-  __143M:__ Covid vaccine doses administered in the US to help stem a pandemic that has taken ~2.8M lives worldwide. 
-  __$1.9T:__ The size of the stimulus package that [passed](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/VcXib5c8iwx7WvC2RdU9C/articles/5BY7nmhrMARFVO8RCsWEZi/) in March — more than twice as big as the 2009 financial crisis package. 
-  __6.2%:__ The national unemployment rate in February, down from nearly 15% in April 2020 — but almost [double](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/zVG8BBoAxAmMC9XSil04c/articles/6oRNWLHX5ImjkATSKIBZu3/) pre-pandemic levels.
-  __$162B:__ The record amount raised by companies that went public this year. Only $37B was raised in the first three months of 2020. 
-  __225:__ The number of [SPACs](https://learn.robinhood.com/articles/mxUoK0QpIE1Y8bSNoVpQM/what-is-a-special-purpose-acquisition-company/) that have gone public this year (nearly four/weekday). They’ve already raised [more](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/26/business/WeWork-Spac-ipo.html) than they did in all of 2020.
-  __1.685%:__ The 10-year Treasury yield (the interest rate the US government pays to borrow money), which has [tripled](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/R1vyWz38Uu6QsAteWoFzk/) in a year.
- __$69.3M:__ How much an NFT of a digital collage [sold](https://www.npr.org/2021/03/11/976141522/beeple-jpg-file-sells-for-69-million-setting-crypto-art-record) for at a Christie's auction, setting a crypto art record (*by far*). 


Numbers

The Numbers: seven big numbers that defined the 1st quarter

1. __Biden's "New Deal"....__ Since President Biden's [inauguration](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/44rp3bUdom0Q5pREmL0SR1/articles/49RzO2EFs5wK6FlcAGzWGy/), one major theme has emerged: *spend big on America*. Biden's ambitious "[Build Back Better](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/44rp3bUdom0Q5pREmL0SR1/articles/6FAZxow6cfIKFXsmBw8RJ2/)" plan involves proposed investments at a scale we haven't seen for decades. On the "Build Back" side: a $1.9T [stimulus](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/VcXib5c8iwx7WvC2RdU9C/articles/5BY7nmhrMARFVO8RCsWEZi/) to speed up recovery — plus, a "Buy American" executive order to [boost](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/18OQONWGOCQr3BPWg5Pk03/articles/3jah5iD0LYNNhuXY04QpYJ/) purchases of US-made goods and services. On the "Better" side, the Biden admin is [crafting](https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-officials-put-together-3-trillion-economic-plan-11616443881) a massive infrastructure package that could cost $3T. It includes spending on roads, bridges, and clean energy infrastructure. Now, economists are [predicting](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/VcXib5c8iwx7WvC2RdU9C/articles/5BY7nmhrMARFVO8RCsWEZi/) a much faster recovery than previously expected.

2. __The Swinging Bull Market...__ This year, the only question asked more than "did you get vaxed" is "*are we in a bubble*?" The stock market has [continued](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/7eawMInFcJedKi1Rjr2ZsD/articles/RiJoFnQ3EGCoi4s1E5c0p/) its surge, with the __[S&P 500](https://learn.robinhood.com/articles/7kFFEUv46vmMCmMfLuNiRX/what-is-the-s-and-p-500/)__ and the __[Dow](https://learn.robinhood.com/articles/13urVTf3GSQYdsr7Eq5fHL/what-is-the-dow/)__ hitting fresh records this month. But there's a key difference between this quarter and last year: as the economy recovers and interest rates [rise](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/TkemicSGU43NTUB9d1ASr/articles/2mJPn77i6fUo7xq3qNVfjA/), investors are moving away from tech  and into "Recovery Stocks" (aka: [cyclical stocks](https://learn.robinhood.com/articles/6SSoCuDTYUitHFQrcPb8Yp/what-is-a-cyclical-stock/#:~:text=A%20cyclical%20stock%20is%20a%20stock%20whose%20value%20rises%20and,stocks%20generally%20decline%20in%20value.)). These are stocks in industries that tend to do well when the economy is growing (and vice versa). Think: travel, construction, retail, and banking. The cyclical-heavy Dow is up 8% this quarter — the tech-heavy __[Nasdaq](https://learn.robinhood.com/articles/1GXPrecRfkSNp0aBblBSsL/what-is-the-nasdaq/)__ index is up barely 2%.

3. __Crypto "Mainstream-ification"...__ Cryptocurrencies and alternative assets reached a peak of social relevance. In January, bitcoin hit its "[big $40K](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/3LgF2GHrBcJKBJ4WJf1iwx/articles/2nXdL69aReUxvgeSTBY2ox/)" record, pushing the total value of the crypto market above $1T for the first time. It continued surging through March, as corporate investors like __Tesla__, __MassMutual__, and __Square__ [bought](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/7tG94Z14uUwB4l1unOOkH/) in.  Retail investors poured into crypto too, on apps like __Robinhood__ (aka: us) and __Coinbase__ (which is now going public at a $68B valuation). __Paypal__ said it will let users shop with crypto — and Tesla will now let you buy a Model 3 with bitcoin.  Meanwhile, the [NFT craze](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4CMp4ZxaXNDVcia7phbTi8/articles/2dLrCxa5wrlsuga9kmuKtF/) underscored the power of the blockchain, and an appetite for alt investments. 


Themes

The Big Picture: three key themes that defined January to March

1. __The "Revenge Economy"...__ is this the quarter the world returns to "normal"? For a year, sweatpants replaced shopping, screens replaced travel, and microwaves replaced restaurants. Thanks to all this non-spending (plus stimulus checks), Americans have socked away [$1.5T](https://www.axios.com/economy-savings-americans-money-wealthy-efd12c61-c587-4669-b7e7-32ce38ef74f4.html) in excess savings. Consumer spending tanked in 2020, but it’s expected to spike in the summer and fall. As life slowly returns to semi-normalcy, we're seeing leading indicators of the "revenge spending" economy. Since mid-March, pandemic travel has been [notching](https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput) record highs, with over 1M people passing through TSA check points each day. "Revenge spending" outside the home on things like vacays, concerts, dining, and (non-stretchy) clothes could be coming. 

2. __The Bull or Bear Market...__ Will the bull market continue? The pessimist case: interest rates have [risen](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/7eawMInFcJedKi1Rjr2ZsD/articles/RiJoFnQ3EGCoi4s1E5c0p/), the new $1.9T stimulus is sparking inflation fears, and Big Tech is losing its coronaconomy edge. And with the new Dem-controlled government, tech [might](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/2Z4BofvGDzgoroXZ4OTaiL/articles/75lgUHK9VCoHmFBsxK4D6C/) see more aggressive regulation.  Tech stocks carry massive weight, so a move away from them could depress the market. The optimist case: the Fed says it won't raise rates any time soon, the $1.9T stimulus could bring [faster](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/VcXib5c8iwx7WvC2RdU9C/articles/5BY7nmhrMARFVO8RCsWEZi/) economic healing, and more than 25% of Americans have been vaccinated. Also: infrastructure investments could boost cyclical stocks longer-term, lifting the market.

3. __The Future of Labor...__ The pandemic has exacerbated income inequality — will reopening help narrow the gap? America is waiting for unemployment to snap back to pre-pandemic levels (3.5%), but this'll likely take longer than three months. 2.5M+ women [dropped](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/4FiPxYkU4FGEKs36P1LNJJ/articles/4kp1BqJkQIJqk2dJ3iMTuU/) out of the labor force between February 2020 and this January — will they return to work? Wages, unions, and WFH are also top of mind: The Biden admin is [trying](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/7lIjj1BcdPQ6YavUzzl7AS/articles/2pJzCBY02k6kKdeKYGgSBd/) to raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour, but it wasn't included in the last stimulus — will we see any federal minimum wage increases? Will there be more major pushes for unionization, like we're [seeing](https://snacks.robinhood.com/newsletters/2ObuixsZ1Fn2mCLQnOBLrW/articles/2KXfHSBO7K9bQnKHCZoiUm/) now at Amazon? Will companies return to the office, or will a hybrid WFH model become the norm? 

Questions

Looking ahead: three major questions for next quarter

Dow Jones

S&P 500

Nasdaq

Bitcoin

90 days. 225 companies covered. Check out which we mentioned most. (FYI on methodology: the companies Snacks covered in Q1, weighted by # of mentions)

🍪  Snacks Special Edition: End-of-Quarter Review

The Numbers: seven big numbers that defined the 1st quarter

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