The Inaugural Issue
The MStreetX Newsletter
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Welcome to the Holiday Issue: Fireside Stories
MStreetX is proud to announce our bi-weekly newsletter which will summarize topics that impact small and medium businesses.
In today's issue, we want to provide our community with a teaser to cover several compelling topics: Small Business Survival Tips, Cryptocurrency Boom, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), plus a glimpse into Faith-based Capital, and Vaccines.
News Flash
SEC approves NYSE plan to allow companies to raise capital through direct listings. More details here.
Small & Medium Business Survival
From late March to mid-July, more than 420,000 small businesses closed permanently, according to a Brookings Institution report. How can your small and medium businesses survive until they can safely reopen? The key is to create a short- and long-term plan. Forbes provides useful tips here.
Bitcoin
Just in case you missed it….,cyrotocurrenies are the new “bull” of the market. Those holding at least 1,000 bitcoin (~$23M) and new to the market are being handsomely rewarded according to Chainalysis Blockchain Data, a blockchain analysis company. Last week, Bitcoin reached its 2017 high and continues to soar. Analysts believe this is caused by fears of global inflation and need to identify safe alternative assets. You can read more about Bitcoin here.
Banking-as-a-Service (BasS)
Embedded finance is becoming a new financial trend. Recently, fintech startup Stripe announced Stripe Treasury, a banking-as-a-service (BaaS) that enables Stripe clients to provide bank accounts to their customers initially on an invite-only basis. Combined with Stripe Issuing, clients can issue a virtual or physical card and connect it to a bank account. The goal is to provide financial services as close to the customer as possible. Stripe is partnering with banks, such Evolve Bank and Goldman Sachs in the U.S., to offer a banking-as-a-service API that links to their systems.
Other embedded finance services include Wise’s embedded business banking products and Shopify Balance using Stripe Treasury. These proliferating services will make it easier for small and medium businesses to provide convenient banking services on their websites and mobile apps.
Vatican Inclusive Capital Program
The Vatican is joining the growing Social Capital (SOCAP) market with its new Council for Inclusive Capital (CIC), which is led by business and global leaders who manage $10.5 trillion in assets in 163 nations into companies with $1.5 trillion in market capitalization and employing 200 million workers. Its mission is to contribute to an economic system that is more TRUSTED, FAIR, RESPONSIBLE, DYNAMIC, and SUSTAINABLE.
To date, CIC has 231 commitments from 31 public and private organizations, making it a game changer by expanding the religious capital market beyond churchgoers to major organizations. Worldwide, the Catholic Church has 1.25 billion members, or 17.7% of the global population, giving its broad social presence and influence.
Vaccines Underway
The first Covid-19 vaccines are being released to hospitals, aging homes and first-line defenders.
Will there be a V-, U-, L-, K- or W-shaped economic recovery?
Since it will take time to deploy enough vaccines for all 325 million Americans, the recovery is likely to be a gradual U-shaped recovery going into summer and early fall, but a K-shaped split between digital and new growth sectors, such as EVs and energy, and declining older industries.
