Weekly Newsletter- Week of 1.16.2022
Markets Get Hammered Again
We often hear stories of congressmen, lawmakers, or even their spouses banking huge profits through their investments in the stock market. These types of massive gains are always scrutinized to determine whether the trade was made based on non-public information. We all know insider trading is illegal, but in 2012 Congress felt it necessary to establish specific guidance making it illegal for any member of Congress to trade stocks based on nonpublic information that they learned about through work. Thus, the STOCK Act was passed. This stands for Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act.
STOCK Act
There are plenty of arguments to be made that Congress has epically failed in administering and maintaining the STOCK Act. At its core, the STOCK Act is supposed to reassure everyday Americans, that the government isn’t once again attempting to take benefit or take advantage of something. It feels that we often hear about an alleged scandal involving a lawmaker who made personal profits through legislation or a new law. Or lately, we're seeing more and more spouses of prominent lawmakers turning profits for themselves. As if we're to believe these trades were made without any knowledge, warnings, or tips received by their significant others.
Though we frequently learn about these scandals, we seldom hear about jail time or any real penalty for congresspeople who are suspected of insider trading. This leaves the public to assume that insider trading might not be happening, but it certainly looks suspicious in the court of public opinion which only adds to the conspiracy theories.
No More Trading
So, we all know trades made by a congressperson are specifically reviewed in greater detail. And we also know there’s a law specifically made to ban insider trading from lawmakers, the only thing left to do would be an outright ban of trading by lawmakers. And could that be next?
This week, a pair of Senate Democrats proposed a new bill that aims to do just that. The new bill proposed that no lawmaker OR their family be allowed to trade stocks while holding a position in Congress. The bill, entitled the Ban Congressional Stock Trading Act, would require all sitting members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children to divest from certain investments or transfer their assets into a prequalified blind trust. This bill would look to limit the ownership and trading of single stocks, which in the past have been used to turn large profits.
This bill is certain to be met with large pushback within Congress. We’ll keep reporting as the bill progresses through its lawmakers. What do you think? Should it be illegal for lawmakers to trade stocks while sitting in the office?
Do Doctor's Hate the Joe Rogan Experience?
This week, a total of 270 professionals compromised of U.S. doctors, scientists, healthcare professionals, and others wrote a letter to Spotify expressing their concerns over medical misinformation coming out of the podcast. As you're probably aware, Spotify made headlines last year for purchasing exclusive streaming rights to the very popular podcast, after reportedly dropping $100M to ensure they would be the sole home of the show.
Doctor's Demands
In their letter to Spotify, the doctors and healthcare professionals have demanded that the platform establish a “clear and public policy to moderate misinformation on its platform”. Doctors are now accusing the controversial podcast host of “a concerning history of misinformation, particularly regarding the Covid-19 pandemic”. “Menace to Public Health...” is just one of the phrases used by doctors to reference Joe Rogan. Rogan is being accused of spreading “anti-vaccine ideology” based on a recent episode that aired in December. Doctors proclaimed that “this is not a scientific or medical concern; it’s a sociological issue of devastating proportions and Spotify is responsible for allowing this activity to thrive on its platform”.
Controversial Podcast
The New York Times described the Rogan Experience as “one of the most consumed media products on Earth”. When Rogan has a hot take, or interviews a controversial guest, millions of listeners hear it each week. The controversy started when Rogan had on a virologist who was involved in the mRNA vaccine technology and creation. The episode was widely criticized for “promoting baseless conspiracy theories”.
Rogan and his guest discussed numerous topics including vaccine efficiency rates, the government’s handling of the pandemic, and the theory of hospitals receiving financial incentives for how they handle Covid cases. Joe Rogan brings a massive following as well as strong revenue numbers for Shopify. What do you think? Should Shopify be responsible for managing things discussed on Rogan's podcast?
Pay Me in Bitcoin!
As Bitcoin has continued to gain mainstream acceptance, so has the desire to be paid via the cryptocurrency. This has been an especially prevalent trend by professional athletes. This week more high-profile pro athletes declared that part or even all their salaries would be paid for through Bitcoin. Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson just returned to action for the first time since the 2019 NBA Finals. After declaring he was back on Twitter, he took to Twitter to inform his followers he would be taking part of his paycheck as Bitcoin through CashApp. He noted, "I'm with Bitcoin because I believe it's the future of money". Klay has a partnership with CashApp to conduct million-dollar giveaways with teammate Andre Igoudala for fans and followers.
Last November, NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr took to Twitter to inform the world he would take his entire $4M contract in Bitcoin. #1 NFL draft pick Trevor Lawrence also recently declared he would be taking an entire endorsement deal through Bitcoin. Despite crypto currently being in a downtrend, this hasn’t stopped athletes from seeing the long-term vision of the asset.