What we’re reading (12/21)
“Stimulus Deal Provides Economic Relief, For Now” (New York Times). “The congressional agreement on a $900 billion dose of aid to fuel the slowing economic recovery has probably spared millions of Americans from a winter of poverty and kept the country from falling back into recession…[but] [t]he injection of money comes months too late for tens of thousands of failed businesses, however, and it may not be enough to sustain unemployed workers until the labor market rebounds. Moreover, it could be the last help from Washington the economy gets anytime soon.”
“Stocks Around The World Slump As Virus Mutation Hits Economy” (ABC News). “Stocks are slumping Monday as a new, potentially more infectious strain of the coronavirus has countries around the world restricting travel from the United Kingdom, raising worries that the economy is about to take even worse punishment. The S&P 500 was 1.9% lower in morning trading, putting it on track to fall for a second day from its record set on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 379 points, or 1.3%, at 29,799, as of 10:23 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.7% lower.”
“Wall Street Analysts Make A Big S&P 500 Call For 2021. Market History Says Ignore Them” (CNBC). “[Equity research] [a]nalysts have overestimated the year-end price for the S&P 500 in 12 of the past 15 years, according to a recent analysis from FactSet. Based on the average overestimation, the S&P 500 could actually end 2021 below its current levels.”
“Walmart Is Attempting To Solve One Of The Biggest Pain-Points Of Online Shopping” (CNN Business). “Walmart is attempting to solve one of the biggest pain-points of online shopping — the dreaded return — with a new service. The retailer announced Monday that it will pick up items shipped and sold by Walmart.com from customers' homes through a new partnership with FedEx (FDX). Walmart said the ‘incredibly convenient’ option is free and will remain in place beyond the busy holiday shopping season.”
“The Journalist And The Pharma Bro” (Elle). “Over the course of nine months, beginning in July 2018, [reporter Christie] Smythe quit her job, moved out of the apartment, and divorced her husband. What could cause the sensible Smythe to turn her life upside down? She fell in love with a defendant whose case she not only covered, but broke the news of his arrest. It was a scoop that ignited the Internet, because her love interest, now life partner, is not just any defendant, but Martin Shkreli: the so-called ‘Pharma Bro’ and online provocateur, who increased the price of a lifesaving drug by 5,000 percent overnight and made headlines for buying a one-off Wu-Tang Clan album for a reported $2 million. Shkreli, convicted of fraud in 2017, is now serving seven years in prison.”
