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Last year taught us that sweeping forecasts are pretty much a waste of time. Amid a raging virus, a global recession and a rapid markets turnaround, no one could have guessed that a record $120 trillion of stock would change hands on U.S. exchanges in 2020, that Tesla short-sellers would get burned so badly, or that Bitcoin would be such a huge hit with Wall Street. It’s hard to say which trends will continue into 2021. The forecasts to watch are those that only look one or two months ahead, or 10 to 20 years ahead, Jared Dillian writes in Bloomberg Opinion. As for all the prognostications in between—better to ignore them.

What you’ll want to read this weekend

The world has learned a lot about the coronavirus, but we’ll probably never know how it began. One thing is for sure: the U.S. immunization program is running a lot slower than the Trump administration promised. Complacency is mankind’s biggest enemy in this fight, Sam Fazeli writes in Bloomberg Opinion.

For the global economy, 2020 was a year of more debt and millions of job terminations. In the U.S., record-low mortgage rates were supposed to ease the pain for prospective homebuyers, but only helped push affordability to a 12-year low.

Hundreds of unemployed Kentucky residents wait in long lines for help with their unemployment claims on June 19.

Photographer: John Sommers II/Getty Images North America

While much of the world grappled with soaring unemployment and plunging growth, the 0.001% benefited from unprecedented wealth creation. But not Jack Ma, whose billions of dollars are being eroded by the Chinese government’s scrutiny of his online empire.

Billionaire Bill Gross won’t be playing the theme song to “Gilligan’s Island” at astronomical volumes anytime soon. Meanwhile, China’s bottled water king Zhong Shanshan eclipsed India’s Mukesh Ambani and a group of Chinese tech titans to become Asia’s richest person.

Bill Gross, co-founder of Pacific Investment Management Co., arrives at state court in Santa Ana, California, on Dec. 7, in a case tied to a dispute with his neighbor. 

Photographer: David Swanson/Bloomberg

Navigating the world of exotic Italian car brands can be confusing—now,  Bizzarrini is the latest brand to get the new-again treatment. For a look at some more humble pleasures, however, here are all the little things that helped get us through the pandemic in 2020.

What you’ll need to know next week

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Green

Life Living Next to a Belt and Road Project

A lot has been written about China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative. Economists have debated the debt dynamics, political scientists have analyzed how it fits geopolitically, and climate experts have decried the greenhouse gas emissions China is adding to the atmosphere. But rarely do we hear from the people whose lives are directly affected by its various infrastructure projects. The real-life environmental and social impact shouldn’t be overlooked.

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