What we’re reading (3/16)
“The Financial Crisis The World Forgot” (New York Times). “By the middle of March 2020 a sense of anxiety pervaded the Federal Reserve. The fast-unfolding coronavirus pandemic was rippling through global markets in dangerous ways. Trading in Treasurys — the government securities that are considered among the safest assets in the world, and the bedrock of the entire bond market — had become disjointed as panicked investors tried to sell everything they owned to raise cash. Buyers were scarce. The Treasury market had never broken down so badly, even in the depths of the 2008 financial crisis.”
“Inflation Is Coming — And Active Funds Aren’t Prepared, Bank Of America Warns” (Institutional Investor). “A majority of actively managed U.S. large-cap funds failed to beat the Standard & Poor’s 500 index in 2020 for an eleventh straight year of underperformance, according to a report released last week by S&P Dow Jones Indices, a unit of S&P Global.”
“On Wealth Tax, White House Says Biden And Warren Have Different Plans” (Business Insider). “In a press briefing on Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki addressed the possibility of a wealth tax, something the Biden administration is either open or opposed to, based on recent remarks. She was clear that its position, whatever it is, is far removed from the most prominent one: that of Sen. Elizabeth Warren.”
“The CEO Of Amtrak Thinks Americans Are Ready For Trains Again” (Slate). “William J. Flynn took over as CEO of Amtrak at the worst possible time. It was April 2020—one month after the country locked down—and ridership on the quasi-public passenger rail network was down by 97 percent. Two recovery bills later, Amtrak’s finances have been shored up. Though business remains way down, vaccines are rolling out, and Flynn aims to double Amtrak’s pre-pandemic ridership in the next two decades.”
“What It’s Like To Live In The Robocall Capital Of America” (CNN Business). “Baton Rouge, Louisiana…receives the most robocalls per person in the United States, according to data from YouMail, a robocall-prevention service that tracks robocall traffic across the country. The city averaged 39 robocalls per resident in February, YouMail found. That's more than two and a half times the national average, which is about 14 to 15 calls monthly for each person[.]”
