The Atlantic
As the Capitol rocked, capital shrugged. How can that be?
January 17, 2021
Getty / The Atlantic
Armed insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, chasing Congress members into hiding and threatening to hang Vice President Mike Pence and shoot House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Congress impeached President Donald Trump for the second time. White nationalists promised further acts of terrorist violence. The COVID-19 daily death toll hit 4,000. Payrolls declined. And in response, the markets rose a touch, with the Nasdaq and the Russell index of small-cap stocks hitting record highs.
The violent, if temporary, invasion of the seat of government, it turns out, was not enough to disrupt what Wall Street types are calling the “everything rally,” in which valuations of real estate, cryptocurrencies, commodities, and stocks have surged. As the Capitol rocked, capital shrugged. How can that be?