In a year marked by a waning pandemic, new COVID variants, supply chain disruptions and a fits-and-starts U.S. economic recovery, the S&P 500 smashed old records en route to a 26% gain and the creation of $8.6 trillion in value.
The meme craze still paled in comparison with the chaos that ensued following the collapse of Bill Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management.
A cascade of forced liquidations of positions held by Hwang hammered stocks like ViacomCBS Inc., Discovery Inc., Vipshop Holdings Ltd. and Tencent Music Entertainment Group — all of which plunged more than 30% over a week as banks rushed to cover billions of dollars in exposure.The explosion of special purpose acquisition company listings has helped drive initial public offerings on U.S. exchanges to a record. Nearly 1,110 firms made their trading debuts in 2021, raising roughly $337 billion.
Didi Global Inc. rounded out the top three with a $4.4-billion debut that has since become one of the most