What we’re reading (12/31)
“How The Pandemic Drove Massive Stock Market Gains, And What Happens Next” (CNBC). “The pandemic turned 2020 into a year of unprecedented events — not the least of which was the swift crash and then record-fast recovery of the stock market…the market has powered higher, fueled by expectations of a period of strong growth after vaccines are widely distributed and the economy fully reopens. Those same expectations have helped draw in a different cohort of investors, many of them young and new to investing. JMP estimates the brokerage industry added more than 10 million new accounts in 2020, with Robinhood alone likely representing about 6 million.”
“The Future Is Already Here” (Quillette). “We are, I argue, not in some era of fantastical innovation, nor are we really on the cusp of another. Rather, we have reached the end of one long and thrilling ride up the steep part of an S-shaped curve of technological development that kicked off with the steam engine and ended, surprisingly, jarringly, with the proliferation of the global Internet.”
“Finance Executives Look To Advance LIBOR Transition In 2021” (Wall Street Journal). “Efforts to skip the London interbank offered rate for new transactions by end of next year are forcing finance executives to take stock of their contracts, communicate with banks and investors and adjust their interest-rate cost calculations.”
“Here Are 9 Fascinating Facts To Know About BlackRock, The World’s Largest Asset Manager Popping Up In The Biden Administration” (Business Insider). “BlackRock, the world's largest investment manager, has become an increasingly influential Wall Street player in Washington, DC as a poster child of the revolving door between finance and politics.”
“Watch Boston Dynamics Robots Dance To ‘Do You Love Me’” (CNN Business). “Boston Dynamics' robots are back to let you know they can really shake 'em down. In a stunning dance video that's part celebration of an incredible engineering achievement and part advertisement for the robotics company, Boston Dynamics showed four of its robots performing fully choreographed dance moves to The Contours' hit ‘Do you love me.’”
