My last day of the year, morning WFH reads:
• How mRNA went from a scientific backwater to a pandemic crusher Artificial mRNA, designed and created in a petri dish and then delivered to the cells of sick patients through tiny packages called nanoparticles, offered a way of instructing the body to heal itself. Research groups around the world began looking into whether mRNA could be used to create the vaccines of the future by delivering messages to cells, teaching them to create specific antibodies to fight off a viral infection. (Wired)
• The Worst Predictions of 2020 This year was impossible to predict. But that doesn’t mean people didn’t try. (Politico)
• How Big Cardboard is handling the 2020 box boom The supply chain industry is working hard to combat potential cardboard shortages with the pivot to more online shopping amid the pandemic (Washington Post)
• Record IPO Surge Set to Roll On in 2021 Despite the Covid recession, companies raised $167.2 billion through 454 offerings on U.S. exchanges this year through Dec. 24, compared with the previous full-year record of $107.9 billion at the height of the dot-com boom in 1999. (Wall Street Journal)
• Making Sense of Sky-High Stock Prices Are narratives the reason why all of us have not considered just pulling our money out of stocks and putting it into safer alternatives such as bonds, or even under the mattress at home? (American Consequences)
• How selling to yourself became private equity’s go-to deal Private equity firms have a new set of buyers for their portfolio companies: themselves. Blackstone, EQT, BC Partners and Hellman & Friedman are among the buyout groups to have sold companies to funds that they control this year, or made plans to do so. (Financial Times)
• The Year of the Neighborhood Cities splintered in the pandemic—but only some Americans got to enjoy a hyperlocal utopia. (Slate)
• Housing Boom Brings a Shortage of Land to Build New Homes Amid the biggest housing boom in years, home builders are worried they are running out of land. The combination of record low interest rates and a new premium on space during the pandemic has generated robust home sales. A shortage of previously owned homes on the market is prompting more buyers to opt for new construction. (Wall Street Journal)
• The Bloomberg Pop Star Rankings How Blackpink became the Biggest Pop Group In the World, A First For South Korea (Bloomberg)
• The 10 Best Stand-Up Comedy Specials Of 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered theaters in March, and made comedy clubs dangerously unsuitable for performing or recording in during the past nine months. Many of the stand-up hours that we did see in 2020 joked about a time and a place that only exists nostalgically for us now; that is, if any of us remain nostalgic for the end of the Trump years. (Decider)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Dave Welling, CEO of Mercer Advisors. The Denver-based RIA has 450 employees and manages more than $21 billion.
5 Undeniable Long-Term Trends Shaping Society’s Future
Source: Visual Capitalist
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