What we’re reading (10/17)
“The Dow Is On Track For Its Best October In 6 years And Third-Quarter Earnings Are Strong So Far. What Could Go Wrong?” (MarketWatch). “It is very early days, with only 8% of the S&P 500 index companies reporting third-quarter results thus far, but at least 80% of companies are beating expectations on earnings and revenue, according to John Butters, FactSet’s senior earnings analyst. Butters says that the blended growth rate (estimates and actual results) of reporting S&P 500 companies is 30%, which would, if it holds, represent the [best] [sic] earnings growth rate in over a decade.”
“A Bitcoin ETF Is Almost Here. What Does That Mean For Investors?” (Wall Street Journal). “ProShares filed plans Friday, laying the groundwork for the launch of its Bitcoin Strategy ETF. Other funds are expected to follow over the next two weeks as the Securities and Exchange Commission considers additional proposals made in August by asset managers Valkyrie Investments, Invesco and VanEck to sell bitcoin ETFs to investors. The companies don’t expect their proposals to be turned down, according to people familiar with them, though the SEC could approve, disapprove or defer any or all of the applications”
“Femtech Firms Are At Last Enjoying An Investment Boom” (The Economist). “Dame Jessica’s startup is part of a wave of “femtech” firms coming up with ways for women to overcome health problems specific to their sex. The market could more than double from $22.5bn last year to more than $65bn by 2027, reckons Global Market Insights, a research firm. Having ignored it for years—in 2020 femtech received only 3% of all health-tech funding, and a modest $14bn has been invested in it globally to date—venture capitalists are at last waking up to the opportunity. So far this year they have invested nearly $1.2bn in the industry, nearly half as much again as the annual record in 2019[.]”
“The United Nations Pension Fund Has Billions To Deploy In Private Markets” (Institutional Investor). “Pedro Guazo, the head of the $87 billion United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, revealed that the UNJSPF is poised to invest between $5 billion and $7 billion in the private markets in the coming years. Guazo, who spoke on the heels of the publication of the fund’s annual meeting report on October 5, said the new investments would be made possible by a shift in the organization’s asset allocation policy, among other changes.”
“Labor Flexes Its Muscle As Leverage Tips From Employers To Workers” (CNN Business). “Workers are saying enough is enough. And many of them are either hitting the picket lines or quitting their jobs as a result. The changing dynamics of the US labor market, which has put employees rather than employers in the driver's seat in a way not seen for decades, is allowing unions to flex their muscle.”
