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Companies increasingly choose to avoid going public

Fewer American investors are benefiting from this stock boom than from past runs-ups. That's because public companies are bigger but there are less of them, with fewer middle-class investors.

The Wall Street Journal has a smart look at the big decline in companies going into the publicly traded stock market. The numbers show a 33 percent drop in the past 20 years, to 6,000 companies as of June of last year.

Why it's happening:

  • Big investment funds are pouring money into private companies
  • A record-number of companies are going private through mergers, or getting bought
  • The scrutiny and pressure of being a public company can be a drag for CEOs

Go deeper

Jennifer A. Kingson
53 mins ago - Politics & Policy

The modern way to hire a big-city police chief

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

When it comes to picking a city's top cop, closed-door selection processes have been replaced by highly public exercises where everyone gets to vet the candidates — who must have better community-relations skills than ever.

Why it matters: In the post-George-Floyd era, with policing under utmost scrutiny, the choosing of a police chief has become something akin to an election, with the need to build consensus around a candidate. And the candidate pool has gotten smaller.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Felix Salmon, author of Capital
1 hour ago - Economy & Business

Speculative crypto art market takes off

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Move over, GameStop. The newest speculative game in town is NFTs — digital files that can be owned and traded on a plethora of new online platforms.

Why it matters: Most NFTs include some kind of still or moving image, which makes them similar to many physical art objects. Some of them, including a gif of Nyan Cat flying through the sky with a pop-tart body and rainbow trail, can be worth more than your house.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Sam Baker, Andrew Witherspoon
2 hours ago - Health

New coronavirus cases fall by 20%

Expand chart
Data: The COVID Tracking Project, state health departments; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

New coronavirus infections continued their sharp decline over the past week, and are now back down to pre-Thanksgiving levels.

The big picture: Given the U.S.’ experience over the past year, it can be hard to trust anything that looks like good news, without fearing that another shoe is about to drop. But the U.S. really is doing something right lately. Cases are way down, vaccinations are way up, and that’s going to save a lot of lives.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow