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Main Street versus Wall Street; daytraders versus hedge funders; the democratization of investing. Call it what you will, but this week really was like no other in the U.S. stock market. What started with a stunning rally in GameStop shares, propelled by retail investors huddled on Reddit and eager to squeeze shorts, now has the Securities and Exchange Commission trying to identify potential market misconduct. The Reddit trading army’s campaign—years in the making—faintly echoes the Occupy Wall Street of a decade ago, with an anti-establishment tone aimed at the one percent. But as John Authers writes in Bloomberg Opinion, this isn’t a history lesson, but a syllabus on libertarianism, shareholder capitalism and inter-generational conflict.

What you’ll want to read this weekend

Elon Musk gave the Bitcoin crowd more reason to celebrate, while the world’s largest crypto exchange said its systems are under stress. Bloomberg Wealth reviewed other Reddit picks that made a splash this week, including AMC Entertainment and Dogecoin. 

SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk 

Photographer: Britta Pedersen/AFP

As the global tally of Covid-19 cases passes 100 million, the European Union unveiled a drastic plan to restrict vaccine exports, a move that highlights the perils of vaccine nationalism. We should first worry about winning the Covid war and then work out how to pay for it, the World Bank’s chief economist said.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s blitz on fossil fuels went much faster and deeper than the oil industry expected, but coal won a surprise reprieve. John Kerry, the president’s climate czar, has promised a total rethink on the shift to clean energy.

Andrew Yang, one of the more well-known names in the crowded field to become mayor of New York City, advocates a basic income plan that would cost $1 billion. One of the city’s big landlords is pushing New Yorkers to register as Democrats in time to vote.

New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang holds a press conference on Jan. 14.

Photographer: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images North America

Money really does buy happiness after all, according to a study in Bloomberg Businessweek, while Finland is pushing a program to make its citizens the most financially literate in the world. And in the south of France, creditors including Roman Abramovich are fighting over a dead man’s $121 million chateau.

What you’ll need to know next week

  • J&J to file an emergency-use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine.
  • U.S. monthly jobs data may underline slower economic growth.
  • Jailed Russian opposition leader Navalny faces another hearing.
  • Millions of Hong Kong citizens will be eligible to move to the U.K.
  • Autos, energy and tech converge at BNEF’s San Francisco summit.

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Green

Decaying Gas Networks Fuel Global Warning

Researchers have devised a way to find methane leaks hidden in crumbling infrastructure, part of a little-known race to slash greenhouse gases. But the big obstacle to tackling methane emissions is that, while we know the amount of the gas in the atmosphere has more than doubled since around 1750, we don’t know where it’s all coming from.

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