What we’re reading (5/12)
“Crash Of TerraUSD Shakes Crypto. ‘There Was A Run On The Bank.’” (Wall Street Journal). “The cryptocurrency TerraUSD had one job: Maintain its value at $1 per coin. Since it launched in 2020, it had mostly done that, rarely straying more than a fraction of a penny from its intended price. That made it an island of stability, a place where traders and investors could stash their funds in between forays into the otherwise frenzied crypto market. This week TerraUSD became part of the frenzy too, slumping by more than a third on Monday and then tumbling as low as 23 cents on Wednesday.”
“Bitcoin Is Increasingly Acting Like Just Another Tech Stock” (New York Times). “The growing correlation helps explain why those who bought the cryptocurrency last year, hoping it would grow more valuable, have seen their investment crater. And while Bitcoin has always been volatile, its increasing resemblance to risky tech stocks starkly shows that its promise as a transformative asset remains unfulfilled.”
“Shaky Stocks Send S&P 500 To The Bear Market Brink And Back” (Bloomberg). “More hair-raising volatility in the S&P 500 pushed the index within spitting distance of a 20% drop, a decline that puts markets on covers of newspapers and holds ominous meaning for the economy. Down as much as 1.9% Thursday and 30 points from a bear market before a last-hour rally, the benchmark appears destined to decrease for a sixth straight week, something it hasn’t done since June 2011.”
“Investors Haven’t Begun To Price In Recession: Here’s How Far The S&P 500 Could Fall” (MarketWatch). “The battered S&P 500 index is not pricing in a recession, according to DataTrek Research. ‘At 4,000, the recession odds imbedded in S&P are close to zero,’ said DataTrek co-founder Nicholas Colas in a note emailed Tuesday. The S&P 500 (SPX) a stock benchmark measuring the performance of large U.S. companies, has dropped more than 16% this year after closing Monday at 3,991.24.”
“The Forgotten Stage Of Human Progress” (The Atlantic). “Many books about innovation and scientific and technological progress are just about people inventing stuff. The takeaway for most readers is that human progress is one damn breakthrough after another…But the insistence on invention often overlooks the fact that we’re running low on the capacity to deploy the tech we already have.”
