Welcome to our #63 weekly newsletter.
Every week we curate key content and apply a female lens so you can stay informed and inspired about money and investing.
Stay in the know.
Keep on top of global economic, financial and investing news and trends. And read about what this means for you and your money in 2021 during Covid-19 and beyond.
If you’re short on time, listen to the audio for a brief overview.
“For women taking control of their financial future”
-Jana Hlistova
From The Purse
Editorial from the Founder
The world is on track for its biggest rebound in half a century this year. However the recovery looks lopsided, in part because the rollout of vaccines and fiscal support differ across borders.
The S&P 500 rose 74.9 % between March 23 last year and the same date in 2021. According to Deutsche Bank, this was the biggest rise over any 12-month period since 1936.
On Wednesday, the US President, Joe Biden unveiled a ‘once-in a lifetime’ $2tn infrastructure investment plan.
Nomura and Credit Suisse both plunged more than 15% (on Monday) after saying they may face ‘significant’ losses due to their exposure to wrong-way bets by Archegos Capital Management.
Ether, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, reached an all-time high on Friday at $2,097 (the price rallied 24% this week).
Visa announced they would facilitate crypto-based settlements on the Ethereum network. And Paypal launched its crypto checkout service.
JP Morgan has said that bitcoin could reach $130,000 if volatility continues to decline, as it will attract more institutional investors.
Meanwhile, the average prices for NFTs (non-fungible tokens) have fallen almost 70% from a peak in February to about $1,400. Other data show many NFTs are still sitting on substantial gains for 2021.
In the Future Focus section, read about funds betting on a consumer boom to rival the ‘roaring twenties’. And the IMF calls for tax hikes on the wealthy to reduce the income gap.
And Deliveroo’s IPO in London did not exactly go to plan: the share price plunged 30% as investors got tough on gig-worker rights.
In the Have You Seen This? section, read about Harlem Capital, a diversity-focused fund; it closed its Fund II at $134m. It was oversubscribed from its target of $100m and above its initial cap of $125m.
And we are tracking US digital health startup, Everlywell, which provides home-testing, founded by CEO Julia Cheek.
Stay safe, look after yourselves and your loved ones.
I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.
Until next week,
Jana
The Big Picture
Global markets and economy news, trends and indicators
The world is on track for its biggest rebound in half a century (this year)
However, unlike in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the recovery looks lopsided, in part because the rollout of vaccines and fiscal support differ across borders.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) expects trade to rebound 8% in 2021 and 4% in 2022.
Wall Street stocks in strongest rebound rally since 1936
The S&P 500 rose 74.9 % between March 23 last year and the same date in 2021. According to Deutsche Bank, this was the biggest rise over any 12-month period since 1936.
US President unveils ‘once-in a lifetime’ $2tn infrastructure investment plan
On Wednesday, Joe Biden unveiled a ‘once-in-a-generation’ investment in American infrastructure, that his $2tn plan would create the ‘strongest, most resilient, innovative economy in the world’.
The expansive proposal, called the American Jobs Plan, would rebuild 20,000 miles of roads and highways and repair the 10 most economically significant bridges in the country among a sprawling list of other projects that Biden said would confront the climate crisis, curb wealth inequality and strengthen US competitiveness.
Credit Suisse and Nomura slump as banks tally Archegos damage
On Monday, Nomura Holdings Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG both plunged more than 15% after saying they may face ‘significant’ losses, due to their exposure to wrong-way bets by Archegos Capital Management.
Lenders to Bill Hwang’s New York-based family office are racing to contain the fallout after Archegos failed to meet margin calls last week.
More than $20bn of positions linked to the firm have been liquidated.
Bitcoin & cryptocurrencies
Global news, trends and insights
Ether jumps to an all-time high
Ether jumped Friday to a new all-time high as the second-biggest cryptocurrency extended its winning streak to five days. The price has rallied 24% this week.
The native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, ether traded as high as $2,097.
Visa becomes the first major payments network to settle transactions in USD Coin (USDC)
On Monday, Visa announced they would facilitate crypto-based settlements on the Ethereum network.
JP Morgan note: bitcoin’s drop in volatility could boost appeal to institutional investors
The US banking giant said that bitcoin could fetch $130,000 if its volatility continues to decline.
PayPal launches crypto checkout service
PayPal Holdings Inc has started allowing U.S. consumers to use their cryptocurrency holdings to pay at millions of its online merchants globally, a move that could significantly boost use of digital assets in everyday commerce.
Customers who hold bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash and litecoin in PayPal digital wallets will now be able to convert their holdings into fiat currencies at checkouts to make purchases.
‘This is the first time you can seamlessly use cryptocurrencies in the same way as a credit card or a debit card inside your PayPal wallet’.
Asset management giant Fidelity files for bitcoin ETF
The Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF is the latest entrant in a growing race to launch a bitcoin exchange-traded product in the United States.
The ETF, if approved, will also employ Fidelity's in-house bitcoin price index, per the filing.
Fidelity's effort represents the sixth of its kind within the U.S., joining WisdomTree Investments, VanEck Associates Corp., NYDIG Asset Management, First Advisors/SkyBridge and Valkyrie Digital Assets.
NFT price crash stirs debate on whether stimulus-led fad is over
Average prices for NFTs (tradable digital certificates that use blockchain technology to prove ownership and provenance of online assets) have fallen almost 70% from a peak in February to about $1,400, according to Nonfungible.com, which tracks a variety of NFT marketplaces.
While trading volumes and average prices are far lower than recent peaks, other data show many NFTs are still sitting on substantial gains for 2021.
Paris Hilton is going ‘to drop an NFT’ and announces she is an investor in Bitcoin (& female founders)
Future Focus
Keeping an eye on key predictions, innovations and what’s going to impact the future
Funds bet on consumer boom to rival ‘roaring twenties’
Some of the world’s top money managers are betting on a post-pandemic spending boom that will boost real-world companies (including travel companies, restaurants and offline shopping).
Investors began piling into cyclical stocks that benefit from an economic rebound late last year following good news on the vaccine front, while pulling back from high-valued technology stocks.
IMF calls for tax hikes on wealthy to reduce income gap
Calling for governments ‘to provide everyone with a fair shot’-the IMF said that the government ministers needed to ‘enable all individuals to reach their potential – and to strengthen vulnerable households’ resilience, preserving social stability’ and broader economic stability.
‘Against this backdrop, societies may experience rising polarisation, erosion of trust in government, or social unrest. These factors complicate sound economic policymaking and pose risks to macroeconomic stability and the functioning of society,’ the IMF said.
Companies: winners & losers
Companies to watch and share price movements
Analysts say its IPO took a turn for the worse when multiple fund managers said they wouldn't back the business due to concerns about working practices, spooking many that applied for its shares and possibly racing to dump them.
Amazon-backed Deliveroo, which trades on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ROO, raised 1.5 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) via proceeds from investors.
Credit Suisse lurches from risk management crisis to the next
Scandals at Archegos, Greensill and Wirecard seem symptomatic.
Credit Suisse could lose between $3bn and $4bn from the Archegos sell-off.
JPMorgan’s Abouhossein suggested the Archegos and Greensill crises will provoke a wholesale review of the lender’s asset management and investment banking businesses.
‘ . . It is likely to lead to a reassessment of how it takes and manages risk. Whenever a bank does this, it inevitably leads to lower growth and lower revenues.’
Have You Seen This?
Female-focused news, reports, research, campaigns
Harlem Capital has closed fund II at $134m
Harlem Capital, a diversity-focused venture capital firm, was oversubscribed from its target of $100m and above its initial cap of $125m.
The firm aims to invest in 1,000 diverse founders over the next 20 years. Established as an angel syndicate, Harlem Capital closed its $40m inaugural fund in November 2019 and now manages $174m in assets under management.
Fund I has invested in 23 companies: including e-commerce platforms, Pangaea, CashDrop, Malomo and Repeat, and wellness brands, Wellory, Expectful, Wagmo and Shine.
Fund I's portfolio is comprised of 61% Black or Latino led companies and 43% female-only led companies. The fund is still actively investing with a target of five more initial investments.
Fund II seeks to invest in 45 companies, maintaining Harlem Capital’s commitment to minority and women founders, but shifting focus to early seed stage investments in companies that are post-product.
Fund II’s limited partners (“LPs”) include 14 world-class institutions, 4 global corporations, and 6 family offices. The firm is proud to have the support of 18 GPs of other investment funds, with 42% of Fund II’s individual LPs being women or people of colour.
Know this: minority and women founders continue to be under-invested and under-estimated. This often means that they have less access to capital, when they do raise capital, it takes them longer and they often raise far less, than their white, male counterparts (on average). We are beginning to see VC funds focused exclusively on minority and women founders to address this problem.
What We’re Tracking
Female and diversity-focused products or services, start-ups and businesses led by women/diverse founders, investment, research & crowdfunding campaigns.
Everlywell: (US)-founded by CEO Julia Cheek, is a digital health business which provides home-testing and other health diagnostic tests.
It is valued at $2.9 billion after acquiring PWNHealth and Home Access Health Corp. in a cash and stock deal. (Strong sales growth combined with synergies from the acquisition helped its valuation more than double).
The companies will be combined under a newly formed parent company, Everly Health, according to a statement Wednesday.
The business saw strong growth during the coronavirus pandemic, as consumers turned to Everlywell for home Covid-19 testing and other health diagnostic testing.
Its investors include Shark Tank’s Lori Greiner, Blackrock, Lux Capital and Goodwater Capital.
Coffee Break? Read This
Women less likely to get their ideas endorsed at work than men
Don’t have 1000hrs to learn something new? That’s fine, all you need is 20hrs
We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with Jana via the The Purse website or tweet @jointhepurse and @janicka.
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