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The Year Ahead

What We Got Right and Wrong About 2021

We made good calls on crypto and Justin Bieber, bad ones on Peloton and unions.

relates to What We Got Right and Wrong About 2021

Photo illustration: 731: Photos: Bloomberg; Getty Images; Paramount Pictures; Peloton

Bloomberg Businessweek

• The success of Cathie Wood’s ARK funds seemed to herald a boom for actively managed exchange-traded funds. But Wood’s flagship ARK innovation ETF peaked in February and other active funds have yet to generate much investor interest.

• We were correct when we said that Beijing’s plan to tilt the economy toward consumers wasn’t going to be easy to achieve: China’s consumer spending moved back into positive territory in 2021, but it still fell short of pre-pandemic growth rates, reflecting weak wage growth, consumer caution about the coronavirus, and local lockdowns.