The Pitfalls of Private Markets

To the Editor:
The extraordinary profits and payouts of private markets attract too many copycats and pretenders (“The New Private-Equity Billionaires Who Are Taking Over Wall Street,” Cover Story, Dec. 5). Eventually, there aren’t enough smart deals to satisfy the demand. Poor deals are made to satisfy starry-eyed investors searching for high returns. More and more questionable deals are executed in search of huge payouts. The walls crumble, built on foundations of greed. The retail investors lose their shirts, and the named executive officers scurry back to the Hamptons.

Bill Letson
On Barrons.com

Growth Headwinds

To the Editor:
I read Jack Hough’s column with interest (“In This Market, Beware the Fat Cannibal Staredown,” Streetwise, Dec. 4). He quoted an analyst saying that “earnings growth underlying the SmallCap S&P 600 index is expected to jump from 6% this year to 17% next year.” Analysts usually expect earnings to grow by low double digits and then continually revise their expectations downward as the year progresses. By the end of the year, mid-single-digit growth turns out to be not so bad.

Given the headwinds facing the U.S. economy, combined with near-record valuations relative to traditional metrics, one should be more worried that earnings might not make the mid-single digits next year.

Brad Brooks
New York, N.Y.

Casey’s at the Bat

To the Editor:
I’m glad you singled out Casey’s General Stores for praise (“Casey’s General Has the Economics of Convenience Stores Down. Buy the Stock,” Dec. 3). Consumer retail is a tricky sector in which to craft a “blue ocean” strategy, making Casey’s focus on rural and underserved areas a master stroke. No wonder it sports strong fundamentals and growth prospects. That said, it will be interesting to see how Casey’s expansion into Texas and other markets will affect things.

Mitch Sabbagh
Halifax, Canada

Healthcare vs. AI

To the Editor:
It remains to be seen whether voters will choose subsidizing data centers over hospitals (“The Most Important Industry Isn’t AI. It’s Healthcare,” Other Voices, Dec. 5). But I appreciate Alí R. Bustamante pointing out that hospitals do more for the economy than AI infrastructure. The Hill-Burton Act is responsible for the buildout of a third of the hospitals in the U.S. In many rural counties, those hospitals became mainstays of the local economy. They were and are huge employers. It isn’t just the loss of access to healthcare but also the loss of jobs that is so damaging. Subsidizing hospitals makes far more economic sense than subsidizing data centers.

John Reilly
On Barrons.com

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