🍪 Snacks Special Edition: End-of-Quarter Review

...Big Picture business trends, digested [Disclosures]( 90 days. 225 companies covered. Check out which we mentioned most. (FYI on methodology: the companies Snacks covered in Q1, weighted by # of mentions) Last Week’s Market Moves Dow Jones 33,073 (+1.36%) S&P 500 3,975 (+1.57%) Nasdaq 13,139 (-0.58%) Bitcoin $54,160 (-7.12%) Dow Jones 33,073 (+1.36%) S&P 500 3,975 (+1.57%) Nasdaq 13,139 (-0.58%) Bitcoin $54,160 (-7.12%) Hey Snackers, So far, 2021 has moved fast. Here at [Robinhood Snacks]( we’re dedicated to making financial news and the markets digestible (#snacky). Today, we’re taking a step back to zero in on the biggest business news of the past three months, helping you prepare for the months ahead. Want to start getting Snacks daily? Or prefer to unsubscribe? Manage your subscription preferences [here](. Themes The Big Picture: three key themes that defined January to March - Biden's "New Deal".... Since President Biden's [inauguration]( one major theme has emerged: spend big on America. Biden's ambitious "[Build Back Better]( plan involves proposed investments at a scale we haven't seen for decades. On the "Build Back" side: a $1.9T [stimulus]( to speed up recovery — plus, a "Buy American" executive order to [boost]( purchases of US-made goods and services. On the "Better" side, the Biden admin is [crafting]( a massive infrastructure package that could cost $3T. It includes spending on roads, bridges, and clean energy infrastructure. Now, economists are [predicting]( a much faster recovery than previously expected. - The Swinging Bull Market... This year, the only question asked more than "did you get vaxed" is "are we in a bubble?" The stock market has [continued]( its surge, with the [S&P 500]( and the [Dow]( hitting fresh records this month. But there's a key difference between this quarter and last year: as the economy recovers and interest rates [rise]( investors are moving away from tech and into "Recovery Stocks" (aka: [cyclical stocks](. These are stocks in industries that tend to do well when the economy is growing (and vice versa). Think: travel, construction, retail, and banking. The cyclical-heavy Dow is up 8% this quarter — the tech-heavy [Nasdaq]( index is up barely 2%. - Crypto "Mainstream-ification"... Cryptocurrencies and alternative assets reached a peak of social relevance. In January, bitcoin hit its "[big $40K]( record, pushing the total value of the crypto market above $1T for the first time. It continued surging through March, as corporate investors like Tesla, MassMutual, and Square [bought]( in. Retail investors poured into crypto too, on apps like Robinhood (aka: us) and Coinbase (which is now going public at a $68B valuation). Paypal said it will let users shop with crypto — and Tesla will now let you buy a Model 3 with bitcoin. Meanwhile, the [NFT craze]( underscored the power of the blockchain, and an appetite for alt investments. Numbers The Numbers: seven big numbers that defined the 1st quarter - 143M: Covid vaccine doses administered in the US to help stem a pandemic that has taken ~2.8M lives worldwide. - $1.9T: The size of the stimulus package that [passed]( in March — more than twice as big as the 2009 financial crisis package. - 6.2%: The national unemployment rate in February, down from nearly 15% in April 2020 — but almost [double]( pre-pandemic levels. - $162B: The record amount raised by companies that went public this year. Only $37B was raised in the first three months of 2020. - 225: The number of [SPACs]( that have gone public this year (nearly four/weekday). They’ve already raised [more]( than they did in all of 2020. - 1.685%: The 10-year Treasury yield (the interest rate the US government pays to borrow money), which has [tripled]( in a year. - $69.3M: How much an NFT of a digital collage [sold]( for at a Christie's auction, setting a crypto art record (by far). Questions Looking ahead: three major questions for next quarter - The "Revenge Economy"... is this the quarter the world returns to "normal"? For a year, sweatpants replaced shopping, screens replaced travel, and microwaves replaced restaurants. Thanks to all this non-spending (plus stimulus checks), Americans have socked away [$1.5T]( in excess savings. Consumer spending tanked in 2020, but it’s expected to spike in the summer and fall. As life slowly returns to semi-normalcy, we're seeing leading indicators of the "revenge spending" economy. Since mid-March, pandemic travel has been [notching]( record highs, with over 1M people passing through TSA check points each day. "Revenge spending" outside the home on things like vacays, concerts, dining, and (non-stretchy) clothes could be coming. - The Bull or Bear Market... Will the bull market continue? The pessimist case: interest rates have [risen]( the new $1.9T stimulus is sparking inflation fears, and Big Tech is losing its coronaconomy edge. And with the new Dem-controlled government, tech [might]( see more aggressive regulation. Tech stocks carry massive weight, so a move away from them could depress the market. The optimist case: the Fed says it won't raise rates any time soon, the $1.9T stimulus could bring [faster]( economic healing, and more than 25% of Americans have been vaccinated. Also: infrastructure investments could boost cyclical stocks longer-term, lifting the market. - The Future of Labor... The pandemic has exacerbated income inequality — will reopening help narrow the gap? America is waiting for unemployment to snap back to pre-pandemic levels (3.5%), but this'll likely take longer than three months. 2.5M+ women [dropped]( out of the labor force between February 2020 and this January — will they return to work? Wages, unions, and WFH are also top of mind: The Biden admin is [trying]( to raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour, but it wasn't included in the last stimulus — will we see any federal minimum wage increases? Will there be more major pushes for unionization, like we're [seeing]( now at Amazon? Will companies return to the office, or will a hybrid WFH model become the norm? What else we're Snackin' ICYMI: Some of our biggest stories from this quarter... - [Tech]( Falling tech stocks, rising interest rates, and inflation fears — how they’re connected. - [“She-cession”:]( Why the coronaconomy is hitting women harder than men. - [Crypto]( The Elon Effect: Bitcoin soars to a record on Tesla's $1.5B investment. - [Money]( A year in the economy — how the coronaconomy affected American wallets. - [Equality]( The racial wealth gap: how corporations are helping (in a very specific way). - [Investing]( The “mainstreamification” of investing spotlights the plumbing behind markets. 🍪 Want to start Snacking daily? Sign up [here]( for our daily market newsletter. The Snacks Daily Podcast "It’s a WeWork Shaq SPAC." WeWork is getting ReWorked: In 2019, its $47B IPO fell apart. Now, it’s going public at a $9B valuation... with a SPAC that involves Shaq. More on our [digestible 15-minute pod](. Snack Fact Of the Day [AMC, the largest movie theater chain in the US, has reopened nearly all of its US theaters — Regal Cinemas is set to begin reopening this Friday]( This Week - Monday: Amazon union vote ends - Tuesday: Earnings expected from [Lululemon]( [Chewy]( H&M, [McCormick]( and [BioNTech]( - Wednesday: Earnings expected from [Walgreens]( and [Micron]( - Thursday: Weekly jobless claims. Financial Literacy Month begins - Friday: Stock market closed for Good Friday. March unemployment rate is released ID: 1581866 Robinhood Snacks newsletters and podcasts reflect the opinions of only the authors who are associated persons of Robinhood Financial LLC and do not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc. or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. They are meant for informational purposes only, are not intended to serve as a recommendation to buy or sell any security in a self-directed Robinhood account or any other account, and are not an offer or sale of a security. They are also not research reports and are not intended to serve as the basis for any investment decision. Any third-party information provided therein does not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, or any of their subsidiaries or affiliates. All investments involve risk and the past performance of a security or financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. Keep in mind that while diversification may help spread risk, it does not assure a profit or protect against loss. There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities or other financial products. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. The price of a given security may increase or decrease based on market conditions and customers may lose money, including their original investment. Robinhood Financial LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Testimonials may not be representative of the experience of other customers and are not guarantees of future performance or success. Robinhood Financial LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. [Robinhood Terms and Conditions]( • [Disclosure Library]( • [Our Editorial Principles]( • [Contact Us]( • [FAQ]( [Manage Your Subscription Preferences]( To unsubscribe from all commercial emails, click [here](