News From the Control Tower - 11/11/2020
News from the Control Tower: Our weekly curated list of news stories affecting you and your finances.
This week’s reads include:
1. The C.E.O. Who Promised There Would Be No Layoffs
In 10 years running Mastercard, Ajay Banga has favored a forward-looking approach.
2. Travel Companies That Are Thriving Amid the Pandemic
The industry is generally struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But these six businesses offer hope.
Pfizer and partner BioNTech said Monday that their vaccine against Covid-19 was strongly effective, exceeding expectations with results that are likely to be met with cautious excitement — and relief — in the face of the global pandemic.
2020 may have been a challenging year for active investors everywhere, but for ARK Funds, it has been the best year yet for the ETF issuer. The firm, led by founder and portfolio manager Cathie Wood, has stirred up quite the frenzy over disruptive innovation investing through its actively managed ETFs, taking in almost $10 billion in net creations year to date, led by the $5.2 billion asset haul of ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK), now the biggest active equity ETF in the market, with $9.9 billion. Wood shares here what she’s taking away from this roller coaster year, and why solar stocks or nontransparent wrappers are not in her sights.
5. The new COVID trend? Apparently, it’s buying rare books.
Ah, tradition! Just as Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine, in this quarantine, rich people are buying copies of King Lear for $10,000,000. While independent bookstores are struggling during COVID—according to the American Booksellers Association, more than one independent bookstore has closed down each week since the pandemic began—the market for rare books has grown even stronger.
Bonus – Speaking of the struggle of independent bookstores…
Portland's iconic Powell's Books is selling a book-scented unisex fragrance
There's something comforting about the smell of a bookstore, the nostalgic memory of opening a novel and embracing the scent that comes with the pages before engulfing yourself in the story. Now Powell's City of Books, the popular Oregon-based bookstore, has released a unisex fragrance, named "Powell's by Powell's," that puts that exact scent in a bottle.