 | | |  Good morning. We're now at the one-year anniversary of the start of pandemic-driven shutdowns that still reverberate today. A year later, there's some aspect of the pandemic we're all tired of. For many, however, it could have been worse. For some, they're better off. According to the latest Fed data, household net worth hit a record $130.2 trillion in the final quarter of 2020.
That's thanks to rising stock prices, rising real estate prices, and even other assets like bitcoin. While there's still a lot of pain in the economy, particularly at lower economic levels, with the end in sight, there's a path forward for more wealth-creating opportunities in the post-pandemic world.
What big financial changes did you make as a result of the pandemic? How has your wealth changed as a result?
What are you doing going forward? Hit reply and share your thoughts.
Now here's the rest of the news:
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| | |  | DOW 32,777.98 | +0.90% | | | | S&P 3,943.32 | +0.10% | | |  | NASDAQ 13,319.86 | -0.59% | | | | | *As of market close | | | • | Stocks traded mixed into the weekend, with indices closing near highs of the day. | | | • | Oil declined 0.6 percent, last trading at $65.62. | | | • | Gold traded flat, at $1,723 per ounce. | | | • | Cryptocurrencies traded slightly down, with Bitcoin last at $56,818. | | | | | | | |
| | | Faster Growth and Buybacks Point to Strong, Steady Returns | | | | Stock buybacks and dividends were slashed or eliminated last year. Many firms are starting to resume either or both, and point to which companies are likely to continue to fare well in the post-pandemic world.
One company just reported strong growth following a merger, and surprised even more with the possibility that a buyback of up to $60 billion would occur within the next few years.
» FULL STORY | | | | |
| | Insider Trading Report: Walmart (WMT) | | | | Randall Stephenson, a director at Walmart (WMT), recently picked up 7,725 shares. The buy came to a total purchase price of $1.2 million, and increased the director's holdings by over 1,300 percent.
This is the first insider buy in over three years. Insiders, typically members of the Walton family but also some executives, have exclusively been sellers in the past three years. Even with the large, regular sales by company insiders, they still own over 51 percent of shares.
» FULL STORY | | | | |
| | Unusual Options Activity: Airbnb (ABNB) | | | | Lodging platform app Airbnb (ABNB) has been trending up since it first went public late last year. Following better than expected earnings, shares have been trending higher. One trader sees a further move ahead.
That's based on the June $210 calls. With 94 days until expiration, over 9,200 contracts traded, a 49-fold rise in volume from the prior open interest of 187. The buyer paid about $24.50 for the calls.
» FULL STORY | | | | |
| | • | IPO Issuance Continues as Breakneck Levels
Over 300 companies have gone public so far this year, raising over $100 billion. That's a huge rise over the 35 IPOs in the same timeframe of 2020. The rest of 2020 marked a new high for the IPO market, last set in 1999 at the height of the tech bubble. 2021 is on track for even more companies going public… and even more capital being raised. | | | | • | Netflix Looking to End Password Sharing
Streaming giant Netflix (NFLX) is looking to cut back on password sharing, by sending out alerts asking users to verify that their accounts are being used. So far, it's just a test, but it's possible this feature could be rolled to all users. Potentially, ending password sharing could end up with more user accounts, or it could end up with users finding creative ways around any roadblocks. | | | | • | Corporate Debt Levels Hit $10.5 Trillion
Many companies took advantage of low interest rates and pandemic uncertainty to raise capital in the past year. Now, the corporate bond market has reached $10.5 trillion, the highest level on record. Paying down (or off) that debt can impede a company's cash flow, even at record-low interest rates. As long as a company has survived and grown in the past year, however, higher debts may not be a huge concern. | | | | • | NFT Art Hits $69 Million Sale Price
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have soared in popularity in recent weeks. Essentially a piece of digital art secured much like a cryptocurrency, there's been no shortage of buyers. The artist Beeple recently sold an NFT piece through auction house Christie, for a total of $69 million. The art piece is a collage of several years of sketches. | | | | • | Richard Branson Prepares for Another SPAC Deal
Richard Branson's space tourism company Virgin Galactic (SPCE), was founded by a SPAC deal, and arguably kicked off the current interest in SPACs. The billionaire is now looking to do the same with Virgin Orbit, its satellite-launch business. The company is seeking funding with a $3 billion valuation in mind. | | |
| | | | TOP | | | VIAC | 10.344% | | | | M | 9.853% | | | | LB | 8.881% | | | | TRIP | 8.1% | | | | BA | 6.821% | | | | BOTTOM | | | ULTA | 8.446% | | | | JD | 6.655% | | | | LEN | 3.385% | | | | CDNS | 3.374% | | | | DHI | 3.145% | | | | |
| | |  | | If the bond market selloff intensifies leading up to the March 17th FOMC decision, the Fed may finally have to push back against the move in Treasury yields. The Fed has clearly stuck to the script that tighter financial conditions or disorderly markets would warrant action and if yields maintain a skyrocketing trajectory, they will become more vocal. | | - Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, on how the Fed may finally react to bond prices, which have continued to push higher in recent weeks and weighed on tech stocks. | |
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