Confidence in the U.S. economy remains below its early 2020 levels, though signs of a market bounce-back have improved Americans' views on current economic conditions this past month, according to a Gallup survey out Thursday.

Why it matters: Americans' satisfaction with the state of the union is holding close to historic lows, even as sentiments surrounding the U.S. economy slightly improve based on bright spots in employment numbers and stock market rallies. That, combined with President Trump's job approval rating — which rests below 50% — is "problematic" for his re-election ambitions.

Snowflake on Wednesday went public in the largest software IPO of all time, and then kept running like the Energizer Bunny on speed. By the time it was over, the company was worth over $80 billion.

Background: Snowflake was founded in 2012 to build data warehousing and analytics services for other businesses — audaciously seeking to both compete with Amazon while also building on top of it.

Snowflake shares more than doubled on Wednesday, after having the biggest software IPO in history, while JFrog also posted strong first-day gains.

Why it matters: The moves show that Wall Street's appetite for new tech stocks remains significant, with concerns about both the pandemic and high valuations taking a back seat.

Peloton's stock surged after the company announced its fiscal fourth-quarter sales jumped 172%, thanks to an increase in at-home workouts during the coronavirus pandemic.

The state of play: Investors salivated over Peloton's outlook for the current quarter and fiscal 2021, but a new survey from CivicScience suggests the company may have a hard time finding new customers.

The fate of one of Wall Street's most polarizing stocks — embattled electric truck maker Nikola, the company accused of being an “intricate fraud built on dozens of lies” and now facing a reported SEC investigation — will be decided almost entirely by long-only investors and mostly by retail traders.

Why it matters: This could be the ultimate test of Wall Street's current buy-the-dip ethos and the option market mania that has driven equity prices and valuations through the roof despite a withering economy.

Following the fastest 10% correction in the history of the Nasdaq last week — taking just three sessions, surpassing even March's blisteringly fast slide — investors are split on whether it's a buying opportunity or the start of a new bear market.

On one side: Many hedge funds are buying, with fund managers that make both bullish and bearish stock bets buying internet and software companies at the fastest rate in five months last week, according to data compiled by Goldman Sachs.

The EV startup Nikola Corp.'s stock fell Thursday after a financial research firm published a report claiming the electric and fuel cell truck startup is an "intricate fraud."

Catch up quick: It comes just two days after Nikola's shares jumped on the news that GM is taking an 11% stake in the company, is engineering and building its Badger pickup, and will supply key battery and fuel cell tech.

Snowflake, a San Mateo, Calif.-based cloud data warehousing company, disclosed that Berkshire Hathaway and Salesforce Ventures each will purchase $250 million shares as part of its upcoming IPO. Berkshire also said it plans to buy around 4 million additional shares from insiders.

Why it matters: It's tough to square Warren Buffett's value investing philosophy with Snowflake, a tech unicorn without profits or a public trading history.

Advantage Solutions, an Irvine, Calif.-based provider of sales and marketing services to consumer goods makers and retailers, agreed to go public via a reverse merger with Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp., a SPAC formed by Centerview Capital.

Why it matters: Private equity is on both sides of this transaction, illustrating how the industry is integrating what could otherwise become a rival.

Even after the pullback to end last week, U.S. stock prices are booming and fund managers have largely hitched their wagons to the idea that prices will continue rising for the foreseeable future. But many are hedging their bets, showing bullishness in words much more than in deeds.

What's happening: The vast majority of assets — including currencies, bond prices, commodities and equities — have risen notably in price since the start of the third quarter. It’s a "buy anything" market.