The Kellington Times
We’ve Been Drinking A Lot During The Pandemic
Annual revenue for U.S. distillers spiked in 2020, as alcohol retailers bought $31.2 billion in liquor, up from $29 billion in 2019. This marks the highest growth and sales in the past four decades, according to the Distilled Spirits Council.
According to Barron’s, public cannabis stocks have been growing higher to dizzying heights. Companies, such as Tilray (ticker: TLRY), jumped about 51% on Wednesday. Sundial Growers (SNDL) jumped 79%. Shares of Aurora Cannabis (ACB)—a name that’s been popular with retail traders in the past—rose 21%. Canopy Growth (CGC) closed up 6%, after it had already popped 12% early this week.
The hearing should provide lawmakers the opportunity to directly hear from all of the key players involved with the recent trading frenzy and chaos. They ought to look into allegations of pump-and-dumps schemes, market manipulation and other games played that disadvantage average investors.
On Tuesday, Brian Gallagher stepped down as CEO of United Way Worldwide, amid claims that the organization neglected to properly handle internal allegations of sexual misconduct and discrimination. According to the Huffington Post, three former female executives are claiming they were retaliated against by United Way, one of the largest nonprofit organizations, after coming forward with allegations of sexual harassment.
We are living in crazy, disconnected times. Nearly 80 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits since the pandemic has started. Poverty and food insecurity are at a modern-day high. People can’t afford to pay their rents and mortgages. While this is happening, Wall Street is rejoicing. It’s been hitting new record highs on an almost daily basis. One group that literally made fortunes are the hedge fund honchos. Collectively, the top list of Bloomberg’s highest earners reaped a windfall of over $20 billion in 2020.
It’s another disappointing and frustrating weekly jobless claims report. According to the United States Department of Labor, in the week ending February 6, first-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 793,000. Adding to the sour tone of the report, the previous week’s data was revised upward by 33,000 from 779,000 to 812,000. Continuing claims, which relate to people who are still accepting benefits, are at 4.54 million.
In an earnings call with analysts on Tuesday, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins divulged the downside of the work-from-home trend, which took hold when the pandemic forced businesses to switch to a remote setup back in mid-March. As people have been holed up in their homes for nearly a year now, Robbins believes that employees have entered an ominous juncture in the virtual-work experience. The chief executive stated, “I think we sort of moved into that phase where people actually struggle mentally, people are—they’re not enjoying it.”
