What we’re reading (10/29)
“A Biden Win Could Renew A Democratic Split On Trade” (New York Times). “As the Biden transition team begins gearing up to select the people who might staff the administration, the progressive wing of the party is pushing for appointees with deep ties to labor unions and congressional Democrats. And they are battling against appointees that they say would seek to restore a “status quo” on trade, including those with ties to corporate lobbyists, trade associations and Washington think tanks that advocate more typical trade deals.”
“Business Exit During The COVID-19 Pandemic: Non-Traditional Measures In A Historical Context” (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve). “Given lags in official data releases, economists have studied "alternative data" measures of business exit resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Such measures are difficult to understand without historical context, so we review official data on business exit in recent decades. Business exit is common in the U.S., with about 7.5 percent of firms exiting annually in recent years, and is countercyclical (particularly recently). Both the high level and the cyclicality of exit are driven by very small firms. We explore a range of alternative measures and indicators of business exit, including novel measures based on payroll events and phone-tracking data, and find tentative evidence that exit has been elevated during 2020. Evidence is somewhat mixed, however, and exiting businesses do not appear to represent a large share of U.S. employment.”
“U.S. States Face Biggest Cash Crisis Since The Great Depression” (Wall Street Journal). “Nationwide, the U.S. state budget shortfall from 2020 through 2022 could amount to about $434 billion, according to data from Moody’s Analytics, the economic analysis arm of Moody’s Corp. The estimates assume no additional fiscal stimulus from Washington, further coronavirus-fueled restrictions on business and travel, and extra costs for Medicaid amid high unemployment.”
“A Spice Boom Has Left Manufacturers Scrambling, And Packaging Materials Can’t Keep Up” (Washington Post). “The most sought-after at times have been as costly as precious metals. Their allures set world exploration in motion, fueled sailing expeditions around the Cape of Good Hope, precipitated the establishment of colonies. And now, more than 4,000 years after the initial fervor, we are living through a new spice boom.”
“Hedge Fund Invests In Allegedly Defrauded Anti-Fraud Specialist” (Dealbreaker). “For years, and indeed as recently as earlier this year, venture capital firms threw money hand over first at a company called NS8. This made a certain amount of sense, insofar as NS8 was a promising player in the ever-growing field of cyber-fraud prevention. But, in one of those delightful turns of events, what they were apparently financing was a fraud in and of itself, as their decision to buy $17.5 million worth of shares from founder Adam Rogas was based on allegedly bogus financials provided to them by Rogas.”
