Financial News Roundup for the Week of Feb. 19, 2018

What We've Been Reading - Week of Feb. 19

Markets & Economy:

• Is a 3% Treasury yield good new or bad? For now, investors say good. (WSJ)
• Companies could get more flexibility to launch IPOs (WSJ)

Asset/Wealth Management:

• Public pensions are still betting half of all assets on stocks (WSJ)
• SEC says it hasn’t registered ICOs - but plenty might be taking the backdoor (Marketwatch)
• Florida teachers demand their retirement fund dump gun stocks (Bloomberg)
• Overweight on index funds: A not terribly bright idea idea for Harvard (Bloomberg)

Long(er) Reads:

• The case against Google (NYT Magazine)

Alternatives:

• Endowments Should Scale Back Hedge Fund Holdings, Commonfund's CEO Says (Bloomberg)
• Carlyle's David Rubenstein says geopolitical 'black swan' only worry for markets in next two years (CNBC)
• $34bn Hedge Fund Elliott Management Says a 'Dénouement' Is Approaching — And It's a Disaster Waiting to Happen (Business Insider)
• How gargantuan can private equity get? (WSJ)

Media Industry and Journalism:

• How Pro Publica Became Big Tech’s Scariest Watchdog (Fastcodesign.com)
• This is a Generic LinkedIn Rant (McSweeney’s)
• Vox Media lays off 5% of its staff as the pivot-to-video bloodbath continues (FastCompany)
• Why is the Manhattan DA looking at Newsweek’s ties to a Christian university? (Newsweek’s former reporters)
• Why the Newsweek firings are bad for press freedom (CJR)
• The Atlantic plans a hiring spree (NYT)
• Gothamist lives, thanks to a boost from public radio (Wired)​

Technology:

• His 2020 Campaign Message: The Robots Are Coming (NYT)