Stocks Respond Well to Passage of Second Stimulus Bill

Politics, , , , ,

Despite Trump’s declared dislike for the latest stimulus package passed by the US Congress, he signed anyway, to the rejoicing of legislators, citizens, and the stock market.

The newest bill authorizes $900 billion in aid to deal with the devastating effects to individuals, families, and the economy of the coronavirus pandemic. Included in the deal is a $600 check for every adult, expanded unemployment benefits, and more money for the Paycheck Protection Program which helps small businesses to retain their employees and stay afloat.

President Trump originally threatened to not sign the bill, saying that the payment should be $2,000 and not $600. He relented and the process of getting the desperately needed money out to the population hard hit by the pandemic is underway.

The stock market reacted positively: The S&P rose by 0.87%; the Dow Jones industrial average climbed 0.68% to 30,403.97; and the NASDAQ composite also increased 0.74% to 12,899.42.

In other, related news, the latest COVID-19 vaccine, from AstraZeneca, is about to get emergency use authorization in the UK, with the hope that the vaccine will begin deployment the first week in January 2021.

The company said that, like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are already circulating in many countries, the AstraZeneca vaccine has an efficacy rate of 95%.

CEOs Optimistic About Future of US Economy

Economy,

According to a survey by Business Roundtable CEOs are cautiously optimistic about the economy over the next months. On the question of when CEOs believe their businesses will get back to normal, this is what they said:

  • 26% said their business either did not suffer during the pandemic, or that they have already recovered, or that by the end of 2020 they expect everything to go back to pre-pandemic levels.
  • 41% said they expect their business to recover during 2021.
  • 33% expect recovery in 2022 or later

Optimism about the future is often reflected in the hiring levels of companies. Those levels are back to the average levels of 11.5 points. Another indicator is capital investment, which is above average at about 25.2 points. Sales expectations are above average at 29.9 points, and CEOs expect GDP growth to reach about 1.9%.

The CEOs also said that a relief package from Washington would help there businesses and the economy in general.

Advice from 17-year-old Entrepreneur: Keep Learning

Companies,

You might not have heard of Sienna Sauce yet, but you will soon if Tyla-Simone Crayton has anything to say about it.

Crayton is a 17-year-old CEO of a business she started herself, Sienna Sauce, a stable of sauces that are perfect for chicken wings and just about anything else you might want to put a sauce on.

She has sold her product all over the United States to over 70 retail shops, generating $192,000 in revenue. She has received more than $45,000 in funding through pitch contests and collected close to $200,000 from crowdfunding platforms.

As the sauces keep flowing off the shelves Clayton is ready to help others find their sweet spot of success with some words of wisdom.

  1. Never stop learning and always ask questions. Crayton encourages people to not be afraid to be vulnerable or to not be the smartest person around. Mark Cuban of Shark Tank fame says the same. Cuban surprised Crayton when he appeared on ABC’s Localish series “More in Common” last October and offered her some hard-won advice.“Business is a sport, you’ve got to compete. But most importantly, you’ve got to recognize that you’ve got to learn all of the time,” Cuban told her. “A great entrepreneur is always learning because things change all the time.”
  2. Find a mentor that will help you through the hard times. Experts say that a mentor can speed up career and personal growth. And mentorship has helped many successful people get over those first hurdles.
  3. The customer can teach you something, too. Crayton has made it a point of taking seriously feedback she gets from customers. After her first “signature sauce” came out, Tangy in 2018, her customers practically begged for additional flavors. So she added Spicy and Lemon Pepper, and her sales went up. And that is why they have three different flavors now.

“When you listen to customers, they tell you exactly what they want,” Crayton said.

The Youngest Electorate in US History Votes for Oldest President-Elect

Politics, ,
Joe Biden courtesy of Gage Skidmore

At 78 years old Joe Biden is the oldest president-elect in US history—but that did not stop young people from voting for him in droves. More than half of registered voters under 30 voted in the 2020 election, the largest percentage ever says the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.

That historic engagement of the young, benefited Biden, since he received 60% of their votes, compared to only 36% that the incumbent, Donald Trump received. In contrast, the previous presidential election in 2016 only inspired 42%-44% of this demographic to vote for either Hillary Clinton or Trump. Four years ago, many of the same voters supported Clinton, but by a smaller spread of only 19 points: 55% to 36%.

In Colorado, Georgia, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington preliminary data are showing a large increase in youth coming to the polls to vote.

Chief Executive Officer Tom Bonier at the Democratic data firm TargetSmart, explained to The Hill that “the increase in turnout among younger voters was greater than the increase overall.”
The Biden campaign was well-aware that support for Clinton in 2016 waned in many large population centers, so they worked hard to showcase issues that are important to younger voters. Some of those issues include student debt, health care, and environmental regulations.

“In the key battlegrounds, those younger voters likely netted Biden enough votes to carry the Electoral College,” according to The Hill. “Based on turnout and exit poll data, the Tufts center estimates voters under 30 gave Biden enough net votes to carry Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.”

Young Black voters were especially supportive of Biden, with 87% voting for Biden and only 10% supporting Trump. Almost as dedicated to Biden were young voters from Asian and Hispanic backgrounds with 83% of young Asians and 73% of young Hispanics voting for Biden. Among young white voters, the support was less pronounced, with 51% supporting Biden at the polls.

Women Almost Half of MBA Students in Some Business Programs

Education, , , , , ,

The number of women as a percentage of students enrolled in MBA programs around the country slowly reached record numbers this year. This record came despite a difficult year of uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The business school which ranked among the top 20 according to Bloomberg Businessweek’s ranking that came the closest to parity for women with men was the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. They announced that 49% of the entering class was female, while the Stanford Grad School of Business was not far behind with 47%.

Not all schools were able to achieve such good results. For instance, the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon has a student body of new MBA students made up of only 25% women. A bit better were Cornell’s SC Johnson and the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler, each made up of 31% women.

The measurements were done by taking Businessweek’s top 20 schools in 2019-2020 and looking at those same schools over the past five years.

The schools with the highest percentages of women were:

  1. Dartmouth (Tuck)— 49%
  2. Stanford—47%
  3. Duke— 46%
  4. Harvard—45%
  5. Michigan (Ross)— 44%
  6. NYU (Stern)— 44%