What we’re reading (11/13)
“ECB’s Lagarde Has ‘Hunch’ Digital Europe Will Launch In 2-4 Years” (CoinDesk). “‘We might well go in that direction,’ Lagarde said Thursday on a virtual panel with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey. ‘My hunch is that it will come.’ ECB officials have previously disclosed they are conducting research into a central bank digital currency, and Bank of Finland Governor Olli Rehn told Reuters last month he believes a digital euro is “very likely” to debut in the next decade.
“More High-Yield Muni Borrowers Are Defaulting But Investors Still Want In” (Wall Street Journal). “Covid-19 is wreaking havoc on the market for risky municipal bonds. Investors desperate for tax-exempt yield are still piling in. Fixed-income returns that come with a tax break have become so precious to affluent American households that they are willing to overlook a spike in defaults, growing reports of repayment trouble and contagion risks of communal living projects. The S&P Municipal Bond High Yield Index is now only about 1% lower than its pre-coronavirus pandemic level, despite falling 15% in March as global shutdowns roiled the market.”
“DoorDash Release Filing To Go Public, Reports $149 Million In Losses On Revenue Of $1.9 Billion Through September” (CNBC). “DoorDash, the leading food delivery app in the U.S., filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. The company will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ‘DASH.’ DoorDash reported $1.9 billion in revenue for the nine months ended September 30. That’s up from $587 million during the same period last year. As its revenue grew, DoorDash also narrowed its net loss to $149 million over the same nine month period in 2020. In 2019, DoorDash had a net loss of $533 million over the nine month period.”
“Miami Hedge Fund Manager (Allegedly) Used Investor Funds In Vey Miami Way” (Dealbreaker). “From the sound of it, Coral Cables Asset Management chief David Coggins wasn’t much of a hedge fund manager. This might have proven a surprise to his investors, what with the ‘Performance Sheets’ trumpeting’“37 months of positive monthly performance’ and a ‘perfect 2017,’ both of which are hard to reconcile with an account overdrawn to the tune of $1,180, according to the SEC. It would not have been a surprise to the accountant who Coggins allegedly asked to simply ‘put your company logo on it and sign off on it that’s it.’”
“The Oracle of Britney” (Vanity Fair). “In 2008, following a very public mental health crisis whose shaved head is burned into the psyche of many millennials and Gen Z’ers, Spears, then 26, had control of her welfare handed over to her father (depending on the state, it’s a conservatorship or a guardianship). Jamie Spears was authorized by the California Superior Court to control his daughter’s finances, health care, and aspects of her daily routine. The conservatorship was initially temporary. Twelve years later, it’s still in place.”
