The Biggest Golden Globes Moments, From ‘Oppenheimer’ to Taylor Swift  - WSJ (Full Access)   

Taylor Swift flash-froze the host of the Golden Globes with her eyes, and people got awards.

What’s supposed to be the most free-wheeling awards show in Hollywood, which officially opened its trophy season on Sunday night, got off to a bumpy start when first-time host and standup comedian Jo Koy tried to strike the right tone while mocking celebrities to their faces. His “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” jokes were largely met with a squirmy quiet.

But the temperature in the ballroom at the Beverly Hilton really dropped when Koy fired off a benign joke about how often Taylor Swift is on camera at NFL games, a reference to her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The singer–whose Eras tour concert movie was nominated for a Golden Globe–delivered a look cold enough to form ice on TV screens around the world.

Continued here

Wall Street Doubles Down on Bonds - WSJ (Full Access)   

There are no sure things in markets, but many investors believe high-quality U.S. bonds are currently pretty close.

Consensus on Wall Street is that interest rates have peaked for this economic cycle, and the pain bondholders experienced in 2022 and 2023 has likely ended. That should make further investments in Treasurys and highly rated corporate bonds a good bet, analysts and portfolio managers said, even if this year brings significant volatility across markets.

That view was tested on Friday when the monthly U.S. jobs report printed a bit hotter than expected, spurring a selloff in bonds because of concerns that inflation might persist. But then the Institute for Supply Management’s services-activity index came in softer than analysts were predicting, prompting a rally that eroded bond yields’ rise.

Continued here

Bill Ackman’s Friend Inside Harvard’s Board - WSJ (Full Access)   

Billionaire hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman spent months publicly pressuring Harvard to cut ties with its embattled president, Claudine Gay. Meanwhile, a friend of his on Harvard’s governing board was among a small group pushing for change. Tracy Palandjian is a member of the Harvard Corporation, the insular 12-person group with broad authority to manage the university. Though the group stood by Gay—it accepted her resignation last Tuesday “with sorrow”—Palandjian is one of a handful of its members who had privately questioned whether she could continue as president, people familiar with the matter said. Others who lost faith in her leadership included private-equity executive Paul Finnegan and investor Timothy Barakett.Billionaire hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman spent months publicly pressuring Harvard to cut ties with its embattled president, Claudine Gay. Meanwhile, a friend of his on Harvard’s governing board was among a small group pushing for change.

Tracy Palandjian is a member of the Harvard Corporation, the insular 12-person group with broad authority to manage the university. Though the group stood by Gay—it accepted her resignation last Tuesday “with sorrow”—Palandjian is one of a handful of its members who had privately questioned whether she could continue as president, people familiar with the matter said. Others who lost faith in her leadership included private-equity executive Paul Finnegan and investor Timothy Barakett.

Continued here

Why It’s So Hard for a Robot to Straighten a Candle Wick - WSJ (Full Access)   

To understand one of the biggest challenges American manufacturers face, walk halfway down the assembly line at the Alene Candles factory in New Albany, Ohio.

That’s where workers stand on either side of a slow-moving conveyor belt pulling at wicks with bent needle-nose pliers, straightening them out and centering them before the candles move on to be lidded, labeled and packed up for shipment.

Straightening the wicks is physically taxing and boring, and finding enough people willing to do it is getting harder.

What’s proving even more difficult: building a robot that can do the job.

Continued here