Happy Sunday! And Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there. I've got a lot of good stuff this week so saddle up partner because I'm about to load you up with some reading material.

Alrighty on to the Stir!

The World of China

China! (In Donald Trump's voice) Do you consider China to be an ally or an enemy of the United States? My opinion when I lived there was that China was not an ally but also not an enemy. Just a country on somewhat friendly terms with the US. They were focused on industrializing their country, growing their economy, and minding their own business. But things have changed. Personally, I consider them an enemy now. I'm not the only whose opinion has changed. In fact, more people consider them to be an enemy now than years past. Take a look at this chart. COVID definitely added fuel to the fire in how people see China.

The World of Babies

Among the many things that COVID disrupted, one particularly important area has been significantly impacted - baby making. We thought there might be a baby boom with all the couples locked up together for months on end but actually the opposite happened. Births in the US recorded their largest single-year drop in nearly 5-years, falling 4%. That is not good.

The World of Lumber

Lumber prices are now up almost 500% since April 2020. The rising demand for new homes plus shortages of lumber have made lumber worth just about as much a gold right now. When COVID hit, lots of sawmills (normally there's 3,000 sawmills in the US, which still isn't that many) shutdown expecting a slump in the market. But that slump didn't come, instead the opposite happened. Demand skyrocketed. And now we find ourselves in the situation we are in now, with new construction costs up on average $35,000. Take a look at this graph below.

The World of Proverbs

“Do not be so open-minded that your brains fall out.” ― G.K. Chesterton

End Note

If you've enjoyed the Sunday Stir, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend or two. You can send them here to sign up. I hope you're enjoyed this episode.

Live free,

Brennen