What we’re reading (12/1)
“Everyone’s Bullish” (Axios). “Following positive vaccine news and the run-up in global equities punctuated last week by the Dow hitting 30,000 points, investors are again throwing caution to the wind and growing more uniform in their bets that stocks will continue to rise.”
“A New Setback For Big Cities As Return To The Office Fades” (Wall Street Journal). “U.S. employees started heading back to the office in greater numbers after Labor Day but that pace is stalling now, delivering another blow to economic-recovery hopes in many cities. The recent surge in Covid-19 cases across the country has led to an uptick in Americans resuming work at home after some momentum had been building for returning to the workplace, property analysts said. Floor after floor of empty office space is a source of great frustration for landlords and companies, which have invested millions of dollars in adapting building plans and developing new health protocols to make employees comfortable with a shared location.”
“Nasdaq Seeks Mandatory Board Diversity For Listed Companies” (Reuters). “Nasdaq is pushing for the more than 3,000 companies listed on its U.S. stock exchange to make their boardrooms less overwhelmingly male and white by hiring directors that better reflect the country’s diverse population. The company filed a proposal Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission that, if approved, would require all companies on the exchange to disclose the breakdowns of their boards by race, gender and sexual orientation. Companies that do not comply could be delisted, or kicked off the exchange.”
“S&P Global Agrees To Buy IHS Market, A Financial Data Powerhouse, For $44 Billion” (New York Times). “S&P Global, the owner of stock indexes like the Dow and the S&P 500, said on Monday that it plans to acquire IHS Markit for $44 billion, including debt. The transaction would create a financial information powerhouse at a time when data increasingly fuels automated trading. The all-stock deal — the biggest announced so far this year — would give S&P Global control of IHS Markit, whose software is used by many of the world’s biggest financial institutions.”
“Here Comes The Four Day Workweek” (Dealbreaker). “In a rough year for the world, New Zealand has come out a winner. With just 25 coronavirus deaths, the island nation has avoided the worst of the economic and healthcare fallout of the pandemic. Now, certain residents will have more time to enjoy the spoils. Yesterday, Unilever announced a four-day workweek for the company’s Kiwi employees…[i]n a 12 month experiment, Unilever will pay its 81 New Zealand-based employees for a five-day workweek, but allow them to work just four. After the trial period, Unilever says it will take the “lessons learned” and see how they can be applied to the company’s 155,000 other employees.”
