#which proves the point i was making earlier in my thesis about potential shape and ker distribution being linked

[relto]

ker time ker time

[likeastarstar]

Bright Things- Hoseok

(A/N: A little bit of a longer form of content with my one true love Hoseok to switch things up. Listen to Whisper by Park Ji-Woo while you read for the full effect. Feedback is appreciated.)

masterlist.

It was a big night for you.

Your final thesis project, the collection of art you had been working on the entirety of your senior year in grad school was finally out there for people to see. Hung up in a well lit art studio surrounded by your peers' art felt right- like a shiny red bow on the end of your schooling.

You had no idea what came next, there were a couple options on the table as far as a job went, but you were determined to soak in this moment. Your parents had already visited and gone home for the night, your professors had given their feedback and made their rounds around the exhibition- now all that was left was for you to do the same.

By the time you were back to yours, there was a good number of people admiring your art. One person in particular seemed stuck on what you'd say was your very favorite piece.

Bright, colorful, and loud- the piece had given you the most grief out of all of them. It had a deep meaning, not one you cared to share with others. You were a little notorious for having deceptively psychedelic art. While it seemed bright and sunny to others, the ultimate message was about being lonely.

Which you were; Lonely.

You stood by the man tilting his head to one side, dressed in all black with a long coat thrown over his shoulders. He was pretty incognito, a hat pulled low on his head. He shifted his gaze towards you briefly, turning back towards the large painting, "It's so sad."

"What? The painting?" You laughed, "How? It's as if a rainbow threw up on it."

He hummed, shrugging slightly, "Bright things can be sad, too."

You looked at him closer, admiring the straight bridge of his nose and his slightly wide set eyes. He was handsome, his lips were almost heart shaped as he sent a small smile your way.

"Sorry, I guess that's wrong, huh? I'm not an artist, clearly. I'm a dance major but I have a friend in the sculpture program." He laughed, "I seem to have lost him, though."

That's when it dawned on you that you did indeed know this man- Jung Hoseok. He was a bit notorious around your school for a couple different reasons. You should've known it was him instantly, all anyone ever talked about was how perfect he looked.

"That's okay. I'll keep you company," You said quietly, sending him a small smile, "I've always been curious about you anyway."

"Me? You know me?" He said, caught off guard.

You smirked and shrugged, feeling particularly bold, "I know of you. About the way you dance...among other things. I think there was a story about a very expensive art piece and a pool involved?

It was his turn to smirk, melting slightly where he stood. Talking to him was like dancing in itself, a balancing act with the power between the two of you shifting constantly, "That just happens to be the worst rumor about me out there, great. So if you've heard everything about me, why bother humoring me now? What's there left to be curious about?"

You sighed, looking around the room vaguely, "You looked at a rainbow and called it sad. Call it boredom, maybe I just want to see if the rumors are true, or it might be genuine intrigue. Wanna stick around to find out?"

He looked slightly surprised but nodded eagerly, letting you lead him around your other pieces.

"What do you think about this one?" You asked simply, neglecting to mention that you were the creator.

So the two of you went on that way, exchanging thoughts and comments on art around you. At some point you flittered closer to him and he responded by offering an arm, letting you slip yours through his comfortably. You didn't even tell him your name, nervous that whatever spell you two were under would break.

"Okay, this one is my favorite," He decided, staring at what could only be described as your most erotic piece. You made it after you dumped your ex-boyfriend, using it as an alternative to texting him to hook up one night. The image wasn't really about him, no, it was about you. About your tendency to mistake physical chemistry for intellectual. You had printed your body on a giant canvas, super layering strokes of paint and textured medium to cover the most important parts that would clue anyone into the fact that it's your literal naked form.

"Whoever that is, she's hot." he mumbled, making you stifle a smile.

"Oh, hey! Hoseok, I've been looking for you!"

You raised your eyebrows as the boy who's arm you were borrowing, watching him light up in recognition.

"This is the friend I mentioned, Taehyung this is..." Hoseok smiled, gesturing between you and his friend, "I've just realized I haven't even asked for your name."

You smile and told him, watching his eyes widen dramatically and whirl towards the art piece in front of him, zeroing in on the small plaque next to it with your name printed on it. You laughed, admiring the way all of his thoughts could be read so clearly on his face.

"Wow, you make amazing art," His friend, Taehyung, commented, reaching out a hand for you to shake. You slid yours out from where it was wrapped Hoseok's arm and took it, bowing slightly in thanks. "Unfortunately, we have to get going pretty soon if we're going to meet up with the others, Hoseok."

He looked stuck between you, still reeling from realizing who he had been talking to all night. You felt a little bad, in all honesty. Maybe you should've clued him in sooner.

"Oh, that's alright. Thanks for keeping me company, I'm glad you two enjoyed the art." You said quietly, ready to walk away from the two of them.

You didn't get far, Hoseok catching you by the elbow and standing in front of you with a wide look in his eye, "Wait, what you said earlier, about being curious. I know you probably already have an opinion about me but, I-I'd like to see you again. Can I see you again?"

You smiled easily, wanting to say yes really badly. But you knew him, he didn't date. If he wanted to see you again, he'd have to prove it.

"Ask me out when you know my worst rumor too," You said quickly, taking a couple steps backwards, "You're right by the way- about bright things."

You walked away hoping you hadn't just made a huge mistake, also that he realized that your phone number was on the business cards you had left at the front of the exhibit.

Thankfully, he didn't make you wait too long and called two days later with the first of a long list of potential rumors he'd work his way through to date you.

[hellyeahheroes]

Harvey Richards and Lateef Ade "L.A." Williams have a lot in common. They both grew up reading comics with aspirations to work in the industry one day. They both ultimately nabbed roles on the editorial staff of DC Comics in the 1990s.

And they are both Black men who say they never achieved their full potential at DC Comics because of their race.

There are differences in their stories — notably, the time periods. Williams exited his role as an assistant editor in 2000 after six years without a promotion, while Richards spent 22 years at the comics giant with just one promotion before he was fired in December 2019.

But the similarities that cut across those two decades are striking and speak to how little has changed for Black editorial staffers at DC Comics and in the comics industry at large.

Richards was the only Black staffer in the main DC editorial department at the time of his exit in 2019, which included about 15 people, he said. He added that DC had since hired a Black assistant editor. DC declined to comment on personnel matters.

DC, which is home to Batman, Superman, and other iconic characters, is much larger than its comics editorial department, with around 200 employees on the publishing side. But the small team of editors shape the comics and characters that inspire lucrative movies, video games, TV shows, and merchandise.

"You need [Black] editors to help nurture talent to foster diverse characters," Richards said.

Besides being the only Black editorial staffer at the time of his exit, Richards felt stymied in his own career, he said. In his 22 years at the company, he was only promoted once. He began as an assistant editor and 12 years later, in 2009, he was promoted to associate editor.

L.A. Williams can relate.

"My personality and work style is different than Harvey's, who is different from every other name I could rattle off," Williams said. "But no matter how different our work styles or personalities are, the reality is that every one of our stories ended up the same. When it keeps happening year after year, person after person, you have to ask yourself what all of these people have in common."

A Latinx former assistant editor, who exited in 1999 after five years without a promotion, shared similar concerns with Business Insider about a lack of a career path forward at DC and a sense that her work was undervalued.

The stories of these three former DC editors are also similar to that of Charles Beacham, a former Marvel editor who spoke with Business Insider in July. Beacham was one of two Black editorial staffers Marvel had employed in the last five years and quit in 2017 because he felt his voice wasn't heard.

For Richards, there were many instances during his time at DC when he felt he was treated unfairly. He recalled specific instances with Paul Levitz, the DC publisher at the time, like when Levitz told Richards he had "grammar problems," and when Levitz told him "some people think you deserve this" when Richards won an award. Richards was never promoted while Levitz was publisher and president.

Williams also described a confrontation with Levitz, in which Levitz told Williams that he would never be promoted as long as he was publisher.

In response to a request for comment, Levitz said: "I'm not going to comment on decades old incidents. I'm proud of the increasing diversity at DC in my time as an executive there, and while we didn't achieve an ideal balance, I think much changed for the better."

Since Richards' departure, DC has taken some steps to promote diversity and inclusion.

Two women — Marie Javins and Michele Wells — were named interim editors-in-chief after recent layoffs. DC recently hired former Activision Blizzard exec Daniel Cherry, who is Black, as its new senior vice president and general manager, overseeing marketing, sales, and more for the company.

DC is also reviving Milestone, a division of DC that focused on Black characters like Static Shock and was founded in 1993 by four Black men. It ceased operations in 1997 but will return in February.

But for Richards and Williams, it's essential to have Black voices on the editorial front to help inspire change and champion a diverse set of voices and characters.

For Williams, comics were his life. He had written his senior thesis in Afro-American studies at the University of Massachusetts on the history of Black characters in superhero comics.

So when he got a job at DC Comics in 1994, it was a dream come true. But he faced roadblocks that previewed Richards' own experiences in the coming years.

Williams, 51, recalled an instance in 2000 when some assistant editors were given a monthly comic to edit on their own by then-executive-editor Mike Carlin, who is now a DC Entertainment creative director. Williams said the assistant editors of color were set up to fail and given comics that were doomed from the start.

But Williams turned his assigned book, "Impulse," starring a Flash sidekick that had been hurting in sales, into a success.

Carlin wasn't happy. Williams said Carlin cursed him out for getting veteran comics creator Walt Simonson to draw two issues of the comic, and "wasting his time on Impulse when he should be drawing other characters like Superman."

Carlin did not return a request for comment. DC declined to provide a comment on his behalf.

That sense of not being valued even when he succeeded was a hallmark of Williams' time at DC, he said.

After a white associate editor was fired, Carlin offered Williams to take over that editor's books, which included one of DC's best-selling comics at the time, "Wonder Woman."

Williams remembered vividly what Carlin told him: "I've had my doubts about you, but you've delivered. Everything is always on time, it sells, and critics like it."

"I thanked him for my promotion," Williams said. "And he interrupted me and said it didn't come with a promotion. I feel so stupid now, but at the time I was so confused and asked why it wouldn't come with a promotion."

More than two decades later, Williams said the answer was obvious to him.

Williams' DC career ended just as Richards' was just getting started.

Richards, 48, moved from Akron, Ohio, to New York City in 1995 and began his comics career with an internship at the original Milestone, which then shut down in 1997. His Milestone connections eventually led him to DC, where he started in the mailroom and then became an assistant editor.

"I was living my dream at this point," Richards said.

In 2001, after four years as an assistant editor, Richards was offered the chance to work on the Superman titles. It wouldn't have been a promotion, but a chance to prove himself (the chain generally went like this: assistant editor, associate editor, editor, group editor, and executive editor).

But Richards was given what he said was the "unusual" task to write about what he "could bring to the Superman books." Paul Levitz, then the EVP and publisher of DC, told Richards he had "grammar problems" after he completed the assignment, Richards said.

"After that, Levitz made up his mind about me," Richards said. "I felt he already had because most people are promoted after four years. But after that, it was over, even if I got a good review or worked on good projects or got company awards for going above and beyond."

Richards won two such awards, called "Carrots," which were given by DC's parent company, Warner Bros. After he won the second time, Levitz handed it to him and said "some people think you deserve this," Richards said.

Richards was finally promoted to associate editor in 2009, 12 years after he was hired, when Diane Nelson took over as president of DC Entertainment.

Richards' time at DC came to an end in December.

He had been put on zero-tolerance probation in August of last year. The document Richards provided Business Insider outlined "poor time management skills and an inability to meet deadlines." Richards said he was being overworked.

The day after he returned to the office from Thanksgiving break last year, he was let go with a six-month severance and told he "no longer fit company standards."

He's still looking for work while honing his digital art skills. He said a potential employer asked him why he was only promoted once in all that time at DC.

"It wasn't because of my work performance," Richards said. "I feel like they blacklisted me."

19 years earlier, Williams had left DC with similar sentiments.

After a confrontation over Williams using the likeness of the Alabama governor in an issue of "Impulse," Williams said Levitz told him: "As long as I am publisher of DC Comics, you will never be promoted. You're welcome to stay here in the role of assistant editor for as long as you like."

Williams thought the timing of the dispute — shortly after he had filed a racial-discrimination complaint with human resources against Carlin — was suspect. He quit shortly after.

"I naively thought that as long as I do good work, the comics sell, and the critics like them, I'm going to do well," he said. "As a Black man in America, I knew I wouldn't be able to make as many mistakes as others. But I thought the solution was, work harder and do better."

Their experiences highlight why editors of color are so important, Richards said. They can help "realize a creator's vision" and promote more diversity in comics. He lamented that he never got that opportunity. And Black editors in senior positions could provide a source of support for ones in assistant or associate roles, he said.

"Ideas came down, they didn't go up," he said. "And I didn't have anyone above me advocating for me."

He hopes the recent shakeup at DC affords marginalized groups more opportunities and he sees more women in comics than ever before. Jessica Chen, who is Asian American, was promoted from associate editor to editor last year, for example. But Richards also noted there is still a lack of Black women in the industry.

"Change is going to come," he said. "It has to."

A harrowing look into DC’s history of racism which, among other things, made Lateef Williams, an editor who helped Impulse book avoid cancellation, to quit.

-Admin

[justonecitizenoftheearth]

Why the ending of Supernatural is problematic - the meaning of storytelling

Originally, I wanted to write a full essay on this and I still might, but since the university libraries are closed and I have three other big writing projects at hand, one of which is my final thesis, this might take a while. I still want to share my thoughts about this. A lot of this has been said before, but not yet by everyone. Trigger warning for mentions of suicide and homophobia.

The thing that bugs me most about the whole discussion about the ending of Supernatural is people saying “why do you care so much? It´s just a story.” Storytelling has been a part of human culture for thousands of years, it is something that everyone does and to think that telling stories doesn´t have a function in society that goes beyond entertainment is just plain wrong. Every part of storytelling, be it the actions shown, the words used, the characters involved or the connotations connected with any of the above, have the power to influence the way that the recipients of the story perceive reality. Now let that sink in for a moment. 

To borrow some words from a text about gendered narration: “Narration is understood as a cultural practice that spans genres and media and it is of great significance for gender constructions and gender relations, because stories don´t simply reflect on the perception or imagination of ´gender´, but they create them. From this perspective, storytelling seems to be one of the performative acts that produce and establish identities and gender constructs in the first place.” (Nünning/Nünning (2006): Making gendered selves; translated from german). The important thing to take from this quote is the last bit: Storytelling is an act that produces and establishes identities. And from here, we jump directly into the ending of Supernatural.

I don´t think I have to explain a lot about what happens in the last two episodes of Supernatural. But I want to go into the potential impact. So, in the ending of episode 15x18, we see a male presenting character, Castiel, declare his love to another male presenting character, Dean Winchester. It is made very clear, both by the actual show and the comments of Misha Collins, who plays Castiel, right afterwards, that this is in fact meant to be romantic. Right after that scene, Castiel dies. He not only dies by coincidence, but confessing his love is the thing that makes him happy and therefore, because of a deal he made with the empty, is the thing that kills him. It is not explicitly said if Dean loves him back. In the next episode, this confession is never mentioned, but Dean shows some signs of wanting Castiel back desperately (begging Chuck to bring him back, running up the stairs because he thinks that Cas will be there), but these signs just stop at some point during the episode. In the series finale, Castiel is mentioned twice, but not once by Dean and always in a fleeting manner. It never becomes clear if Dean loves him back and life apparently just went on without him. Not to mention that death has never been a permanent or undefeatable state in the show. But Castiel never comes back, his feelings are never mentioned and neither are Dean´s, although it has been clear in previous seasons that he usually takes it very, very hard to lose Castiel, to a point where he becomes reckless and suicidal (see early season 13). 

There are a few things to address here, but the main thing for me is that it seems like Castiel loses his status as a friend who will be dearly missed as soon as he comes out as in love with Dean Winchester, which is perceived by the audience as being gay (angelic gender discourse aside). And this is a bad message. It´s a really bad message both for people who struggle with their sexuality and see all their fears come true, and for people who have prejudices about LGBTQI+ people and get the message that they are less valuable as human beings. Which is not true, but again: Storytelling is an act that produces and establishes identities. The death of Castiel was only one of the problematic messages. Dean Winchester, who has been coded and perceived as bisexual and who has been a beacon of light for many who struggle with mental illnesses, dies too. Worse, he basically chooses death, which completely destroys the hopeful message of never giving up. Eileen Leahy, a deaf character who represents a group of people who are seldomly represented in media in a positive and empowering way, disappeares from the narrative, too, without an explanation and takes that empowerment with her. There are more examples, but the general idea is clear.

And this is, for me, the main problem with the Supernatural finale. The ending of Supernatural helps to establish hurtful tropes and assumptions. It transports messages that can be very harmful both for people who identify with those characters and see their own very real and important hopes and dreams fall to pieces, and for people who could use to see good representation of diverse characters to question their own values and opinions. 

I hear you asking: “Okay, so bad media representation is bad in an abstract, cultural context. But how big can the impact of such media representation actually be for individual people? And how do you prove that?” So let me ask back: “Have you ever heard of the Werther effect?”

In 1774, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published the novel “The sorrows of Young Werther”. In this book the main character kills himself after being rejected by the woman he´s in love with. After the novel had been published, a number of young men committed suicide, following the example of the book character Werther. This is not the only case where the depiction of the suicide of a character inspired people who strongly identify themselves with the character commit suicide: “There have been other such “epidemics” [meaning suicides in imitation], such as the rash of suicides in young Jewish females after the publication of Otto Weininger´s Sex and Character in 1903. However, an earlier recorded epidemic occurred in the early 1700s in Japan.” (Krysinka/Lester (2006): Comment on the Werther effect. S.100). 

Long story short, it is a known phenomenon that media has a huge influence on the lives of recipients, especially if they can identify strongly with the characters, all the way to existential decisions like suicide. And in the case of Supernatural, that´s an extraordinarily relevant question.

The character Dean Winchester has battled depression, trauma and suicidal thoughts and tendencies in his journey. Many people who battled the same issues could identify themselves with this character, which is a known fact in the fandom and has been said multiple times on conventions and on social media. Showing that this character accepts death, even though it is questionable if that was necessary, and implying that the only way that he can find peace is by dying is highly problematic. Combined with the number of people who identify as LGBTQI+ and who have a strong connection to the character Dean Winchester, and considering the high suicide rate among LGBTQ+ individuals, death as the conclusion of his character arc is a dangerous message.

To summarize my point, storytelling is an insanely powerful instrument to shape the collective social memory of a culture and it has direct influence on how we perceive the world and other humans. Bad media representation causes real life issues and can be very harmful, both on a personal level and in society, for those who are affected. It lets hypocrites, homophobes and racists stay in their bubble of righteousness and fails to call them out on their bullshit. It is a lethal threat to some. Bad media representation and thoughtless storytelling is dangerous. And this is why I care so much. Because it´s not just about a story.

So, that´s it for now. I would love to hear your thoughts about it! 

And I send love to all of my mutuals, everyone who loves Supernatural and hates the finale because of it, all of my rainbow siblings and everyone who needs it! <3 

[georgecmatthews]

The two-sided recovery: A conversation about the markets and economy

In the months since the initial coronavirus outbreak, we saw the economy and markets teeter on the brink of collapse, only to recover quickly. I recently sat down with my colleague and Investment Strategist, Talley Leger, to discuss the sustainability of this recent recovery.   

Brian: I’m going to start with a compliment if you promise to not let it go to your head.  Your market bottom framework proved prescient in late March as extreme volatility, catastrophic investor sentiment, lopsided investor positioning, and disastrous market breadth led you to opine that the market was bottoming.  Fast forward 17 weeks and the US equity market has almost fully recovered.  First, what drove the market retracement and what is an investor to do now? 

Talley: You’re too kind—and give me far too much credit. It’s one thing to provide investors with a framework and indicators to help get their arms around the bottoming process in stocks. It’s another thing entirely to correctly call the shape of the recovery. I admit to being surprised by the v-shaped rebound in stocks, and the fact that the market didn’t re-test the March low.

As far as I can tell, there are at least 9 tailwinds behind stocks:

Massive, unprecedented and coordinated monetary policy support;

Similarly impressive fiscal policy support;

Still cautious investor positioning in the form of high cash balances and net short positions in stocks;

Negative investor sentiment as expressed by persistent outflows from stocks and more bears than bulls in the individual investor survey;

Structurally oversold conditions in the rolling 20-year total returns on stocks;

Potential treatments for the disease caused by the coronavirus that is being researched and developed by a host of companies around the world, some of which have moved to human trials;

Potential vaccines for the coronavirus itself that are evolving at a similar pace;

The high-frequency economic data like weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance have improved; and

The economy is re-opening and activity is moving in the right direction, as evidenced by the daily mobility data.1

That said, there’s also a bearish case to be made for the market, namely:

Fears of a potentially deadly second wave of the coronavirus as the economy reopens and cooler fall weather approaches;

The risk of a negative feedback loop between stocks and second-quarter 2020 gross domestic production (GDP) and earnings per share (EPS);

Heightened US-China tensions;

Overvaluation; and

Tactically overbought conditions.

All valid points, any one of which could be the catalyst for a near-term pullback in stocks.

Nonetheless, I remain compelled by the comparative breadth and scope of the bullish case, which leads me to believe investors should consider any short-term turbulence as a long-term “buy and hold” opportunity.

Brian: I, too, am compelled by the comparative breadth and scope of the bullish case.  I think the adage is now don’t fight the Fed and every other central bank in the world as well as the European Commission and the US Congress.  Addressing your bear case, there has already been a new surge in cases and while the US economy is slowing, it does not appear to be collapsing as it did during The Great Shutdown.  Mobility may have plateaued (I, for one, haven’t gone to too many places in the past few months) but it does not appear to be collapsing.  For the time being and until we make a medical breakthrough, I suspect we will take proper precautions—masks, outdoor gatherings, social distancing—to avoid the draconian shutdowns and disastrous economic collapse of earlier in the year.  Valuations, overall, are elevated but the discount rate keeps falling.  In a near-zero interest rate world, I suspect we need to get comfortable paying higher multiples on equities. 

Regardless of whether there is a near-term pullback, I think we both believe that weak, protracted recoveries complete with overly accommodative policy is good for equities in the long term.  How are you positioning for a protracted recovery?

Talley: From a sector and industry perspective, we’re starting to see hints of cyclicality returning to the marketplace after taking the last several weeks off (read: summer doldrums).2 Within technology, semiconductors are making fresh highs relative to software. Elsewhere, both the industrial and materials sectors are firming. Lumber continues to surge, and the homebuilders are still acting well. We’ve also seen copper and the other metals rally (e.g., zinc, tin, nickel, aluminum and silver).

While making pure, directional calls on the cyclical or defensive sectors of the market are risky, my long-term optimism forces me to take a bullish stance on the US stock market and economic recovery. Like-minded investors should think twice before hedging away the advance.

Not to obsess about a near-term pullback, but does the market’s concentration in a handful of technology companies concern you at all? While the S&P 500 Index may be positive for 2020, can the same be said for most S&P 500 stocks?

Brian: The biggest challenge in trying to time the market or appropriately hedge your portfolio is knowing when to re-risk.  Would I be surprised if we see some of the high-flying drivers of the market underperform the more economy-sensitive segments or even give back some of the recent gains?  No.  History suggests that corrections happen often. 

But again, it’s a timing issue.  Equity investors must ask themselves about the types of businesses they want to own for the long term.  To me, it comes down to which businesses are the disruptors and which businesses are being disrupted.  The high-flying winners in this market are disrupting the way the economy, business, and society operates.  We may end up paying higher equity multiples on those businesses than for the broader market but would also expect their earnings to grow faster than the broader market.

I’ll give you the final word.  How do you view the recent weakness of the dollar?  Is this the catalyst to unlock the deep value embedded in international markets?

Talley:  The Federal Reserve (Fed) has embarked on a seemingly open-ended commitment to buy securities until the economic and labor market outlooks improve substantially.

An important consequence of the Fed’s unprecedented balance sheet expansion is the weakness of the US dollar, which should reinforce the blossoming rally in international markets, especially in emerging markets (EM) and Chinese stocks.

If quantitative easing (QE) represents a choice between interest rates and the US dollar, the Fed has opted to save growth and jobs by loosening the monetary screws and inflating the money supply at the expense of the currency. From that perspective, it’s reasonable to expect the US dollar to weaken further if the Fed keeps such an abundant supply of currency in circulation.

To your point, structural underperformance from Chinese and EM stocks – until recently – has compressed their price-to-sales ratios to deep discounts compared to the world index and history.

While valuation is a good starting point for an investment thesis, it isn’t enough on its own. Attractive valuations coupled with a weakening US dollar and improving economic growth abroad could be a potent tonic for unleashing the potential rewards presented by EM stocks and so far, it appears to be working.

Footnotes:

Source: Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/covid-mobility-trends

The Summer Doldrums are a perceived seasonal trend in which the market declines or stagnates during the summer months

Important Information

Blog header image: Robert Anasch / Unsplash

All investing involves risk, including risk of loss.

The risks of investing in securities of foreign issuers, including emerging market issuers, can include fluctuations in foreign currencies, political and economic instability, and foreign taxation issues.

The Great Shutdown is the period between March and present day when the country went into forced lockdown

Quantitative Easing is a form of unconventional monetary policy in which central banks purchase long term securities to increase the money supply and encourage lending

The price to sales ratio is calculated by dividing a company’s share price by revenue.  

The S&P 500 Index is a stock market index that measures the stock performance of 500 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.

The opinions referenced above are those of the authors as of July 27, 2020. These comments should not be construed as recommendations, but as an illustration of broader themes. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions; there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations.

from Expert Investment Views: Invesco Blog https://www.blog.invesco.us.com/the-two-sided-recovery-a-conversation-about-the-markets-and-economy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-two-sided-recovery-a-conversation-about-the-markets-and-economy