Lure of manual jobs

Generation Z is rethinking the merits of a university education and showing growing interest in skilled manual jobs. This comes at a time when many young graduates are anxious about AI replacing entry-level white-collar workers. Only about one-third of American adults today think university education is “very important”, according to recent polling by Gallup, down from three-quarters in 2010. For example, Jacob Palmer knew little about skilled manual jobs growing up, save that they were “dirty, sweaty” and “definitely seemed like lowbrow”. However, he dropped out of college after his freshman year, spent the next two years training as an apprentice electrician, and started his own business in 2024. He explains he has “massive job security” at a time when many young university graduates are anxious about AI replacing entry-level white-collar workers. Mr Palmer doesn’t worry about that: “I’ll be wiring those data centres, right?”

(Adapted from “Ditch Textbooks And Learn How To Use A Wrench To AI-Proof Your Job?” published on December 18, 2025, by The Economist)

Ghost of the dot-com bubble?

There are lots of ways of valuing stocks, and pretty much all of them make US shares look the most expensive since the dot-com bubble. The forward price-to-earnings ratio, price to cash flow, the “Fed model” calculation of the extra reward offered by stocks compared with bonds and the cyclically adjusted PE ratio all scream that stocks are expensive. Investors are, just as in 1999-2000, betting on a new technology to deliver much faster than usual profit growth. If it happens, it justifies higher valuations. Just as the dot-coms were priced based on the hope that the internet would deliver a new era of profits from business models that were yet to be proven, so with AI. Generative AI has delivered chatbots and image generation that seem to be not far from magic — but is, for now, priced well below what it costs to produce, leading to big losses at AI businesses.

(Adapted from “The Eerie Parallels Between AI Mania And The Dot-Com Bubble,” by James Mackintosh, published on December 13, 2025, by the Wall Street Journal)

Millions in savings

The 401(k) millionaire club is growing. Steady saving by many Americans and a third consecutive year of big gains for US stocks have swollen account balances. For the first time, half of private-sector workers are saving in 401(k)s, which allow workers to invest money directly from their paychecks without subtracting income taxes upfront. Many of those accounts are also more tied to the stock market than ever before, with workers in their late 30s allocating roughly 88pc to equities last year, up from 82pc a decade earlier, according to a Vanguard Group examination of the millions of plans it administers. While about 40pc of US households are still at risk of being unable to maintain their standard of living in retirement, according to the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College, many of those using 401(k)s are doing better than ever.

(Adapted from “401(K)S Are Minting A Generation Of ‘Moderate Millionaires,’ by Gunjan Banerji, published on December 8, 2025, by the Wall Street Journal)

The CNN question

President Trump said the ownership of CNN should change regardless of which company buys Warner Bros. Discovery, as discussions over the future of the media company take centre stage in Washington. Netflix has agreed to buy Warner’s studios and HBO Max streaming unit in a $72bn cash-and-stock deal after the entertainment company splits itself into two. Paramount has made a $77.9bn hostile bid for the entire company, including its cable networks such as CNN. Netflix isn’t acquiring the Warner television unit where CNN resides, raising complications if the company hopes to address the president’s concerns. It is unclear how a sale of CNN might work as part of a deal with Netflix because the streaming company’s offer doesn’t currently include the cable network. CNN is also considered a crucial component of the company that will house Warner Bros. Discovery’s cable networks once the company splits into two parts.

(Adapted from “Trump Says CNN Should Be Sold As Part Of Any Megadeal,” by Brian Schwartz and Natalie Andrews, published on December 10, 2025, by the Wall Street Journal)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, December 22nd, 2025