The Friday Review

What we are reading:

The equity risk premium is nearly gone, consumer credit stress is no longer a forecast, and the math behind the AI boom may not work. A few reads worth your time before the weekend.

📉 The spread between stock and bond returns has nearly disappeared. WSJ on what happens when the equity risk premium vanishes. https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/the-risk-premium-for-holding-stocks-over-bonds-is-vanishing-95be5b9d

📊 A Panmure Liberum MD runs the numbers on hyperscaler capex vs. projected revenue through 2030. The implied ROI is negative for all but one. Worth reading before the IPO wave hits. https://www.ft.com/content/32bf8935-8d21-4689-ae34-8b4d3d5f6d93

💳 US credit card debt just hit a record. The consumer stress story is no longer a forecast. https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/credit/us-credit-card-debt-af5c7c77

🏛️ A Delaware judge ruled corporations hold voting rights in a local town. A genuinely strange legal moment with real governance implications. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/esg/corporations-have-the-right-to-vote-in-delaware-town-judge-says

🍽️ The World's 50 Best Restaurants North America list dropped. Worth bookmarking. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/dining/worlds-50-best-restaurants-north-america-winners-list.html

🍺 Freakonomics on what it actually takes to run one of London's most popular pubs. It’s a better business case study than you’d think. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-it-takes-to-run-one-of-londons-most-popular-pubs/id1056200096?i=1000769451187

💼 Larry Ellison is privately vowing support Paramount's debt load in an odd implicit personal guarantee. https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/ellison-privately-vows-keep-enlarged-110000469.html