To understand the new wave of small investors, look to China
Speculation is as old as the hills, but you can count on some variations
THERE IS NOTHING new on Wall Street. Speculation is as old as the hills. So says the protagonist of “Reminiscences of a Stock Operator”, published in 1923. Quite so—but you can count on some new variations. Take the case of Nikola Corporation, which makes trucks powered by green energy. On June 8th its stock price doubled. It was then worth more than Ford. Yet it has sold no vehicles. “Sympathetic magic”, explains a seasoned investor. Nikola is named after Nikola Tesla; as is Tesla, the leading electric-vehicles firm. That is enough of a buy signal.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “The detail on retail”
Finance & economics June 20th 2020
- The Fed has been supporting markets. Now it must find ways to boost growth
- The successes of the Fed’s dollar-swap lines
- China’s poverty line is not as stingy as commentators think
- The euro area’s stimulus is less stingy than in past crises
- The economics of reparations
- To understand the new wave of small investors, look to China
- As the virus rages on shore, merchant seamen are stranded on board
- New research casts light on the pandemic’s effects on resource allocation
From the June 20th 2020 edition
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