Covid-19 Vaccine Christmas Hope | Remembering Tony Hsieh | The Vista Equity Partners Break Up

Plus: How Hip-Hop Superstar Travis Scott Has Become Corporate America’s Brand Whisperer

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More positive news from Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine trial data is likely to keep fueling the U.K. and European equities’ rally—among the biggest in their history. We also look at the legacy of author and entrepreneur Tony Hsieh, who died at age 46 on Friday.

In The News Today

Moderna’s new trial data showed its Covid-19 vaccine to be 94% effective at preventing the disease, with the company submitting it for emergency use approval in the U.S. today.

Two recounts in Wisconsin, which cost the Trump campaign $3 million, slightly increased Joe Biden’s statewide margin to 21,695 votes. 

Top Take-Aways

U.K. and European equities are on the brink of posting their biggest ever monthly gains, powered by vaccine breakthroughs and Joe Biden’s U.S. presidential election victory. The question for investors is whether they believe the rally has further to run and how to play it.

President-elect Joe Biden has announced the senior White House communications team will be filled entirely by women, a first in U.S. history. The highly experienced group includes six mothers of young children and a former press secretary for Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential bid.

Billionaire inventor Sir James Dyson—known for household appliances such as vacuum cleaners, hand dryers and hair straighteners—has announced a $3.6 billion war chest to develop technology that will take his products outside of the home for the very first time.

Curaleaf, the largest marijuana company in America, is on a mission to convert non-consumers into customers by selling them highly formulated products—voters in New Jersey and Arizona have made that goal all the more attainable.

The death of Tony Hsieh, bestselling author and longtime former CEO of ecommerce pioneer Zappos.com, set off an outpouring of condolences and messages of gratitude. Forbes spoke with several tech leaders who knew him well to hear their standout memories of Hsieh’s life and legacy.

When hotel mogul W. Barron Hilton pledged 97% of his wealth in 2007 to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, a 2.5-acre Bel-Air estate was among the 3% the onetime billionaire held onto. The storied home is now on the market for the first time in 60 years.

F1 driver Romain Grosjean’s car crashed and burst into flames during the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. This is how four technological improvements—including one that Grosjean had opposed—helped avoid tragedy in those 28 terrifying seconds.

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Billionaires Robert F. Smith and Brian N. Sheth, the co-founders of Vista Equity Partners, are putting the final touches on a hard fought separation that will mean Sheth will leave Vista for good and hand back his minority ownership in the firm.

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