The Sunday Best (10/12/2025)

Last year’s flu season was long, brutal, and ultimately tragic. By the time infections had subsided in May, as many as 1.1 million Americans were estimated to have been hospitalized, and as many as 100,000 had died. Among them were 280 children — the highest number recorded in a non-pandemic year since health agencies began tracking the virus in 2004.

Some of that misery was likely avoidable.

Healthcare workers make up just 10% of the American workforce but experience 48% of the nonfatal injuries from workplace violence, according to federal data. The number of healthcare providers who reported harassment at work from patients, patients’ families, and colleagues more than doubled between 2018 and 2022.

The global corporate leaderboard is increasingly dominated by US firms, so much so that 80% of the world’s largest 25 companies are based in America. Conversely, Europe has just one single entrant squeaking onto the list.

As of early October 2025, gold has shattered previous records, climbing above $3,900 per ounce for the first time in history — a remarkable surge that represents nearly a 50% increase year-to-date. Is this the right time to add gold to your portfolio?

The share of returns and earnings growth in the hands of a few companies feels unlike anything we’ve ever seen. We could see some of these big stocks falter or new entrants that take their place. We could also see the AI bubble pop in the years ahead which could do some damage to these large tech stocks.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean market concentration would automatically go away.

The economy is currently sharply bifurcated into an AI-related part and the rest. The AI-related part of the economy is booming. But the rest of the economy probably began a recession several months ago, with real personal income and jobs stagnant or even having begun to decline.

Don’t Miss: The Best of Amazon Prime Big Deal Days October 2025

Young Americans are much more worried than most that artificial intelligence could take their jobs. And to be blunt, they are absolutely right to be. For all the apocalyptic predictions that chatbots could soon wipe out vast swaths of employment, the majority of U.S. adults aren’t exactly panicked yet.

Lately, there’s been a lot of chatter that economists were wrong about Trump’s tariffs. Didn’t the economists predict that we would be stuck in a recession with runaway inflation by now? So maybe Trump was right after all? Well…no.

Someone is almost always watching, so it’s worth treating everything you do with purpose and pride. And, even if no one has their eyes on you, it is still a chance to “practice your craft”. To improve. To build strong habits.

Losing a job is intensely stressful and often has consequences for behavior and mental health. But some of its psychological effects may run counter to expectations. While intuition and many economic models may suggest that people become more prudent when faced with reduced resources, research finds they do just the opposite when they experience unemployment.

If you don’t track it, you can’t measure it. This rule applies to both your health and wealth. Regarding the former, maintaining muscle mass is the holy grail of cellular and metabolic health. Muscle is your path to real wealth.

Avoidance is the real financial asteroid; the longer you ignore money, the more dangerous it becomes. A Shame Audit exposes the habits you’d rather hide and gives you a place to start.

Trick-or-treaters may get fewer sweets this year as high cocoa prices haunt the candy aisle. Cocoa prices have more than doubled since early 2024, pushing the Consumer Price Index for candy and gum up 8% and changing how people fill their candy bowls.