What we’re reading (2/26)
“Millions Of Fund Investors Are Getting A Voice” (New York Times). “[T]he relentless growth of index funds has come at a cost. One significant problem is that the most diversified funds own shares in every publicly traded company in the market, and if you don’t like a company, or its specific policies, you’re stuck. You couldn’t even exercise your vote on issues you thought were important because until recently, the fund managers insisted on doing that for you. Well, that’s been changing in a big way.”
“Zoom Shares Jump As Quarterly Results Beat On Top And Bottom Lines” (CNBC). “Revenue increased less than 3% from $1.12 billion a year earlier, according to a statement. The company reported net income of $298.8 million, or 98 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Jan. 31, compared with a net loss of $104.1 million, or 36 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.”
“Supreme Court Questions State Efforts To Regulate Social-Media Content” (Wall Street Journal). “The Supreme Court sounded dubious Monday of state laws requiring online platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to publish nearly all user content, although several justices suggested that the ability to remove noxious social-media posts should not mean tech companies are free to block personal communications such as Gmail or chat messages.”
“J.P. Morgan Chase Is Once Again Global No. 1 for Sell-Side Research” (Institutional Investor). “J.P. Morgan extended its reign as the No. 1 global research provider to four years. The firm continued its upward trajectory by once again increasing its number of team positions from 280 to 289 across II’s eight surveys, which include the All-America Research Team; the Asia (ex-Japan) Research Team; the China Research Team; the Developed Europe Research Team; the Japan Research Team; the Emerging EMEA Research Team; the Latin America Research Team; and the Global Fixed-Income Research Team.”
“Empty Office Buildings Won’t Be The Solution To The US Housing Shortage” (Business Insider). “The pandemic ushered in a new era of remote work, and it's caused a structural decline in office demand that is set to worsen in the years ahead, Goldman Sachs said. Real estate experts have theorized that office-to-residential conversions could be a promising solution to the supply problem, but strategists at the bank caution that would be neither simple nor cheap.”
