Corporate Socialism to Dying for the Dow: 7 Themes That Defined the Week

Breakdown3.27
27 March 2020

As another unprecedented week winds down, @NLW breaks down unlimited QE, digital dollars, the last break of institutional trust and more.

For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, IHeartRadio or RSS.

In this episode of The Breakdown, @NLW reflects on the themes that defined an absolutely wild week in global markets and society. 

Those themes include:

  • Unlimited QE - broad new powers (corporate bond buying anyone?) and an unlimited checkbook for the Fed 
  • Digital Dollars - a surprise inclusion of a digital dollar in an early stimulus draft shifts the "Overton window"
  • Narrative Shift to “Grandma Dies for the Dow” - narrative analysis that suggests the “just the flu” of two weeks has become “business closures will kill more than COVID”
  • Stimulus as Corporate Socialism - a huge bailout for businesses explained away by something that Taleb says is decidedly NOT a Black Swan
  • The Last Break of Institutional Trust - jobless claims were four times higher than the previous record on the same day the stock market went bull again - trust in leadership is dead
  • Surveillance - a growing concern with surveillance - such as the new CDC program earmarked in the stimulus package
  • Bitcoin difficulty adjustment - as Preston Pysh put it, “this thing is so resilient it’s almost laughable”

For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, IHeartRadio or RSS.