Highlight of the Week
Big U.S. banks emerge during pandemic
- Morgan Stanley said 4Q profit rose 51% from a year earlier.
- Banks like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have been less exposed to mass unemployment and small-business closures than more Main Street banks.
Rate Curves
Rapid Report:
Coronavirus Updates (as of Wednesday morning)
-COVID-19 has registered 96.7 million cases and 2,068,000 deaths worldwide. There are over 69.5 million recovered cases.
-The US has accounted for over 24.8 million cases and has surpassed 411,000 deaths. The US has registered over 14.8 million recovered cases.
-Georgia has almost 805,000 cases and 12,179 deaths.
Biden announces first executive orders ahead of inauguration
-Biden’s team plans to launch a “100 Days Masking Challenge” leading by example in the federal government by requiring their use on federal property.
-The team also intends to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, revoke Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’, and halt construction of Trump’s southern border wall as parts of initial orders.
Falcons hire new coach
The Atlanta Falcons have hired Arthur Smith, the offensive coordinator who spent the last 10 seasons working under four different head coaches with the Tennessee Titans.