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1. Margins Expand in 2025

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2. Money Flowing into Stock ETFs

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3. Norway 96%$ EV Cars…. Population is 5.6m

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4-5. Iran Stats

Executions in Iran estimated to have doubled in 2025, report says Sebastian Usher Middle East analyst

The number of executions in Iran in 2025 is estimated to have more than doubled compared to the number that took place across the country in 2024.

Norwegian-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group told the BBC it had verified at least 1,500 executions up until the start of December, adding that many more have taken place since.

Last year, IHR was able to verify 975 executions - although the exact number is never completely clear as Iranian authorities do not give official figures.

However, the analysis shows another significant annual rise, and the figures chime with those provided by other monitoring groups.

Iran's government has previously defended its use of the death penalty, saying it is limited to only "the most severe crimes".

Execution figures were already on the rise before mass demonstrations broke out across the country in 2022 following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.

The 22-year-old Kurdish woman was detained by morality police in Tehran for allegedly wearing her hijab "improperly".

That protest movement represented the biggest challenge to the legitimacy of Iran's theocratic leadership for many years.

In response, authorities intensified the rate of executions from around 520 in 2022 to 832 the following year - according to the figures verified by IHR.

There have been some executions for protesters or alleged spies - but 99% of those executed have been for murder or drug offences - a ratio which has remained constant.

Activists have said that the rate of executions in Iran increases when the regime feels under threat and that the aim is to forestall internal opposition by instilling fear in the population.

It seems to be borne out by the fact that since the 12-day war with Israel in June, as well as major setbacks for Iran's proxy forces across the region, there's been another big surge.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3v1g227p4xo?utm_source=semafor

Iran Inflation

Iran Protests…. Over 40% of Iran Unemployed are University Grads

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5-6. Real Estate Friday

U.S. Mortgage Rates Drop to Lowest in One Year…Approaching 6%.

Home Affordability by County.

Single-Family Homes Owned by Institutional Investors Only  1% of Inventory

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7. The World is Sobering Up

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8. The New American Food Pyramid

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9. Polypharmacy -7.6M Seniors Were Simultaneously Prescribed 8 or More Meds

The WSJ recently published an article on the dangers of Polypharmacy, patients ingesting eight or more medications simultaneously.

They uncovered some alarming data concerning seniors’ healthcare.

In 2022, 7.6 million seniors were simultaneously prescribed eight or more medications for at least ninety days.

Of those seniors, 3.9 million took 10+ drugs at once.

More than 419,000 were prescribed 15+ drugs at the same time.

Among those in the analysis taking eight or more drugs, 3.6 million had prescriptions for at least one medication that geriatricians say elderly patients should avoid.

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10. How to Find Meaning in Your Life

In a very real sense, the meaning of life is therefore to create meaning.

So how does one create meaning? Two ways:

1. Solve Problems. The bigger the problem, the more meaning one will feel. The more work you do towards that problem, also the more meaning you will feel. Solving problems basically means finding ways to make the world a slightly better place. Can be as simple as fixing up your aging mother’s dilapidated house. Or as complex as working on the new great breakthrough in physics.

The point here is not to be picky. It’s easy, when we start thinking of how insignificant we are on a cosmic scale of the universe, to start thinking there’s no point in doing anything unless we’re going to save the world or something. This is just a distraction. There are tons of small, everyday problems going on around you that need your attention. Start giving it.

2. Help Others. This is the biggie. As humans, we’re wired to thrive on our relationships. Studies show that our overall well-being is deeply tied to the quality of our relationships,² and the best way to build healthy relationships is through helping others. In fact, some studies have even found that giving stuff away makes us happier than giving stuff to ourselves.³ Go figure.

As such, it seems to be a “hack” in our brains that helping out other people gives us a greater sense of meaning and purpose. Just the fact you can say to yourself, “If I died, then someone is better off because I lived,” creates that sense of meaning that can propel you forward.

 https://markmanson.net/the-meaning-of-life

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