Succinct Summation of Week’s Events for 9.18.20

Succinct Summations for the week ending September 18th, 2020 Positives: 1. Progress continues to be made on Covid vaccines and treatments. 2. Jobless claims fell 33k w/o/w. 3. Housing market index stands at 83 for September, above expectations. 4. Import prices rose 0.9% m/o/m, above expectations. 5. Export prices rose 0.5% m/o/m, above expectations....

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Debate: Does Private Equity Warrant a Spot in Retirement Accounts?

Source: Startupsventurecapital     Does Private Equity Warrant a Spot in Retirement Accounts? The debate is fierce, ranging from investor discrimination to poor performance. By Nir Kaissar and Barry Ritholtz Bloomberg, September 16, 2020         The Trump administration has set in motion a plan that would effectively allow 401(k) plans for...

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10 Friday AM Reads

My end of week morning train WFH reads: • Bill Gates Warns Climate Change Is an Even Harder Problem Than the Pandemic: The world could use some big breakthroughs—a vaccine to combat coronavirus and innovations to mitigate climate change among them. The Microsoft Corp. co-founder speaks about his passion for both, the nightmare that is misinformation,...

11h

1970 Jaguar XKE Series II Roadster

Has there ever been a sexier, more beautiful convertible? This car presents in a lovely combination of Regency Red, black convertible top over a gray leather interior. Powered by a numbers-matching 4.2-liter DOHC inline-six (with twin Stromberg carburetors), it was factory-rated at 246 horsepower and 263 lb-ft of torque. The  four-speed manual transmission...

11h

Revenue Share / Mutual Fund Supermarket Shelf Space

Source: Distribution Channels for Mutual Funds Retail Sales     Today’s discussion is a little “inside baseball,” but stay with me on this.  Imagine going to your doctor, who diagnoses you with a treatable disease. He prescribes a drug, and sends you on your way. You find out later that the meds he prescribed are part of a limited group of drugs...

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10 Thursday AM Reads

My morning train WFH reads: • Starbucks, monetary superpower: Starbucks has around $1.6 billion in stored value card liabilities outstanding. This represents the sum of all physical gift cards held in customer’s wallets as well as the digital value of electronic balances held in the Starbucks Mobile App. It amounts to ~6% of all of the company’s liabilities....

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A 400-Year-Old SPAC?

  Art Cashin is Director of Floor Operations for UBS, where he also serves as a managing director of UBS Financial Services Inc. He has worked on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange for over 50 years. ~~~ A 400-Year-Old SPAC? – I mentioned the growth of SPACS – Special Purpose Acquisition Incorporations yesterday and that seemed to remind...

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BBRG: Does Private Equity Warrant a Spot in Retirement Accounts?

    Does Private Equity Warrant a Spot in Retirement Accounts? The debate is fierce, ranging from investor discrimination to poor performance. By Nir Kaissar and Barry Ritholtz Bloomberg, September 16, 2020       The Trump administration has set in motion a plan that would effectively allow 401(k) plans for American workers to invest alongside...

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10 Wednesday AM Reads

My mid-week morning train WFH reads: • How the Fed’s Quick Action May Have Given Congress Cover for Inaction: By doing its job of stabilizing the financial system, it has reduced the sense of urgency for lawmakers to help ordinary Americans. Neil Irwin’s  accurate assessment of 2020 is secretly a scathing critique of Fed overreach and Congressional...

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LOL, TikTok Is Not for Sale

Barry Ritholtz, founder of Ritholtz Wealth Management and a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, says the Chinese government will not sell TikTok because of the value of its underlying algorithm. He speaks with Bloomberg’s Tom Keene and Lisa Abramowicz on “Bloomberg Surveillance.” Ritholtz’s opinions are his own.   TikTok Is Not for Sale, Barry Ritholtz...

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