December 29, 2021

"Here's a guy who when he runs, he moves faster." John Madden, who gifted us with golden quotes like that over the years, died yesterday morning at 85. To one generation, he was a Hall of Fame coach; to another he was a legendary broadcaster; and to a third he was a video game icon. RIP, Coach.

We've got a packed newsletter today, but scroll to the end to see Max Frost's Roca highlight of the year. Make sure your Uber drivers follow Roca, too.

― Key Stories

Boris's Babies?

• The speaker of the UK parliament has called for babies to be allowed to attend parliamentary debates
• As it stands, parents can bring babies for parliamentary votes, but not debates. Last month, a member of parliament (MP) was barred from entering with her 3-month-old, sparking a debate about the policy
• The speaker said,  “I saw that baby come into the chamber when I was in the chair. And did it affect the debate? No. Was it a quiet and peaceful baby? Absolutely. Did it disrupt? Not in the slightest. So did it matter to me? Absolutely not"
• A committee will make the final decision

Companies Raise Record Cash

• Companies raised a record $12.1T in cash this year, 17% more than the record set in 2020
• The companies raised the money through selling bonds (issuing debt), taking out loans, and selling stock 
• The year was also a record breaking one for IPOs, the largest of which was Tesla rival Rivian
• The pandemic economy has been a boon for many large companies and banks. Government policy has pushed interest rates to record lows and injected huge amounts of cash into the financial system

Morgan Wallen Wins 2021

Overview

• Morgan Wallen, the US country singer who was "canceled" earlier this year, had 2021's best-selling album
• After video leaked in February that showed Wallen saying the N-word, SiriusXM, Country Music Television, and hundreds of radio stations stopped airing his music
• Wallen said he was drunk, then checked himself into rehab. His 2021 album Dangerous went on to become the year's only album to top 3M sales (3.1M)
• The 2nd best-selling album was Olivia Rodrigo's Sour (2.7M). 3rd was Drake's Certified Lover Boy (1.9M)

Taliban Escape on Charity Flights

• Rescue flights out of Afghanistan are on hold after it was revealed that the Taliban has been using the flights for fundraising purposes
• The US has been sponsoring Qatar Airways flights from Afghanistan to Qatar since August. 1-2 flights continue to depart weekly
• US government sources say the Taliban have been sending workers on each flight, either Taliban or sympathizers, to fundraise and work overseas then return the money to Afghanistan 
• The Afghan economy has been in crisis since August, when it was cut off from international funds after the Taliban takeover

See yesterday's answers below the Wrap!

 Popcorn

Culture & Sports 

• Former US Senate majority leader Harry Reid died at 82. Reid was the longest-serving Senator in Nevada history, at 30 years
• Tale of 2 pop stars: Sales for Adele's "30" plummeted 82% compared to her prior release in 2015. T-Swift topped all artists in total album sales with 4M+
• Cactus Jack is still in the penalty box... Dior announced that it is indefinitely suspending its Travis Scott collab in the wake of the Astroworld tragedy

• Holy seller's market! US home prices were 18.4% higher this October than last year. Phoenix, Tampa, and Miami were the hottest markets
• Riot Games, the maker of "League of Legends," will pay $100M to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit with California and ex-employees
• If you invested $1,000 in bitcoin on 1/1/21, you'd have $1,632 today. If you invested $1,000 into dogecoin, you'd have $32,142 today

• An Australian man living in Israel is banned from leaving the country for 8,000 years due to $2.4M of unpaid child support
• A 3,500-yo mummy of an Egyptian king was "digitally unwrapped" using CT scans, marking the first time the king has been "seen"
• Pandemic in the Hamptons: A doctor in the Hamptons is charging up to $500 for a single Covid test, the New York Post reports
• Chief Justice John Roberts tops all other US government leaders in approval ratings, according to a new Gallup survey. Mitch McConnell is last

― Roca Wrap

Roca Pics of 2021

 Games

1. Nike
2. General Electric
3. Delta
4. Google

 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Yesterday's Question:

General Feedback:

20 Questions

― Final Thoughts