03/22/2021: Weekly Newsletter
The growth in the digital payments industry, particulary in the U.S., has been very interesting over the past few years and has been propelled by the pandemic. There are established players, traditional banks, growing tech firms, retailers, and new entrants all interacting and coming at this industry in different ways. Some interesting stats from this Economist article:
“Online-transactions volumes surged by 19% globally last year”
Cash App “brings in 45% of Square’s gross profit”
“PayPal’s share price has jumped by 180% in the past 12 months” and is “worth $280bn, more than Citigroup and Wells Fargo”
Money & Crypto
Pinduoduo, e-commerce challenger in China, growing and has overtaken Alibaba and JD.com in terms of number of active users
Coinbase to pay $6.5M to settle CFTC investigation regarding trading volumes
Morgan Stanley to offer crypto funds for wealth clients
$25B railroad merger between Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern
Saudi Aramco profits fell by 44%
NFL negotiates media rights for next 11 years
Tariffs on U.S. whiskey makers selling to Europe
Fundraise: Bitpanda raises $170M, Fireblocks, crypto custody provider, raises $133M
Tech & Science
Mice embryos growing in artifical womb
Scientist investigate the effects of walking and looking at your phone at the same time
This year’s Abel prize winners in mathematics
Etc.
Wang Fuchun, photographer of China’s railways and passengers, recently passed away. I found his photos absolutely stunning and wanted to share more here.
Time Magazine had an interesting piece on “The Atlanta Shootings Fit Into a Long Legacy of Anti-Asian Violence in America”
A fascinating graphic overview into how Cambodia’s agriculture is affected by American bombs dropped in the 60s/70s
I just watched Sound of Metal, nominated for several Oscars, and highly recommend! It’s on Prime Video.
♫ For French-speaking readers (or those looking to practice!) I discovered a new movie review podcast in French called CINECAST. Some highlights include: Nomadland and Sound of Metal
♫ Office Ladies recently covered arguably one of the best episodes of The Office…Dinner Party
New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia named 63rd National Park
Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. The content on this site and on the podcast does not constitute financial, legal, accounting, tax, or investment advice.
