Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-12-21)

TheS&P 500 indexis settoundergo its most significant

rebalancingeveronDec.21,when EV pioneer Tesla

becomesthebiggestcompany to be added in the index’s

history.Thestockis upmorethan sevenfold this year.

▶A NewForce

◼AGENDA

▶Israelfacesa Dec. 23

deadlinetopassits

alreadydelayedbudget

if it wantstoavoid

paralysisandanother

generalelection,which

wouldbethefourthin

twoyears.

▶TheEuropean

MedicinesAgency gives

itsopiniononthe Pfizer-

BioNTechcoronavirus

shotonDec.21,with

vaccinationspossibly

startingin theEU just a

fewdayslater.

▶ The historic King

George VI Chase horse

race takes place south

of London on Dec. 26,

though because of the

pandemic, there won’t

be the usual throng of

spectators.

▶TheBankof Thailand

setsinterestrates on

Dec.23.Theinstitution

is tryingtoarrest sharp

gainsin thecountry’s

currency,thebaht,

thatthreatento make

exportslesscompetitive.

▶ Germany’s Finance

Ministry publishes its

monthly financial report

on Dec. 22, detailing

closely watched data on

borrowing, the federal

budget, and other

economic developments.

▶ On Dec. 23, China’s

Ministry of Finance

announces details of its

planned bond sales for

the first quarter of 2021,

providing a sense of its

financing needs as the

economy recovers. ILLUSTRATION BY JACKSON GIBBS. NIGERIA: KOLA SULAIMON/GETTY IMAGES. DATA: COMPILED BY BLOOMBERG

4

◼INBRIEF

● AstraZeneca

agreedonDec. 12

tobuyAlexion

Pharmaceuticals

for$39billion.

Theacquisition

willhelpit expand

intoimmunology

andotherareas.

●Globally,coronavirus

casesexceeded

73.8million,andalmost

1.7m

peoplehavedied.On

Dec. 14 health-care

workersin severalstates

werethefirstAmericans

toreceivetheCovid-

vaccinedevelopedby

PfizerandBioNTech.

● Vanguard’sTotalStock

Marketbecamethefirst

equityfundtoamass

$1trillionin assets.▷ 20

● MacKenzie

Scottsaidshe’s

donatedmore

than$4billion

in thepastfour

months.

●TheEuropeanCentral

Bankwillallowbanksin

theEUtopaya modest

dividendnextyear,equal

tolessthan15%oftheir

profitsfor 2020 and

2019.Atthesametime,

thebankurgedlenders

topreservereservesto

weatherthepandemic.

●China’seconomy is

pointingtoa strong

reboundin 2021, pulling

furtherahead of other

majorcountries. Industrial

productionin November

rose7%from the

yearbefore, and retail

salesexpanded 5%,

thegovernment said

onDec.15.

● “Don’t

let the

door hit

you on the

way out.”

After Attorney General Bill Barr said

he’d leave office on Dec. 23, Democratic

Senator Richard Blumenthal of

Connecticut faulted his performance in

the Trump administration, saying he’d

“trashed the rule of law.”

Bloomberg Businessweek By Benedikt Kammel

● Gunmen attacked an all-boys

school in northern Nigeria on Dec. 11;

more than 300 students remain

unaccounted for. The militant group

Boko Haram claimed responsibility

for the kidnapping.

She gave primarily to impoverished

communities suffering from food

shortages and racial inequity. Formerly

married to Amazon.com CEO Jeff

Bezos, Scott is the world’s 18th-richest

person, with a net worth of $60.7 billion.

11/30/10 11/30/

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Assetsin theVanguardTotal Stock

MarketIndexFund

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