Elon Musk is the richest entrepreneur in the world, so it's no surprise that people paid attention when he said he had a "super bad feeling" about the economy.
Jamie Dimon, the veteran chief executive at JPMorgan Chase, the nation's biggest bank, has also warned investors to prepare for an economic "hurricane."
The legendary venture capital firm Sequoia Capital cautioned its portfolio of companies that the good times are over.
I've been gathering comments like these recently with an idea that they would lead to a "prepare for the worst" column.
The worries are understandable considering the lingering impact of the pandemic, the Federal Reserve's tighter monetary policy, four-decade high inflation rate and the negative economic reverberations from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. All this before taking America's dysfunctional politics into account.
But this column has a different theme than the one I initially imagined, thanks to two recent weddings and a long walk.
Weddings are wonderful celebrations of love and community. Pessimism is simply impossible after multiple conversations with young people about their ambitions, their dreams, their ideas and their energy (as I waved goodbye at a sensible time in the evening).
The memorable walk was in Washington, D.C., with a friend who wondered about investment possibilities that were being overlooked because of the gloom. Where are the underappreciated opportunities, he wondered?
