The big short strikes again? – Shares of Nvidia and Palantir fell 4% and 8%, respectively, on 11/4, the day after Michael Burry, the investor who bet against the US housing market in 2008, announced he'd taken short positions in both companies, citing the vulnerability of their steep valuations and high growth expectations. The announcement came on the heels of Nvidia becoming the first company to hit a $5 trillion market cap and Palantir having just announced an earnings beat for the second quarter. (Source: Business Insider)

Seen this film before, didn't like the ending – For only the second time in history, the CAPE ratio for US stocks has climbed above 40, a level previously seen at the peak of the dot-com bubble. Historically, such high valuations have signaled low or even negative real returns for stocks over the following decade. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

The real K-pop – Korean equities posted a 23% gain October, boosted by a massive partnership between OpenAI, Samsung, and SK Hynix for semiconductors. The deal helped bring Korea’s year-to-date returns to more than 90%, which further widened the performance gap between emerging-market equities and their developed-market and domestic counterparts. (Sources: Morningstar and Bloomberg, represented by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index as of 10/31/25)

To have and to hold … my debt – Student-loan debt reached $1.7 trillion in the third quarter, about the same as Americans' auto-loan debt. Delinquencies jumped from 0.77% from the third quarter of 2024 to 14.26% in the third quarter of 2025, which explains why 77% of young couples with student-loan debt say they’d consider a prenup before tying the knot. (Sources: Investment News and the New York Federal Reserve)

Put that picket fence on a payment plan – The median age of first-time homebuyers has reached 40, the highest ever recorded. The shifting milestone highlights the affordability squeeze, with high prices and scarce inventory forcing young adults to wait. First-time buyers now make up just 21% of all homebuyers—a historic low. (Sources: Bankrate the National Association of Realtors)

You shall not pass (a budget) – The 2025 US government shutdown officially became the longest in American history, surpassing the previous 35-day record set in 2019. This marks the fifteenth shutdown since the practice began in 1980, highlighting a growing trend of prolonged funding impasses (Source: CBS News)

Unhappy hours – Only 31% of US employees feel engaged at work these days, a 10-year low. The main reasons for low engagement include unclear expectations, lack of recognition, and poor communication from leaders. Many employees also feel disconnected from their company’s mission and don’t see opportunities for growth. Engagement peaked in 2020 and has been on the decline ever since. (Source: Gallup)

Move a little, benefit a lot – A new study suggests that walking just 3,000 to 5,000 steps a day may help slow memory decline in older adults who are at higher risk for Alzheimer’s. The biggest benefits were seen in those with early signs of Alzheimer’s-related changes in the brain who engaged in moderate activity—though benefits plateaued around 7,500 steps. (Source: The New York Times)

Gotta steal 'em all – As the prices and collectability of Pokémon cards has skyrocketed in recent years, so has the number of thefts of the cards, both individually and in unopened packs. Thieves have targeted both retailers and personal homes for their heists, and it's no surprise considering the rarest cards in the new Mega Evolutions set have been selling for more than $1,000. (Sources: Sherwood News and eBay)

No longer just America’s pastime – The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays played the most-globally watched World Series game in 34 years on 11/1. The Game 7 match-up averaged 51 million viewers across the US, Canada, and Japan, making it the most-watched World Series game since 1991. (Source: MLB)