Weekly Rundown: Turns Out, It Works
Good morning investors,
Welcome to today’s edition of the Weekly Rundown, the top news and ideas across finance, economics and technology, sent to 10,000+ investors around the world.
This week, I had the honor of writing about a small surfing village in El Salvador incorporating Bitcoin into their everyday lives - from buying groceries, to getting a haircut, to paying for a ride to school. Jumpstarted through a donation into the community, El Zonte managed to create a circular economy entirely on Crypto. Even more inspiring, is that the community was largely unbanked without a single ATM in town. In less than a year, most youth has a Bitcoin wallet on their cell phone. We are witnessing an entire generation receiving their financial education in the next iteration of money.
As fiat currencies continue to be put to the test around the world, and practical applications of crypto have yet to be proven, stories like this give us hope of what’s possible.
This Week By The Numbers
U.S. stocks rose as investors digested this week’s corporate earnings reports, economic data and coronavirus news. The dollar weakened and crude oil declined. The S&P 500 registered its third consecutive weekly gain for the first time since December. Bitcoin remains stable for its sixth consecutive week.
Stocks to Watch:
$SPCE - Branson’s Virgin Galactic posted 25% weekly gains, and 64% for the month, after appointment of Disney’s Michael Colglazier as its new Chief Executive.
$SPAQ - After announcing its acquisition of electric car manufacturer Fisker Inc., Spartan Energy posted a 46% monthly gain, but closed -26% for the week.
$RST - Rosetta stone posted 25% weekly gains, after hiring advisors to search for an acquisition candidate.
Top Stories of the Week
Twitter Hack May Bring Fine for Possible FTC Accord Violation
Twitter Inc. may face a large fine from U.S. regulators after a hack of several high-profile accounts including former President Barack Obama and Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos. The Federal Trade Commission will review whether Twitter violated a 2010 settlement that resolved allegations that the company failed to safeguard consumer information in a 2009 hack, according to a person familiar with the matter. The 2009 incident, like the recent one, involved phony tweets from some accounts, including then President-elect Obama’s. Read Full Story.
Ginsburg Gives Liberals a Scare With Latest Cancer Revelation
Ginsburg, 87, said in a statement on Friday that chemotherapy is yielding “positive results,” with the latest scan showing a significant reduction in lesions and no new disease. She said she has been “fully able” to do her job as a justice and intends to remain on the court. But with President Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans controlling the Senate through at least January, Ginsburg’s announcement raised new questions about the Supreme Court’s future. Read Full Story.
Moderna fires up COVID vaccine race with promising early results
Crucial data from experimental vaccines against the new coronavirus started streaming in as Moderna Inc. disclosed early results and new findings from the University of Oxford’s rival shot were reported to be imminent. Moderna’s vaccine elicited antibodies in all people tested in an initial safety trial, federal researchers said Tuesday. Read Full Story.
John Lewis, Towering Figure of Civil Rights Era, Dies at 80
On March 7, 1965, he led one of the most famous marches in American history. Images of his beating at Selma shocked the nation and led to swift passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. A milestone in the struggle for civil rights, the law struck down the literacy tests that Black people had been compelled to take before they could register to vote and replaced segregationist voting registrars with federal registrars to ensure that Black people were no longer denied the ballot. Read Full Story.
Bank of England Debating Digital Currency Creation
The Bank of England is reviewing whether it should create a central bank-backed digital currency, according to governor Andrew Bailey. The BOE is part of a group of major central banks teaming up to assess potentially developing their own digital currencies, acknowledging their role is being challenged by new technologies and private sector initiatives such as Facebook Inc.’s Libra. It could be some time before the U.K. central bank is able to fully devote its attention to such a development, however. Read Full Story.
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Disclaimer: This email does not contain financial advice and was created solely for informational purposes.