, they’d defi-
nitely rather pilot a blimp than
eat carrots and apple slices.
The other day, my son told
me upbeat things about a food
program at his school, which
brings in prepared lunches for
students, and I was struck by
the implication: He is trying to
outsource me. He is putting me
on the shelf. Like most parents,
I am sensitive to this notion,
and I asked him to give me an-
other chance. He agreed. I am
going to give him the healthiest,
most delicious, satisfying lunch
ZOHAR LAZAR

cabinets and fridge to scramble I have tried hard to please. would give them the impression puffs every day for lunch? he’s ever had. If not, he can
together a lunch that hopefully Social media teems with won- that life should be easy, without Uhh…(lights French ciga- make his own cheese puffs,
meets minimal nutritional stan- der parents making gorgeous frustration, since life is actually rette). chocolate, and cigarettes.
 p y
C4 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024
Will Modi’s New Temple Unite
Hindus but Divide India?
A decadeslong project championed by the prime minister to replace a mosque at a
sacred Hindu site is a potent symbol of the rise of India’s religious right.
Construction continued on
the Ram Mandir temple in
Ayodhya in December in
preparation for its Jan. 22
consecration.
BY KRISHNA POKHAREL
AND TRIPTI LAHIRI
I
n January 1992, a photogra-
pher in the sleepy northern
Indian town of Ayodhya took
pictures of a new face among
a group of visiting Hindu pol-
iticians. They arrived to worship at
a 16th-century mosque that had be-
come central to an intensifying bat-
tle between Muslims and Hindus.
The photographer, Mahendra Tri-
pathi, asked the man what he had
prayed for at the Hindu shrine in-
side the Muslim mosque. Receiving
no answer, Tripathi remembers, he
asked instead when the visitor
would return.
“Only when there is a temple to
Ram built here,” replied Narendra
Modi—then a little-known figure
and since 2014 India’s prime minis-
ter. Now Modi is on the verge of ful-
filling that vow to raise a temple to
one of Hinduism’s most revered fig-
ures at the site many Hindus believe
to be the god’s birthplace.
Eleven months after Modi’s visit,
the Babri Masjid mosque was deci-
mated by a Hindu mob, spurred on
by right-wing politicians labeling it
an example of the humiliation of In-
dia’s Hindus by conquering Muslim
rulers hundreds of years earlier. The
new temple rising in the mosque’s
place is the most concrete symbol
yet of the efforts of Modi and his
party to elevate the Hindu religion in
Indian public life, sometimes at the
expense of the country’s Muslim mi-
nority, in a break from a long line of
mostly Hindu prime ministers who
emphasized the secular nature of In-
dian democracy.
In recent days, Modi embarked on
an 11-day fast and addressed fellow
Hindus to tell them about experienc-
ing an overwhelming devotional joy
as the temple’s consecration ap-
proaches on Monday. “I am blessed
to be present for the fulfillment of a
dream that generations have kept in
their hearts like a resolution,” he
said. “God has made me an instru-
ment to represent all the people of
India.”
In December, workers hauled or-
nately carved pieces of rock and pil-
lars into place in a rush to complete
the main level of the temple, Ram
Mandir, before the ceremony. Nearly
$220 million is being spent on its
construction, raised from donations,
while the city as a whole is being re-
developed into a destination for mil-
lions of Hindus. The consecration of
the temple, which is only partially
built, will take place just months be-
fore India holds national elections.
The vote is expected to return Modi
and his Bharatiya Janata Party to
power for the third time, in large
part because of his foregrounding of
Hindu belief in his governing.
Alongside the temple project, a
$3.7 billion government-funded
p p
makeover has given Ayodhya an in-
ternational airport named for the
sage-poet who composed the San-
skrit version of the ancient Hindu
epic poem, the Ramayan. The air-
port is projected to initially handle
a million passengers a year. The
railway station has been refurbished
to eventually handle 60,000 arrivals
daily, up from 10,000.
“This is a cultural achievement
but also a political milestone,” said
Milan Vaishnav, director of the
South Asia Program of the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace,
a U.S. think tank. “Those images and
visuals that will be beamed out not
just across India but across the
world will be enough to remind peo-
ple that he succeeded in moving the
country closer to what their ulti-
mate goal is, which is the creation
of a Hindu rashtra,” or nation.
The modern dispute over the an-
cient site in Ayodhya dates to 1949,
when an idol of Ram Lalla—baby
Ram—was surreptitiously placed in
the Babri Masjid. Since then a battle
for control over the site has played
out in the nation’s courts, streets
and ballot box, at times spilling into
deadly violence. After the mosque’s
destruction, Hindu-Muslim riots
erupted across the country; in Mum-
REVIEW
bai alone, 900 people were killed,
most of them Muslim.
In court, Hindu litigants have ar-
gued that the mosque was built on
top of a temple demolished in the
1500s by the troops of the emperor
Babur, founder of the Mughal dy-
nasty that governed India for centu-
ries and built the Taj Mahal. The
Mughals’ power dwindled by the
19th century, when India became a
British colony.
The Muslim parties to the case
disputed the claim of an earlier tem-
ple to Ram. Surrendering the
mosque to Hindus in Ayodhya, they
p g ( )
* ***
argued, would open the floodgates
to more demands from Hindu hard-
liners, who have mounted two other
challenges and say they have a list
of tens of thousands of Muslim holy
sites where they believe temples
were demolished to make mosques.
In 2019, the Supreme Court de-
cided to allow the Hindu temple to
be built. The Modi government
swiftly formed a trust, as directed
by the court, to take charge of a 70-
acre swath of land. The court also
directed the government to provide
land for a new mosque to replace
the one that was destroyed.
Above left and right, Modi visits
Ayodhya in 1992 and 2023. Left,
a Hindu mob decimates the
Babri Masjid mosque in 1992.
“No one is troubled by a temple
being built. We are all people of
faith,” said Firoz Khan, a local Mus-
lim leader involved in building the
new mosque. “We are troubled that
a mosque was broken to do it. We
are troubled when you break our
places to do this.”
About 15 miles from the origi-
nal site, in Dhannipur village, a
poster advertises the site of the
future mosque: “A Masterpiece in
Making.” But no construction has
started on that project, which
lacks the private donations and
government engagement of the
temple effort. It also has encoun-
tered mixed feelings among Mus-
lims who mourn the loss of their
original site. Recently, young men
were playing cricket on the empty
plot of land.
The Congress Party, which ruled
India for decades after its indepen-
dence from the U.K., said in a state-
ment that it won’t attend the tem-
ple’s inauguration because the BJP
and its Hindu associates have
turned it into a political project.
“Religion is a personal matter,” said
the party, whose leaders are Hindu.
Nevertheless, in recent months,
Ram devotees have joyfully
thronged to the city. Some paid
money to have Ram’s name drawn
j p
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
on their foreheads in red and yellow
powder. On an autumn afternoon, a
group that arrived in Ayodhya on an
overnight train wandered by a
stonemasonry workshop run by
Hindu groups where workers over
three decades have carved dozens of
pink sandstone pillars. “Are these
for the temple?” asked Shanta Jain,
a 65-year-old social worker clad in a
saffron sari, visibly excited. “Yes, for
the second floor,” said Jhingur
Sahni, who was cleaning a pillar.
“Ram temple is my soul, my life,”
said Jain, who plans to watch the
live broadcast of the inauguration.
She hurried with her group to the
temporary temple to gaze upon the
baby Ram idol, who is treated as a
living child and symbolically fed and
put down to nap by the priest who
tends to him.
The influx of visitors has been ac-
companied by a boom in property
‘We are
troubled when
you break our
places to do this.’
FIROZ KHAN
Local Muslim Leader
prices that has turned local farmers
into millionaires nearly overnight as
hotel chains seek prime land. After
the Supreme Court ruling,
Parashuram Mishra abandoned his
career as a management professor
and became a real-estate broker, op-
erating out of a farmhouse on the
highway to Ayodhya. “The prime
minister and chief minister are doing
all the marketing and the publicity,”
said Mishra.
The new temple will include a
new statue of Ram as a young child.
A perimeter wall will include carv-
ings depicting scenes from “all the
victorious past of the Hindu nation,”
said an engineer working with the
temple trust. Around the main tem-
ple to Ram, seven smaller temples
will mark key figures from his story
who are now interpreted as belong-
ing mainly to lower castes. It was
Modi’s idea to include these to sym-
bolize social harmony, said Nripen-
dra Misra, a former aide who is
overseeing construction.
The moment marks a triumph for
Hindu nationalists whose vision for
the nation did not prevail at inde-
pendence in 1947 when other Indian
leaders supported a secular republic.
The assassination of Mahatma Gan-
dhi in 1948 by a Hindu extremist cast
a shadow over
Hindu nationalism.
But Hindu groups
worked patiently at
the grassroots for
decades to get to
this moment; Modi
attended meetings
of one hardline
group starting as a
boy in the 1950s.
In 2002, an epi-
sode linked to Ayod-
hya nearly derailed
Modi’s rise. Nearly
60 temple activists
from Gujarat were
burned to death in
their train carriage
returning from Ay-
odhya. Modi, then Gujarat’s chief
minister, condemned the incident as
terrorism. Rioting that followed
killed more than 1,000 people, mostly
Muslims. Modi was criticized for not
doing enough to protect Muslim citi-
zens. In 2012, investigators for In-
dia’s top court found no evidence of
wrongdoing by Modi. He was elected
prime minister two years later.
Since he came to power, Modi
has maintained his policies are for
everybody, but Muslims and opposi-
tion politicians see concerning signs
as Modi and his party have ce-
FROM TOP: RAJESH KUMAR SINGH/ASSOCIATED PRESS (2); MAHENDRA TRIPATHI (MODI, 1992); SUNIL MALHOTRA/REUTERS
mented their power. A 2019 amend-
ment to citizenship rules excluded
Muslim migrants from new paths to
citizenship. The government re-
voked the autonomy of India’s only
Muslim-majority state, the disputed
region of Kashmir, a step Modi said
was necessary for national unity.
Sultan Beg, a madrassa teacher in
Dhannipur, said that local Muslims
benefit from some of the welfare
programs initiated by Modi, for ex-
ample a free food grain program for
poor families. But Beg and other
residents said the contrast between
the new temple and missing mosque
shows how the prime minister needs
to do more to live up to one of his
more popular slogans—“Sabka
Saath, Sabka Vikas” or “Together
With All, Progress of All.”
“Modi should stay true to his
message…and all should be treated
equally,” Beg said. “Right now, that’s
not the case. Hindus are being fa-
vored more.”
 p y
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
Clockwise from left: Sen. John McCain, President George H.W. Bush, President Ronald Reagan, Sen. Mitt Romney
What the GOP
Used to Believe
The party’s center of gravity has shifted profoundly, as demonstrated by a
contrast of today’s presidential campaigns with those from the recent past.
BY GERALD F. SEIB
A
s Ronald Reagan was
wrapping up his suc-
cessful 1980 cam-
paign for president,
he gave a speech of-
fering an expansive and idealistic
view of America’s role in the world.
“Let it also be clear that we do not
shirk history’s call, that America is
not turned inward but outward to-
ward others…still willing to stand
by those who are persecuted or
alone.”
Today, as his Republican succes-
sors battle for their party’s presi-
dential nomination, they offer a
much more limited view of Amer-
ica’s world role. Florida Gov. Ron
DeSantis initially called Russia’s in-
vasion of Ukraine a mere “territo-
rial dispute” and in an October
speech declared: “We have seen
the limits and indeed futility of try-
ing to impose democracies on for-
eign cultures.” The leading Repub-
lican candidate, former President
Donald Trump, pledged in Decem-
ber that in a new Trump adminis-
tration, “We will drive out the
globalists.”
As DeSantis, Trump and former
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley
move on from the Iowa caucuses,
they are fighting to lead a Republi-
can party whose policy preferences
have changed dramatically in just
the last few years. From trade and
immigration to entitlements and
the government’s role in the econ-
omy, today’s GOP stands in a strik-
ingly different place compared
with the party led by Ronald Rea-
gan, either President Bush, or pres-
idential nominees Bob Dole, John
McCain and Mitt Romney.
Shifting circumstances—in
America, the economy and the
world—account for some of this,
but so does the makeup of the
party itself, far more populated
with rural and less-educated voters
than in the past. In Wall Street
Journal and NBC News polling, the
share of the party held by white
voters with a college education
dropped from 40% to 25% over the
last decade or so—-still a signifi-
ILLUSTRATION BY JOAN WONG, GETTY IMAGES (4)
cant faction but less influential.
The current rank and file has more
populist instincts, less trust in eco-
nomic globalization and different
expectations of their government.
On some fronts, Republicans are
unchanged. They remain the party
of lowering taxes, reducing regula-
tion and limiting abortion rights,
and rally behind the appointment
of conservative judges. Still, on a
p p
* * * *
broad array of issues, the party is
redefining itself. Tony Fabrizio, the
chief pollster for Trump’s 2016 and
2020 campaigns, says this shift
transcends the choice of a candi-
date. “Writ large this represents a
much broader change,” he says.
“It’s almost as seminal as the Rea-
gan-Bush fight of 1980,” when the
GOP moved from a moderate main-
stream to a much more conserva-
tive one.
Trump, who won the Iowa cau-
cuses by some 30 percentage
points, best personifies these
changes with his “America First”
agenda, while Haley hews most
closely to more traditional, Rea-
gan-style conservatism. In any
case, though, the movement of the
party’s center of gravity is unmis-
takable—and best illustrated by
comparing the words of past Re-
publican presidents and candidates
to those of today’s candidates, is-
sue by issue.
Trade
“On world trade, there are some
substantial inequities, but the an-
swer is not to close American mar-
kets,” Reagan said while in the
White House. His Republican suc-
cessor, George H.W. Bush, said dur-
ing his 1992 presidential campaign:
“The key to America’s growth, ex-
pansion and innovation has always
been our openness to trade, invest-
ment, ideas and people.” By con-
trast, when Trump was asked in an
August interview with Fox Business
Network whether he would impose
tariffs on imports, he replied: “I
think we should have a ring around
the collar” of the American econ-
omy, saying he would impose a 10%
tariff on every item a company
“dumps” into the U.S. “The tariffs
are great,” he summarized.
Immigration
“I believe in the idea of amnesty
for those who have put down roots
and lived here, even though some
time back they may have entered
illegally,” Reagan said while presi-
dent. And in his farewell address in
1989, he repeated his oft-stated vi-
sion of America as a “shining city
on a hill” for the rest of the world:
“And if there had to be city walls,
the walls had doors and the doors
were open to anyone with the will
and the heart to get there.”
Fast forward to this campaign,
and in the first Republican debate
of 2024, DeSantis said: “The num-
ber of people that will be amnes-
tied when I’m president is zero. We
cannot do an amnesty in this coun-
REVIEW
try.” Haley then added: “You have
to deport them.” Trump, mean-
while, has declared that immi-
grants are “poisoning the blood” of
the country.
Big Business
The Republican party traditionally
has been friendly to big business,
and provided a comfortable home
to its leaders. Shortly after he was
inaugurated in 2001, George W.
Bush spoke to the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce and lauded “the folks
who really help our economy grow,
the entrepreneurs, the business
folks of America, the employers,
the risk takers.” When Mitt Rom-
ney was running successfully for
the 2012 Republican nomination,
he asserted at one point in Iowa:
“Corporations are people.”
Today’s GOP candidates, by
contrast, frequently excoriate big
business as just another “elite” in-
stitution that often conspires
against everyday Americans’ eco-
nomic needs and cultural prefer-
ences. DeSantis has made a point
of pride out of his long and public
fight with a big corporation in his
home state, the Disney Co., over
Reagan’s
confidence in
positive change
has been over-
taken by a much
angrier view.
its policies on social issues. In an
op-ed for this newspaper, DeSantis
decried “old-guard corporate Re-
publicanism” and asserted: “Poli-
cies that benefit American corpo-
rations don’t necessarily serve the
interests of America’s people and
economy.”
Entitlements
When George W. Bush was running
for president in 2000, he shocked
the political world, and unsettled
some of his advisers, by proposing
a partial and voluntary privatiza-
tion of Social Security to preserve
its financial standing. After he won
re-election in 2004, he tried to ad-
vance the idea: “As we fix Social
Security, we also have the respon-
sibility to make the system a better
deal for younger workers. And the
best way to reach that goal is
through voluntary personal retire-
ment accounts.”
Today’s Republican candidates
p g
Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | C5
don’t want to go there, despite
mounting signs of long-term fi-
nancial problems for both Medi-
care and Social Security. Trump
declared flatly in early 2023: “Un-
der no circumstances should Re-
publicans vote to cut a single
penny from Medicare or Social Se-
curity.” And he bashed DeSantis
as a “wheelchair off the cliff kind
of guy” for once backing congres-
sional proposals for changes in
Medicare.
Optimism
Perhaps the most noteworthy
change among Republican leaders
isn’t about an issue but about out-
look. Reagan often articulated that
vision of America as a shining city,
and said he was like an optimistic
boy who could see a barn full of
manure and think only that there
must be a pony inside it some-
where. But it wasn’t only Reagan.
Bob Dole accepted the 1996 Repub-
lican nomination with a speech
proclaiming that he was the “most
optimistic man in America.”
One Republican, Sen. Tim Scott,
sought his party’s 2024 presiden-
tial nomination by using a sunny,
upbeat message, saying he was the
candidate of “freedom and hope
and opportunity,” and brandishing
his personal story of a Black man
raised by a single mother as a sign
of hope. He lasted only until No-
vember, when he dropped out.
That Reagan confidence in posi-
tive change over time has been
overtaken by a much angrier view,
which sees threats to the tradi-
tional American way of life, high-
lights grievances and offers a fore-
boding sense that America might
not persevere. “We’re a nation
whose economy is collapsing into a
cesspool of ruin,” Trump declared
last month. “We have become a
drug infested, crime-ridden nation,
which is incapable of solving the
simplest of problems.”
And when Trump said that “rad-
ical-left thugs that live like vermin”
in the U.S. need to be rooted out,
those dark words didn’t hurt him.
Indeed, the Iowa poll found that
four in 10 of this week’s likely cau-
cus-goers said the statement made
them more likely to vote for him.
Gerald F. Seib is a former execu-
tive Washington editor and
weekly Capital Journal columnist
for The Wall Street Journal. He
serves as a visiting fellow at the
Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics
at the University of
Kansas.
( ) j p
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
AMANDA FOREMAN
Our Fraught
Love Affair
With Cannabis
OHIO’S NEW marijuana
law marks a watershed
moment in the decrimi-
nalization of cannabis:
more than half of
Americans now live in places where
recreational marijuana is legal. It is
a profound shift, but only the latest
twist in the long and winding saga
of society’s relationship with pot.
Humans first domesticated can-
nabis sativa around 12,000 years
ago in Central and East Asia as
hemp, mostly for rope and other
textiles. Later, some adventurous
forebears found more interesting
uses. In 2008, archaeologists in
northwestern China discovered al-
most 800 grams of dried cannabis
containing high levels of THC, the
psychoactive ingredient in mari-
juana, among the burial items of a
7th-century B.C. shaman.
The Greeks and Romans used
cannabis for hemp, medicine and
possibly religious purposes, but the
plant was never as pervasive in the
classical world as it was in ancient
India. Cannabis indica, the sacred
plant of the god Shiva, was revered
for its ability to relieve physical suf-
fering and bring spiritual enlighten-
ment to the holy.
Cannabis gradually spread across
the Middle East in the form of hash-
ish, which is smoked or eaten. The
first drug laws were enacted by Is-
lamic rulers who feared their sub-
jects wanted to do little else. King
al-Zahir Babar in Egypt banned
hashish cultivation and consump-
tion in 1266. When that failed, a
successor tried taxing hashish in-
stead in 1279. This filled local cof-
fers, but consumption levels soared
and the ban was restored.
The march of cannabis continued
unabated across the old and new
worlds, apparently reaching Strat-
ford-upon-Avon by the 16th century.
Fragments of some 400-year-old to-
bacco pipes excavated from Shake-
speare’s garden were found to con-
tain cannabis residue. If not the
THOMAS FUCHS
Bard, at least someone in the house-
hold was having a good time.
By the 1600s American colonies
were cultivating hemp for the ship-
ping trade, using its fibers for rigs
and sails. George Washington and
Thomas Jefferson grew cannabis on
their plantations, seemingly un-
aware of its intoxicating properties.
Veterans of Napoleon’s Egypt
campaign brought hashish to France
in the early 1800s, where efforts to
ban the habit may have enhanced
its popularity. Members of the Club
des Hashischins, which included
Charles Baudelaire, Honoré de Bal-
zac, Alexander Dumas and Victor
Hugo, would meet to compare notes
on their respective highs.
Although Queen Victoria’s own
physician advocated using cannabis
to relieve childbirth and menstrual
pains, British lawmakers swung
back and forth over whether to tax
or ban its cultivation in India.
In the U.S., however, Americans
lumped cannabis with the opioid ep-
idemic that followed the Civil War.
Early 20th-century politicians fur-
ther stigmatized the drug by associ-
ating it with Black people and La-
tino immigrants. Congress outlawed
nonmedicinal cannabis in 1937, a
year after the movie “Reefer Mad-
ness” portrayed pot as a corrupting
influence on white teenagers.
American views of cannabis have
changed since President Nixon de-
clared an all-out War on Drugs
more than 50 years ago, yet federal
law still classifies the drug along-
side heroin. As lawmakers struggle
to catch up with the zeitgeist, two
things remain certain: Governments
are often out of touch with their cit-
izens, and what people want isn’t
always what’s good for them.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

C6 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

REVIEW

BY ANNA MOTZ

How Should We Treat

G
ypsy Rose Blanchard is
now enjoying freedom,

Abusive Mothers?
perhaps for the first
time. Released on pa-
role on Dec. 28, she
served seven years of a 10-year sen-
tence for the second-degree murder
of her mother, Dee Dee, in 2015. “I
wanted to be free of her hold on me,” The Gypsy Rose Blanchard case demonstrates how idealizing
Blanchard testified in 2018. She is motherhood can cause trouble.
now the subject of a new
Lifetime docuseries, “The
Prison Confessions of Gypsy
Rose Blanchard,” and the
author of a new memoir,
“Released: Conversations on
the Eve of Freedom.”
Blanchard, who is now
32, has described being the
lifelong object of her
mother’s deceptions and
cruelty. In court testimony
and subsequent interviews,
she recounted undergoing
needless operations and
being treated for muscular
dystrophy, leukemia and
seizures—all conditions
she didn’t have. She has
said Dee Dee retained con-
trol by lying about her
daughter’s age and keeping Gypsy Rose Blanchard with her mother (left) and at the trial of her
her from friends, school ex-boyfriend on Nov. 15, 2018 (above).
and her father. When doc-
tors questioned Blanchard’s
diagnoses, Dee Dee simply with Munchausen’s by Proxy Syn- but when she tried to tell her
found a new provider. drome have a history of working in mother about it, “she started to cry
Blanchard believed Dee medical settings, a tendency to and blame herself, so I just clammed
Dee’s lies for years, but as stretch the truth and are biologically up.” Blanchard’s grandfather denies
a teenager began pushing related to the victims. They are also these allegations.
back. She planned her often victims of abuse themselves. In Dee Dee told neighbors that she
mother’s murder with her performing extreme care and grief was fleeing family and partner abuse
then boyfriend, who exe- for a presumably sick or disabled and caring for her profoundly dis-
cuted it. As Blanchard ex- child, these mothers elevate their so- abled child. There is little question
plains in the documentary, cial status in a culture that prizes— that her story earned sympathy in
“I started to feel like it was and often demands—female sacri- part because she was white and fit a
either her or me.” fice. In craving constant attention portrait of maternal devotion that is
Dee Dee appears to have for their supposed selflessness, these still readily celebrated by the Ameri-
been an extreme example women have pathologized some of can public. Had she been Black, I
of Munchausen’s by Proxy the otherwise ordinary desires of think it is unlikely that her case
Syndrome, now known as those engaged in the often thankless would have earned so much positive
Factitious Disorder Im- and largely invisible job of being a attention, or that the harm would
posed on Another, a rare mother. have gone undetected for so long. In-
condition in which those in Mothering, for Dee Dee Blanchard, deed, many Black women have told
caring roles, generally was her surest route to power and fi- me that they are reluctant to report
mothers, either inflict or nancial security. People and charities any kind of domestic violence for
fabricate symptoms of were so moved by the fear of losing custody
medical illness and manip- story of this destitute of their children.
ulate medical professionals and devoted single If we hope to That mothers
to perform unnecessary mother that they sometimes harm or
treatments. In most cases, the harm nium to prolong a hospital stay, and sources of tender attention and care, showered her with
prevent this even kill their chil-
is modest. Children are often pre- another who confined a healthy girl where they felt safe and looked after. attention, money and violence, we dren is simply too
sented to doctors with invented to a wheelchair and dosed her with Some admitted that they harmed even a new house must try to shocking for many of
conditions that don’t stand up to drugs for epilepsy, which she didn’t their children because they never with a special en- us to bear. Yet we
medical scrutiny (such as rashes have. Some never admit their culpa- wanted them at all. Unplanned preg- trance ramp. Their understand it. miss the chance to
FROM LEFT: BLANCHARD FAMILY; NATHAN PAPES/THE SPRINGFIELD NEWS-LEADER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

painted on the skin), or they have
actual illnesses or issues that have
been induced but could easily have
arisen naturally. The lightness of
these fingerprints can make this
disorder hard to identify. Precon-
ceptions about a mother’s legiti-
macy and concerns about medical
liability can leave such abuse unde-
tected for years.
It is tempting to vilify Dee Dee as
an evil outlier, but if we hope to
prevent this violence, we must try
to understand it. As a forensic psy-
chotherapist who has worked with
seriously violent women in hospi-
tals, prisons and outpatient clinics
for over 30 years, I have encoun-
tered and treated mothers who in-
flicted this kind of harm on their
children. I have dealt with one who
seriously damaged her baby’s cra-
bility, but for others detection is a
relief; they know they must be
stopped. With time, some even ac-
knowledge what they have done,
and why.
It can be hard to maintain profes-
sional neutrality with a mother who
has harmed her child. The phenome-
non offends our idealized notions of
women as sources of love, nurture
and care. Yet it is only by getting to
know an offender that I can unravel
the origins of the crime and deter-
mine whether she will ever be safe
as a caregiver. Some mothers have
told me that their fabulations origi-
nated in an anxiety about the health
of their child. They sensed that doc-
tors paid attention only when their
concerns were buttressed by increas-
ingly elaborate symptoms. Others
explained that hospitals were rare
nancies are often both a conse-
quence and a cause of domestic vio-
lence. Without a community of
support and care, the probability of
neglect or worse is real.
It bears noting that unlike male
violence, female violence is usually a
private matter. Women are still far
less powerful or threatening than
men in public, but they can be potent
figures in the home, where they are
better placed to inflict pain. Their
targets are typically their intimate
partners, their children or their own
bodies. The fact that such violence is
taboo can make it hard for women
who are grappling with dark im-
pulses to come forward and ask for
help. Many victims are also ashamed
to report abuse by a woman and fear
they won’t be believed.
We know that most offenders
hearts bled when
they saw photos of
her brave little girl in a wheelchair
(though she was able to walk) with
her hairless head (shorn by Dee Dee)
and a feeding tube (though she was
able to eat).
While intimate details of Gypsy
Rose Blanchard’s life are now widely
known, we know fairly little about
Dee Dee beyond her failures as a
mother. Born Clauddine Pitre in
Chackbay, La., in 1967, she had a his-
tory of deception—stealing, lying
about her age and writing bad
checks—according to family mem-
bers interviewed in the docuseries.
She is believed to have spent time as
a nurse aide, and she may have also
been abused herself. Blanchard al-
leges in the docuseries that she was
sexually abused by Dee Dee’s father,
protect future victims
when potential abus-
ers pass unnoticed because they
defy the stereotype. Opportunities
for rehabilitation are also lost when
abusive women are regarded as
wicked villains who are beyond help.
Women, of course, are too compli-
cated to be pigeonholed as either
selfless caregivers or heartless mon-
sters. As the Gypsy Rose Blanchard
story makes plain, our idealization
of motherhood and reluctance to see
women as abusers can harm both
perpetrators and victims.
Anna Motz is a forensic psycho-
therapist in Oxfordshire, U.K. Her
new book, “If Love Could Kill: The
Myths and Truths of Women Who
Commit Violence,” will be pub-
lished next month by Knopf.

A Name for from the ancient Greek word

“stokhastikos” meaning “based
used for someone who repeats
words without understanding,

AI That on guesswork.” A “stokhastes”

Sounds a
WORD ON
THE STREET Bit Less
BEN
ZIMMER Intelligent
ON JAN. 5, a few hundred lin-
guists gathered in a ballroom in
midtown Manhattan to mull
various nominations for the
American Dialect Society’s 2023
Word of the Year. As chair of
the society’s new words com-
mittee, I oversaw the lively col-
we added a special ad-hoc cate-
gory related to one of the most
buzzed-about stories of 2023:
artificial intelligence.
Our new category included an
array of AI heavy hitters. There
was “ChatGPT,” the name for
OpenAI’s chatbot, which is so
AI-generated responses that are
untethered from reality.
Triumphing over all of these
was “stochastic parrot,” used by
AI skeptics to point out that
large language models are not
capable of understanding lan-
guage but instead have been
programmed to parrot back
was someone aiming to predict
the future through divination.
The word is recorded in English
from 1662, when the theologian
John Owen wrote of the “stoca-
stick faculty,” meaning the
power of conjecture.
It would take until the 20th
century for the term to get ap-
plied to modern statistical mod-
eling. The Russian statistician
A.A. Chuprov used the word
“stochastical” in a 1923 paper to
mean “based on the theory of
probability,” and the shorter
form “stochastic” became a
standard way to refer to proba-
bilistic distributions and pat-
terns.
Bender put a new spin on the
as well as a verb meaning “imi-
tate like a parrot.”
That unusual combination of
words, “stochastic parrot,”
quickly circulated in the AI com-
munity, proving useful to those
seeking to puncture the hype
surrounding ventures like Chat-
GPT. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
himself gave the term an ironic
boost when he tweeted “i am a
stochastic parrot, and so r u” in
December 2022, just days after
ChatGPT was released.
As “stochastic parrot” snow-
balled in popularity, Bender wit-
nessed how her creation swiftly
spun out of her control. She
notes bemusedly how the term
often gets attributed to other
(male) researchers, and how it

[Stochastic Parrot]
loquy, which attracted many
members of the group and the
larger Linguistic Society of
America.
Winning words were also se-
successful it often gets used ge-
nerically for any generative AI
system. There was “LLM,” short
for “large language model,” the
machine-learning algorithm
plausible-sounding synthetic
text.
The term was coined by Uni-
versity of Washington computa-
tional linguist Emily M. Bender
in a widely cited 2021 paper. As
it happened, Bender was in at-
tendance at the Word of the
Year event and spoke about how
her coinage of “stochastic par-
rot” took off.
word when she and her co-au-
thors published their paper on
the risks of “stochastic parrots,”
or “large language models that
are impressive in their ability to
generate realistic-sounding lan-
guage but ultimately do not
truly understand the meaning of
the language they are process-
ing.”
“Parrot” has referred to the
has been interpreted as a slur
against AI. People who are in-
vested in the idea that LLMs can
achieve artificial general intelli-
gence, Bender told me via email,
“take ‘stochastic parrots’ as an
insult to the machines that they
have anthropomorphized (and
maybe identified with).”
Such is the peril of the word-
coiner: if a neologism like “sto-
JAMES YANG

lected in such categories as trained on mountains of text The first part of the phrase, mimicking bird since the 16th chastic parrot” takes flight,
“Most Creative” and “Political that powers AI programs. And “stochastic,” means “randomly century, and soon after it en- there is nothing you can do to
Word of the Year.” And this time there was “hallucination,” for determined,” and is derived tered the lexicon, it came to be get it back in its cage.
 BOOKS
p y p p p g ( ) j p

Fear of a Red Planet Soul of a Soprano

The many perils Conjuring
of living on Mars Maria Callas’s
C12 inner life C10

READ ONLINE AT WSJ.COM/BOOKSHELF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | C7

The Art of Personal Diplomacy

Winston Churchill courted, cajoled and cooperated with other world leaders, always with his own ideals in mind
Mirrors of Greatness
By David Reynolds
Basic, 464 pages, $32.50
BY ROBERT D. KAPLAN

N
O PROMINENT figure
got under Winston
Churchill’s skin like
Mohandas Gandhi,
writes the Cambridge
University historian David Reynolds in
“Mirrors of Greatness: Churchill and
the Leaders Who Shaped Him.” Gan-
dhi’s “political creed of nonviolence
could not be overcome by force, and
that challenged everything Winston
had understood about power” since
adolescence. Gandhi, in his loincloth,
threatened Churchill’s “creed of man-
liness,” Mr. Reynolds explains. Church-
ill’s manliness was built on his pride in
the British Empire, which another
British historian, Andrew Roberts, has
called Churchill’s “secular religion.”
There is no use differentiating the
so-called bad Churchill, the imperial-
ist, who was against Indian indepen-
dence, from the good Churchill, who
saved the world from Adolf Hitler.
Churchill’s early and prescient war-
mongering against Nazi Germany was
intrinsically linked to his sense of
superiority regarding Great Britain’s
place in an imperial world. Clement
Attlee, Churchill’s deputy prime minis-
ter during World War II, who defeated
him in 1945, said Churchill “was rather
like a layer cake,” with 17th-, 18th- and
HULTON-DEUTSCH/GETTY IMAGES

19th-century layers as well as “a large

slice, of course, of the 20th.” Again,
there is no contradiction: After the fall
of France in 1940, Britain’s military
position against Nazi Germany was so
absolutely dire that it took a reaction-
ary of sorts, with a romantic view of
national destiny, to fight on. JAW TO JAW Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill at the Casablanca Conference in 1943.
Mr. Reynolds suggests how the
different pieces of Churchill’s person- advance his career. His father was also graphic determinism enmeshed with ment. He believed in 1935 that Il Hitler in June 1940, when France and
ality fit together by portraying him in remote and unsympathetic; he died Homeric heroism, which reads like Duce was a great man who could all of Europe seemed lost.
terms of the principal personalities when Churchill was 20. Winston spent something out of Herodotus. help neighboring Austria maintain Churchill was blessed with unparal-
with whom he interacted, and who, his whole life proving himself to that In 1901 Churchill warned in its independence from Hitler’s leled energy and sheer enterprise. He
therefore, helped define him. In addi- deceased father. Parliament that the next European Germany. He also believed that Italy, was also, Mr. Reynolds observes, con-
tion to Gandhi and Attlee, the reader Churchill bolted out of life’s start- war would be so destructive and because of its weaker economy, did vinced he was a man of greatness and
meets Hitler, David Lloyd George, ing gate. In 1894, a month before his industrialized it would threaten “the not constitute a threat to Britain. devoted all his energy toward one
Neville Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini, father died, he graduated near the top whole manhood of the nation. . . . The purpose: becoming prime minister.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin of his class at the royal military acad- wars of peoples will be more terrible That sets up the heart of Mr. Reyn-
and Charles de Gaulle. The author also emy at Sandhurst, having entered near than those of kings.” Churchill was Churchill felt he could olds’s book and the confrontation with
writes about Churchill’s relationships the bottom. By the time he entered not a nihilist regarding war but a Neville Chamberlain, who had become
with his father, Lord Randolph Parliament, at 26, he had fought in truly clairvoyant realist, even while
handle Stalin. He initially the British prime minister in 1937.
Churchill, and his wife, Clementine. A several colonial wars and written five still so young, and foresaw the admired Mussolini and Chamberlain was an efficient adminis-
fresh, fast-paced and bracing look at books. These were generally not the devastation of World War I. During felt it a shame that Italy trator who believed deeply in improv-
Churchill, “Mirrors of Greatness” is purplish and flawed writings of youth. that war, he was blamed for the 1915 ing the lives of ordinary Britons after
also an insightful and, at times, They were deeply analytical and Gallipoli fiasco and relieved of his threw in with Hitler. the devastation of World War I. But he
counterintuitive guide to those other mature works. I found “The Story of position as First Lord of the Admi- was a relentless plodder, while
personalities. the Malakand Field Force” (1898), ralty in H.H. Asquith’s government. Churchill (an admirer of Napoleon, Mr.
Churchill, Mr. Reynolds tells us, about British India’s Northwest Rather than sulk in depression, he Even after Mussolini was executed in Reynolds tell us) believed in audacity.
was “largely self-taught. He never Frontier, extremely useful while cover- took up painting and then soldiering, April 1945, Churchill opined that the Why did Chamberlain delude
went to university—probably to his ing the American war in Afghanistan as an officer leading from the front in Italian leader had rescued his coun- himself that peace with Hitler was
benefit,” since a traditional, classical in the early 2000s because of its un- night raids in Belgium. try from the communism into which possible? Mr. Reynolds insightfully
education might have undermined his relieved realism regarding the dilem- Churchill’s romantic sense of it might have descended and had notes that personal diplomacy of the
particular genius, making him more mas of occupying powers in tribal history sometimes led him astray. In given it a lofty position in Europe. sort that Chamberlain practiced
like the others of his class and genera- regions. “The River War: An Historical a chapter on Mussolini, Mr. Reynolds History would have seen Il Duce during several meetings with Hitler in
tion. He loved his mother dearly, but Account of the Reconquest of the explains how Churchill’s love of the differently, Churchill said, had he not the fall of 1938 constituted one of the
at a distance, though she helped Soudan” (1899) is an epic tale of geo- Roman Empire affected his judg- taken the wrong turn in backing Please turn to page C8

His Rx bed, the work that became his posthu-

mous calling card. Written, paradoxi-
cally, when African independence had
wildly contradictory agendas.” These that Fanon would, in the jargon of our Williams gives us an account of the
include Marxism and liberalism; Isla- times, be seen as a paragon of inter- life and ideas of its protagonist that is
mism (due to his intense involvement sectionality. His discursive theorizing sharply focused and wise. He tells

Was become almost incontestable, it is

regarded as a radical bible on decolo-
with the Algerian war of indepen- itself could be multiple: He argued Fanon’s story succinctly, in contrast to
dence from France) and secularism; that the categories of “black” and the more expansive and pointilliste

Revolution
nization. The book is fretted with calls
to cathartic violence against “the
settler,” whose physical erasure is
politically necessary and morally justi-
The Rebel’s Clinic fied. If you hear echoes of Fanon’s
By Adam Shatz menace in the anti-Israel demonstra-
FSG, 464 pages, $32 tions that teem at present in Western
cities, you’re not deluded.
Of course, to reduce Fanon’s métier
Frantz Fanon to mere “race relations” would be to
By James S. Williams dumb it down unpardonably in the
Reaktion, 208 pages, $22 eyes of the leftists for whom he’s an
icon. Angela Davis, the black-militant
BY TUNKU VARADARAJAN academic, has described Fanon as the
and, most saliently, black nationalism “white” were self-created and would Mr. Shatz, who revels in every detail
and humanist universalism. of the portrait he paints.
Fanon is also denounced as For all his brevity, Mr. Wil-
“misogynist,” Mr. Shatz writes, liams isn’t short on detail him-
“for suggesting that some self. Fanon, he tells us, “kept
white women who fear Black his personal and public life
men secretly wish to be raped determinedly separate.” Poi-
by them,” as well as for giving gnant proof of this, he writes,
short shrift to Simone de Beau- is that there are no extant
voir even as he expressed public photographs of Fanon
admiration for her partner, with his wife, Josie, a white
Jean-Paul Sartre. Fanon also Frenchwoman. Was this by
played down the ideas of happenstance, we’re tempted
Suzanne Roussi, the whip- to ask, or did Fanon calculate

F
20th century’s “most compelling smart wife of Aimé Césaire. that such an interracial image
RANTZ FANON died in theorist of racism and colonialism.” The latter, a Martinican poet, wouldn’t be good for his own
1961, struck down by Cornel West, the philosopher-activist was one of Fanon’s early men- cred as the unyielding black
leukemia. He was 36, at Princeton, has hailed Fanon as the tors and a founder of Négri- foe of colonialism?
young enough for the tude, a movement for black Fanon’s marriage to Josie—
fierce adulation that’s self-respect that was milder in the daughter of Corsican trade-
accorded to those to whom fame and Born in Martinique, tone and intent than Fanon’s unionists who embraced their
EVERETT COLLECTION/ALAMY

death come too soon. A rebellious own ideology. Fanon is black son-in-law—was no
black man born in the French Carib-
Fanon was a doctor, attacked, in addition, by “right- secret, to be sure. With his
bean colony of Martinique, he had a poet and an advocate wing intellectuals,” Mr. Shatz stylish demeanor and conversa-
moved at age 21 to metropolitan for using violence says—and not without good tional elan, Fanon was hardly a
France to study medicine—and thence reason—for being the “found- cloistered intellectual. Mr.
to North Africa to practice psychiatry against ‘the settler.’ ing father of modern terrorism Williams, a professor of French
and pursue political revolution. and critical race theory.” FIRST DO NO HARM Frantz Fanon (1925-61). literature and film at the
Fanon wrote two of the most In his short life, Mr. Shatz University of London, writes
celebrated—and incendiary—books in “anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, anti- says, Fanon wore multiple “masks” in best be erased altogether; and yet he that Fanon was “a born performer and
the annals of race relations: “Black colonialist” revolutionary “most rele- response to the “white gaze” that exalted violence of the sort that might raconteur” who “possessed a versatil-
Skin, White Masks” (1952), an anti- vant for the twenty-first century.” bore down on him and other colo- make race-erasure all too literal. ity that was evident in the elastic
racist tract that somehow pulls off the In “The Rebel’s Clinic,” a sensitive nized peoples. Mr. Shatz lists the If Fanon is a confounding character, features of his face, which could
feat of being both a screed against the and affectionate biography of Fanon, Martinican’s many dimensions—sol- Mr. Shatz has help in explaining him morph in public like that of a mime
white man and a psychological medi- Adam Shatz portrays him as an “intel- dier and doctor, poet and ideologue, to us. In “Frantz Fanon”—the latest in artist depending on the people he was
tation; and “The Wretched of the lectual celebrity whose writing is Frenchman and West Indian, Algerian the Critical Lives biographies from with.” He was, in a word, cinematic,
Earth” (1961), dictated on his death- enlisted on behalf of a range of often and African—leaving us in no doubt Reaktion, a British imprint—James S. Please turn to page C8
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

C8 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

BOOKS
‘Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern but impossible to enslave.’ —HENRY B ROUGHAM

FIVE BEST ON EDUCATION

Fanon’s
Fighting
Mitch Daniels Words
A former president of Purdue University and the author
of ‘Boiler Up: A University President in the Public Square’ Continued from page C7
although, remarkably, not a single clip
exists on film in which Fanon is heard
Real Education to speak. This is a tragedy, one might
By Charles Murray (2008) say, for he was a charismatic word-

1
smith, the master not just of the
He was right about welfare. He was right soundbite but of prolonged, poetic
about the dangerous decline of vital social prose, constructed in beautiful sen-
values among white Americans. And tences. He wrote poetry, even plays.
Charles Murray was right when he turned Mr. Shatz, an editor at the London
his attention to the manifest failures of modern Review of Books, invites us to sample
American education. Grounding his work in Fanon’s language, quoting at length
careful, data-driven scholarship, producing from an early passage of “The
specific, constructive proposals and writing with Wretched of the Earth” that is “rich in
elegant clarity, in “Real Education” Mr. Murray anaphora”—the rhetorical repetition of
sets out four simple truths: ability varies; half a word. The passage is a description of
the children are always below average; America’s the colonial city as “a Manichaean
future depends on how we educate the academi- confrontation” between the settler and
cally gifted; and too many people are going to the colonized in which Fanon repeats
college. Dispiriting evidence abounds of the the word “town” (ville in the original
continuing denial of the first three. As for the French) no fewer than 18 times. “The
last, the marketplace has begun to speak, as settler’s town,” wrote Fanon, “is built
young people, their parents and employers are to last, all stones and steel. It’s a
questioning and increasingly rejecting the brightly lit town with paved roads,
traditional four-year college degree. Mr. Murray’s where garbage cans are always filled
prescriptions will leave readers nodding their with unknown remains, never seen.”
SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES

heads at such common sense and scratching The “town of the colonized”—by
their heads at the tragic results of abandoning it. contrast—“the Negro town, the
Medina, the reservation, is a disreputa-
ble place inhabited by disreputable
Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be men. You are born anywhere, anyhow.
By Frank Bruni (2015) You die anywhere, from anything.” The

2
Years before the latest self-disgrace by
so-called elite universities, the longtime
New York Times journalist Frank Bruni
disrobed these institutions as peddlers of
overpriced and overvalued credentials that are
awarded through a “flawed” and “rigged” admis-
sions process and chased after by status-crazed
parents. As Mr. Bruni documents, these prized
badges of elitism show little or no relationship to
postcollege competence or success. Graduates of
less-exclusive, less-expensive public universities
capture the biggest share of the Fortune 100 CEO
jobs, U.S. Senate seats, MacArthur fellowships
and other markers of achievement. It turns out,
Mr. Bruni demonstrates, that how you go to col-
lege is more important than where. Students
who take challenging courses, study diligently
and engage with faculty and each other are the
language is electrifying, and yet it is
written to spark flames that would
lead. The book’s contemporary namesake which the appetizers and desserts can easily be burn down the settler’s town—to wit,
substitutes “canceling” for “closing” and catalogs mistaken for the main courses.” When it comes the colonial edifice.
the accuracy of Bloom’s predictions and their to unheeded warnings, a prime example is this For the Fanon-curious, the two new
ruinous consequences. The mind-numbing—the “open letter to the American people.” At each books make perfect companions and
adjective in this context is literal—homogeneity decennial anniversary, pundits and academics add value to the existing catalog of
of viewpoint on today’s campuses, along with the review its findings of educational decline and Fanon biographies, of which David
brutality with which conformity is enforced, has lament that the nation not only failed to follow Macey’s “Frantz Fanon: A Life” (2001)
been documented elsewhere, but nowhere more the report’s recommended reforms but has and Alice Cherki’s “Frantz Fanon: A
incisively or in greater detail than in “The regressed even further. One of these decades we Portrait” (2000) stand out. Ms. Cherki
Canceling of the American Mind.” Greg Lukianoff will demand a return to the order, rigor and
and Rikki Schlott offer suggestions for parents— universal mastery of the basics that our children
for instance, teaching the Golden Rule and deserve and need. The manual is still there, Fanon was not a black
“sticks and stones” type axioms. Meanwhile, the waiting to be applied.
authors suggest that businesses foster a free-
nationalist. Instead, he
speech environment by staying out of political was militantly dedicated
controversies and looking beyond the Ivy Dear Committee Members to eradicating racial
League when hiring. But Mr. Lukianoff and Ms. By Julie Schumacher (2014)
categories entirely.

5
ones who will enjoy the greatest success and Schlott despair of repairing the damage within
well-being later on. A host of wince-inducing higher-education institutions: “There are more Readers of the above titles or anything
anecdotes illustrate the “elite-mania” of parents problems than we can address in this book.” honest about the state of American
desperate to get their children into “micro- Bloom forecast the destination; these authors education will find themselves in need of was his intern and friend at the hospi-
climates of privilege and validation.” One is describe the arrival. comic relief, and here it is. Follow the tal in Blida, Algeria, an archetypally
reminded of the prediction a few years ago that travails of Jason, a bedraggled, neurotic profes- segregated French colonial town,
such schools will become “the debutante sor of creative writing at a second-tier college, where Fanon worked and from which
cotillions of the 21st century.” Judging from A Nation at Risk through the letters of recommendation he is he launched himself forth as a revolu-
recent events, it wouldn’t be much of a loss. By The U.S. National Commission on Excellence in constantly obliged to write. For tenure, adminis- tionary ambassador (and gun runner)
Education (1983) trative posts, fellowships and jobs for his for Algerian independence.

4
students, these “LORs” are the bane—well, one of Mr. Shatz vies with Macey for
The Canceling of the American Mind “A Nation at Risk” violates all the rules the banes—of his existence. They are also the definitiveness, though he has the
By Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott (2023) of government task-force publications. Its vehicle for Jason’s venting about his underfunded precious advantage of writing his

3
prose is highly readable, starting with its English department, its “Captain Queeg-like” book after the publication in 2017 of
Allan Bloom’s 1987 classic, “The Closing often-quoted opening: “If an unfriendly interim head, the surly and unhelpful Tech Help “Sous la dictée de Fanon” (“As
of the American Mind,” reads today as an power had attempted to impose on America the office and the endless administrative minutiae of dictated by Fanon”), a memoir by
unheeded warning about the assault on mediocre educational performance that exists university life. The “reply-all” fiasco alone— Marie-Jeanne Manuellan. She was
classical education and the then-emergent today, we might have viewed it as an act of war.” involving his ex-wife and, as a result, his ex- Fanon’s secretary and amanuensis,
intellectual totalitarianism to which it would Or: “We have a cafeteria-style curriculum in girlfriend—is worth this novel’s purchase price. and her book offers us (in Mr. Shatz’s
words) “the most intimate portrait of
him as a man.” Manuellan, who died
in 2019 at age 91, wrote that Fanon
“had infinite respect for his patients”
and, as a clinician, showed “delicacy,
underneath. Meeting Roosevelt on a especially toward the humblest of
Winston Royal Navy warship in a secluded
Newfoundland bay in 1941, Churchill
people.” But he had a harsh side, too,
showing “no pity for those who did

Churchill was emotionally shaken by the extent

of the American president’s disability
not have his esteem.”
Let it be said that Fanon was a
and the “grace and courage” evident in proper doctor—and an audacious
And Co. the way he coped with it. Yet from the
beginning Churchill and Roosevelt
psychiatrist. As original as his race-
manifestos was a medical paper he
were split on their war aims: Churchill wrote in 1952, “The North African
Continued from page C7 saw the future only in terms of the Syndrome.” In it, he excoriated the
KEYSTONE-FRANCE/GETTY IMAGES

“dark arts” at which Chamberlain, for
all of his other abilities, simply had no
aptitude. Personal diplomacy puts a
premium on judgment—on sizing up
your interlocutor. Chamberlain, who
believed in the trustworthiness of
Hitler’s signature on the paper he
waved for the newsreel cameras,
fundamentally misunderstood him.
Chamberlain’s bet on Hitler proved
one of history’s great miscalculations.
Two days after Poland was invaded in
September 1939, Chamberlain under
great duress brought Churchill back
into government as First Lord of the
Admiralty. All this set up the cabinet
drama of May 9, 1940. Under pressure
from the Labour Party, which had
joined the wartime coalition govern-
ment, Chamberlain said he would
serve in an administration led by
Edward Wood, Lord Halifax. But
Halifax, the foreign minister, made it
clear that as a peer he could not serve
as prime minister. At a crucial
moment, Churchill took over. “The
question of whether . . . Churchill
‘seized the premiership’ or ‘had it
handed to him’ should not obscure the
essential point,” Mr. Reynolds writes.
“Neither Chamberlain nor Halifax had
what it took to be a war leader—and
they knew it.”
Churchill’s irrepressible imperialism
complicated his relationship with Pres-
ident Franklin D. Roosevelt, which, the
author explains, was all sunny camara-
derie on the surface but had tension
British Empire, and Roosevelt most French medical establishment for its
clearly did not. Mr. Reynolds relates “dehumanization” (as Mr. Shatz puts
how, as the war continued and Ameri- it) of male Arab workers in France,
can power waxed while British power who frequently succumbed to psycho-
waned, the relationship between the somatic ailments—for which they
two men subtly shifted to a colder, were branded malingerers—that re-
unequal one. Nevertheless, Churchill sulted from their cultural and social
continued to believe the very future of FIELDWORK Churchill at an antiaircraft battery in England in 1944. alienation from their French sur-
the world rested on the personal rela- roundings.
tionship between him and FDR. pened after Churchill allowed him to he lacked charisma, this somewhat When the Black Lives Matter move-
Churchill’s relationship with Stalin use the BBC for his famous “Appel” of meek and diminutive man was in fact ment took to the streets in 2020 in
was far more subtle. Both FDR and June 18 and for further periodic a loyal comrade in Churchill’s wartime the aftermath of the death of George
Churchill were aware of Stalin’s vast exhortations to the French population. cabinet, who among other things Floyd, Fanon was embraced afresh,
crimes against humanity as well as the Churchill did this against the advice of defended the strategic bombing of based on an “approximation” (Mr.
absolute necessity of keeping Stalin a the Foreign Office and the war cabi- Germany. Attlee had known life in the Williams writes) of a sentence from
strong and well-equipped wartime ally. net, which vainly hoped to keep the slums and fought at Gallipoli. Church- “Black Masks, White Skin”: “We revolt
Nazi puppet leader Marshal Philippe ill, Mr. Reynolds writes, “often found simply because, for many reasons, we
Pétain “in play” by not overly offend- Attlee easier to talk with than many can no longer breathe.” (Floyd had
Churchill’s relationship ing him. “This was a debt the General members of his own party.” Churchill died of asphyxiation as a result of a
never forgot in all their subsequent saw Britain through the war, but Attlee policeman’s knee on his windpipe.) In
with FDR was sunny altercations,” Mr. Reynolds writes. was the “architect” who rebuilt what is, perhaps, a rare error of judg-
on the surface but had And there were great altercations. Britain’s economically battered society ment, Mr. Shatz claims Fanon for
Churchill, on the eve of D-Day in 1944, on a fairer basis. BLM, suggesting that the universalist
tension underneath. did not want de Gaulle anywhere near By framing his portrait of Churchill revolutionary would have embraced
France. But enter France de Gaulle did. strictly in terms of Attlee and the the narrowly black identitarian move-
And upon his entry into Paris, de other formidable personalities in this ment. This is asserted in spite of
In this way, both FDR and Churchill Gaulle triumphantly strode down the book, Mr. Reynolds provides a freshly Fanon’s frequently expressed view
were realists. Churchill, again like FDR, Champs-Élysées, seen and practically penetrating look into the many that he was not a black nationalist. He
felt that he could handle Stalin. touched by millions. qualities of Churchill’s extraordinary was, instead, a man intent on dissolv-
As for the French leader Charles de Perhaps the most touching chapter mind. The monument of the man now ing all differences between black and
Gaulle, Mr. Reynolds does not let in Mr. Reynolds’s book is the one about breathes in full. white—even if he had to call for brute
reports of their personal aversion Churchill and Attlee, the Labour Party violence to achieve that end.
limit his portrait of the general’s rela- politician who replaced him as prime Mr. Kaplan holds the chair in
tionship with Churchill. As other his- minister after the war, built a socialist geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Mr. Varadarajan, a Journal
torians have noted, de Gaulle did not state and developed Great Britain’s Research Institute. His most recent contributor, is a fellow at the
become the heart and soul of Free atomic bomb. Attlee has often been book is “The Loom of Time: Between American Enterprise Institute and
France the moment he escaped to seen, as Churchill famously said, as “a Empire and Anarchy, From the at NYU Law School’s Classical
Great Britain in 1940. This only hap- sheep in sheep’s clothing.” But though Mediterranean to China.” Liberal Institute.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | C9

BOOKS
‘The President is the last person in the world to know what the people really want and think.’ —JAMES A . GARFIELD

Go Ahead, Measure the Drapes

Year Zero: The Five-Year
Presidency
By Christopher Liddell
Virginia, 280 pages, $29.95
BY TEVI TROY

B
EFORE THE 2016 election even
took place, Democratic presiden-
tial candidate Hillary Clinton had
a list of every major hire for her
upcoming administration: cabinet
secretaries, White House aides, subcabinet
officials. The effort came to naught when she
lost the election. After her defeat, disaffected
Democrats felt that Mrs. Clinton had been
“measuring the drapes” when she should have
been visiting Wisconsin.
It may seem like a fair criticism, but in
“Year Zero: The Five-Year Presidency”
Christopher Liddell argues against such a
simple tradeoff. He asserts that candidates
should start preparing for the presidency
long before winning it, or even before
securing the nomination.
Mr. Liddell’s thesis is grounded in an
important underlying reality: Our federal
government is unimaginably vast; its
structures are impossibly complex; and its
pace of operation is frustratingly slow. As Mr.
Liddell notes, “the size of government is
outstripping the ability of any one person, the
president, to adequately manage it.”
This problem is compounded by the fact
that the management structure of the
government’s executive branch—the parallel
hierarchies and competing “silos” of authority,
TINA HAGER/GETTY IMAGES

the overlapping divisions and agencies—is so

extraordinary that the efficiency lessons of
the private sector can’t be applied. It is
impossible, Mr. Liddell says, to “superimpose
blanket principles of private sector manage-
ment” on the White House with any hope of
success. Mr. Liddell knows whereof he speaks,
having worked for decades in the private
sector—as chief financial officer at Microsoft
and at General Motors, among other
positions—before becoming a deputy chief of
staff in the Trump White House.
There is a day-to-day aspect to this
managerial ordeal. If I may draw on my own
experience for a moment: When I joined the
George W. Bush White House staff in 2002, I
grasped almost immediately that there was
a strict protocol for getting things done—
whom to ask for approval or sign-off on any
particular course of action, even how to ask
and when—but no part of the protocol was
written down. There was instead a tradition
or set of customs to be intuited or guessed at.
Most of us staffers ended up seeking out
White House veterans and took our cues from
them. In turn, we felt an obligation, later on,
to pass the tradition on to the next wave of
White House aides.
Mr. Liddell believes that the best way of
avoiding vagueness and confusion—in the
functioning of an office or in the workings
of larger governmental structures and
operations—is, to put it simply, to plan ahead.
The “year zero” of his title refers to the first
year of a campaign’s full engagement: that is,
the year before the election. (Hence the “five-
year presidency” of Mr. Liddell’s subtitle.)
MOVE-IN READY The Oval Office after renovations in August 2001.
Toward that end, he urges candidates for
president to set up Year Zero Leadership
Teams—or “Y0LTs,” as he infelicitously calls
them throughout the text. Such teams would
choose personnel, define responsibilities and
organize a timetable of initiatives, among
much else.
The period between the election and the
inauguration, as Mr. Liddell shows, is not
nearly time enough to put a new administra-
tion in place and make it ready to govern. (As
it happens, I served with Mr. Liddell on the
2012 Romney transition team: It began its
work about six months before the election
and folded, unhappily, on Election Day.) That
said, it is unrealistic to expect a candidate
with little chance of winning to devote
precious resources to a transition that is un-
likely to happen. An Asa Hutchinson Year Zero
Leadership Team would be a complete waste
of time. Perhaps Mr. Liddell, in the event,
would envision year-zero teams for candidates
with a real shot of winning, to be determined
by hitting certain polling or fundraising
thresholds by a certain date—the kind of
criteria that now guide debate eligibility.
Mr. Liddell also thinks that the running of
the White House itself can be improved. He
pushes for the creation of an Office of the
President of the United States—in shorthand,
Opotus. This entity would be tasked with
weighing in on major decisions as well as
considering policy options and overseeing
implementation. It’s not surprising that Mr.
The period between election and
inauguration is not time enough
to put a new administration
in place. The work ought to start
before a candidate is elected.
Liddell wants to empower deputy chiefs of
staff, given that he saw their value firsthand.
But one suspects that creating a new
decision-making layer within the White House
would add to the frustrations and
inefficiencies of bureaucracy.
In general, though, Mr. Liddell has a healthy
understanding of the limits of any government
process, no matter how well thought out and
improved it might be. As he explains: “No
structure or process design survives bad
actors.” He quotes Brent Scowcroft, one of the
most effective national security advisers in
recent history (serving in both the Ford and
George H.W. Bush administrations): “If you are
not an honest broker, the system doesn’t work
well.” Mr. Liddell says that George H.W. Bush’s
chief of staff, John Sununu, was so domineer-
ing and over-protective of the president that
Bush had to set up a post-office box in
Kennebunkport, Maine, to get unfiltered
communiqués from his staff.
Another challenge to clarity and efficiency,
endemic to any White House, is internal
conflict. This is something that Mr. Liddell
saw up close during his own White House
tenure. No structure or chief of staff can
control infighting—only the chief executive
can. “If the president tolerates personality
conflict,” he writes, “it will be impossible for
a chief of staff to extinguish it.” Thus a
transition team can start its work well before
an administration takes over—and it can
operate with Mr. Liddell’s year-zero leadership
ideas in mind—but it will fall apart soon
enough unless the president, or would-be
president, insists on teamwork.
Mr. Troy is a senior fellow at the Bipartisan
Policy Center and the author, most recently,
of “Fight House: Rivalries in the White House
From Truman to Trump.”

into the Soviet-era catacomb who refuse to be complicit with

A President after being assured it had WiFi).
The author reveals how Mr.
SHORT CUTS: WAR IN UKRAINE
BY BOJAN PANCEVSKI The Voices crimes of the present. Guilt and
shame, the author reminds us, have

Before and Zelensky has been interfering with

the decisions of the military
leadership and overriding his top
Of Those transformed other aggressive
societies in history.
In his search for dissident exiles,
During War general, Valery Zaluzhny, the
much-lauded commander of
Who Left Mr. Starobin journeys to Georgia
and Armenia, countries that have
Ukraine’s armed forces. The taken in large numbers of new-
The Showman growing tensions between the two Putin’s Exiles comers from Russia. He interviews
By Simon Shuster men precipitated a recent reversal By Paul Starobin subjects ranging from a senior-
of Ukraine’s fortunes on the cleric-turned-taxi driver to an
Morrow, 384 pages, $32.99 Columbia Global Reports,
battlefield that may yet shape the entrepreneur working on hyper-
war’s outcome.
126 pages, $17 sonic passenger jets. Oleg Batov, a

P
ART BIOGRAPHY, part Mr. Shuster paints with great priest who presided over a 16th-

fly-on-the-wall report-
ing, Simon Shuster’s
“The Showman” charts
Volodymyr Zelensky’s
remarkable journey from a celebrity
comedian to Ukraine’s president.
Mr. Zelensky, who once performed
at private dinners for Vladimir
Putin’s cronies, has become a global
icon of his nation’s existential
struggle against Russian
imperialism.
Mr. Shuster, a senior correspon-
dent at Time magazine, has spent
nearly two decades reporting from
Russia and Ukraine. His book relies
on unprecedented access to Mr.
Zelensky; his wife, Olena Zelenska;
the president’s friends and top
aides; as well as his foes and Mr.
Putin’s associates.
The only reporter to have been
S
sympathy a complex picture of INCE Vladimir Putin’s century church near the Kremlin,
Mr. Zelensky and his transforma- invasion of Ukraine in left his flock and moved to Georgia
tion—from a conciliatory rookie February 2022, some in protest against the war in
politician, steeped in Russian one million people have Ukraine. He will only return, he
culture, who campaigned to end fled Russia for Europe says, once Mr. Putin is gone.
the conflict with Mr. Putin, into an and the U.S. “Putin’s Exiles” tells Mr. Starobin’s engaging reportage
uncompromising wartime leader their story. showcases the ingenuity of these
determined to root out all traces Paul Starobin, a former Moscow dissidents. Exiled media outlets use
of Moscow’s influence in his bureau chief for Businessweek, digital innovations, including smart-
homeland. presents a colorful and disparate phone apps, to circumvent bans and
Yet Mr. Shuster also records cast of Russian refugees and censorship and to reach audiences
how Mr. Zelensky uses martial dissidents—including physicists, inside Russia. Physicists help devise
law to crack down on his entrepreneurs and anarchists—who a cheap aerial-defense system to
opposition and muzzle the media. share little in common beyond their shield Ukraine from Russia’s deadly
In this the leader finds inspiration determination to rid their mother- rain of missiles and drones.
in Lee Kuan Yew, the authoritarian land of Mr. Putin’s autocracy. These There is, however, another
founder of modern Singapore. exiles, Mr. Starobin optimistically historical parallel. Like the White
During Mr. Zelensky’s presidency, suggests, could be the next agents Russians who fled Lenin’s revolution,
his predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, of change in Russia. Mr. Putin’s exiles, too, are divided
has been charged with treason The author finds historic into bickering clans that can’t act as
and prevented from meeting U.S. parallels in the Bolshevik Revolu- a unified political force. Some are
officials; Gen. Zaluzhny’s aides tion of 1917, when long-exiled lead- pro-Western democrats, others are
CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/GETTY IMAGES

allowed to roam the presidential
compound, Mr. Shuster also
shared meals with Mr. Zelensky
during trips to the front line. His
narrative is packed with insight,
including the first account of how,
during the early weeks of the in-
vasion, Ukraine was run from a
nuclear bunker. (Mr. Zelensky,
whose iPhone broadcasts proved
to be a worthy countermeasure to
Russian missiles, only descended
have been interrogated and side- ers such as Vladimir Lenin re- Christian nationalists and yet others
lined; opponents have had their turned to Russia. Today’s Russia, are mere opportunists.
citizenship revoked. Mr. Starobin argues, has never Still, the advanced ages of Mr.
Like many writers on a tight come to terms with its imperialism Putin (he’s 71) and of those who
deadline, Mr. Shuster crafted a and Soviet oppression. Under Mr. prop up his rule offer hope to those
longer book than he otherwise Putin, any efforts to contemplate who escaped. Once he’s gone, Mr.
might have. But “The Showman” the crimes of the past have been Starobin argues, they might return
surpasses all similar efforts to stifled or banned. But the mass to become the change they are
date and is set to be the standard FORGET ME NOT Flowers painted flight involving some of the coun- committed to.
by which all other works on Mr. around bullet and shrapnel holes by try’s best and brightest following
Zelensky and Ukraine’s wartime the artist Ivanka Siolkowsky in Bucha, the 2022 invasion shows that there Mr. Pancevski is a reporter for the
politics will be judged. Ukraine, in 2022. may be a critical mass of people Journal based in Berlin.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

C10 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

BOOKS
‘The first rule of opera is the first rule of life. . . . That is, see to everything yourself.’ —NELLIE MELBA

Soprano, Forever Solo

SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
BY LIZ BRASWELL

Diva
Iain M. Banks
By Daisy Goodwin
St. Martin’s, 336 pages, $29
And His
BY BOYD TONKIN Grand Designs

A
LMOST everything
about Maria Callas IAIN BANKS IS probably best
remains an open known in the United States for his
question: From her 1984 debut novel, “The Wasp
date of birth at Factory,” but fans of science
Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital in fiction love him for his Culture
New York (was it Dec. 2 or Dec. 4, series (published under the name
1923?) to the cause of her death, at Iain M. Banks), a set of
only 53, in her Paris apartment adventures that span the galaxy
(heart attack, pulmonary embolism and wrestle with issues of
or the degenerative condition der- comparable scale. The Culture is
matomyositis?). Even the quality of the name of a spacefaring civilization made up
a supersize soprano voice so exten- mostly of humanoid citizens, whose long-lived
ARCHIVIO CAMERAPHOTO EPOCHE/GETTY IMAGES

sively recorded that a centenary members want for nothing, including drugs (now
box set that numbers 131 CDs produced by their own altered bodies) and sex.
divides not only critics but devo- Both hedonistic and utopian, the Culture is
tees. The conductor Tullio Serafin, loosely organized and run by “Minds,” artificial
the singer’s mentor during her intelligences boasting godlike power and
early Italian career, called her cognitive ability that usually choose to live in the
instrument una grande vociaccia— form of supermassive starships.
a great, ugly voice, its mesmeric The books begin with “Consider Phlebas”
power in roles such as Bellini’s (1987) and continue through “The Hydrogen
“Norma,” Cherubini’s “Medea” and Sonata” (2012). But the novels don’t follow a
Puccini’s “Tosca” achieved not so VOICE ON VACATION Maria Callas on the Lido in Venice in 1959. chronological sequence—and fans have varying
much by sheer beauty of tone as (if firmly held) opinions on where best to begin.
irresistible dramatic truth. Ms. Goodwin is writing popu- money, and an unfashionable For the most part, “Diva” Most of the stories follow operatives from the
The Greek-American singer, born lar fiction, not scholarly bio- voice.” So far, so orthodox. Indeed, paints in bold primary colors and Culture who must deal with civilizations that
Maria Kalogeropoulou, made opera graphy. She embroiders rather “Diva” shuns the more lurid claims in foursquare prose with few threaten its existence or seem too unjust or cruel
first nights into front-page news than invents, but “Diva” skips in wilder biographies. It shows fancy high notes. The novel does, to simply leave alone. The books are, some have
and stood, for better or worse, in from year to year, selects turning- Callas having one stillbirth but however, exhibit some subtler said, little more than clever space-opera
the flashlit vanguard of global celeb- point scenes for dramatic effect makes no mention of abortions, let touches as Callas squanders the adventures with more thought and detail than
rity. Artistic reincarnations of Callas and exaggerates some characters alone of a baby supposedly born in irreplaceable “gold coins” of her most. Their unique quality lies in the way those
include the imperious veteran of while sidelining others. The gossip March 1960. unique talent. For this disciplined elements work together. Banks’s ingenious plots
Terrence McNally’s play “Master columnist and socialite Elsa Ms. Goodwin does share a gos- artist with ever-vulnerable vocal do raise big questions about
Class” and the pro- Maxwell plays a large sip hound’s fixation with the cords, “smoke is my enemy,” and THIS WEEK what makes one human, but
tean enigma of Ma- role here, as a wolf- weight loss that saw the singer a stray puff may make “the differ- they also offer secret agents,
rina Abramović’s per-
A fictional ish embodiment of shed 66 pounds on the road to ence between a top C and disas- The Culture: high-tech weapons, political
formance-installation media prurience. Yet stardom. Disappointingly, Callas’s ter.” On his yacht, just as the The Drawings schemes and the Minds
“7 Deaths of Maria treatment of Luchino Visconti, the diamond necklaces and designer affair begins, Onassis sneaks up By Iain M. Banks themselves, whose droll
Callas.” The star’s cen- the opera star director-friend whose frocks occupy more space than the on his prey with “a cigar between commentary lends humor to
tenary has triggered a
wave of tribute con-
Maria Callas’s productions (above musical craft she practiced so
all, of Verdi’s “La Tra- fiercely. “Diva” delivers more Cart-
his lips.” Later he will turn his
deep-pocketed charms on Jackie
many of the stories. The
novels are unpredictable and addictive—there are
certs and exhibitions, life offers more viata” at Milan’s La ier than coloratura—a shame, since Kennedy’s sister Lee Radziwill and nine of them (plus one book of short stories)—so
even the inauguration Cartier than Scala in 1955) helped when Ms. Goodwin conjures the then the widowed first lady if you start you know you’ll have a long,
of a museum in Ath- give Callas’s gift its craft and grace of the hardworking herself. But, for now, the “Golden enjoyable ride.
ens—along with news coloratura. thrilling theatrical singer who traced each bel canto Greek” will let Maria indulge in a Banks died in 2013 at 59, much mourned by
of a biopic by Pablo shape, all but disap- phrase like a sinuous, unbroken smoke-filled “longing to be the science-fiction community. The enduring
Larraín in which An- pears. Another direc- “line of ink,” she does it well. possessed, to be dominated.” legacy of his imagination is celebrated in “The
gelina Jolie will play Callas. tor, Franco Zeffirelli, becomes her Onassis, whose sexual liaison “Vissi d’arte,” sings Tosca, Culture: The Drawings” (Orbit, 160 pages, $60),
Undaunted by this throng of ghostly main backstage confidant. with Maria begins here in a life- “vissi d’amore” (“I lived on art / I a beautiful coffee-table book filled with the
Callases, Daisy Goodwin now fash- Other figures conform to their boat on his yacht, Christina, as lived on love”), but Ms. Goodwin sketches, math and maps Banks created while he
ions her own in “Diva.” standard identities in print or the infirm Winston Churchill leaves the battle between living dreamed up his cosmos. There are techno-castles
This fourth novel by the British screen biographies. We meet slumbers below, appears as a for art and love unfinished. with dizzying ramparts and exotic cities with
writer and TV producer jumps Maria’s exploitative mother, musky sex-bomb of ambition, lust Unlike, say, Zeffirelli’s 2002 film near-infinite blocks. Dozens of spaceships in all
among the crests and troughs of a Evangelia (Litza), who took her and cash. “Diva,” though, tender- “Callas Forever,” she spares us the their classes are annotated with enough details to
storm-tossed career. But it stays daughter back to Athens from the izes him via his memories of sad last years at Avenue Georges- provide an excellent base for a videogame. But
close to the imagined thoughts and U.S. in 1937 and kickstarted her ca- slaughter and expulsion as the Mandel. Her novel tweaks the what really makes the book fascinating is that
feelings of its subject and settles its reer amid wartime hardships but Turks burned his native Smyrna record but, like any good opera here and there, in opposition to the precisely
focus on the singer’s febrile rela- “never cared about me, only my when he was in his teens. The plot, sticks to the strong arc of its ruled diagrams and alien alphabets, are loopily
tionship with the Greek tycoon voice,” and Maria’s sister, Jackie, opera-averse Onassis looks not “at leading lady’s path. For the real scrawled, all-too-human comments: “Silly!”
Aristotle Onassis, between 1959 and Litza’s spoiled favorite. The prima the diva but at the woman thing you can, with a brief online Are the drawings a little like the intense
his marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy donna’s parasitic husband and beneath.” That devouring gaze, search, find a TV broadcast of the world-building doodles of a gifted teen? A bit.
in 1968. Ms. Goodwin’s heroine frets manager, Battista (Tita) Meneghini, the novel suggests, gives her the second act of her Covent Garden Should this collection grace the bookshelf of every
that “no one cared what was best siphons Maria’s earnings and soul-shaking passion “she had “Tosca”—the novel’s climax. It Culture fan? Without question. This book is a
for Maria, just for Callas, the diva.” seethes with resentment as Onassis only experienced in opera” but remains astonishing. behind-the-scenes peek into an imagination that
Onassis, however, sees and satisfies snares the love of a woman he had robs her of the inner-directed created entire universes—the footwork of a
her need “to be loved as Maria”— nurtured when she was “a fat pride that once drove a relentless Mr. Tonkin is the author of “The delightfully dedicated madman, still an inspiration
for a while at least. foreigner with bad Italian, no “pursuit of excellence.” 100 Best Novels in Translation.” to readers, writers and dreamers alike.

reissued, the book is still as unortho-
It’s All dox and revelatory as the day it was
published. Its 40 essays constitute an
“primal energies.” The movement that phrased it. Technology begat inatten- These figures did not fit their time,
seemed to cast back furthest into the tion and alienation, a general dullness but they thrived in the landscape of the
past was Modernism, especially in of mind. He had a particular dislike of imagination. It is this world of recur-

Connected attempt to draft something beguilingly

impossible: an atlas of all artistic ex-
pression, from the Lascaux cave paint-
At the Root ings of Paleolithic man to Cézanne’s
still lifes, from the fragments of Ar-
chilochos to those of Kafka.
The Geography of the They proceed by way of a maze of
Imagination references and correspondences that
By Guy Davenport can be headspinning at first, but soon
lures the reader in. The keynote title es-
Nonpareil, 592 pages, $22.95
say begins with a consideration of Ed-
BY SAM SACKS gar Allan Poe before gliding into the
exemplars such as Joyce’s “Ulysses” the automobile, and you didn’t want to ring narratives and images—what
and Picasso’s “Guernica” (The latter, get him started on air travel.
Davenport argues, was “executed in
Davenport labeled a vast “complex of
His sympathies, ultimately, were meaning”—that offers a remedy to our
allusion to the style of Aurignacian with a counterculture of his own desig- disaffection by reintegrating us with
reindeer hunters of 50,000 years ago.”) nation: the artists who, like Pound and the wisdom of the past rather than try-
This paradoxical connection ing to advance beyond it:
is the linchpin to the book. “Man, it would seem, does
Ezra Pound’s famous dictum not evolve; he accumulates.”
“Make it new” was really, the As do these essays, my
essays suggest, an favorite of which is about
instruction to return to the Eudora Welty. Though
very start of things, when ev- widely admired, Welty is

H
work of Oswald Spengler, James Joyce erything was new. usually reduced to a
E WAS A Southerner, and the short-story writer O. Henry, fol- Pound, whom Davenport charming regionalist, but
born in 1927 in South lowed by a microscopic study of Grant befriended, is the most Davenport considered her
Carolina, where he Wood’s painting “American Gothic.” All important figure in this book, to be America’s greatest
developed the skill of of these subjects are invisibly con- which includes a series of postwar fiction writer. Irre-
close critical observa- nected, Davenport contends, by their extraordinarily perceptive pressibly, he locates a
tion by scavenging for arrowheads “faithfulness to ancient traditions.” readings of the “Cantos” and wealth of ancient symbols
with his family. After some youthful Sometimes the echoes he points out are their recasting of Greek and motifs throughout her
travels for military service and overt; but often Davenport finds allu- myth, Confucian-era poems stories, shrewdly spread
higher learning (Duke, Oxford, Har- sions so rarefied the artists themselves and ancient legends of the across the realistic surface
vard), Guy Davenport settled in could not have been conscious of them. West African Soninke of the prose “like sound
Lexington, Ky., and lived there, with The standing pose of Wood’s Iowa farm people. It’s characteristic waves, or like starshake
GRAPHICAARTIS/GETTY IMAGES

his cats, his cigarettes and his books that Davenport, while not against the grain of wood.”
until he died in 2005. He was a quite ignoring what he Welty is “rewriting Ovid in
scholar and teacher as well as a clas- called the “paranoid Mississippi,” updating the
sicist and translator, working mostly
To Davenport, Wood’s fantasies” of Pound’s anti- myth of Orpheus and Eury-
with the writing of pre-Socratic couple echoed portrayals semitism, concerns himself dice, and of Persephone’s
philosophers. He was a prolific short- of an ancient Egyptian almost exclusively with his return from Hades.
story writer and an all-purpose critic poetics. Politics and ideology Of course Davenport is
whose byline appeared regularly in prince and his wife. have virtually no place here, GROUNDED ‘American Gothic’ (1930) by Grant Wood. not content to keep a
National Review and Harper’s, among nor do the various critical narrow focus and soon
countless other venues; he was a theories that flared through academia like himself, guaranteed their eventual branches out to the Russian painter
painter and illustrator; a raconteur couple may resemble the marriage por- while Davenport was teaching. These obscurity by moving against the Pavel Tchelitchew, as well as Plutarch,
and an avid letter writer whose traits of Northern Renaissance painting essays were written between 1954 and currents of the age. Some of the best Flaubert, Wittgenstein and Mozart.
correspondents ranged from Dorothy but its original source, he writes, is 1981, but you’d be hard-pressed to put essays here focus on brilliant also-rans, However labyrinthine the result, an
Parker to Cormac McCarthy. “that of the Egyptian prince Rahotep, a date to any of them. such as the great naturalist Louis uncanny feeling of orientation comes
He was also a cartographer of what holding the flail of Osiris, beside his What is constant with regard to Agassiz, whose extraordinary contribu- from the mental mapmaking. We
he thought of as the communal land- wife Nufrit—strict with pious rectitude, culture, however, is his firm and some- tions are overshadowed by his rejection suddenly see shared borders of thought,
scape of the human mind. “The imagi- poised in absolute dignity, mediators times grumpy attitude of declinism. of evolution; the poet Louis Zukofsky, trade routes of meaning. “Art,” Daven-
nation has a history, as yet unwritten, between heaven and earth, givers of The flip side of Davenport’s infatuation who worked on his epic poem “A” for port writes, “is the attention we pay to
and it has a geography, as yet only grain, obedient to the gods.” with humankind’s origins was his 46 years to complete public and critical the wholeness of the world.”
dimly seen,” he asserted in the title Archaic art lies at the heart of Dav- disenchantment with the course of indifference; and the composer Charles
essay of his 1981 collection, “The Geog- enport’s mapmaking, to him a universal civilization that followed, a progress of Ives, whose vibrant musical experi- Mr. Sacks is the Journal’s fiction
raphy of the Imagination.” Now handily wellspring of foundational myths and “downstream mud,” as he often ments were belittled as novelties. critic.
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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | C11

BOOKS
‘I had the one thing you need to be a blues singer, I was born with the blues.’ —LIG H TN IN ’ H O PK IN S

Looking for the Real America

Arhoolie Records:
Down Home Music
By Joel Selvin and Chris Strachwitz
Chronicle, 240 pages, $40
BY PRESTON LAUTERBACH

E
UROPEANS HAVE long played a
vital role in the preservation of
American music: There have been
scholars such as Paul Oliver, an
Englishman who in the 1950s and
’60s published some of the earliest and best
histories of blues music, and groups like the
Rolling Stones, whose initial recordings spot-
lighted the roots masters, including Howlin’
Wolf, Muddy Waters and Furry Lewis. Foreign
enthusiasts have helped fill in a significant but
overlooked part of America’s music history.
Few dug as deeply as Chris Strachwitz.
Strachwitz (1931-2023) was born in Germany
and moved to the U.S. with his family after
World War II. He eventually settled in Califor-
nia, where he was entranced by the blues and
the black gospel music he heard over the radio.
As an outsider himself, he connected to the
sense of alienation he heard in voices such as
that of Lightnin’ Hopkins.
In 1960 Strachwitz founded Arhoolie
Records and traveled the country in search of
CHRIS STRACHWITZ/CHRONICLE BOOKS

forgotten sounds. “Arhoolie Records: Down

Home Music” shares Strachwitz’s stories and
pictures from those journeys. (“Down home
music” was Strachwitz’s classification of what
others have called roots music.)
The book is divided into two sections: The
first is an overview of Strachwitz’s career and
travels; the second a collection of his photo-
graphs. Joel Selvin, a former San Francisco
Chronicle music critic, helms the overview text,
while Strachwitz contributes meaty photo cap-
tions. Mr. Selvin summarizes the importance of
Strachwitz’s photographs: “These are pictures
of a world gone by, but one that Strachwitz
walked through with a tape recorder and a
camera.” Of the subjects of these photographs
and recordings, Mr. Selvin explains, “there
won’t be any more like them; the model is
discontinued.”
The same should be said of Strachwitz.
Collector-preservationists are weird guys—Mr.
Selvin describes Strachwitz at different points
of the story as awkward, gangly and, most
frequently, German. In the right circumstances,
these features functioned as superpowers.
Strachwitz’s effort, sincerity and, yes, his Ger-
man-ness, all helped to dissolve the barriers
between himself and the artists, many of whom
were impressed by the fact that a young guy
would drive all the way from California to the
Mississippi Delta or south Texas to meet them.
One of Strachwitz’s earliest pursuits was
Lightnin’ Hopkins, who, after an earlier
recording career, Mr. Selvin tells us, was play-
ing “in a low-rent Third Ward beer joint” in
Houston. Strachwitz also played a role in bring-
ing the accordian-driven dance genre, which he
helped name “zydeco,” out of Louisiana and
into the global consciousness. Among the field
recordings released by Arhoolie were those by
Mississippi Fred McDowell, the Texas share-
cropper songster Mance Lipscomb, and the
Mexican-American musicians Flaco Jiménez
and Lydia Mendoza.
The process was not without tension or
conflict. While Strachwitz didn’t do Lightnin’
Hopkins dirty the way John and Alan Lomax
did Leadbelly—outfitting the legend in overalls
SPREADING THE WORD Rev. Louis Overstreet and his sons in Tucson, Ariz., in 1962.
to photograph him barefoot, sitting on a bale of
hay—Mr. Selvin acknowledges that there were
often differences between how certain artists
wanted to be seen and how Strachwitz sought
to portray them. He differed with the zydeco
pioneer Clifton Chenier when it came to opin-
ions about recording equipment, repertoire and
band lineup. He admired the slide guitarist
John Littlejohn’s association with the legendary
Elmore James and wanted Littlejohn to play in
that tradition, while Littlejohn insisted on
emulating the current trends in music to con-
nect with a contemporary black audience.
This dynamic is the crux of interracial
awkwardness—when black artists strive for
currency while white fans crave history. As
black artists are pushed toward one definition of
authenticity, they end up losing their freshness
and sacrificing their creative vision. This is why
white revivals of black music are often backward
journeys. In celebrating the black past, white
enthusiasts don’t always understand why few
black fans embrace it along with them.
As a compromise, Strachwitz almost
always produced long-playing records, with
one side featuring the historic artist playing
in accordance with Strachwitz’s taste, and
the other side featuring the artist in the
moment, performing as he or she would for
a home audience.
When Strachwitz saw Willie Mae “Big
Mama” Thornton in 1961, the originator of the
song “Hound Dog” was playing a Santa Cruz
bar called the Beachcomber with a disinter-
ested pianist, a drunken guitarist and Thornton
herself on drums. A Strachwitz photo captures
the setting. Thornton had composed her
second-greatest hit, “Ball and Chain,” at that
same Beachcomber bar while sipping whiskey
and looking out the window at the rain.
On a recommendation from Strachwitz,
Thornton joined the American Folk Blues Festi-
val tour of Europe in 1965, as part of the blues
revival happening then among white fans.
When Janis Joplin heard Thornton sing “Ball
and Chain,” she asked if she could cover the
tune. It would become one of Joplin’s show-
stoppers. Arhoolie also released a single of
Strachwitz found Lightnin’
Hopkins in a beer joint in
Houston. Willie Mae ‘Big
Mama’ Thornton was on
drums at a bar called the
Beachcomber in Santa Cruz.
Thornton singing “Ball and Chain” in 1968,
which helped make her the label’s bestselling
artist. Strachwitz scarcely mentions his role in
reviving Thornton’s career. Also unmentioned:
He reportedly paid artists fairly, making him an
outlier in the blues business.
“Arhoolie Records: Down Home Music”
could have offered a little more guidance
toward where to hear the music. Strachwitz, in
captions to the lively photos that make the
music so enticing, sometimes refers to an
arcane catalog number, while at other times
notes that he and a pictured artist “made some
delightful records together”—but offers no
further direction to the album.
The selection of photographs, too, is uneven.
Lightnin’ Hopkins grinning in front of a Hous-
ton grocery store that advertises fresh rabbit
and raccoon meat is evocative of a lost America.
John Fahey looking uncomfortable behind a pair
of mules is not. Likewise, the panoramic Nash-
ville street scene with the Blind James Campbell
string band represents much more of a discov-
ery than the shot of the Preservation Hall Jazz
Band. The same goes for the rare image of the
Rev. Louis Overstreet singing with a quartet of
his sons in the Tucson, Ariz., “wino district,”
which is juxtaposed with a blurry, undistin-
guished picture of the often-photographed
Staple Singers. Strachwitz’s photography can
alternately look like the work of an
accomplished explorer or a common tourist.
Inside many hardcore American-music nuts
lives a nerdy German like Strachwitz. Mr.
Selvin writes that the type of artists with
whom Strachwitz worked have gone extinct. So
too, however, have people like Strachwitz. How
do we know there isn’t a Cajun fiddling prodigy
deep in the Louisiana swamps, or a verse poet
toiling along the scorched Texas plains? “
Strachwitz went looking for the real America,”
Mr. Selvin writes, “all the joy and heartbreak,
all the vaunted hope and dismal reality. It is all
there in the music he collected, the songs he
caught, the photographs he took—a portrait of
America as rich, detailed, and truthful as any.”
“Arhoolie Records: Down Home Music” is
as much an opened time capsule as it is an
inspiration to seek the real in America.
Mr. Lauterbach is the author
of “Bluff City,” “Beale Street Dynasty”
and “The Chitlin’ Circuit.”

Whether treasured or reviled, For in attempting “to represent the standing of the art of fiction, however, Patricia Highsmith’s dark brilliance in
The Shape books have never been mere objects.
Indeed, as Martín Solares declares in
form of a novel . . . with just a few
movements of the pen,” he is, in a
that anchors this buoyant collection.
Henry James, the author of “The Art of
“Strangers on a Train” are so astute
that we forgive him the three-page list

Of a Good his provocative new essay collection,

“How to Draw a Novel,” literary cre-
ations are nothing less than “strange
sense, decoding each particular work,
and he encourages readers and writers
Fiction,” is quoted at length by Mr.
Solares, whose vision extends from the
of book titles that he later presses
upon us. This eager writer simply gets
carried away at times, and that too is
alike to apply his method to any given literature of ancient Greece to that of
Story beings that live among us.” Novels in
particular, he claims, “even seem to
narrative. One could begin, he suggests,
by charting “the appearances and
present-day Mexico; from Stendhal and
Tolstoy to Roberto Bolaño and lesser-
part of his charm.
Like the best tour guide, he is
think.” Exactly how they think, and disappearances of [a] principal known masters such as Juan Rulfo. besotted with the treasures he pres-
How to Draw a Novel achieve motion, is the puzzle that Mr. ents. But Mr. Solares also knows that
By Martín Solares Solares attempts to solve—at times he must keep his readers moving
Grove, 224 pages, $20 whimsically—in a book that is itself through the centuries of literature he
an impish little creature. Under head- sets out to cover. Thankfully, the
BY ANNA MUNDOW ings such as “The Novel as Automo- variety of this collection and the

O
NE OF THE most
moving scenes in any
novel of war occurs on
the first page of
Nadeem Aslam’s “The
Wasted Vigil” (2008), set in post-9/11
Afghanistan. Toward dawn, in a
cavernous old house, a woman places
a large mirror on the floor in order to
examine the objects above her. “On
the wide ceiling,” she sees, “are
bile,” this examination of literary craft
flits about from “Moby-Dick” to “The
Maltese Falcon,” alights on a wide For the writer Martín
variety of works, and interrupts its
own narrative with playful diagrams
Solares, novels are not
of the creations under scrutiny. only made-up narratives
A feature stitched throughout the but also ‘strange beings
book is “A Timeline of the Novel, 8th
Century BCE to Now,” which offers the that live among us.’
author’s schematic representations of
works beginning with the “Iliad.”
Joyce’s “Ulysses” is depicted as a large brevity of each of the 20 essays
MARTIN SOLARES

hundreds of books, each held in place
by an iron nail hammered through it.
A spike driven through the pages of
history, a spike through the pages of
love, a spike through the sacred.”
These impaled works are no flight
of fancy but rather evidence of a
reign of terror. “Original thought
was heresy to the Taliban and they
would have burned the books,” we
later learn. In desperation, therefore,
the now deceased owner had at-
tempted to suspend the books out of
reach throughout the house. But
soon the rumble of American B-52s
carrying out constant bombing raids
shakes many volumes loose. Crashing
to the floor, they become mute casu-
alties of war.
loop containing smaller loops with the ensure that momentum. And most of
word “yes” at its tail. “The Great the stops along the way, however
Gatsby” is a squiggle like the silhouette fleeting, provide illumination that
of a mountain that ascends to a heart- SHORTEST WAY HOME A diagram by Martín Solares portraying the justifies their inclusion on the jour-
shaped knot at its peak, before action of James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ (1922). ney. Though even Mr. Solares would
descending again. This is all good fun, doubtless admit that analysis, even
but there is insightful literary analysis narrator, the alternation between Crime novelists get their due: Mr. one this amusingly illustrated, goes
underlying Mr. Solares’s playful different points of view.” Later, in an Solares is particularly ardent and acute only so far. V.S. Naipaul may have
designs. “The short story is vertical essay titled “The Character Tree,” when considering the works of Dashiell put it best in his 1987 essay “On
prose that tends to round itself out,” he comes the advice to write out the Hammett and Raymond Chandler, Being a Writer,” in which he
asserts at the outset; “the novel is hori- names of individual characters. “Above quoting six perfect Chandler endings, observed that the mystery of this
zontal prose that crests each time we them, like leaves, write their favorite any one of which would make you want particular act of creation is “that out
ask what will happen next.” words. . . . Above the leaves, as if they to “start the whole book over again to of artifice one should touch and stir
As a seasoned editor and the author were stars, scatter two or three words get a better look at the hammer that up what is deepest in one’s soul,
of acclaimed crime thrillers such as that shape their destiny.” drives these nails so well.” one’s heart, one’s memory.” That is
“Don’t Send Flowers” and “The Black The apparent guilelessness of such Mr. Solares’s aim is also, for the something no doodle can capture.
Minutes,” Mr. Solares writes from ex- passages and the whimsical zeal that most part, true. His analysis of Herman
perience. And his aim here, though permeates “How to Draw a Novel” are Melville’s digressions in “Moby-Dick,” Ms. Mundow is a writer in
lighthearted in tone, is a serious one. disarming. It is the author’s under- for example, and his appreciation of Massachusetts.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

C12 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

BOOKS
‘Mars tugs at the human imagination like no other planet.’ —JOHN NO B LE WILFO RD

Talk About the Middle of Nowhere

A City on Mars: Can
We Settle Space, Should
We Settle Space, and
Have We Really Thought
This Through?
By Kelly and Zach
Weinersmith
Penguin Press, 448 pages, $32

BY SHLOMO ANGEL

I
T IS ONE THING to toy with
an ambitious idea and quite
another to push forward an
idea in the belief that the time
has come to put it into prac-
tice. The concept of space colonies
has fascinated readers since at least
the second century, when Lucian
wrote the novel “A True Story.”
Lucian tells of a group of travelers
caught in a whirlwind and taken to
the moon, where they become
involved in a battle for the coloniza-
tion of Venus:

“The king of the inhabitants of the

Sun, Phaethon,” said Endymion,
king of the Moon, “has been at war
with us for a long time now. Once
ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES

upon a time I gathered together the

poorest people in my kingdom and
undertook to plant a colony on the
Morning Star which was empty and
uninhabited. Phaethon out of jeal-
ousy thwarted the colonization,
meeting us halfway at the head of
his dragoons. At that time we were
beaten, for we were not a match for
them in strength, and we retreated.
Now, however, I desire to make war
again and plant the colony.”
Kelly and Zach Weinersmith, in
their book about settling the solar
system, are quick to tell us that the
colonization of Venus is not a good
idea. First, the average daily tempera-
ture there is more than 450 degrees
Celsius (842 degrees Fahrenheit)—hot
enough to melt lead. Second, its
atmospheric pressure is 90 times that
of earth—which amounts, according
to my calculation, to carrying 18 ma-
ture male elephants on your shoulders
when you walk around. What about a
colony on Mars, the project contem-
plated by Elon Musk? If you believe
Mr. Musk, the Weinersmiths tell us,
“we’ll have boots on Mars in 2029
and a million-person city is possible
twenty or thirty years later.”
Mr. Musk’s pronouncements can’t
be easily dismissed: He does own
SpaceX, after all, the company that
makes the most advanced rockets and
spacecraft and is filled with technical
experts who share his vision. “A City
on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should
We Settle Space, and Have We Really
Thought This Through?” presents a
considered response to such ambi-
tions. Ms. Weinersmith is an adjunct
professor in biology at Rice Univer-
sity, and the book is written with a
wry sense of humor, also evident in
LIFE ON MARS Sedimentary deposits in the Glenelg area of Gale Crater in 2013.
the many accompanying cartoons by
her husband, Zach. Their book is a
wonderful example of what it means
to really think a difficult project
through, a skill that many of us should
acquire. What is more, it shows that
lay people can tread confidently into
a field not their own and make it their
own, a lesson to us all.
Despite its title, “A City on Mars”
does not limit itself to the red planet
but addresses the concerns, large and
small, that would need to be
addressed if permanent settlement in
The atmosphere is
poison. The radiation is
dangerous. A round trip
takes years. Why do
we even want to go?
space—be it a space station con-
structed of giant rotating wheels or a
city or town on the moon or on
Mars—were to become a reality. Some
basic questions they consider include:
Does Mars or the moon have the
resources required to sustain life?
How would we counter the dangers of
cosmic radiation, outside the protec-
tion of Earth’s atmosphere? How
could we prevent muscle loss in
microgravity environments? How can
complex medical operations (and ba-
sic bodily functions) be conducted in
such environments? How do pregnant
women fare in zero gravity? How
would Martian communities manage
waste disposal, or care for the
disabled or for the mentally ill?
The Weinersmiths are self-
confessed space geeks who tread a
fine line between the sort of con-
structive critique that would still
qualify them as bona fide members
of the space-settlement movement
and a style of gentle ridicule that
might get them rejected as traitors
to the cause. “A City on Mars” is,
foremost, a case study in the appli-
cation of common sense.
The authors explore, in detail, the
best locations for settlement on the
moon and on Mars and how competi-
tion for those locations could be man-
aged among settlers. They consider
which foods can be grown efficiently in
space settlements, and what energy
sources might be used. Do the settle-
ment sites have any minerals worth
exporting to Earth? What kinds of
houses could we build there? (The
authors sometimes call these
“spomes,” after an Isaac Asimov coin-
age, though they “spapologize” for its
awkwardness.) Would people have to
live underground? Wherever possible,
the Weinersmiths provide at least par-
tial answers to these questions or
speculate in an informed manner,
guided by the available research.
The quality of life on Mars, the
authors tell us, while perhaps better
than anywhere in the solar system
except Earth, “sucks.” A voyage there
would take some six months (when
Earth and Mars are lined up) on a
spaceship that will have to carry
water, food, oxygen, medicine and
other supplies for the voyage.
Emergency trips back to Earth can be
ruled out. The shortest round trip to
Mars and back would take two to
three years, since travelers need to
wait for the planets to be lined up op-
timally along their orbits.
The atmosphere on Mars, made up
of carbon dioxide, is poisonous. Risks
from radiation rule out geodesic glass
domes, so we would be destined to
live underground. There are lava
tubes, though, hollowed-out long
caves on Mars’s surface that could
provide almost-ready-to-occupy
habitations. One reason often cited for
settling on another planet, the au-
thors note, is the belief that we are
wrecking our own planet. But even a
much depleted Earth would be much
more habitable than Mars.
Some of the more interesting
insights in “A City on Mars” concern
the potential politics and economics of
space colonies. Thinking through these
matters is where the Weinersmiths
seek to cover new ground. They review
the libertarian and utopian ideas often
championed by science-fiction authors
and space-exploration enthusiasts,
who imagine new states with new,
more relaxed, regulatory regimes, and
the staking out of territories reminis-
cent of the Wild West. But, as the
Weinersmiths explain, the powers that
be on Earth have already put at least
a little thought into how to keep the
peace when colonizing space. The
book describes the relevant inter-
national law in general and, in particu-
lar, the document known as the Outer
Space Treaty.
The Weinersmiths meticulously
explain that for a space colony to be
autarkic—in other words, self-
sufficient—it would need to produce
everything it needed. Everything.
From food and medicine to computer
chips and spaceships, for that matter.
It must contain all specialists in all
disciplines. Why? Their answer is
simple. On earth, all settlements form
a system, where every settlement spe-
cializes in producing certain goods
and services, and then trades them
for goods and services produced in
other settlements. Space colonies,
certainly, could trade with Earth when
they needed to. But the time needed
for travel would limit such trade.
Moreover, if space colonies rely on
trade with Earth then the primary jus-
tification most supporters have for
creating them in the first place—the
survival of humanity in case Earth
becomes uninhabitable—no longer
makes any sense. If space colonies are
out there simply to settle space
“because it’s there,” they may be quite
unnecessary, certainly any time soon.
Mr. Angel is a professor of city
planning at New York University.

Cold Weather and the Questions It Raises

TWO SMALL creatures—a girl separate, the humans clamber be seen in charming tableaux country’s most celebrated 20th- ditty about all the famous
and a fish—engage in an back to their feet. “Whew. enjoying such pleasures as century writer for children, rivers (the Thames, the Tiber,
escalating game of tug of war Everything is ok. No one is hammocks, typewriters and took questions sent in by young the Indus and others) meeting
in “Below the Ice” (Peter hurt. Nouka thanks her cups of percolated coffee. A readers over the course of in the middle, as it were, and
Pauper, 20 pages, $7.99), a friends.” At the end, though, gentle philosophical note wafts several years to l’Unità, the becoming subsumed and
charming board book written what seems like a funny into the story from time to newspaper of the Italian anonymous as their waters
by Michaël Escoffier that reads discontinuity is likely to send time, notably in winter, when a Communist Party. A selection of “swirl waves of brine.”
sideways, so that the spine is children back to the start for a group of young characters these entries, smoothly Fans of the teen spy Alex
horizontal. This arrangement reread, now that they have a discusses where snow comes translated by Antony Shugaar Rider will be pleased to know
allows illustrator Ella Charbon better idea of who is who. from. One of them marvels to and illustrated with zest and that the bold young Briton is
CHILDREN’S to use the hinge (properly The husband-and-wife humor by JooHee Yoon, back in his 14th adrenaline-
BOOKS known as the gutter) as a divid- creative team of Taras and THIS WEEK appears in “The Book of packed, high-stakes thriller,
MEGHAN ing line between a snowy world Marjana Prokhasko conjure a Whys” (Enchanted Lion, 142 Anthony Horowitz’s “Night-
COX GURDON of people, on the top, and a quirky and amiable woodland Below the Ice pages, $27.95), a beguiling shade Revenge” (Philomel,
chilly realm of sea creatures, on community in “Who Will Make By Michaël Escoffier volume suited for sampling 337 pages, $18.99). This time,
the bottom. It is an ingenious the Snow?” (Elsewhere, 80 Illustrated by Ella Charbon rather than for reading straight Alex is up against enemies old
format neatly suited to carrying pages, $22), an illustrated through. Why don’t we feel the and new: a ruthless terrorist
off a kind of riddle that chil- storybook translated from the Who Will Make the Snow? earth spin? Why do parrots group; a tech titan with chilling
dren may only recognize when Ukrainian by Jennifer Croft and By Taras Prokhasko talk? Why, when a car drives plans for virtual reality; and a
they get to the last page. Boris Dralyuk, also a married Illustrated by Marjana through dry leaves, do the cohort of ordinary-looking kids
A snowy Readers ages 2-7 are likely couple. With more text than a Prokhasko leaves rush after it? who may or may not intend to
world of to start out with their typical picture book, and more Rodari tackles all these kill him.
people sympathies attached to the artwork than a typical chapter The Book of Whys questions with respect for the Mr. Horowitz is an effective
girl, who wears a furry brown book, this fanciful tale relates a By Gianni Rodari innocence and curiosity of his storyteller, and he knows how
atop the snowsuit, carries a fishing year in the life of a family of Illustrated by JooHee Yoon unseen interlocutors but with- to give espionage aficionados
ice, a pole baited with what looks moles and their neighbors, who out pandering or (mostly) what they want—cinematic
chilly like sausage, and makes her live in a place called Beech Nightshade Revenge showing his politics. To judge villainy, ingenious 007-style
way toward a hole in the ice. Forest. Mr. Prokhasko’s text By Anthony Horowitz from what we read here, his gizmos, shocking double-
realm In the blue waters below, a burbles along in a discursive answers usually had two parts: crosses—without dragging them
of sea little fish travels along, way, beginning with the birth one chatty and factual, the too much into the sticky realm
creatures trailing bubbles. We read: of new mole twins, who join 11 learn that it comes from other jocose and poetic. of feelings. The main sentiment
“Nouka is independent. She brothers and their parents, animals that have died and gone Addressing the question of why here (apart from trepidation) is
below. doesn’t need anyone.” Pretty Papa (a journalist who keeps to heaven: “They fly around on river water is murky, Rodari one that readers will remember
soon, the girl drops her line, everyone informed) and Mama their clouds, all together, writes that “as rivers descend from previous books: that Alex
and the fish swallows the lure. (a superb cook and linguist who looking down at the ground and from mountains, they carve out should stay well away from the
And then the contest begins! plays the double bass). tossing clumps of snow.” valleys and dig grooves across perils of spycraft and start
The girl needs help hauling up In Mrs. Prokhasko’s The question “Who will make fields and plains.” He goes on: living like a normal 16-year-old.
her catch, and the fish needs affectionate and colorful the snow?” is one that Gianni “This means they load them- Alex knows it; everyone who
help staying down, and so scratchy-lined pictures, the Rodari might have fielded selves up with mud and debris, cares about him knows it. But
friends pitch in on either side moles are shown with inky seven decades ago, when he which they release into the will he quit before he gets
until—snap!—the line breaks. oblong bodies and noses that was a newspaper columnist in sea.” To accompany this very sucked into adventure No. 15?
The submarine comrades resemble tiny beaks. They can Italy. Rodari (1920-80), his sensible explanation, he offers a Eh, I doubt it.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | C13

PLAY
NEWS QUIZ DANIEL AKST From this week’s NUMBER PUZZLES SOLUTIONS TO LAST
WEEK'S PUZZLES
Wall Street Journal

1. Vivek 5. A federal judge Cell Blocks Cell Blocks

Ramaswamy blocked a Divide the grid
dropped out of merger—of into square or
the GOP presi- whom? rectangular blocks,
For previous
dential race each containing
weeks’ puzzles,
after receiving
A. JetBlue and one digit only.
Every block must and to discuss
8% of the vote Spirit Airlines strategies with
in the Iowa
B. Costco contain the number
of cells indicated by other solvers, go
caucuses. Who did and BJ’s to WSJ.com/
the digit inside it.
he endorse?
C. Bertelsmann and puzzles.
Simon & Schuster

A. Nobody
D. Coke and Pepsi Killer Sudoku

B. Nikki Haley Level 4 Suko

C. Ron DeSantis
6. Sociologist and anti-

D. Donald Trump
corruption crusader Bernardo
Arévalo took office as
2. Sheryl Sandberg said president—of which country?
she would leave the board
—of which company?
A. Guatemala Killer Sudoku Level 1

B. El Salvador As with standard

A. Alphabet
C. Nicaragua Sudoku, fill the

B. Oracle
D. Honduras grid so that every

C. Meta column, every row

D. Microsoft and every 3x3 box Sweet Adeline
7. A big game set a streaming contains the digits
record by drawing 23 million A S L G I G F A E C H P S H E M P
1 to 9. Each set of O P E R A T E I L S L A R T O V E R
3. As births continued to fall in viewers. Who played? cells joined by C AM E L O T G A T I H E R G R A C E
China, the population shrank dotted lines must N O F A U L T L I E IN N S U R A N C E
again in 2023—by how much?
A. Magnus Carlsen and T I N S T O R E E NK O D E S S A N
add up to the U S D A S E A R D O L E
Fabiano Caruana target number in T H E G R A T E F U L D E A D IL N E

A. 208,000
B. Manchester United and its top-left corner. R O D P O I N T D O R I A

B. 2.08 million Liverpool Within each set H E A D L I N E I N T H E C L O U D S
S L Y E R A C O R N A G E N D A S

C. 20.8 million
C. The Boston Celtics and of cells joined by H I D A S Y E T P E A R S I R A

D. 208 million Milwaukee Bucks dotted lines, a digit I N R U I N S A L E R T M A T E Y
ALL PUZZLES © PUZZLER MEDIA LTD - WWW.PUZZLER.COM

D. The Kansas City cannot be repeated. B E A T S T O T H E P U N C H L I N E

A N N A L R O L E S E N G
Chiefs and Miami T H E P R O M I S E D L A N D L I N E
Dolphins A I D A S A A R O N U S
Suko S H A P E U P G A L S T A R T B T S
P O W E R L I N E T O T H E P E O P L E
8. A Greenwich Village Place the numbers O R A N G I N A B R I C A N A T O L E
1 to 9 in the spaces so that O D I N S T P A R E A H A N S O L O
brownstone is on the
FROM TOP: TASOS KATOPODIS/GETTY IMAGES; BETTY LAURA ZAPATA/BLOOMBERG NEWS

the number in each circle is F E T E T O E T E R M O L D M A N

market for $15 million.
equal to the sum of the four
What did it go for around Need a Lift?
surrounding spaces, and
1960?
each color total is correct. NP E

A. $6,000 OT H

B. $60,000 EU S
4. Who

C. $600,000 O D D E S T J
R E F F E D
emerged in 2023 as Tesla’s

D. $6 million F E A R T D E
A L E R X I
biggest rivals in the U.S.
2/C R Y N O O M E 8/G P S
I S
market for electric vehicles?
ACROSS 1. ODDEST (TOSSED SALAD – SALSA anag.) 7. RE + F + F + ED
MA S S R 7/I S E L E O 9/E
A
9. To get around a patent I T O O K 5/C T U R A L S A

A. Ford and GM 13. ART DEALER (anag.) 14. C(R)Y 15. NO + IS + O + ME 16. GP’S (2 defs.) 17. MASS (2 defs.)
dispute, which feature will

B. Honda and Nissan 18. RAISE (“rays” hom.) 21. LEONIN + E (“online” anag.) 22. TOO(K)F + I’VE (“foot” rev.) N E 4/O S S T U B S S E E S
Apple remove from some 23. UR(A)LS 24. NEOS (anag.) 26. STUBS (anag.) 27. SEES (“seize” hom.) 29. KAREN (hid.)

C. Hyundai and Kia D A L T K A R 0/E N A V B E
smart watches? 32. SPI(RIT ANIMA)LS (“slips” rev.; “a martini” anag.) 33. ANVIL (hid.) 34. TOT + A + L

D. Volkswagen and Stellantis 35. DEEP S(I)X (“X-speed” rev.) 36. THREESOME (anag.) 37. BAS(E)S 38. bOAt + RED S P I R I T A N I MA L S

A. Telling time DOWN 1. OF TWO MINDS (anag.) 2. DERATE (anag.) 3. DAYS OF OUR LIVES (“leis of our A N V I L I C E T O T A L

B. Blood-oxygen sensing dives” spoonerism) 4. E + RNS 5. STOR + K’S (“rots” rev.) 6. JESS(EVENT)URA (“uses jar” anag.) D E E P 6/N N C G 3/R S O M E
8. ELMERS (anag.) 9. FEE + L 10. FREIGHT ELEVATOR (anag.) 11. EX + POSE 12. DIS(EA)SES
Answers are listed below the
C. Activity tracking 19. A + CT + A 20. SUBZERO (anagram of the unique letters) 25. ST + RIPE 27. SAM(O)SA
B A S E S R O E O A R E D
crossword solutions at right.
D. Audio recording 28. AP(N)E + A 29. KI(L)N’S 30. N + ITRO (“riot” anag.) 31. B + LAME The helpful person is the CONCIERGE.

Answers to News Quiz: 1.D, 2.C, 3.B, 4.C, 5.A, 6.A, 7.D, 8.B, 9.B
THE JOURNAL WEEKEND PUZZLES edited by MIKE SHENK

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 33 Hearing aides 1 2
18 19 20 21 22 35 Black, in poetry A
39 Impressive act 3
23 24 25 26 B
40 Trash hauler
4 5 6
27 28 29 30 31
42 Wishes undone C
32 33 34 35 36 37 45 Scrunchies
46 Salsa spec
D
38 39 40 41 42
7 8
43 44 45 46 47 48 49
48 Bewildered E
49 Mystic doctrines 9 10
50 51 52 53 54
51 Materialize after F
55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 vanishing, say 11
52 Spot for the G
64 65 66 67 68
cautious 12
69 70 71 72 73 54 Musician’s
H
chance to shine 13
74 75 76 77 I
55 Baton wielder
78 79 80 81 82 83 84 14 15 16 17
56 More peeved J
85 86 87 88 89 90 57 Agent for Lakers 18 19
91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 legend Earvin K
Johnson? 20
99 100 101 102 103 58 Pre-med course L
60 Fold, spindle or 21 22
104 105 106 107 108 109 110
mutilate M
111 112 113 114 115 116
23 24
117 118 119 120 121
62 Token in The
Game of Life
N
122 123 124 125 66 Density symbol Trail Mix | by Patrick Berry
70 Fill
126 127 128 129 Answers fit into this grid in two F Makes small improvements to 7 Noisy and energetic (10)
71 “For the Boys” ways: Rows and Trails. Each Row
subj.
(Hyph.) 8 Inventor who ushered in a
Et Voilà! | by Gary Larson & Amy Ensz 72 Antlered animal
contains two answers placed side Instrument whose name 15th-century “information
by side, clued in order. Each Trail means “three-stringed” revolution” (9)
Across 38 Guiding principle 78 Clock sound 125 Blanched 73 “Dear old” guy answer begins in the corresponding
shared by many G Rock in a vacuum 9 The Five ___ (New York City
1 Specialty of 80 Front wheel 126 “Your majesty” 77 Malevolent numbered square and ends in one
Baltimore’s civic groups? adjustment Stops bothering (2 wds.) Mafia outfits) (8)
127 Demanding leader of the dotted squares, making one
L.P. Steamers 41 Sudden burst of 82 High-fat regimen much attention or more turns along the way. Trails H Environments 10 City at the Kansas end of the
79 Fashion model
5 Procure speed or energy will never overlap each other, nor “I want this done pronto!” Chisholm Trail (7)
84 Barely beats 128 Pack Moss
9 Translator’s 43 Compound used
81 At no time, in will they make hairpin turns (that (3 wds.) 11 Furniture for a breakfast nook
in plastics 85 Filmed again 129 Lentil, e.g.
challenge poetry is, no two-by-two block of grid I Liquor that’s illegal to (7,3)
44 “NYPD Blue” 87 Fruity drinks Down squares can be filled by a single manufacture in most states 12 Too annoyed to be indulgent
14 “Dancing Queen” 83 Boot
co-creator Steven 89 Creator of the 1 Some reds Trail answer). Lengths of the Trail
group
Sneetches 86 Casual wear Book-loving Disney princess (3,2,3,4)
18 Stitch partner in 47 Like volume 2 Small stream answers are given in parentheses. J Like exercises meant to 13 Lisbeth Salander’s portrayer
measures 91 Be bombastic 88 Falling flakes In the completed grid, each letter
film 3 Split fee maintain muscle strength in the Swedish adaptation
50 Approaches 92 Fusses over one’s 4 More 90 Portable cutter will be used once in a Row answer
19 Ancient Mentioned in a footnote of the “Millennium” trilogy
alphabetic 53 Hurricane- looks demanding 92 Expects and once in a Trail answer.
K Person speaking on the (5,6)
character tracking agcy. 94 End of mankind? 5 Many learn to 93 Ponzi scheme, Trails must make at least one turn:
record? (2 wds.) 14 One who’s exceptional, in
20 Spoke, 54 Singer Easton 99 Kidney-related read in it e.g. 1
W R O N G 1R I G H Large-scale concert venue either a good or a bad way
essentially 55 Latin dance 101 Booster stage? 6 Hold power 95 “That improves
things”
T L “Be that as it may...” (3 wds.) (9,4)
22 Alert 59 Bulls or Bears, 104 Moo goo gai pan 7 Lacking in Trails can’t occupy a 2×2 block of squares: Birth-related 15 U.S. agricultural region
23 “We try harder” e.g. pan vitality 96 List-ending 1 1
company phrase W N G R T M Weak-willed and irresponsible that includes Arkansas,
61 Radio 106 Mosque figures 8 2005 “Get Louisiana, Mississippi and
24 Phillies baseman agreement Shorty” sequel 97 Woman, e.g. R O I G H Ingredient that makes
109 Cry out Texas (4,4)
Bohm 63 Bygone Swedish 9 Fourth-yr. group 98 Did a hatchet gazpacho red
110 Natural gas Rows 16 Feed the kitty? (3-3)
25 Billfold for import component job on N Cover protectively, in a way
10 Past due
Barney Rubble? 64 Author Nin 100 Title boy in a A Spilled the beans Tone down 17 What extreme
111 Absorbed, as a 11 Find darling punishments may serve
27 Jamaican 65 Way off cost Menotti opera American Express offering Trails
exports 12 Many that requires the full as (10)
67 Omani money 112 Capital of Bahrain quinceañera 102 Stands for 1 Rulers used on drafting tables
28 Trade show attendees business balance to be paid monthly (1,7) 18 Rubs the wrong way (7)
presentations 68 Food fig. 114 Back biter
13 “Seems that 103 Page of “The (2 wds.) 2 “Buddy,” in Berkshire (3,4) 19 Without a partner (5)
30 Removes every 69 Toaster waffle 116 Town east of Umbrella B Absent-minded
brand Buffalo way” 3 Dessert served flambé in 20 Pioneering name in arcade
trace of Academy” Game played with a facial games (5)
70 Very, very 117 Riding crop, to a 14 Leather piercer fancy restaurants (5,6)
31 “Malcolm X” 104 Floats on the cover? 21 Like the Fed’s policy (8)
director straight? dominatrix? 15 Proper posture breeze 4 “Previously on...” segment (5)
73 Clock part 120 Confessional for the Bolshoi? C Had a disagreement 5 Walked over (4) 22 Cornstalk topper (6)
32 Title character 105 Cheri of “SNL” Maker of Weed B-gon
with a pug 74 Hindu honorific recital 16 Whippet or 6 Publisher who popularized 23 Shortening avoided by
Weimaraner, e.g. 107 Not shiny D Appetizer drenched in olive oil
named Weenie 75 Serpents on 121 Pinocchio, at the phrase “Go West, vegetarians (6,3)
times 17 Chips in 108 Belt, in the Bible (2 wds.) young man” (6,7) 24 Performance check (4)
34 Orphan girl in sarcophagi
“The Last Days 122 Arduous journey 21 Four-game 113 Battery Gender-neutral pronoun
76 Lena of contents
of Pompeii” World Series, e.g. E Longtime host of “America’s Get the solutions to this week’s Journal Weekend Puzzles in next
s

“Chocolat” 123 Fashion model

36 Twisty shapes Moss 26 Per se 115 ___ Domini Funniest Home Videos” Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. Solve crosswords and acrostics
77 “Taxi” co-star of
37 Harris and Hirsch, DeVito 124 Coast on the Big 29 Give the cold 118 Mamie’s man (2 wds.) online, get pointers on solving cryptic puzzles and discuss all of the
Helms and Henner Island shoulder 119 E or G, e.g. Bill also known as a Hamilton puzzles online at WSJ.com/Puzzles.
 p y
C14 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024
D
an Levy, 40, rose to
fame on “Schitt’s
Creek,” playing the
snarky David Rose
for six seasons. He
and his dad, Eugene Levy, cre-
ated the Emmy-winning sitcom,
which follows a rich family’s
comically bumpy adjustment to
small-town life after losing their
fortune.
“I think a lot of people think
I’m a comedian, but I never really
identified as one,” Levy said. His
latest project allowed him to ex-
plore a different side of himself
as an artist. “Good Grief,” a Net-
flix drama starring Levy that he
also wrote and directed, follows
Marc, an artist processing the
loss of his writer husband
(played by Luke Evans).
Levy was excited to play a
more reserved character, though
he had to unlearn many of the
mannerisms he’d honed for
“Schitt’s Creek.” On set, an acting
coach monitored his face for
shades of David. “I have a pretty
elastic face, and I was like, ‘If you
get any David Rose, come to me
and you shut that s—down,’” said
Levy. “It was an amazing acting
challenge to do something so
different.”
Levy, who lives in Los Angeles,
was born and raised in Toronto.
Before his acting and writing ca-
reer, he was a host on MTV and
MTV Canada. Here he dis-
cusses his writing process, shop-
ping sprees and the only kind of
exercise he likes.
What time do you get up on
Mondays?
I know that there are people who
get up at five a.m. and do a cold
plunge. God bless those people. I
get up around nine o’clock if I’m
lucky.
How do you like your coffee and
breakfast?
I don’t drink coffee. I only like it
if it tastes like ice cream, with a
lot of milk and sugar. Breakfast is
normally an açaí bowl.
What do you do for exercise?
I hate exercise. I’ll probably get
up and go for a hike because
that’s my favorite kind of exer-
cise. A lot of really great ideas
come from hiking, from clearing
your mind and just doing an
activity.
You have great eyebrows. What does
grooming them look like?
They’re turning gray now, which is a
very sobering experience for me. I
trim them. My dad and I have very dif-
ferent philosophies on brows. He likes
his very unbridled, which works for
him because he has a much larger
head than I do. But when you have a
small head and very large brows, you
need to kind of trim them back.
MASTERPIECE | THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE OF HUNGARY (1902), DESIGNED BY IMRE STEINDL
A Grandly Gothic Structure
BY CATESBY LEIGH
DESIGNED FOR a bicameral legisla-
ture rather than the unicameral one
Hungary now has, the Budapest Par-
liament House was completed not
long before World War I drastically
reduced the nation’s territory and
population. But its architect’s admi-
rably nondoctrinaire interpretation
of the Gothic idiom represents an
enduring cosmopolitan achieve-
ment. The architect was Imre
Steindl (1839-1902), a Vienna-
trained professor at Budapest’s
Technical University.
This opulent, sprawling structure,
almost as long as London’s Houses
of Parliament (1870), offers a super-
abundance of carved, cast and
painted decoration. Superior crafts-
manship in stained glass, wood, plas-
ter, iron and bronze is generously
deployed, and more than 85 pounds
of gold enrich the building’s interior
with gilt detail. Hungary’s history,
myths and culture are portrayed in
mural paintings—neo-Baroque alle-
gories, realist historical scenes,
gloomy castle landscapes—that con-
tribute to the impressive range of
decorative character encountered in
halls and reception rooms. Sym-
phonic variations on architectural
motifs, with the microcosm ubiqui-
tously reiterating the macrocosm,
endow the palace’s complex architec-
ture with a magisterial coherence.
Its symmetrical, classically informed
composition has the same effect, al-
lowing the exterior to offer impres-
sively resolved vistas from any view-
p p p g ( ) j p
* *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
REVIEW
ting all the vintage stores and
trying to find that great pair of
501s you just can’t find any-
where else.
What do you do for self-care?
I spend a lot of time with
friends. When you’re single and
you’re 40 and you live alone,
friends are such a great sup-
port system. And any chance I
can get to have a nice massage
is a great indulgence and
worthwhile investment.
After “Schitt’s Creek,” would
you do another show or movie
with your dad?
I don’t know. It’s hard to top
something that was so special
and meaningful for us, and also
something that we’re so proud
of. When people know you as
one thing, you have to work re-
ally hard to get around people’s
idea of who you are. For both
my dad and I, being so close on
the show, it would be difficult
to do something that would
feel different enough. But if the
project is right, and it feels like
something that wouldn’t draw
comparisons, absolutely.
Where do you display or keep
your Emmys?
They’re very big, so there
wasn’t a lot of space for them
in my house. There’s a part of
my house that’s like a little
communal living area—this lit-
tle room that only friends
[see]—and there’s shelving on
the inside of the room. I don’t
like the idea of showing them
off. That might be my Cana-
dian-ness.
MY MONDAY MORNING | LANE FLORSHEIM
What are you reading and
Dan Levy on ‘Good Grief,’
watching?
I just finished the documentary
[series] “The Super Models.” I
loved it. It was just an indul-
Hating Exercise
gent, wonderful thing and also
really insightful. Sadly, I’m not
reading anything at the mo-
ment. I tried journaling.
And Great Eyebrows How’s that going?
Not well. I have a journal, and I
put my initials on it. I was go-
ing to try to do morning pages.
Now there’s a journal that has,
The actor, writer and director discusses his new Netflix movie like, two pages written in it.
about moving forward after a loss.
What’s one piece of
advice you’ve gotten that’s
Tell me about your writing process. Do There’s a really fun shopping scene guided you?
you have a particular schedule or ‘Writing in in “Good Grief.” What’s your dream Growing up, my mom always re-
space where you work? shopping spree? minded my sister and me to always
I give myself a window of time in the bed is not The dream day is Tokyo. It would be aware of your role in everything
afternoon and then a window of time good for my just be, someone’s given me a credit that you do, both good and bad.
in the evening where I just say, “Do card and said, “Run free.” In Japan, When you operate on film and TV
what you can.” I have an office in my my spinal you can find gems. Special things sets, there are large groups of people
house where I’ll sit down to write at column, but that I couldn’t get back home: and it’s important to always under-
my desk. Then 85% of the time I will clothes, art, objects. There’s a store, stand your place in that. “What did I
it is great for
BRAD TORCHIA
move to my bed, which is not good for H Beauty and Youth, that I really love do in this situation? How can I im-
my posture and my spinal column, but my brain.’ and it doesn’t hurt that there’s a de- prove?” Just knowing your place at
it is great for my brain. licious pizza place downstairs. Hit- all times and not being blind to it.
and it rests on the tall drum, which it up (which, again, they aren’t). Mi-
includes a dwarf arcade, round octo-
foil windows and, beneath them,
pointed lancets harboring the paired
nor buttresses along the palace’s fa-
çades, on the other hand, reinforce
horizontal rhythms like bars on a
point without depriving it of the neath the central dome rises at the stained-glass lights we glimpse from sheet of orchestral music and serve
Gothic’s picturesque intricacy. summit of a long, magnificent stair the rotunda. A fanfare of flying but- as vertical accents.
On the Parliament House’s Dan- hall. Somberly lighted, it is ringed by
tresses surrounds the drum. The The palace’s two legislative debat-
ube front, which is far more modu- a national statuary pantheon whose buttresses are structurally unneces- ing chambers—one on either side of
lated in massing and detail than its realistic polychrome figures are sary because the dome, like the the rotunda—are almost identical,
British counterpart’s elevation along- much more conspicuous than those building’s roofs, is iron-framed. arranged on a horseshoe plan and
side the Thames, a majestic central on the exterior. So are their elabo- The flying-buttress motif is itself girded by two levels of galleries.
dome is flanked by richly articulated, rate steeple-styled canopies—them- brilliantly reiterated at different Their flat, coffered and chandeliered
pinnacle-surmounted stone towers selves arranged in triplets, with ma-
scales, not only on the dome’s beau- wooden ceilings are visually sup-
decked out with gargoyles and comic jor ones for kings and potentates tifully proportioned, copper-clad pin- ported by a stupendous array of su-
flagpole-clutching animals. The trip- and minor ones for flanking pages nacle, but at different levels on the persized openwork brackets, but ac-
let of dome and towers constitutes a and courtiers. The canopies are at- adjacent stone towers. The motif re- tually hang from an iron armature.
robustly three-dimensional variation tached to piers, along with the stat-
curs on the copper pinnacles of slen- Large, richly traceried pointed
on the pinnacle-flanked gable-front ues’ pedestals. Look up, and the ex-der towers picturesquely punctuat- arches in the upper galleries allow
motif that recurs inside the building quisitely detailed piers morph into a
ing the palace’s broader roof masses us to see windows in the rectangular
and out—most noticeably in roof network of ribs articulating the ro-—and in a spectacularly monumental structural envelopes containing the
dormers and gallery arcades. tunda’s gorgeous star-shaped crown- series at the foot of the stone towers chambers. As with the rotunda and
The motif derives from the taber- ing shell. Its periphery is cut awayand at each end of the building’s its pierced canopy shell, the debat-
nacle, which in Gothic architecture is between star-prongs, allowing us to Danube elevation. Here the flying ing chambers convey a wonderful
a canopied, often pinnacled shrine see the stained glass in the dome’s buttresses reinforce our sense of the sense of spatial layering that results
that typically houses a statue. Flat- drum rising above the vaulted shell.building’s plasticity as they turn its from Steindl’s astute exploitation of
tened, it frames a grand chamber’s On Steindl’s Gothicized dome, ribs
north and south corners, appearing a new construction technology. The
doorway or mural paintings in a sa- delineate its 16 facets—the dome’s from a distance to be dropping down chambers’ crowning structures al-
lon. But walk around the palace’s ex- footprint is not absolutely circular—
from the edifice rather than holding most seem to float above us. And
terior and you will notice the palace’s Danube front, with its
scores of statues of his- flying buttresses and polyrhythmic
toric personages housed exuberance, “practically seems to vi-
within such shrines or brate,” as the distinguished Hungar-
beneath tabernacle cano- ian scholar József Sisa has observed.
pies. The figures sport The Parliament House shows
attire from different ep- what Goethe meant when he spoke
ochs but mainly serve to of architecture as “frozen music.” It
enrich the building’s tex- is one of those supremely monu-
ture with their naturalis- mental buildings whose grandeur
tic contours, while the was not merely designed but or-
GETTY IMAGES/CAVAN IMAGES RF
tabernacle and its myriad chestrated.
modulations and trunca-
tions reinforce the visi- Mr. Leigh is a senior fellow with
tor’s sense of unifying Common Sense Society, an interna-
pattern underlying tional educational network con-
Steindl’s creation. cerned with politics, economics and
Inside, the rotunda be- The Vienna-trained architect’s building is at once monumental and intimate. culture.
 OFF DUTY
p y p p p g ( ) j p

Current Odds Go Fish

Can EVs Cooking seafood
overcome drivers’ the sous-vide
skepticism? Dan way sounds
Neil breaks it tough. It isn’t.
down. D9 D7
FASHION | FOOD | DESIGN | TRAVEL | GEAR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | D1

LET ME DIGITIZE THE WAYS Tools we use

daily, from smartphones to Google Calendar,
can bring us closer together, if used properly.

Crazy
Little
Thing
Called
Tech

We blame technology for pushing us apart, but it can actually make us better
romantic partners. How seven apps and gadgets let you say ‘I love you.’

I
BY SOPHIA BENOIT
N 2020, London-based couple Kat and
Harry Brown stumbled into an uncon-
ventional romantic tradition. He made
her a photobook of all the pictures
they’d sent each other on WhatsApp
that year. It included not-exactly-sexy
images of a stepstool, some pastries
and HG Mould Spray (yes, a spray to eliminate
mold). They’ve continued this oddly touching
custom each year—this year their cats made it
to centerfold status. But the photobook was not
Harry’s first foray into romance via technology.
After Kat, now 41 years old, was diagnosed with
ADHD during the pandemic, Harry, 45, intro-
duced her to Tile, a Bluetooth tracking device,
to help her keep track of her house keys.
romance to life. Patricia Lamas Alvarez, a cou-
ples therapist based in Los Angeles, says the key
to boosting your relationship via technology is
“knowing your partner. Knowing not [only] how
you want to receive love, but how they enjoy re-
ceiving love,” she said. Here, some gear, apps
and software to try, whether you’ve shared 11
years or 11 dates.
For Everyday Life
Send Love ‘Notes’ Sharing music is inextricable
with romance. Pop-culture examples
abound, from “It’s a Wonderful Life,”
where Mary Hatch plays (and subse-
quently smashes) the “Buffalo
Gals” record, to “Say Anything,”
when Lloyd Dobler hoists a boombox
in the rain, to “The Office,” where
create a playlist and send it to your crush. On
Spotify, you can also auto-generate a playlist
that mixes your tastes.
Share a Calendar In the early stages of romance,
coordinating schedules feels fun. But eventually
logistics become a slog—how many times can
you ask, “Are we doing anything after work?”
Designed for couples, Cupla can integrate calen-
dars from iCal, Outlook, Google and more. The
app allows for color-coded Me, You and Us cal-
endars which, in a single view, let you easily
tell when you both might be free
next. You can also add shared or
individual to-do tasks and organize
them by the intended comple-
tion date. Bonus: A feature
called Date Planner in Cupla’s
CUBE/ILLUSTRATIONX

We often blame technology for all societal Jim and Pam share earbuds. It’s Can tech improve private messaging channel lets you
ills, including flagging romance. It’s easy to pic- easier than ever now to flirt via long-distance set up regular date nights at the in-
ture a trite cartoon of a couple on a date, both music. On Spotify or Apple Music, relationships, too? terval of your choosing.
on their phones. But used properly, tech can add find pretty much any song ever made, Yes. Turn to D10 Please turn to page D10

Inside
Why Cool Guys Are Pouncing On Cat-Eyes
On men, feline glasses skew rebellious—and can make you look chiseled
BY CHIARA RIMELLA

W
HENEVER Michael
Kahler, a stylish
Brooklyn realtor,
pops on his black sunglasses
by Japanese brand Eyevan, “I
transform into a different ver-
sion of me,” he said. “I feel
younger, hipper, [more] rock ISLAND OF PLENTY BUBBLES FOR BAUBLES
’n’ roll.” Kahler, 37, sports the The ‘Nantucket of the Caribbean’ The best, wisest and least
brand’s Havana frames, a gift is actually not just for risky ways to clean
from his girlfriend, on week- the rich D4 your jewelry D2
ends, when he dresses more
edgily. Purple lenses ensure a
certain élan, but what gives
his frames an extra kick of
cool is the way they flare up
and out, slightly, at the top
corners. They are cat-eye
glasses. For men.
Surely eyewear’s most gen-
dered shape, the cat-eye re-
calls Audrey Hepburn in
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s” or
Marilyn Monroe as a con-
flicted myopic in “How to
LOOKING UP Marry a Millionaire.” But
Rock star Buddy lately more guys are pouncing
Holly in his upswept, on unisex spectacles and CLOSING TIME THE GREENING OF
GETTY IMAGES

chunky feline shades with subtle upturns, What makes a man’s duffel coat AMERICA’S HOMES
frames, circa 1958. according to opticians includ- more distinctive, less doofus-y? Now trending in exterior paint
Please turn to page D3 Interesting toggles. D3 colors: moody, natural hues D8
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

D2 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

STYLE & FASHION

BY GRACE COOK

L
NATURAL PROGRESSION /
AST NOVEMBER, while CHIC COUNTRY CLOTHES
visiting Austin, Texas, SUITED FOR CITY SETTINGS
from London, where I
live, I had a sartorial
epiphany. For months,
I’d been scouring fashion retailers
looking for my dream cowboy
boots—a black pair with a neat sil-
houette and interesting details. In
Allens Boots, one of the city’s West-
ern-wear stores, my hunt ended. 1
Why would I opt for boots by a lux- Waxed Barbour
ury label when I could get a sturdy, Jacket, $398,
stylish pair that none of my friends Net-A-Porter.com
will own from a store frequented by
actual cowboys? I bought Allens’s
classic black point-toe model.
Carmina Tiscareno, 30, a Dallas
audience journalist and content
creator, likened buying “fashion”
boots to going to the Gap for run-
ning shoes instead of Nike. She
owns cowboy boots from Ariat, a
California equestrian brand that ca- 2
ters to English and Western riders. Leather
Western
Boots,
Sporting brands’ wares $230,
Ariat.com
are more ‘quiet luxury’
than grisly ‘gorpcore.’

Plenty of other women have 3

caught on to the style savvy of spe- Wool-
cialty sporting labels. Barbour (a Cashmere
motorcycle- and country-clothing Hacking
brand), Purdey (hunting), Orvis (fly Jacket,
fishing) and Ariat each sell practi- $3,250,
cal, durable clothing and accesso- Shop.Purdey
ries as chic as high-fashion alterna- .com
tives (and often less pricey). These
wares are plenty polished for your
urban office. And before you ask,
they’re more “quiet luxury” than
grisly “gorpcore.”
Melissa Ventosa Martin, a stylist
and editor in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., HOW YA GONNA KEEP ’EM DOWN ON THE FARM? Traddy outdoors clothes, like those worn by Prince Charles
said that items from sporting labels and Princess Diana in 1981 (above), are migrating to metropolises.
can endure longer than high-fashion
4
Brushed Flannel
look-alikes, in part because the sil-
houettes “don’t follow seasonal
trends,” which quickly look dated.
Here, four sporting stores whose
elegant offerings look right at home
Old Sport. New Allure. Shirt, $109,
Orvis.com

in the city, country and beyond.

1. Barbour
Produced since 1894, British brand
Barbour’s waxed, waterproof jack-
ets achieved mainstream fashion
appeal in the aughts, when Kate
Moss sported them at U.K. music
festivals. Today, shoppers who ex-
ist worlds away from muddy cow
pastures covet these country coats
(see the investment-banker charac-
ters of the Max series “Industry,”
who sport Barbours on screen).
Phoebe Cole-Smith, 66, a chef in
Martha’s Vineyard, owns three
Barbour jackets. She admires the
easy-to-layer coats’ trans-seasonal
wearability. “They’re lightweight,
Clothes from traditional hunting, fishing and riding brands can make for
splendid modern city wear—often for less than designer versions
padded gilet for warmth. Recently, ity. Ariat’s durability is what won wardrobes. When feeling extra-ca- 4. Orvis
in New York, she styled her knee- her over. The rubber sole, she said, sual, she’ll team them with New There’s not much fly fishing in
length hunter-green Barbour with “isn’t slippery, even when it’s wet,” Balance sneakers. Amsterdam, but that doesn’t stop
a slinky silk dress and Celine boots and the boots cushion her feet. Purdey’s single-breasted hacking art publicist Catherine Parkinson,
to peruse an art exhibit at the Met blazers, too, are fit for the paddock 31, from regularly wearing her Or-
Museum and dine at Balthazar. 3. Purdey and city life, said Erica Wright, 32, vis button-up at least once a week.
Established in London in 1814 as a the Berlin founder of fashion app Established in 1856, this Vermont
2. Ariat gun maker, Purdey introduced Sourcewhere. Designed for riding, brand made its name in tackle. Now
Tiscareno found her secondhand hunting clothes in the 1970s. To- these wool jackets feature details it entices shoppers with spiffy shirts
black Ariat cowboy boots at a local day, its heritage draws city slickers such as leather-trimmed pockets, one can wear on the stream or to
vintage store. They were worn, she who have never stalked a 10-point which were initially designed to the office. “They’re a catch,” joked
said, but “looked almost new,” a stag. Maria Roginskaya, 33, a Lon- store pre-Industrial Revolution Parkinson. With a soft, technical
testament to their quality. Similar don financial due-diligence consul- travelers’ loose change when they’d fabrication, her shirt has stretch,
GETTY IMAGES

so I don’t overheat on public boots from fast-fashion retailers, tant, has the brand’s pleat-front pass through tolls on horseback. making it less prone to creasing
transport,” she said, adding that in said Tiscareno, “can look cute” but corduroy trousers on heavy rota- Now they’re ideal for safeguarding than pure cotton tops. “They look
winter, she throws them atop a lack craftsmanship and authentic- tion in her work and weekend smartphones and credit cards. smart but feel like sweats,” she said.

Bring In ’da Shine, Clean Up ’da Funk

Fine jewelry looking grimy? Expert tips for cleaning it at home
YOUR PERSONALITY might not always spar-
kle—hey, we all have bad days!— but your fine
jewelry should. Leigh Plessner, chief creative
officer of Brooklyn-based jewelry store Cat-
bird, knows it’s time to wash her diamonds
when “their lights have dimmed a little bit.”
But getting your prized baubles from grimy to
glistening is easier than you might think. And
with a little caution and know-how, you can
perform most upkeep at home.
The first and most important step is knowing process. If you’re unsure about a stone’s caliber,
your jewelry’s ingredients. According to Kim Nel- clean it by hand. Ditto softer rocks like emer-
son, the assistant chair of jewelry design at
New York’s Fashion Institute of
Technology, people make big blun-
ders when they’re oblivious to their
jewelry’s materials. “Generally
speaking, the less money you pay
for the jewelry, the more you have
to be aware of what’s in it,” he said.
Most bijouterie, especially if
pure gold, can be cleaned with
soap and water and scrubbed
with a Q-tip or soft toothbrush. To
get into nooks, Nelson suggests
soaking a toothpick in water until
the tip becomes soft, so it won’t
scratch the metal. He also advises
washing pieces with a mixture
made of half a cup of water, a ta-
blespoon of rubbing alcohol and
half a tablespoon of dishwashing
detergent. After, rinse off the so-
lution thoroughly. Spruce up silver
by hand, Nelson said. He favors
using a polishing cloth, but if you
crave extra luster, brands like Cat-
easy way to obliterate grime. But not every-
thing can withstand the machines’ intensity.
Precious metals (solid gold, sterling silver, plati-
num) will likely fare fine, as will strong stones
like diamonds and high-quality sapphires and
rubies. However, lesser sapphires and rubies,
especially those coated in a polymer to improve
their appearance, are poor candidates. Ultra-
sonic cleaning can erode that polymer, trans-
forming your rock from a belle to a beast in the
alds and opals. Delicate materials such as
pearls, amber, enamel and gold-
plated metal, as well as watches,
should never go in an ultrasonic
machine. And don’t even think LUSTER FOR LIFE
about zapping costume jewelry, Gold and Diamond Ring,
which the process can easily mar. Price upon request,
If your stones are cracked or DavidYurman.com; Alice
your metal is damaged, see a pro- Made This Sterling
fessional. Experts can also assist Silver Cuff, $665,
with general upkeep, restringing MrPorter.com
pearl strands or tightening clasps.
Preservation is key. The best
container for any piece is the box
it came in. If that’s long gone, BRIGHT IDEAS / PRODUCTS TO MAKE YOUR JEWELRY SPARKLE—AND KEEP IT GLEAMING
store your baubles in a case that
prevents them from touching one
another. Chains and dangly ear-  
rings should ideally be hung on a Wolf Jewelry
stand or stored flat to avoid knots Leather Polishing
or kinks. To keep silver gleaming, Jewelry Kit, $10,
Plessner suggests storing it with Box, $295, CatbirdNYC
anti-tarnish paper. She also warns Bergdorf .com
that pearls must not come into Goodman
contact with chemical-infused .com
MAX-O-MATIC (ILLUSTRATION)

bird and Tiffany & Co. offer polish- makeup and perfume, but notes
ing kits that come with a cloth HANG TIME that the natural oils in your skin 
and premixed cleaning solution. Travertine and do wonders for the gems. “Pearls Ultrasonic Jewelry-
Ultrasonic cleaners—which use Brass Jewelry really love to be worn,” she said. Cleaning Machine,
soundwaves and a cleaning solu- Stand, $70, CB2.com When neglected, “they can yellow $40, Magnasonic.com
tion to remove dirt—are a fast and over time.” —Aria Darcella
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * NY Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | D3

STYLE & FASHION

COOL CATS Right, actor ders kinda ‘do a thing.’” Men today Groot, who sells lots of feline
Peter O’Toole in cat-eye specs are also rebelling by pushing gen- frames to guys at his Chicago shop
in 1965. Far right, producer der boundaries, said Benjamin Lab Rabbit Optics.
and creative director Pharrell Moen, 43, an artist in Long Beach, Bold as they may be, everybody
Williams sports pointy Calif. He wears angular, cream cat- can find a cat-eye that works for
shades in 2021. eye specs by Texan brand Vada “all them, said Gogosha. Within the
the time.” The cat-eye “was proba- category, you’ll find tantalizing
bly socially unacceptable for men shapes she describes as “soft al-
to wear before,” he said, so when mond” or “sharp dagger,” not to
he sports his frames he feels like mention futuristic wraparound
he’s subtly “pushing the envelope.” styles. The most important thing,
Go back several decades, emphasized Silver, is finding the
though, and you’ll find that cat- right fit. “The frame can’t sit on
eyes have long been making male the cheeks, the eyes must be close
egos purr. In “Dr. No” (1962), Jack to center or toward the top.” The
Lord plays Bond’s sidekick in a glasses can’t be so wide as to
sleek oval pair of feline shades. A- “make anyone look cross-eyed.”
listers including Bob Dylan, Peter Deutsch suggests starting with a
O’Toole (left) and Buddy Holly all
embraced upswept frames. Holly,
whose specs helped define his mu-
sical persona, might be considered
cat-eyes’ poster boy. After years
spent performing in blah frames
(or none at all), the severely near-
sighted rock star decided that his
specs had better make a state-
ment, according to lore. The thick,
black pair he’s known for arched
rather dramatically, turning him
into Clark Kent with attitude.
Today, men’s cat-eye options
span vintage tortoiseshell models
by Persol to pointy, futuristic sun-
nies worn by the likes of producer
and creative director Pharrell Wil-
liams (right). Those tempted to try
the shape might start with the pop-
ular M1027 model by Matsuda (be- ‘There’s a rebelliousness
low, middle), a robust acetate frame
available in specs or shades. Its
to cat-eyes. They
gentle upward sweep conveys mid- change your posture and
GETTY IMAGES (2)

century suave. Ahlem’s geometric confidence, your

Les Halles specs (below, bottom
left) make a louder statement. shoulders “do a thing.”’
Deutsch reports that the Dealan by
Jacques Marie Mage (below, top

The Glasses Style Making Men Purr
Continued from page D1
ing Silver Lining in New York, and
Dan Deutsch and Gogosha in Los
Angeles. These cool cats are chan-
neling ’50s rock stars and Bond
sidekicks, not beehived grandmas.
Their punkish frames resemble
Wayfarers with oomph—and
they’re plenty flattering too.
The story goes that American
designer Altina Schinasi Miranda
invented the cat-eye shape—an up-
ward swoop with extra bulk (and
often pointiness) at the top cor-
ners—in the 1920s. She wanted a
flattering glasses frame for women.
Cat-eyes’ slant echoes the lines of
cheekbones and eyebrows, high-
lighting those features, according
to Dan Deutsch, the owner of his
eponymous stores in L.A.
Turns out they can enhance
men’s faces, too, potentially mak-
ing them appear more chiseled. “A
cat-eye gives the face a slight lift,”
said Deutsch.
Their appeal goes beyond accen-
tuating cheekbones. “There’s an in-
herent rebelliousness” to the play-
ful shape, said Julia Gogosha, who
runs her self-named store in L.A.
“It changes your posture, your
confidence takes over, your shoul-
right), a chunky sunnies model with
a baby cat-eye uplift, is selling out.
The cat-eye shape sends a dif-
ferent message as sunglasses vs.
specs, said Jordan M. Silver, co-
founder of New York’s Silver Lin-
ing. As shades, he thinks they
come across as “tough” and nod to
what he calls the “Japanese motor-
cyclist” look—a cooler version of
traditional Americana. In specs, he
said, the shape often reads as
softer and more genteel. Either
way, cat-eyes might be “the most
eye-catching style,” said John De-
mellow shade (black or tortoise-
shell are always safe bets). If you
choose a bright color in an accen-
tuated shape, it can be too much,
he said. “Then the focus becomes
the glasses rather than the face.”
Lately, Dan Trepanier, who runs
a styling and tailoring business in
New York, has been encouraging
clients to try playful feline shades
by Loewe and Matsuda. These read
as “tough but with a soft spot,” he
said. “It’s purposeful and a bit pro-
vocative. Nobody wears cat-eye
sunglasses by mistake.”

HEY, TIGER! / FIVE GREAT CAT-EYE OPTIONS FOR SPECS AND SHADES

Ayreen Glasses, $310, PortTanger.com M1027 Glasses, $650, Matsuda.com Dealan Glasses, $820, JacquesMarieMage.com

Les Halles Glasses, $510, AhlemEyewear.com Dylan Glasses, $595, YaganStoneEyewear.com

Toggles Maketh the Coat

Duffel coats have kept everyone from Gregory Peck to Paddington Bear
toasty over years of winters. What makes for duffel greatness? The toggles!
Here, three finds blessed with knockout fasteners.

CLOSING ARGUMENTS From left: Blow on the top toggle for attention—it’s a whistle, A.P.C. x JW Anderson Oversize Coat,
$684, APC-US.com; rustic wooden toggles with jute loop fastenings, Kimono-Style Wool Jacket, $251, YouMustCreate.com;
these jagged horn examples give shark’s teeth a run for their money, Hooded Wool Coat, $1,250, Mackintosh.com.
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

D4 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

ADVENTURE & TRAVEL

ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (DUNMORE TOWN, TERRIE FIRST AND LAST STOP TAKE AWAY); ELOISE KELSEY(THE LANDING)
Port of All
Billionaires love the Bahamas’ Harbour Island. Here, a travel guide for the rest of us.

BY ALEX ULAM Dunmore Town, a quaint village

H
ARBOUR ISLAND—
a tiny sliver of land
in the easternmost
reaches of the Ba-
hamas—is some-
times called the Nantucket of the
Caribbean because of its concen-
tration of billionaires, celebrities
and colonial-era houses. But unlike
many other jet-set playgrounds,
Harbour Island has much to entice
the rest of us, too.
Over the course of a two-week
visit, I savored top-notch sunrises
on the three-mile-long Pink Sands
Beach. Though much sought after
for its distinctive hue, it still feels
wild thanks to a steep ridge that
partially blocks out the mansions
and high-end resorts behind it. I
spent hours walking the island,
luxuriating in the breezy climate,
said to have curative properties; a
1722 report claimed that “when
inhabitants of other islands be-
come sick, they go to Harbour
Island and are cured within
15 or 20 days.”
But what really made me fall for
the island was its main settlement,
Décor at Terrie First & Last Stop
Takeaway, a casual restaurant.
that overlooks a sleepy harbor on
the island’s Caribbean-facing side.
Treacherous reefs once helped
protect this former British outpost
from roving Spanish and French
privateers. Today, those same
reefs fend off the gargantuan
cruise ships found elsewhere in
the Bahamas.
I had recently lost my mother,
and Dunmore Town offered the
‘They will say “come
visit us,” and they
really mean it.’
solace and human connection I
craved. Ambling along quiet, nar-
row lanes, I stopped often to ad-
mire crowing roosters and bright
bougainvillea. Since most people
get around by foot or golf cart, it
proved easy to slip into casual
conversation with strangers. In
the mornings, the front doors of
pastel cottages along the bay were
often left wide open to welcome
the breeze.
Most days ended at the Vic-
Hum, a nightclub covered in wild
graffiti. It’s a place where all
sorts—the visiting elite, tourists
like me and local residents—mix
with an ease you rarely find on
more commercially developed is-
lands. Behind the bar, I saw signa-
tures of past visitors including
Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell and
Princess Eugenie of Great Britain,
written pell-mell in black marker.
The Vic-Hum was officially
closed for renovations, but that
didn’t stop its proprietor, Hum-
phrey Percentie Jr., from inviting
me in and sharing stories about
all the famous people he said he’d
SAFE HARBOR From top: The waterfront of Dunmore Town, Harbour
Island’s main settlement; a room at the Landing, a hotel housed in a 19th-
century estate in Dunmore Town.
met. In between doling out drinks
to the crowd, Percentie, who is in
his 60s, took breaks on a cot set
up near a beat-up pool table.
I quickly learned that Dunmore
Town serves as a hub for friend-
ships that extend around the
globe. On one afternoon, I met
Matthew Pryor, a spry, semiretired
English businessman who divides
his time between his residences
here and in the south of France.
He told me that it’s not unusual to
receive invitations from other
homeowners on the islands. “They
will say ‘come visit us,’” he said.
“And they really mean it.”
One morning, Pryor invited me
to play tennis at the Dunmore, a
quiet resort where boxy white
bungalows are tucked away behind
groves of palm trees. A round of
tennis at a luxury hideaway under
the Caribbean sun seemed to align
with Harbour Island’s glitzy repu-
tation, but just five minutes after
leaving the resort, I stumbled on
Terrie First & Last Stop Takeaway,
an informal roadside restaurant in
a dirt lot fringed with weeds.
Terry Deveaux, the owner, waved
me over to join her other guests
who included commercial fisher-
men and construction workers on
their lunch breaks. Together we
feasted on grilled pork chops and
potato salad.
My last night coincided with the
grand reopening of the Vic-Hum. I
was disappointed not to see Hum-
phrey among the crowd. With the
renovation, he had passed the ba-
ton on to his nephew, Jay-Jay Per-
centie, the self-styled “Crown
Prince of Dunmore,” who was at-
tired for the occasion in a tailored
velvet jacket and a bow tie.
A part of me worried that the
Vic-Hum’s new face was a bell-
wether for change—that the island
was finally succumbing to the
pressures of high-end tourism.
In the back of the club, the Vic-
Hum had added a sleek VIP booth
THE LOWDOWN / HOLING
UP IN HARBOUR ISLAND
Getting There Direct flights
from Nassau and several U.S.
cities including Miami land in
the tiny North Eleuthera air-
port. From there, a 10-minute
cab ride and a 5-10-minute
water taxi will take you to
Dunmore Town.
Staying There The Landing
(from $275), a short walk to
the world-renowned Pink
Sands Beach, features rooms
designed by India Hicks with
antique four-poster beds and
handmade rattan chairs. The
Dunmore (from $585), for-
merly an invitation-only beach
club, is now a full-service re-
sort overlooking a beach that
exudes privacy and privilege.
Eating There Queen Conch, a
no-frills restaurant on a scenic
bayside pier, serves freshly
caught seafood including a
tangy salad bolstered by deli-
cious chunks of the local mol-
lusk. The elegant restaurant
at the Landing hotel offers al
fresco dining on its outdoor
patio and an award-winning
wine cellar.
enclosed in glass, for what
Jay-Jay vaguely described to me
as “branded parties.” Murals by
a big-name artist from New York
had replaced some of the original
graffiti. But as I looked around,
I noticed what makes the island
special still, for now at least,
seems very much intact: a group
of people from different back-
grounds, all moving to the
same music.

‘Will You Be Needing an lobby shop that lets travelers

Extra Bed for Your Bike?’
New hotels aimed at millennials offer both
scrappy access to adventure and relative luxury
AS A 20-SOMETHING adven-
turer—limber of spine but
short on funds—David Russo
spent years pitching his tent
in bare-bones campgrounds
while rock climbing across
North America. But Russo,
with a career in e-commerce
for outdoor brands and up-
coming climbing trips to Las
Vegas and France, is no lon-
ger in his 20s.
“At a certain point you’re
like: ‘I want my own bath-
room…I don’t want to sleep in
the dirt for a week,’” said
Russo, 34, of Huntington, Vt.
But if the scrappy charms of
roughing it grow threadbare
in midlife, what’s next? The
chichi boutique hotels he’d en-
countered in his travels were
“the total antithesis” of his
adventurous aesthetic. Then,
in October 2022, Russo found
a home base that fit his vibe:
the Evo Hotel Salt Lake City,
where he booked four nights
for a work trip, planning to fit
mountain-biking excursions in
between meetings.
The 50-room hotel, which
opened last year, is one of a
nial crowd brought up on hos-
tels and attuned to cool. Local
art adorns the sleek rooms
(which start at $179 a night),
but so do ski holders and peg-
boards for gear. Guests can
workshop kick-flips at the in-
door skate park or borrow rock
shoes in the bouldering gym.
“There are a lot of people in-
teracting in the morning or at
the climbing gym,” said Russo,
who recently visited for the
fourth time.
Architectural historian
Margaret Supplee Smith, au-
thor of “American Ski Resort:
Architecture, Style, Experi-
ence,” noted that the trend is
best understood as an update
rather than an innovation—
hoteliers have long uphol-
stered adventure with crea-
ture comforts. “There is a
constant change in how to
monetize outdoor recreation,”
she said, noting that ski re-
sorts like those in Sun Valley,
Idaho, were among the first
to lend polish to a once-rustic
sport for hardy mountaineers.
Places like Evo can be seen
as just a millennial edit on the
Guest rooms at Field Sta-
tion Moab, a 139-room hotel
bike storage and can run up
to $500 a night over Memo-
arrange canyoneering tours
on Moab’s rosy-red sand-
stock up on carabiners or
browse guidebooks. Ski- and
bike-focused lodge Madbush
Falls opened in August within
Vermont’s Mad River Valley,
pairing locally sourced cuisine
with equipment rentals from
an on-site gear shop.
With the focus on out-of-
the-room activities comes a
tendency toward organized
fun. Gravity Haus is a chain
with seven branches, the lat-
est in Jackson Hole, Wyo. It
calls itself a “social club for
the modern adventurer,” with
monthly membership plans
from $140 granting access to
a co-working space and exclu-
sive events like sunrise back-
country ski trips. Just want a
room key and a soft bed,
thank you very much? Some
travelers may find the insis-
tence that visitors are part of
a “community” a bit much.
LOGE Camps, a set of styl-
ishly renovated motels near
surf breaks, climbing areas
and other outdoorsy hot
spots, takes aim at those
skeptics by stocking commu-
nal fire pits with s’mores sup-
plies. Slate Olson, the com-
pany’s chief marketing officer,
says the goal of the “camps”
is to create an environment
where guests want to hang
out post-adventure instead of,
say, bingeing Netflix in bed.
“It’s amazing how a fire and a
AVALON NUOVO

new breed offering adventure outdoorsy hotel, one replete that opened last April near rial Day Weekend. Front desk stone. The brand’s second lo- good beer will draw people
as an amenity and finding suc- with craft beer, pour-over cof- Utah’s Arches and Canyon- staff dispense advice on fly- cation debuts this May in out of their room,” he said.
cess with an outdoorsy millen- fee and a notable focus on gear. lands National Parks, include fishing and skydiving and can Yucca Valley, Calif., with a —Jen Rose Smith
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | D5

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 p y p p p g ( ) j p

D6 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 * *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

EATING & DRINKING

under wire cages or clamps were of-
ten fully sparkling wines.
Most Lambruscos acquire their
signature fizz via what’s known in
most of the world as the Charmat
method, wherein the wine under-
goes secondary fermentation in a
pressurized stainless-steel tank. In
Italy, this process is known as the
Martinotti method, after Federico
Martinotti, who developed the pro-
cess before the Frenchman Eugène
Charmat refined it.
Another fizz facilitator, known as
the méthode ancestrale/metodo an-
cestrale, involves corking the bottle
before the wine has completed fer-
mentation, trapping CO2 inside and
producing a mildly fizzy wine. The
third and most expensive way is the
méthode traditionnelle/metodo clas-
sico, in which the secondary fermen-
tation takes place in the bottle. It
produces a fully sparkling wine.
Lambruscos produced in different
zones, aka Denominazioni d’Origine
Controllata (D.O.C.), from different
varieties of the Lambrusco grape,
are often quite different wines.
Those made in the Lambrusco
Grasparossa di Castelvetro D.O.C.
with Lambrusco Grasparossa tend to
be deeply colored, big, dry and, of-
ALEX EBEN MEYER
yard Lambrusco ever produced. The
Cleto Chiarli Pruno Nero Lambrusco
($21) was a very dry, rather power-
ful red made from a blend of Sala-
mino and Grasparossa—the only
blended wine the Chiarlis produce
and a great partner to pizza, noted
export director Tommaso Chiarli, a
member of the fifth generation to
run the winery, founded in 1860.
The latter wine was new to me,
though I am a longtime fan of an-
other Cleto Chiarli wine, the Vec-
chia Modena Lambrusco ($12), a
very dry Lambrusco, stylistically
similar to the Lini 910, made from
Lambrusco Sorbara in a style that
Tommaso Chiarli noted was “one
of the driest on the market.”
I tasted a couple other Lambr-
uscos for the first time that I’ll
certainly look for again. The big,
juicy Carafoli Toccacielo Lambr-
usco Grasparossa di Castelvetro
($18) was produced by a family
that’s been making Lambrusco for
over a century. Founded in 1919 by
Mauro Carafoli, the winery came
under the direction of Mauro’s son
In the 1970s Lambrusco
was synonymous with

ten, markedly tannic. In Lambrusco

Salamino di Santa Croce, the wines
made from Lambrusco Salamino
tend to be lighter in body, while in
Lambrusco di Sorbara the wines
ON WINE / LETTIE TEAGUE made from Lambrusco Sorbara are
fragrant and light.
One of my favorites, the Lini 910
Labrusca Rosso ($15), made primar-
Riunite. Not anymore.
Domenico after his release from a
German prison in the wake of
World War II. Today four Carafoli
brothers run the family’s winery,

A Great Pizza Wine ily from Lambrusco Salamino, was

accordingly light bodied and lithe.
The Lini 910 is named for the year
that the Lini family began produc-
each focused on a different aspect.
The Ronco Belvedere Lambrusco
($18) is a label created by the
company 100 Vini, owned by the

And Plenty More ing Lambrusco (1910) and is the

WHY ARE “serious reds” so often
suggested as the best wines for
winter? Why not a red wine that’s
fizzy and fun? Why not Lambrusco?
On long winter nights, I’ll often
opt for something less weighty and
lower in alcohol yet substantial
enough to pair with food. Lambr-
usco certainly fits that description,
and it’s remarkably affordable, too.
I’m not referring to the sweet
version many people think of when
they hear this wine mentioned.
When Lambrusco first became fa-
mous in the United States in the
1970s and ’80s, it was thanks to a
wine with a catchy tagline—“Ri-
unite on ice, that’s nice!”—and a
very sweet style. Never mind that
other Lambrusco styles—drier,
more savory—were much better
wines. Riunite and Lambrusco be-
came all but synonymous.
That was then. The 12 Lambrus-
cos I purchased for this column
were largely produced by family-
owned wineries, some of which have
been making Lambrusco for over a
hundred years. Most of them cost
less than $25 a bottle and fell in the
11-12% alcohol range. They ranged
from white to pink to red and from
slightly fizzy to fully sparkling. And
while the Lambruscos available to-
day vary widely in sweetness, too, I
focused specifically on dry reds.
Some were vintage-dated; oth-
ers were not. Some sported bot-
tling dates on their back labels, so
I had some idea of the age of the
wine; several gave no information
at all, leaving me guessing how
long the bottle had been on the
shelf. And Lambrusco is a wine
best consumed in its youth.
The closures varied as well. Some
of the Lambruscos were closed with
regular wine corks or crown caps.
These tended to be more frizzante
(gently sparking), while those
closed with fat Champagne corks
family’s largest-production wine.
Winemaker Fabio Lini particularly
prizes the Salamino and Sorbara
grapes—the former for its elegance,
said his daughter, Alicia Lini.
She shared a long list of foods
that the family likes to pair with
the wine, including ham, pasta and
Parmigiano-Reggiano. The Lini
Lambrusco is produced by the
Charmat method and, though the
bottle was not vintage-dated, the
back label listed a bottling number
and, usefully, a year (149/2023).
Other Lambruscos that I pre-
ferred were a bit more full bodied,
richer and darker in color, including
the 2022 Medici Ermete Concerto
Lambrusco ($25), made entirely
from Lambrusco Salamino. Created
in 1993, it was the first single-vine-
Farinetti family of Piedmont. Un-
like the other wines I tasted, the
Ronco Belvedere bore a generic
Emilia appellation rather than a
more specific D.O.C. It was a pleas-
antly fizzy, fruity, dry red made
from a blend of Lambrusco Sala-
mino and Lambrusco Marani.
After tasting these wines and
corresponding with some of their
producers and importers, I real-
ized I had only been partly right in
the way I’d thought about Lambr-
usco. Yes, the wines were easy to
drink and paired well with food.
But the best of them also had dis-
tinct personalities and impressive
histories. Fizzy and fun though
they may be, they are far more
than that, too.
 Email Lettie at wine@wsj.com.

OENOFILE / DRY LAMBRUSCOS FOR COLD NIGHTS

2022 Medici Ermete
Concerto Reggiano
Lambruscone $25 The
first single-vineyard
Lambrusco when it was
created in 1993, this rich,
concentrated, darkly
fruited, dry red is made
entirely from Lambrusco
Salamino, by one of the
oldest Lambrusco win-
eries (founded 1890).
Ronco Belvedere Lam- Lini Labrusca 910 Carafoli Toccacielo Cleto Chiarli Pruno
brusco Emilia $18 This Rosso $15 The Lini fam- Lambrusco Grasparro- Nero Lambrusco $21
Lambrusco made from ily has produced first- ssa di Castelvetro $18 From the oldest Lambr-
a blend of Lambrusco rate Lambruscos for A big, juicy, dry red usco winery, founded in
Salamino and Lambr- many years under the from an estate 1860, the Pruno Nero, a
usco Marani delivers ancient name Labrusca. founded just after blend of Salamino and
the quintessential This non-vintage dry World War I and still Grasparossa, is espe-
Lambrusco experience. sparkler produced pri- family-owned, this cially dry, with big grape
It’s a bright, juicy, un- marily from Lambrusco Lambrusco pairs well aromas. Export director
complicated and rather Salamino is marked by with rich food such as Tommaso Chiarli sug-
frothy dry red. Pair it notes of earth and red pasta bolognese or gests pairing it with a
with pizza or pasta. fruit and a crisp finish. beef stew. tomato-sauced pizza.

AS HONEYMOONERS in Galway, Ireland, in
2011, Coloradans Meagan and Patrick Miller
discovered Irish whiskey, and so began an-
other romance. In 2017, the Millers opened
Talnua, a craft distillery making Irish-style
whiskey in the Denver suburb of Arvada.
The Millers aren’t the only U.S. whiskey mak-
ers smitten with the Irish style, typically lighter
than Scotch and mellower than bourbon. Fusing
Irish and homegrown traditions, Irish-American
whiskey has emerged as a category all its own.
Talnua’s whiskeys (currently sold only in
Colorado) are made with American barley,
both malted and unmalted, and distilled in
copper pot stills similar to those traditionally
used in Ireland, but in this case designed by
Patrick Miller. “We like to say it’s an American
whiskey with an Irish soul,” said Maya Hahn,
Talnua’s general manager.
For years, the Irish style was little known
among American drinkers. But after a decades-
long downward spiral, the Irish whiskey industry
is bouncing back, and Irish exports to the U.S.
are on the rise: According to the Distilled Spirits
Council of the United States, Irish whiskey sales
stateside grew 6.9% from 2021 to 2022.
The fresh, light character that American
drinkers have come to appreciate in Irish
whiskey takes on a Kentucky twang in some
of the U.S.-made bottles. Credit time spent in
new-oak barrels—the type used for bourbon—
which deliver flavors of vanilla and spice.
Other Irish-American whiskeys literally
combine Irish-made spirits with American
ones. Founded in Minneapolis in 2021 by Irish-
American cousins Patrick and Michael
O’Shaughnessy, Keeper’s Heart Whiskey of-
fers various bottlings that blend pot-still
whiskey made at Great Northern Distillery in
Dundalk, Ireland, with American-made bour-
bon or rye. The O’Shaugnessys’ team, likewise
HALF FULL land, and adviser David Perkins, founder of
Utah’s High West Distillery.
According to Patrick Caulfield, marketing di-
The Best of Both Worlds rector for Keeper’s Heart, blending whiskeys
from different countries would have been
frowned on a decade ago. “Now you realize
Irish-American whiskeys offer a beautiful balance of traditions blending can deliver something really excep-
tional,” he said. Bold American whiskey can add
dimension to lighter Irish whiskey, while the nu-
ances of Irish can round the edges off American
bourbon or rye. Each of the whiskeys that follow
strikes that balance in its own delicious way.
5 Irish-American Whiskeys to Try Now
1. Keeper’s Heart Irish + Bourbon Cask
Strength $50 A mix of 2/3 bourbon and 1/3
Irish whiskey, this bold sipper melds baked ap-
ple and butterscotch, finishing brisk and warm-
ing. Bottled at 118 proof, this is an overproof
spirit with plenty of robust flavor, best enjoyed
with a splash of water or over a cube of ice.
2. Hercules Mulligan Eyr & Rye $50 This is ac-
tually a bottled cocktail, blending two Irish whis-
keys and three American ryes with cherry juice
and bitters in a full-flavored, slightly fruity drink.
3. Restless Spirits Stone Breaker $44 This
honeyed bottling is a blend of four-year-old
whiskey imported from Ireland and Restless
Spirits’ American malt whiskey.
1 4. Brothership Irish-American Whiskey $52 A
mix of 55% Irish whiskey from well-respected
2 distillery Connacht and 45% American whiskey,
both 10 years old, this blend offers bright tropi-
3 cal fruit and light hints of salt and smoke.
5. Four Walls Irish American Whiskey $32
4
Blending malt and grain Irish whiskeys with
American rye, this drinks like a lighter-style
NICOLÒ CANOVA

an Irish-American blend, includes master dis- 5 American whiskey. Mix this versatile spirit into
tiller Brian Nation, wooed over from the hot toddies or chase with a beer.
Jameson Whiskey Distillery in Midleton, Ire- —Kara Newman
 p y p p p g ( ) j p

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. * * * * NY Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | D7

EATING & DRINKING

Sous Vide Cod With
Carrots and Leeks
Serves 4 Total Time: 35
minutes
4 medium carrots, cut into
matchsticks
2 large leeks, white and pale-
green parts only, washed
and cut into matchsticks
4 tablespoons unsalted
butter
Kosher salt and freshly
ground black pepper
1 pound cod filet (cut into
4 pieces)
1. Combine carrots, leeks and
butter with ¾ teaspoon salt
and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a
large skillet. Cook, covered but
stirring occasionally, until just
tender, about 6 minutes. Turn
off heat and let cool slightly.
F. MARTIN RAMIN/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FOOD AND PROP STYLING BY MIEKO TAKAHASHI
the water bath to stay at 140 de-
grees indefinitely. That means the
fish never gets hotter, no matter
how long it cooks—practically
guaranteeing perfect results.
The key to sous vide is tempera-
ture control. And the key to that is
an immersion circulator, a wand-
like motorized device you stick in
a pot of water that keeps the wa-
ter at a specific temperature. Cir-
culators range in price from
around $65 to more than $900; I
ordered my Inkbird model online
for about $80 and it works great.
If that’s more than you want to
spend and you don’t mind working
a bit harder, you can also get the
job done by bringing a large pot of
Most seafood demands
quick cooking just

2. Season cod with salt before serving to avoid

and pepper on all sides, then
transfer to a gallon-size
sealable bag, like a zip-lock
or a sous-vide bag. Top cod
with carrot mixture. Seal bag
using a vacuum sealer or the
water displacement method.
(Slowly lower the food-filled
bag into a pan of water until
the bag closes around the
food, then quickly seal it up.)
overcooking—but not
when you use sous vide.
water to temperature on your
stove, monitoring it with an in-
stant-read thermometer and ad-
justing as needed to keep it steady.
A vacuum sealer is the most

Fuss-Free Fish
3. Sous vide bag at 140 de-
grees until cod is no longer
opaque and easily flakes
when squeezed, 12 to 15 min-
utes. If bag floats, weigh it
Once only for pros, the sous-vide method is a foolproof down with a plate or a small
way to cook seafood—and easier than you think pot. Transfer contents of bag
to a serving platter and serve
immediately.
LOVE ME TENDER Slow, low cooking keeps cod and other delicate fish from overcooking and turning tough.
BY IAN KNAUER membered the dishwasher. I warmed water bath. And it’s still ability to transfer heat—to your
convenient way to bag up ingredi-
ents, but resealable plastic and re-
usable silicone sous-vide bags
work as other, less-cheffy options.
To “vacuum” the air from the lat-
ter, try something called the water
displacement method. After you’ve
filled your bag, submerge it in a
pot of water up to the top, then
quickly seal it. The pressure of the
water will push out most of the
air, ensuring the bag doesn’t float,

D
ECADES AGO I
made a living cook-
ing in New York
City. By day, I tested
recipes for Gourmet
magazine. By night, I supple-
mented my meager wage by using
its test kitchen (without permis-
sion) to cater private dinners. One
evening, I arrived at a posh apart-
ment to prepare a four-course
meal for 20, only to learn that,
without warning, the gas had been
shut off. Fish was on the menu and
I had no way to cook it. Then I re-
popped the filets in zip-lock bags,
used a straw to suck the air from
inside and placed the sealed pack-
ets on the top rack. After 10 min-
utes on the rinse cycle the fish
was perfectly cooked, the guests
were delighted and I had cash to
pay my rent.
It might sound like a stunt, but
my method was inspired by a tech-
nique common in professional
kitchens: sous vide. Despite the
fancy name, the process simply
means sealing food in an airtight
container, usually a plastic bag,
and cooking it in a precisely-
the best, most leisurely way I skin, or in the case of sous-vide which would inhibit even cooking.
know to cook fish. cooking, to your food.
Unlike braised dishes, like beef It really is that simple. From silky
Here’s why it works—and stew, that can be made ahead cod with carrots and leeks (pic-
how. Imagine sticking and reheated, most sea- tured above) to tender tomato
your hand into a 212- food demands quick orzo shrimp and seared scallops
degree oven. It would cooking just before with bacon and peas, with the tini-
feel like a sauna. serving, lest it turn est amount of work, you’ll find
Next, picture sticking dry and tough. Gener- nearly limitless recipe possibilities.
your hand into a pot ally speaking, to keep Want a jump-start on the week?
of boiling water—also fish moist and flaky, Prep, fill and seal your sous-vide
212 degrees. Yep, that you want to cook it to bags ahead of time, then stash
would really hurt. 140 degrees or less. them in the fridge until you’re
What makes the dif-  Find recipes for seared The genius of the ready to cook. Once you are, just
ference? Water’s scallops and orzo shrimp sous-vide method is drop them into your heated water
much more efficient at WSJ.com/Food. that you can program and relax. Dinner is in the bag.
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D8 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024
Back Off, Black. Beat It, White.
It’s been trendy to paint your house severe noir or stark farmhouse white. In a shift, homeowners and
design pros are drawing from the natural world, choosing brooding greens and clotted creams.
BY ANTONIA VAN DER MEER
W
HEN KYLIE and Steven
Garubba began drawing up
plans for their dream home
in Moscow, Penn., they re-
jected the monochromatic
black look—siding, trim and window frames—
that trended during the pandemic. Ditto the
modern farmhouse style of paper-white sid-
ing with ebony window frames, which Steven
said, “looks like bad mascara.”
Instead, the founders of architectural de-
sign firm Criterion Workshop will paint their
home Benjamin Moore’s Grenadier Pond, a
deep sage green straight from the forest’s
playbook that will chime with their property,
especially in fall. “It reflects and harmonizes
with the warm tones of yellow and gold au-
tumn leaves in the Poconos,” said Kylie, re-
ferring to the home’s mountainous site. The
pair posted a rendering of their future house
on social media and credit it with doubling
their followers and attracting new clients.
“It has gotten quite a lot of attention.”
It caught ours. The dark wave of homes—
painted the matte black that hip home dwell-
ers harp on or the safe gray speculators fa-
vor—seems finally to be losing momentum.
“Not to disparage the adorable dolphin, but
good riddance to ‘flipper gray,’” said Dallas de-
signer Jacklyn Caveny. “It’s so depressing.”
Though such funereal hues are not com-
pletely passé as exterior colors, nature-in-
spired shades such as rich greens, earthy
browns, warm taupes and creamy whites are
pushing through like crocuses after a long
winter. “People view their homes differently
STEPHEN KARLISCH (COATS HOMES); STEVEN AND KYLIE GARUBBA, CRITERION WORKSHOP (RENDERING); BESTOR ARCHITECTURE; HEATHER RADFORD (ACM); F. MARTIN RAMIN/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (PAINT STICKS)
since the pandemic. There has been a deep
spiritual shift and greater interest in a con-
nectivity to the earth,” said Shelagh Conway
of Triple Heart Design in Austin, Texas. Af-
ter Americans spent years “ushering the
outdoors in”—design speak for the “bio-
philia” trend that saw soul-salving house-
plants crowd interiors and olive greens tint
our kitchen cabinets—our shingles and sid-
ings are feeling the love. Exterior finishes,
said Conway, have seen a shift “to an or-
ganic, natural feel, and Mother Nature pro-
vides us with an incredible palette.”
Benjamin Moore has noted a rise in the
popularity of organic, earthy exterior paint
shades, said Andrea Magno, the company’s di-
rector of color marketing and design. The top
10 exterior colors selected on Moore’s website
still include two blacks and a charcoal, but
2023 saw Essex Green, a deep, clear green,
crack the list. “People want familiar colors
found in nature. They see the home as a place
to feel safe and comfortable,” said Magno.
The move away from the black-as-night
shades seems less a leap into brightness and
more a slow dance toward the dawn. People
OUTSIDE INFLUENCES / FIVE NATURE-INSPIRED EXTERIOR PAINT COLORS DESIGNERS ARE TURNING TO TODAY
Shoji White
SW 7042
in Exterior
Paint, from
$122 a
gallon,
Sherwin-
Williams.com
p p
DESIGN & DECORATING
VERSATILE VERDURE Dusky greens suit both a 1960s-era home in Los Angeles renovated by
Bestor Architecture (above, in Benjamin Moore’s Cabbage Patch) and a traditionally styled
house by Asheville, N.C., firm ACM Architecture (Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze).
are still craving dusky hues. “The moodiness
is what people gravitate toward,” said Sean
Anderson, an interior designer in Memphis,
Tenn. “Dark olives and deep greens still
work like a neutral, which makes people
comfortable with experimentation.”
Black and gray exteriors can skew tonally
cool, even chilly, notes Andrew Edwins, asso-
ciate principle at PKA Architecture in Minne-
apolis. He says people are either embracing
that coolness but choosing to achieve it with
Plover
Exterior
Eggshell,
$44 a quart,
Graham-
Brown.com
p g
* ***
actual colors (“usually a dark blue”) or “try-
ing to warm up the coolness by substituting
a bronze color.” Many design professionals
are leaning toward the latter.
“We recently opted for Sherwin-Williams
Roycroft Bronze Green, a dark spruce exterior
color, in lieu of a black or gray,” said Jean Liu,
an interior designer in Dallas. “It gives the
same sense of drama without being quite as
severe.” Architect Tammy Angaran, director
of operations at PKA Architecture, recalls that
Grenadier No. 40
Pond 698, Mouse’s
from $59 Back in
a gallon, Exterior Egg-
Benjamin- shell, $150
Moore.com a gallon,
Farrow-
Ball.com
( ) j p
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
LIVING COLORS From left: Cloud Cover by
Benjamin Moore, as seen on a Dallas home by
Coats Homes; Benjamin Moore Grenadier
Pond, in a rendering of a future home in
Moscow, Penn., by Criterion Workshop.
in a recent project in Wisconsin, dark bronze
metal siding picked up the colors of nearby
tree trunks, helping satisfy a client’s wish that
the home fit into its surroundings. “The house
really recedes into the woods,” she said. Many
homeowners seek discretion, observed Amy
Conner-Murphy. The founder of ACM Design
Architecture & Interiors in Asheville, N.C., has
deployed Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze, as
seen at bottom left, on a number of homes in
the mountains of western North Carolina.
“Not only do homeowners want to be nestled
into nature and not see their neighbors,” she
said. “They don’t necessarily want their
neighbors seeing them either.”
The refreshing exterior paint choices re-
flect a swing back to tradition. “I think peo-
ple are in search of more authenticity in a
fake social media world,” said Steven Gar-
ubba. Indeed, the practice of slapping the
modern-farmhouse aesthetic on every type
of home seems to be slowing too. “A paint
scheme based on a white clapboard farm-
house look with black trim does not lend it-
self to every architectural style or exterior
material,” said Melinda O’Connor, principal
‘We have recently opted for a
dark spruce exterior color, in
lieu of a black or gray. It gives
the same sense of drama
without being quite as severe.’
of Philadelphia’s Melinda Kelson O’Connor
Architecture and Interiors. Listing poor can-
didates for the treatment, O’Connor pointed
to stone and brick houses, beach cottages
and intricately embellished Victorians. “The
neighborhood, climate and size of the house
also help dictate which colors will feel most
natural and sophisticated,” she said.
The icy white of the modern farmhouse
palette, like the cool white of minimalist in-
teriors, is thawing. “In the last year, we’ve
seen creamier whites and warmer, light
beige shades move up the rank in top exte-
rior tints, replacing gray and white,” said
Sue Wadden, director of color marketing at
Sherwin-Williams. Designer Conway espe-
cially likes the paint brand’s Shoji White. “It
is a beautiful creamy white that works well
with a warm palette while still being bright,”
she said. Coats Homes, a custom home-build-
ing company in Dallas, selected Benjamin
Moore’s Cloud Cover for the home pictured
above. Said owner Ben Coats, “An off-white
exterior color like Cloud Cover is a great
choice if you like a crisp, clean look but don’t
want your house to feel too sterile.”
Some consider these choices mere baby
steps away from a black and white world.
Still, “brighter colors, too, are starting to
make their way into the zeitgeist,” said inte-
rior designer Robin Standefer, of Roman and
Williams Guild in New York. “People want
some joy.” It may start with just trim, but
she believes people will eventually get
bolder and use it on the whole house.
Speaking of trim, design pros from Los
Angeles to Brooklyn, as well as paint compa-
nies Sherwin-Williams and Farrow & Ball,
confirm that homeowners increasingly wel-
come jaunty adornment. “We have also been
seeing—and doing—a lot more strategic bold
colors to draw the eye to certain elements
like a front door,” said Kristine Anderson,
managing principal at Minneapolis’s PKA.
Bestor Architecture in Los Angeles revved
up the recent renovation of a 1960s house by
painting it Benjamin Moore’s Cabbage Patch
(a dusky green) and adding a coat of orange-
red, Benjamin Moore’s Tawny DayLily, on the
entry portal. “The whole exterior doesn’t
have to be loud,” said architect Barbara
Bestor. “The door adds personality and puts a
smile on the face of the person entering.”
Allbåck
Green Umber
Linseed Oil
Paint,
$68 a liter,
SageRestora-
tion.com
 p y
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
RUMBLE SEAT / DAN NEIL
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt
About EVs: Let’s Clear the Air
JOHN W. TOMAC
HOW COLD WAS IT? Last
week, when temperatures in
the Midwest plummeted,
some Tesla Supercharger
stations in the Chicago area
were rendered inoperative,
leaving owners frozen to
their cars for many hours.
Tesla-pops.
If you saw that and won-
dered why any sane person
would ever want an electric
car, I’m here to tell you, it’s
not always easy. I mean,
those scenes in Chicago
looked like something out of
Dante. Skeptics are right to
call out EV batteries’ vulner-
ability to cold, which cuts
into range. It’s also true that
many EVs fall short of their
EPA-estimated range. Battery
fires, glitchy software, un-
sold EVs piling up at dealer-
ships, major losses for legacy
automakers—all true.
And yet, people keep buy-
ing them. Sales of plug-
equipped passenger vehicles
grew 31% in 2023 to claim
more than 15% (14.2 million)
of the global passenger-car
market, according to
Bloomberg New Energy Fi-
nance. Battery electric vehi-
cles (BEVs) accounted for
about 70%, with plug-in hy-
brids (PHEVs) and a smatter-
ing of fuel-cell vehicles mak-
ing up the rest.
For the year, Tesla sold 1.8
million vehicles, making the
American company the most
popular EV brand in the
world. But in a sign of things
to come, Chinese automaker
BYD surpassed Tesla in EV
sales in the last quarter.
Stateside, sales of plugga-
ble vehicles grew 50% in
2023, to about 1.4 million. In
Q4 BEV sales hit a record
8.1% market share, with Tesla
accounting for about half.
Notably, the market share of
PHEVs—often cited as a
bridge technology between
CHARGE FORWARD The BYD Dolphin has overtaken Tesla as the bestselling EV on the planet.
p p
* * * *
gas and electric propulsion—
has flatlined in the U.S.
Encouraged by consumer
demand and policy support in
major markets, the Interna-
tional Energy Agency’s 2023
Global EV Outlook projects
that battery-electric vehicles
(BEVs) will account for 36%
of global passenger-car sales
by 2030, up 22% from the
previous year’s projection.
Sure, most of that is
China, now both the world’s
biggest car market and auto
exporter. The U.S. consti-
tutes about 11% of the pas-
senger-car market. But it
hardly matters. By dint of
sheer scale, China now de-
termines the auto industry’s
direction and macroeconom-
ics. Where they go we go.
Battery fires, unsold EVs piling up at
dealerships, major losses for automakers—
all true. And yet people keep buying them.
It’s also clear from my in-
box that many are overly in-
vested in the FUD—fear, un-
certainty and doubt—about
vehicle electrification. I’ll get
to that.
But, as a shortcut to com-
mon ground, I always encour-
age EV skeptics to just drive
one. Then we’ll talk. The con-
sumer experience is superior:
quicker, quieter, more refined
and responsive, more effi-
cient, more connected and
cheaper to operate than its
gas-powered equivalent. The
market demand is organic,
the desire real and nonideo-
logical. After a few miles in
an EV, going back to internal
combustion feels like return-
ing to whale-oil lamps.
Some of my fellow travel-
ers suspect there must be a
conspiracy to trash-talk elec-
NY
GEAR & GADGETS
trification in the media,
funded by Big Oil. I take a
contrary view: It didn’t take
a conspiracy to make EVs
look bad. The first genera-
tion of cars—the Nissan Leaf,
the Chevy Bolt, the BMW
i3—were compromised by a
lack of range (low energy
density) and the inadequacy
of public charging. God
knows, I’ve been there. Elec-
trify America, on behalf of
early adopters: Bite me.
In retrospect, the pessi-
mism also represented a fail-
ure of communication. Legacy
automakers should have made
clear at the outset that EVs
were short-range commuter
cars, designed to be charged
overnight at home, not on the
frozen tundra of Illinois. Hind-
sight being 20/20, automakers
should have emphasized resi-
dential charging first.
Nor have Ford or GM’s ef-
forts thus far inspired a lot of
confidence. GM’s Ultium sys-
tem—the core of a new family
of mass-market EVs—has
been plagued by production
delays. Ultium has other is-
sues, too, including low en-
ergy density and high cost.
Together these elements pro-
duce the GMC Hummer EV, a
monster truck weighing 9,000
pounds and costing six fig-
ures. It’s as if they were try-
ing to give EVs a bad name.
Ford’s fumbling of its F-150
Lightning pickup was also
pretty hard to watch. The fin-
ished product, when it came,
looked like Tarzan but hit like
Boy, badly underperforming
when it came to doing trucky
things, like trailering boats in
cold weather.
So, sure, the heartland re-
mains decidedly undecided.
Baby, it’s cold outside.
But the weather is about
to change. This year, incen-
tives built into the Inflation
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Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024 | D9
Reduction Act—allowing con-
sumers to claim tax credits
at the point of sale, for ex-
ample—are expected to spur
consumer demand. Mean-
while, some legacy automak-
ers are finding their product-
design feet. BMW reported
THE NEW
GENERATION
OF LUXURY
j p
that EVs accounted for 20%
of its 2023 volume and al-
most all its sales growth.
If you think EVs are too
expensive, just wait. The
mother of price wars is com-
ing consumers’ way, as Tesla
continues to leverage its low
production costs to undercut
the competition. Tesla
watchers also expect the
company to unveil its long-
awaited Model 2 later this
year, with a similarly long-
awaited $25,000 price tag.
Charging: After a decade of
self-sabotage, most automak-
ers decided last year to adopt
Tesla’s NACS charging stan-
dard in the U.S., which will al-
low their customers to use
Tesla’s robust Supercharging
network, like civilized people.
Meanwhile, the Biden admin-
istration is targeting a half-
million public fast chargers in
the field by 2030. Pretty soon
range anxiety will be returned
to neurotics.
Some FUD is simply out of
date. For example, the prohib-
itively high cost of batteries.
In 2023 alone, lithium battery
pack prices fell 14%, according
to BloombergNEF’s Zero Emis-
sions Vehicle Factbook—a
tenth of where it stood a de-
cade ago. The race to the bot-
tom on cost will also eliminate
the use of battery tech’s most
problematic material: cobalt.
Advanced lithium-iron phos-
phate (LFP) batteries use no
cobalt and have a lot of other
agreeable properties, too, in-
cluding being more durable,
less flammable and cheaper.
The most pernicious FUD
may be the idea that EVs
can’t move the needle on
carbon emissions. They al-
ready are. EV adoption cut
demand for oil by 1.8 million
barrels in 2023, according to
BloombergNEF, thereby
avoiding 122 megatons of
carbon-dioxide emissions.
I know they’re not for ev-
erybody, but as for me, you
can have my EV when you
pry it from my cold, frostbit-
ten fingers.
 p y
D10 | Saturday/Sunday, January 20 - 21, 2024
Be Still, My
Pixelated Heart
Continued from page D1
Split the Work Chores suck, but having to
manage who does them is worse—no one
wants to feel like their partner’s kindergar-
ten teacher. New apps aim to relieve the
deeply unromantic headaches of running a
house and put everyone in a more loving
mood. Sweepy lets you make a list of neces-
sary chores and assign points for the chores
you do based on their difficulty level. It’s
free, but with the $9-a-month premium sub-
scription, the app will create a smart clean-
ing schedule for you. Nipto offers similar
features for free, but is geared toward fami-
lies. The cheery interface lets you custom-
ize each task’s point values. (Your husband
might not get 20 points for brushing his
teeth, but your 5-year-old might.) Let your
app do the nagging for you.
Make a Photo Book Chatbooks makes creat-
ing a physical photobook almost impossibly
easy for as low as $15, provided you don’t
dither about which Grand Canyon couple pho-
tos should grace the cover. You can follow
Harry’s lead and make a “mundane” photo-
book of stale pastries, but assembling nice
couple photos works, too. For a basic photo-
book, you first establish a few parameters—
size of book, soft or hard cover, color or
B&W—then add photos. You pay extra for any
pages beyond the first 30. Chatbooks’ tem-
plates let you easily add text or make “col-
lages.” If you don’t like the result, there’s a
money-back guarantee, but also, adorably, a
“toddler guarantee” if your kid damages it.
Romance Rig
These apps and gadgets can
make you a better partner
1 2
4 6
1. Spotify will make playlists for you and your partner;
2. Courant Mag:3 Classics Dual Device Charging Tray, from
$150, StayCourant.com; 3. Use Chatbooks to create elegant
photo books (from $15, Chatbooks.com); 4. Philips Hue
smart light bulbs ($200, Philips-Hue.com);
THE FIXER / DANIEL VARGHESE
Can a Mere Monitor
Be a Multiplex?
Q I live in a small apart-
ment and don’t want a
TV, especially since my com-
puter monitor already takes
up a lot of room. How could I
make my monitor into an ac-
tual entertainment system?
A Many TV companies
have tried to make
screens that blend more
seamlessly into one’s decor—
the Samsung Frame (from
$600, Samsung.com), for ex-
ample, resembles a simply
framed piece of wall art and
can shuffle through chosen
photos when not in use.
That said, it’s still another
screen. I like your proposed so-
lution, since most modern, 27-
inch monitors are sufficiently
bright, color-accurate and high-
def to be appreciated from the
comfort of a sofa on an oppo-
site wall. To make yours work
as an entertainment hub, get
an HDMI splitter that has
enough inputs for your laptop,
The Wall Street Journal is not compensated by retailers listed in its articles as outlets for products. Listed retailers frequently are not the sole retail outlets.
p p
GEAR & GADGETS
Tech Pointers for
Long-Distance Lovers
These far-flung couples say
that using tech more intentionally
makes long-distance intimacy
possible—sometimes preferable
WHEN SARA BACON, now 44,
and Toni Hartley, 43, met at
their Smith College reunion 12
years ago, neither thought it
would lead to much. Bacon
had launched a business in
Brooklyn. Hartley, a nutrition-
ist, was newly divorced in
Carrboro, N.C., and about to
embark on a months-long ad-
venture abroad. They started
emailing anyway. The notes
were “the longest, yummiest,
lushiest,” Hartley said. “We fell
in love during that trip.”
The obstacles of remote ro-
mance are a fixture of litera-
ture—“The Odyssey” begins
with Penelope and Odysseus
separated by war; the “To All
The Boys I’ve Loved Before”
young-adult trilogy ends with
Lara Jean and Peter heading off
to different colleges. But,
thanks to modern technology,
for some long-distance couples,
reunion needn’t be the goal.
3 For Date Night
5 a hookup who had a phone charger for
7 8
5. The Nipto app will help you split household chores like
sweeping the kitchen; 6. The free Vivino app coaches you
to find new wines; 7. The Cupla calendar app makes
scheduling a date night easy; 8. Apple says you will be able
to make collaborative playlists with Apple Music soon.
videogame consoles and DVD
players (assuming you still
Next I’d suggest getting
the Roku Streaming Stick
have one). A staggeringly long ($50, Roku.com), which I re-
list of manufacturers makes lied on before getting a smart
these cheap gizmos that can TV, or the recently redesigned
sit between your devices and Google Chromecast ($30,
screen—so get one from an es- Store.Google.com), another
tablished company that has a streaming stick. Either will
functional customer-service
department. I’ve always found
AV gear from Monoprice, a
easily plug into any HDMI
switch (or directly into your
monitor) and unlock a more
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.- traditional TV and movie
based retailer, reliable. Its watching experience, clicker
Blackbird Pro 4K switch ($60, and all. It’ll be just like you’re
Monoprice.com) with four in- using a smart TV.
puts is likely a good bet. I would caution you, how-
ever, not to just hook these
up and call it a day. For
one, while monitors offer ex-
cellent image quality, they
lack sonic prowess. Even
monitors with built-in speak-
ers often sound so terrible
you’d be better off plugging
in an ancient pair of Apple
Audioengine HD3 EarPods, setting the buds on
Home Music System, your desk and cranking the
$349, Audioengine.com volume as loud as it can go.
Instead, invest in a solid set
On Air Sam Broussard, 29, a
pilot based in Chicago, and his
girlfriend, Alyssa Gregory, 30, a
pilot based in Honolulu, are
constantly moving between
time zones. Snapchat lets
them communicate asynchro-
nously. They casually send
each other sweet videos and
inside jokes, to be watched
upon waking up or landing. If
they were based in the same
city, “we could have a dog,”
Broussard fantasizes. But he
wouldn’t trade places with
anyone; the couple’s shared ca-
reer goals and wanderlust are
what drew them together.
Make a Mixtape Mutual re-
spect for the other’s work
keeps Vincenzo Catarisano, 31,
an opera singer in New York,
and Andrew MacLeod, 25, a
trombonist in the Netherlands,
together. To stay in touch, they
like to “give each other little
of bookshelf speakers and
plug them into your monitor’s
audio output jack. The rich,
vibrant sound profile of the
Audioengine HD3 speakers
($349, Audioengine.com)
would impress anyone.
p g ( ) j p
* *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
projects,” Catarisano said, of- some peo-
ten in the form of book and ple use
music recommendations. They Chrome exten-
use a shared iCloud Note for sions like Teleparty
novel quotes and a Spotify to create virtual view rooms.
playlist for songs.
Explore Low-Tech, Too Los
Screen Time Some couples Angeles is home base for
choose to retain a little distance screenwriter Andrea Shaw-
even after shortening it. When cross, 42, and her husband,
Bacon, the Brooklyn business cinematographer David Stock-
owner, could finally relocate to ton, 58, but Shawcross spends
North Carolina, she and Hartley each summer in Vancouver,
chose to continue living sepa- Canada. And, depending on the
rately in adjacent houses. They show he’s working on, Stock-
maintained the arrangement ton spends up to nine months
even after their daughter’s away. They use email, text and
birth. “We’ll sleep as a family video calls to stay in touch but
probably like three nights a also dabble in another love
week,” Hartley said. Sometimes, language: messages written
CUBE/ILLUSTRATIONX; GETTY IMAGES (2)
even now, on a night apart, Ba- with the old-fashioned gadget
con and Hartley will watch a known as a pen. “I’ll go travel-
movie together, remotely, as ing and then open up my pass-
they did in their early courtship. port for the customs guy and
They’ll make the FaceTime call a Post-it [from Stockton] will
from one device and play the fall out,” Shawcross said.
movie on another. They know —Dorie Chevlen
Set the Mood Dimming the lights can feel
cheesy—is Marvin Gaye about to start play-
ing? But bright lighting kills intimacy. Philips
Hue makes smart bulbs that let you subdue
the lights (or change their color if corny fun
doesn’t bother you) with a simple voice com-
mand. Unwilling to instruct your Amazon Al-
exa or Google Home smart speaker to “dim
living room lights!” in front of your date?
Just use the app. Their starter kit comes
with a Hue Bridge box—which you plug into
your router—and four bulbs. You can even
get twinkle lights and lightstrips that go be-
hind your TV and can sync with your movie.
Get Your Partner a Charger A key axiom of
romance: Things happen when you least ex-
pect them to. Caitlin Ackerman, 36, a come-
dian in Los Angeles, recalls the sweetness of
guests next to his bed. She woke up to find
he’d sufficiently charged her phone to let her
call an Uber to get back home. To provide
the same service, get a charging mat for your
bedside table that eliminates the need to
keep a library of phone chargers on hand.
Courant’s MAG:3 charger is compatible with
multiple devices and can even charge Air-
Pods simultaneously. Plus, it doubles as a
chic bedside table tray, to let overnight
guests stash keys, jewelry or glasses.
Choose a Better Bottle So you whipped up
linguine and clams to impress a date? Good
start. Too bad about that terrible wine you
unwittingly bought to pair with it. The
Vivino App lets you scan bottles to find out
more information like price, grapes, region
and reviews. Vivino also lets you know how
the wine ranks among its winery, region,
country and globally. It generates a taste
profile for you and saves wines you scan and
drink so you can start learning more about
what you (or your date) like.
KIERSTEN ESSENPREIS
Further, before playing a 500-square-foot studio
whatever show you use to apartment, hides her mouse,
unwind, clear your desk of keyboard and files away in a
any work materials, advises drawer each day so that she
Alex Kalita, principal designer isn’t tempted to think about
at Common Bond Design in active projects while watching
Brooklyn. Kalita, who lives in “The Simpsons” on her iMac.