What we’re reading (8/21)
“More Stocks Are Taking Part In Bounceback Rally” (Wall Street Journal). “The share of S&P 500 stocks closing above their 50-day moving averages rose earlier this month to 93%—the highest level since the summer of 2020—and held above 90% for most of last week, according to FactSet and Dow Jones Market Data. In the past two decades, the benchmark has on average risen in the months and year after initially crossing the 90% threshold.”
“Student, 20, Makes $110 Million Trading Meme Stock Bed Bath & Beyond” (Washington Post). “Jake Freeman, a math major, had amassed a 6.2 percent stake in the struggling housewares chain in July. He bought 4.96 million shares at $5.50 each through a Wyoming-based holding company he set up. On Tuesday — a day when the stock spiked above $27 a share before closing at $20.65, up 31 percent — he sold his stake. The Financial Times reported that his holdings were worth more than $130 million at the time.”
“Why Are C.E.O.s Suddenly Obsessed With ‘Elasticity’?” (New York Times). “Fittingly, the number of mentions of elasticity on the earnings calls mimics the inflation rate: bumping along at a relatively low level of about 2 percent for years before soaring to new heights in recent months, above 9 percent in June.”
“A Conversation With Andreessen Horowitz’s Fintech Leads” (Tech Crunch). “Many may underestimate just how much the pandemic really pushed this acceleration in the financial services world and people are now kind of commenting, “Oh, there’s this slowdown and, like, look at how much decreased investment is in fintech.” You have to put it in perspective — we’re still way, way up from 2020 in terms of how much money is going into this space. And fintech is still taking almost a fifth of all venture capital dollars.”
“China Cuts Lending Benchmarks To Revive Faltering Economy” (Reuters). “China cut its benchmark lending rate and lowered the mortgage reference by a bigger margin on Monday, adding to last week's easing measures, as Beijing boosts efforts to revive an economy hobbled by a property crisis and a resurgence of COVID cases. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) is walking a tight rope in its efforts to revive growth. Offering too much of stimulus could add to inflation pressures and risk capital flight as the Federal Reserve and other economies raise interest rates aggressively.”
