Padel Has Engulfed My Life+Restaurant Review
1-15-25
Opening Comments
My last note was entitled, “Musk-Man or Machine.” News reports are surfacing that Musk may buy the US portion of TikTok, just what he needs, more on his plate. He also is being sued by the SEC. The most opened links were the 108-foot wave surfed in California and the stunning $11.2mm house in Hudson Valley, NY that would be $100mm+ in the Hamptons. I received a lot of emails regarding the insanity of a $52 car wash. Inflation is everywhere. Also, I received over two dozen emails about readers or family members being sick after I let readers know my son had a bad virus all week. Emails from NYC, Chicago, Montreal, California, Florida and elsewhere outlining the prevalence of illness.
As a reminder, some email servers truncate the Rosen Report. You need to hit “View Entire Message” to be sure you do not miss any life altering information. Other headlines and real estate updates are at the bottom of the report.
Thursday night, I am going to see my friend, Michael Lington, play the saxophone at Funky Biscuit in Boca with friends. He is a world-class musician highlighted in my note on Barry Manilow.
Markets
Global Bond Yields
Improving Longevity/Healthspan at What Cost
Most Powerful Passports
Ivies in Crisis
Older Condo Buildings in South Florida
Housing Inventory Building in Parts of Florida
High-End Miami Examples of Strength
Spain-100% tax on Homes Bought by Foreigners
Pictures of the Day-Review of Anthony’s Runway 84
Anthony’s Runway 84 has been open for over 40 years in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I had not been in over 30 years until a recent visit. They fully remodeled the restaurant, and it turned out amazing with a Supper Club feel. The ambiance and room are fantastic at this Italian-American hotspot. Getting a reservation is not easy and the place was packed, even at our arrival at 6:30 pm. The food is good, not elite – but remember, Ft. Lauderdale is a bit of a culinary wasteland and this is one of a handful of bright spots.
The warm bread is solid, and I’ll admit that the focaccia is about as good as it gets. It also comes with a delicious oil, cheese, and a garlic dipping sauce. The beef meatballs and gravy were shockingly good despite being all beef. I am a huge fan of escarole and beans, and the dish did not disappoint. The chicken parmigiana ($46) was delicious and the best I have had in a while. It was not overly cheesy and was cooked perfectly. The rack of lamb ($82) were solid as well and served with a mint jelly. I would have preferred it medium rare, but the table opted for medium. I enjoyed the spicy rigatoni vodka ($38) but the zuppa di pesce fra diavolo disappointed. No zip, although it came with lobster, shrimp, mussels, clams and calamari ($74). The chocolate cake ($18) was moist and a huge portion.
The service was snappy, but the room was the real standout. The multi-million-dollar buildout sets the stage for a memorable evening. The dim lighting and vintage speakeasy vibe add to the atmosphere, reminiscent of Carbone in NYC. There’s usually live music later in the night, which adds another layer to the experience. Anthony and his team know how to create a scene. If you’re looking for a fun experience that is fully priced, make a reservation in advance – this 200-seat restaurant fills up fast.
Food-8
Ambiance 9+
Service-9
Cost-Fully Priced
Padel Has Engulfed My Life
Over the past year, I wrote about my new love affair with padel after my friend, Ross, pushed me to play. I have since quit tennis, invested in a padel/pickle facility, play padel 4-5 days a week when I am not injured, play in tournaments and even wear shoes just for padel. My former padel themed notes include: My New Favorite Sport. I Love Padel & Ross Berman, and I Just Raised my Paddle for Padel. For those who do not know, padel was invented in the 1960s in Mexico and is a cross between squash and tennis. There are plexiglass walls that add another dimension to the sport, and it is fast paced and incredibly fun. The sport is huge in Spanish speaking countries like Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Venezuela and many of the best players in the world are Spanish. Major celebrities are playing the game and loving it. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (pro soccer icon) is building amazing facilities called Padel Zenter in various countries. These are some video highlights from professional padel.
I will admit that my torn calf muscles took me away from padel for months, and I became depressed. I have since returned with a vengeance and have a 25-minute pre-game pressure point and warm up routine. I do like this ball by MyoStorm that vibrates and heats up to help warm up your muscles and will not get on the court without it. I also go to physical therapy regularly and get my calves and thighs worked on to make sure I am prepared.
The facility I am a minority owner in, Replay, is growing and becoming a hot spot. They held a $40k prize money tournament last weekend that showcased some amazing players. Sadly, I am not of the skillset to compete with these amazing players. The facility was buzzing, and the team did a great job of running it. I helped to organize a fantastic padel/pickle event at the club with the 3i team and the reviews were amazing. Trust me, padel is addicting.
I am getting regular games with better players at Replay as the membership expands, and I played in a tournament with my friend Javier a couple weeks ago in Miami. It was a blast, but we lost in the finals in a tie-break.
I had been wearing tennis shoes to play padel and the majority owner of the facility, Jonathon, could not stand it – so he bought me official padel shoes. I am now basically a professional given my serious gear. Remember, it is always more important to look good when you cannot play at an elite level. I also wear compression socks on my caves and ordered them in a half dozen colors to be sure to match my shirt.
I have made a bunch of new friends thanks to padel and travel with my equipment to be sure I don’t get rusty. As a matter of fact, some of my friends from Brisas in East Hampton from last summer are playing padel with me at Replay now. The game is growing and is the fastest-growing sport in the world, while pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the USA.
If you want to be hip and cool, find your local padel facility and take a clinic. I promise, you won’t leave disappointed. Just don’t blame me if padel takes over your life and you start calling in “sick” to work to play a padel match. If you are a serious tennis player, the transition to the fastest growing sport in the world will be quick and you will have a lot more fun.
Quick Bites
More economists are suggesting no rate cuts this year after hotter than expected inflation and employment reports. However, Wednesday, core inflation slowed to 3.2% in December, better than expected. The 10-year Treasury yield was hovering around 4.8%, a 14-month high until the core inflation data pushed the yield down as low as 4.63%, before settling at 4.67%. Stocks have been squeamish but rallied sharply Wednesday after strong bank earnings and the cooler inflation report. Earnings from JPM, Wells, GS, Citi, and Blackrock all beat. The S&P was +1.6% and Nasdaq+2.1% on Wednesday. Bitcoin was under pressure after hitting $107k, receding to $90k before rebounding to $99k post the inflation data. Higher rates clearly a factor. Oil was off the recent highs on the US energy demand forecast, but bounced back back to $79/barrel.
I have written extensively about bond yields and the fact that the 10-year Treasury is up well over 100bps since the Fed started cutting rates in mid-September. In 2021, there was over $18 trillion of negative yielding bonds on a global basis and those days are LONG gone. Inflation has remained hotter than feared, and the hopes of substantial rate cuts have left the system. This is a global phenomenon as the 2nd chart shows yields in the US, UK, Germany and Japan all sharply higher for their respective 30-year Treasury bonds. This is a good article from the WSJ I found in Yahoo News on the topic. Bloomberg has an article entitled, “Global Bond Tantrum Is a Wrenching and Worrisome Start to New Year,” which has a similar theme to the prior article. With higher bond yields, investors again have an alternative to expensive equities.
A hot topic today is around longevity and health span (the length of time a person is healthy, not just alive). Many of you know of Bryan Johnson, the wealthy man trying to reverse aging and spending $2mm/year to do it. His blood work reveals he has the heart of a 37-year-old, the skin of a 28-year-old, and the fitness of an 18-year-old. He wants to prove that age-related decay of the body is not an inevitable consequence. Tech billionaires are pouring massive amounts of their fortune into the bitter battle to be the best Benjamin Button, propelling the market for life-extending therapeutics into a $25 billion business. OpenAI CEO Altman, 39, and Amazon founder Bezos, 60, have shelled out millions in recent years to longevity labs Retro Biosciences and Altos Labs, respectively. PayPal cofounder Thiel, 57, forked over $1 million to the Methuselah Foundation, a biomedical charity that aims to make 90 the new 50 by 2030. This article outlines a gym (Continuum) that costs THOUSANDS each month in NYC for biohackers (250 members and a long waitlist). The gym includes training equipment and hyperbaric chambers, cold plunges, float rooms, physical therapy, IV vitamin drips, and red-light therapies. In the end, I believe in being healthy and taking care of yourself. I think you can do outlandish things to improve your outcomes, but I am not yet convinced the time, money, aggravation or headache are worth what Johnson is doing to reverse aging. Life is short, have some fun. For most people, forget the annual spend, living to 100 is expensive and most people would far outlive savings. This is a review of the gym and explains the tiers of membership.
Given the political turmoil globally, having a powerful passport has become more important. I get dozens of calls a year from readers asking about getting a second passport. This CNBC article ranks the power of passports based on the number of destinations that holders can access without a visa. The United Arab Emirates is one of the “biggest climbers” on the list, according to a press release, having gained visa-free access to 72 destinations in the past decade, for a total of 185 destinations worldwide. It’s just behind the United States, whose citizens can visit 186 places without needing a visa, according to the ranking. The gap between the strongest and weakest passports on the list is the largest in the index’s 19-year history. Singaporeans can visit 169 more places than Afghans can without needing a visa.
This is a great article entitled, “Ivies in Crisis” about the many issues facing the once great academic institutions that have since turned into ridiculously woke places of learning. Ivy League applications are down, and Ivy League schools have begun to panic. Brown’s early decision acceptance rate skyrocketed from 13% for the class of 2027 to 18% for the class of 2029, resulting in a perceived decline in prestige. Similarly, Columbia saw a 2.28% decrease in applications, likely reflecting a consensus among Jewish students to disavow the institution following its refusal to condemn anti-Semitic incidents. Even more shockingly, Harvard refused to disclose admissions data entirely, departing from a decade-long trend of releasing early decision admissions data to the general public—likely in an attempt to obfuscate numbers that resemble those of Brown or Columbia. There are three primary factors responsible for the recent decline of the Ivy League: the far-left propaganda machine, the resurgence of anti-Semitism, and the ridiculous standards of the college admissions process. Look at the applications going to schools in the South such as Vanderbilt, Duke, Wake Forest, Emory, Tulane, SMU, Florida, UVA, UNC…. They are booming. Go woke, go broke!
CA Fires
There is a good All-In Podcast about the California wildfires. Chamath made comments about the billions spent on homeless and illegal immigrants crowding out spending that could have been used to help combat issues such as fires. The idiotic policies in many cities in America have done irreparable harm. I am increasingly confident the pendulum is swinging back to common sense and will continue to do so over the next few years. Listen to Chamath around the 15-minute mark as he crushes Newsom and the progressive politicians who could have done something but blocked all suggestions that would have reduced the likelihood of this catastrophe. The new estimates are total economic loses of over $250bn according to AccuWeather. This would be the region’s largest fire loss in history.
I spoke with a firefighter on Tuesday night, and he feels like progress is being made despite the high winds. He was in much better spirits than over the weekend. However, reports of winds have the area under high warnings again.
Real estate agents in the LA area are very busy with the thousands of people who lost their homes scrambling to find housing. Many people who have wanted to sell will now be able to sell given the large supply/demand imbalance. One resident said, “It looks like Palisades was hit with a bomb. Total devastation.”
A week after L.A. firestorms began, the threat continues as the unprecedented losses sink in
At least 24 dead in Los Angeles wildfires as powerful winds threaten progress
LA’s Palisades Fire likely caused by humans in hiking area popular with teens
There should be stiffer penalties for looters. We know that CA crime policies are a joke. We need serious consequences and to deter crime.
Sorry, this one does not feel right to me –even though my readers all know I support heavy consequences for bad actions.
Hundreds of L.A. landlords hike rents to capitalize on 'desperate' fire evacuees
There Is a Safety Valve for Private Home Insurance in California
My sponsor Kevin Lang of Lang Insurance, 866-964-4434, has helped dozens of my readers improve coverage, save money, and protect their prized possessions. He is creative and can help you.
Music Mogul Irving Azoff Sets Jan. 30th for Fire Aid Mega Concert in LA
Politics
Peter Hegseth weathered tough questioning for his confirmation hearing to secure his role as Secretary of Defense. Everything I read suggested he handled himself well and will secure the nomination, especially since, Joni Ernst (IA) will now back Hegseth. I questioned whether Hegseth would be appointed, but it looks like he made it. Questions about his drinking and domestic abuse were prevalent. PETE HEGSETH: "We won WW2 with 7 four star generals. Today we have 44 four star generals... we don't need more bureaucracy at the top, we need more war fighters empowered at the bottom."
Budget deficit rose in December and is now 40% higher than it was a year ago
The three-month deficit was $710.9bn or +$200bn than last year. Rising rates, spending growth, and smaller tax receipts continue to push the national debt to dizzying heights of $36.4 trillion with no end in sight.
Trump says he’ll create ‘External Revenue Service’ to collect tariffs
Jack Smith final report says voters saved Trump from being convicted for Jan. 6
Trump tells NY Republicans he wants to raise SALT cap, ‘kill’ congestion pricing: ‘It’s got to go’
Stories out there suggest Trump is willing to raise the SALT cap from the current $10k level, and those in blue states are pushing back for a much higher cap. Some news agencies suggesting the cap will be $20k.
DOGE Is Officially in Action—and Already Wreaking Havoc in Government
I have written dozens of pieces about government spending and waste. My favorite, “I am from the government and here to help,” was a Ronald Reagan quote that I turned into a newsletter on government waste. I hope DOGE uncovers and shames agencies and waste and brings attention to the trillions of government waste. However, I am less confident in Congress and their willingness to do something about it. Start with the US Postal Service that lost $9.5bn in 2024. Service is awful.
David Weiss confirms Hunter made millions on family name in final report, blasts Joe Biden
Imam ridiculed by Sean Hannity is giving benediction at Trump’s inauguration
In the 2007 Fox News interview, Imam Husham Al-Husainy wouldn’t call Hezbollah a terrorist organization. How does this happen?
Cuomo is in the lead with 32% of the vote despite being the former disgraced Governor due to sexual harassment claims. Let’s not forget about his decision to force COVID patients into nursing homes which killed thousands. Then, Cuomo’s team rewrote the nursing home reports to hide the deaths. Is this the guy that NYC wants?
Middle East
Israel-Hamas agree to ceasefire and hostage deal according to NBC. However, Netanyahu suggests that may not be the case. The deal outlines three phases. First, Hamas would swap 33 women and children, plus hostages older than 50, for “many hundreds” of Palestinian prisoners, during a 42-day ceasefire. Second, all remaining male Israeli hostages would be released in exchange for the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza. In the third phase, once the withdrawal is complete, Hamas would give up the bodies of deceased hostages and prisoners. The announcement comes a week after President-elect Donald Trump warned that “all hell will break out” if Hamas did not return the hostages by the time he takes office. I am happy about the release of hostages, but why do the US and Israel always let more terrorists go than US or Israeli citizens? We are letting too many terrorists out who will only come back to harm Jews. How much of this deal was due to the arrival of Trump in five days and his team? I don’t think it was insignificant.
Hamas Has Another Sinwar. And He’s Rebuilding.
Under Yahya Sinwar’s younger brother, Hamas recruits fighters in Gaza, drawing Israel into war of attrition
Israel 'caught off guard' by Hamas flexibility in hostage deal talks
Professor accused of harassing Israeli students leaves Columbia University
Eye-popping amount of New Yorkers support a mask ban after troubling anti-Jewish incidents
Other Headlines
Retailers post early holiday results — and Wall Street isn’t impressed
Wells Fargo sticks by negative Tesla view, sees shares plunging nearly 70%
JPMorgan Chase exec Daniel Pinto, longtime No. 2 to Jamie Dimon, will step down in June
Pinto was my boss at one point. Smart risk manager.
Amazon Prime will no longer let clothes shoppers 'try before you buy'
Big news for all those who were using the “Try Before You Buy Program” with Amazon.
Moderna stock plunges 20% after company lowers 2025 sales forecast by $1 billion
Chick-fil-A’s Lemon-Squeezing Robots Are Saving 10,000 Hours of Work
America’s Bourbon Boom Is Over. Now the Hangover Is Here.
After years of rising sales, distillers are contending with waning demand and a glut of supply. Last week, I wrote of sharp declines in wine sales. I had no idea bourbon was no longer in vogue.
So, the idiots that run NYC are not worried about crime, subway slashings, homeless, massive illegal immigration, horrific public school education outcomes, massive deficits, or crumbling infrastructure, but want to focus on emissions from burgers? No wonder why NYC is screwed.
The worst foods to eat if you have ADHD
Crisps, sweetened breakfast cereals and even aged cheese could all worsen symptoms, say experts.
New Swiss Re study: Waymo is safer than even the most advanced human-driven vehicles
The study compared Waymo’s liability claims to human driver baselines, which are based on Swiss Re’s data from over 500,000 claims and over 200 billion miles of exposure. It found that the Waymo Driver demonstrated better safety performance when compared to human-driven vehicles, with an 88% reduction in property damage claims and 92% reduction in bodily injury claims. SHOCKING at such an early stage.
Virus leads to ‘severe pneumonia in days’ as people claim ‘it’s worse than 2022
Of course, this is China…again. Nothing to see here folks. We will be gaslit and told to take 30 vaccines or will be vilified.
Real Estate
I have written extensively about the challenges of older condo buildings in South Florida since the Champlain Tower collapse. Springbrook Gardens, an 18-unit, 1940s-era Fort Lauderdale building. Residents were forced to leave the building last September due to a crumbling foundation. But now, the building's owners are being forced to sell, as they can’t afford to fix it. The $4.5 million required to address the issues with Springbrook Gardens' foundation is a bill the 18 residents can't afford, as it would amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars per person. So instead of moving forward with repairs, the building residents have agreed to sell instead and not come back. Following the Champlain Towers condo collapse of 2021 in Surfside that killed 98 people, Florida condo laws have changed in an effort to prevent a similar tragedy. At the state level, any three-story, 30-year-old building (or 25-year-old building if it's near saltwater) needed to be inspected for structural integrity by the end of 2024. A follow-up inspection is required every 10 years thereafter. If you are looking for a condo in South Florida, proceed with caution on older buildings. They are cheaper for a reason. Get the financials of the building. Understand potential assessments and where they stand on getting to the updated codes.
This NY Post article outlines why some homes in Florida are sitting on the market longer. The first issue is higher mortgage rates hovering around 7%. The second is the hurricanes that made landfall, causing significant disruption for residents. High-end inventory from Miami to Palm Beach remains in high demand. I also believe the election, coupled with fires in LA, will only increase high-end demand in South Florida in coming months. A waterfront estate in Bay Point (Miami) sold for a record $85mm for the 1.7 acre, 20,500 ft home. Another North Bay Road tear-down (.61 acres) sold for $26mm and rumors of another massive Indian Creek sale of $175mm. However, some markets are not participating in the frenzy as outlined in the article and below.
Spain plans to tackle housing crisis with 100% tax on homes bought by foreigners to combat the home shortage.
© 2024 The Rosen Report LLC. All rights reserved. Does not constitute investment, financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult with your lawyers and professional financial advisers. Rosen Report™ #753 ©Copyright 2025 Written By Eric Rosen.
