What we’re reading (12/12)
“ETF Inflows Top $1 Trillion For First Time” (Wall Street Journal). “A historic surge of cash has swept into exchange-traded funds, spurring asset managers to launch new trading strategies that could be undone by a market downturn. This year’s inflows into ETFs world-wide crossed the $1 trillion mark for the first time at the end of November, surpassing last year’s total of $735.7 billion, according to Morningstar Inc. data. That wave of money, along with rising markets, pushed global ETF assets to nearly $9.5 trillion, more than double where the industry stood at the end of 2018.”
“2021 Has Been A Record-Breaking Year For Venture Capital” (Insider). “While the year isn't over — fourth-quarter results have not been tallied — 2021 was the first year that global venture funding surpassed $100 billion in a quarter, and it did so in each of the first three quarters, according to Crunchbase. Funding reached $135 billion in the first quarter, $159 billion in the second, and $160 billion in the third, Crunchbase said.”
“Israeli Study Finds Pfizer Covid Booster Protects Against Omicron Variant” (CNBC). “Israeli researchers said on Saturday they found that a three-shot course of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine provided significant protection against the new omicron variant. The findings were similar to those presented by BioNTech and Pfizer earlier in the week, which were an early signal that booster shots could be key to protect against infection from the newly identified variant.”
“Retail CEOs Say Online Marketplaces Are Fueling ‘Flash Mob’ Robberies. They Want Congress To Step In.” (Washington Post). “In a letter signed by the chief executives of 20 retailers — including Best Buy, Target, Nordstrom, Home Depot and Dollar General — House and Senate leaders were urged to pass legislation that would make it harder for people to remain anonymous when they sell things online. Representatives of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the trade group responsible for the letter, said every major online marketplace is regularly used to sell stolen items from fake online accounts.”
“Owner Of Private-Equity Firm Backed By Coors And Other Wealthy Families Is Accused Of Misusing Funds” (Wall Street Journal). “The Denver-area private-equity firm is owned and run by Hendrik Jordaan, a South African-born attorney…[t]he SEC investigation followed complaints to regulators that Mr. Jordaan was using seed money for a new fund to cover personal expenses and was charging fund investors for lavish travel costs, including for his wife, among other matters, according to the documents.”
