• WeWork has agreed to merge with a "blank check" company to go public, it said in a statement today. The deal with the BowX Acquisition SPAC will provide the SoftBank-backed real estate company with approximately $1.3 billion of cash and values it at $9 billion including debt. This is a far cry from the $47 billion value once attached to it. In a shocking turn of events, it was forced to cancel plans to go public back in 2019. 
• Reddit-fueled "meme" stocks were back in action yesterday with GameStop surging over 50% after closing lower for five straight days. The mall retailer has regained the losses it suffered after it said it is considering selling more shares to fund its transformation. Theater operator AMC was 22% higher, while other usual suspects, like BlackBerry, Bed Bath & Beyond and Sundial Growers, enjoyed smaller gains. 
• Olink Holding was the only U.S. stock market debut out of the six yesterday that closed above its offer price, leading some to wonder if IPO mania is fading. Shares in the Swedish company surged to $36, 80% higher than the IPO price of $20. Founded in 2016, the firm provides a platform that supports the study of proteins, or Proteomics, to biopharmaceutical companies and clinical and academic institutions.
• New York State lawmakers have reached a deal to legalize recreational marijuana, making it the 15th state in the country, along with Washington D.C., to do so. The legislation says there will be a 13% retail sales tax on the product, which will be divided into state and local tax revenue.

The global recorded music industry saw a 7.4% increase in revenues to $21.6 billion last year, as growth in streaming offset declines in other areas, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. While users of paid streaming subscriptions jumped 30% to 443 million during the pandemic, revenues from these grew at a slower pace of 18.5%.

This suggests a problem of Average Revenue Per User declining, which we've seen with platforms like Spotify.