Competition is Killing Us: How Big Business is Harming Our Society and Planet – and What To Do About It
by Michelle Meagher
Interview with author via Pitchfork Economics
Neoliberal economics says free trade is always good, and its followers try to lower trade barriers without discretion. Freedom is an essential ingredient for successful international trade—but that doesn’t mean all trade should be unregulated. Competition law expert Michelle Meagher joins Goldy to debunk common competition myths and talk about strategies to hold powerful monopolies accountable.

Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live
by Nicholas A. Christakis
Review via Minneapolis Star Tribune
In the predawn hours of Oct. 2, my wife stirred me awake with the breaking news that President Donald Trump and the first lady had tested positive for COVID-19. I immediately reached across cat-studded blankets for my phone: Leading epidemiologists were already tweeting out astute analysis and treatment options.

One such Twitter influencer is Nicholas A. Christakis, a lauded Yale scientist whose capacious, gripping “Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live” is the first major COVID-19 book out of the gate, buoying the reader from Wuhan to Washington, from New York to New Zealand.

Market Momentum: Theory and Practice
by Stephen Satchell and Andrew Grant
Summary via publisher (Wiley)
Market Momentum: Theory and Practice is a thorough, how-to reference guide for a full range of financial professionals and students. It examines the behavioral and statistical causes of market momentum while also exploring the practical side of implementing related strategies. The phenomenon of momentum in finance occurs when past high returns are followed by subsequent high returns, and past low returns are followed by subsequent low returns. Market Momentum provides a detailed introduction to the financial topic, while examining existing literature. Recent academic and practitioner research is included, offering a more up-to-date perspective.

The Asset Economy
by Lisa Adkins, et al.
Excerpt via LA Review of Books
The key element shaping inequality is no longer the employment relationship, but rather whether one is able to buy assets that appreciate at a faster rate than both inflation and wages. Employment remains an important factor as it shapes the ability to do so (e.g., the ability to service a mortgage), but it is increasingly only one among other factors.

Plastic Free: The Inspiring Story of a Global Environmental Movement and Why It Matters
by Rebecca Prince-Ruiz and Joanna Atherfold Finn.
Review via Publishers Weekly
“Plastic Free July” founder Prince-Ruiz tells the story of how she started an environmental movement and offers solutions for decreasing waste in this accessible account. In 2011, a visit to an Australian recycling facility left her “overwhelmed and frankly mortified” at the amount of trash she saw. She decided to go plastic-free for a month, a challenge she invited colleagues and friends to take up as well. With time and the help of social media, the challenge became a global movement that, Prince-Ruiz writes, has reached over 250 million people.

Portfolio Management in Practice, Volume 2: Asset Allocation (CFA Institute Investment Series)
from CFA Institute
Summary via publisher (Wiley)
Part of the CFA Institute’s three-volume Portfolio Management in Practice series, Asset Allocation offers a deep, comprehensive ­treatment of the asset allocation process and the underlying theories and markets that support it. As the second volume in the series, Asset Allocation meets the needs of both graduate-level students focused on finance and industry professionals looking to become more dynamic investors. Filled with the insights and industry knowledge of the CFA Institute’s subject matter experts, Asset Allocation effectively blends theory and practice while helping the reader expand their skillsets in key areas of interest.